Movie fans love science fiction – the prospect of seeing ourselves in a future world with the possibilities of better things to come has always been a source of fascination for the cinema. For guys especially, we crave for our giant robots, sleek, futuristic machinery and spaceships, bringing us to far and exotic places, the search for hope perhaps; which is why the Sci-Fi genre remains ever as popular since Georges Melies’ 1902 ‘Trip to the Moon’.  Here’s a look at ten upcoming Sci-Fi films that are slated for release soon. ( well, not so soon for some. )

1) Terminator Salvation (2009)

The fourth installment of the Terminator Franchise, this time helmed by music video director McG. ( Charlies’ Angels Full Throttle ) For some reason I’ve never been a big fan of the series, especially after the lukewarm T3, but the trailer for Salvation looks promising so far, and Christian Bale as John Conner doesn’t sound too bad either.

2) Avatar (2009)

James Cameron’s epic (and highly secretive) sci-fi project, promising a 3D experience that will be “a total cinematic revolution”, according to various film sources online. Avatar is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

Information pertaining to the film is incredibly scarce, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the director that gave us the highest grossing film of all times is ready to make cinematic history yet again.

3) Battle Angel (2011)

Also directed by James Cameron,  Battle Angel is an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s popular Japanese manga Gunnm (picture below) and will be filmed with the digital 3D camera system developed for Avatar. Gunnm follows the story of a female cyborg named Alita, blessed with the legendary fighting style Panzer Kunst. The film will feature content from the first three volumes of the manga, with 2 additional films in consideration if Battle Angel is successful.

I’ve been the biggest fan of Gunnm since I was a kid and have very high hopes that James Cameron will do the film right and give this amazing manga the attention it rightfully deserves.

4) Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Two words – The Constructicons. That’s probably reason enough to catch the Revenge of the Fallen – if only just to see the brilliant folks at ILM work their digital magic once again, complete with the usual spinning camera moves, dizzying fast cuts, massive explosions and beautifully composed shots of Megan Fox.

You can catch a sneak peek of the upcoming Hasbro Constructicons toy at Gizmodo, thanks to Clockwork Machina! for the heads up.

5) Star Trek (2009)

Alias and MI3 director J.J Abrams brings a fresh look to the reboot of the Star Trek franchise with a completely new cast, including John Cho from Harold and Kumar as Sulu ( I just can’t take him seriously, though he did look very cool and serious in the trailer.) and a near unrecognizable Eric Bana as Nero (tattooed dude above) Did I mention that Winona Ryder is in this film too ?

6) Tron 2.0 (2011)

The original Tron, made in 1982, was a veritable grandfather of CGI augmented films and kickstarted the use of 3D imagery in movies. Now 27 years later, where almost every film released has a certain amount of CG work involved, can Tron 2.0 offer us something that we haven’t yet seen before ?

It’s a little hard to tell with the low quality teaser trailer from Comicon, but word is that Pixar, in particular, John Lasseter is involved in the film, which is great news.  Jeff Bridges, whom we last saw in Iron Man as Obadiah Stane, will also be reprising his role as Clu from the original Tron.

7) Surrogates (2009)

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Bruce Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates.

There are no posters or trailers available yet, but the viral marketing for this film is well on the way. To choose your own surrogate, go to www.chooseyoursurrogate.com.

8 ) G.I Joe : The Rise of Cobra (2009)

If you’re in your late twenties or older, chances are pretty high that you must have seen the original G.I. Joe cartoon with the catchy theme song as a kid. Directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy), Cobra is set 10 years in the future, showing the rise of the insidious terrorist organisation.

While most of my friends have expressed their low expectations for the film, at least the costume designs are cool, Darth Maul is Snake Eyes, and as one of my readers keenly observed in this previous post, “Sienna Miller. Hawt.”

9) RoBoCop (2010)

This upcoming remake has certainly piqued my interest, mostly because of the choice of director – Darren Aronovsky. I really enjoyed Requiem for a Dream but I  have to admit I couldn’t make head or tail of his recent film The Fountain. ( I haven’t watched the wrestler, is it as good as they say it is ? )

In any case, I think RoBoCop will be in for quite a change since Paul Verhoeven’s original outing, though I still love that cute stop-motion ED209, who doesn’t ?

10) Ok ok, so I listed only nine films. That’s because you’re suppose to tell me the last one – what upcoming Sci-Fi film are you looking forward to, or wish Hollywood will embark on ? (if you had Akira in mind, you’re a little late.)