Rian Johnson’s New Film Ventures Into Cyberpunk Territory

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Rian JohnsonGenre filmmaker Rian Johnson made the leap from cult favorite to mainstream director with last year’s sci-fi film Looper. The film grossed a reported $176.5 million global box office take, so it seems fitting that the 39-year-old director will be sticking with science fiction for his next movie.

While making an appearance on the /Filmcast 10-hour FilmAid marathon this past weekend (along with other fan favorites such as Jason Reitman and Edgar Wright), Rian Johnson spoke briefly about the new film he is currently writing. According to /Film’s Editor-In-Chief Peter Sciretta, the movie will be a sci-fi cyberpunk tale. There is not much else known about the project, but it’s good to see Johnson refining the sci-fi genre with his next film. Read Peter Sciretta’s Tweet below:

 

Rian Johnson gained popularity with his first feature film Brick in 2005. The low-budget indie movie put a film noir spin on a high school drama. Johnson’s follow-up film, The Brothers Bloom, played deeply in the con man genre of filmmaking. Although it was only a mild success for Johnson, his next film, Looper, would prove the director’s worth in Hollywood.

It really seems like the sci-fi genre is making a huge comeback with this year’s impressive slate of feature films, including Star Trek Into DarknessAfter Earth, and Oblivion. Johnson’s new cyberpunk feature film should play nicely into the wide range of upcoming sci-fi movies.

If you’re unclear on what exactly constitues the cyberpunk genre, it can be described as “high tech and low life.” Watch the video below to deepen your understanding of the genre.