2. Elysium
Not much is known about this film yet, but what we do know for certain is the premise of its Sci-Fi world: In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Matt Damon plays a character caught in the middle of this struggle, and Jodie Foster plays Secretary Rhodes, a government official who will stop at nothing to enforce the strict immigration laws in effect.
Why We Are Excited: Director Neil Blomkamp's previous Sci-Fi film, District 9, was one of the movies that launched the recent Sci-Fi renaissance. That film's biting social commentary masked as a (not so subtle) alien invasion allegory led that film all the way to a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and Elysium looks to deliver a similar social commentary about immigration laws, similar to Gareth Edwards' Monsters from a few years back. Beyond the social commentary, Blomkamp never fails to deliver on the action elements, and Elysium seems chock-full of thrilling set-pieces and high production value. With a stellar cast (including the always reliable William Fichtner, and Sharlto Copley from District 9), Elysium is one of our most anticipated original Sci-Fi films of the year. But it is topped by only one other.