Starship Troopers is an American military science fiction media franchise based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein and the satirical 1997 film adaptation by screenwriter Edward Neumeier and director Paul Verhoeven.
Starship Troopers is an American military science fiction media franchise based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein and the satirical 1997 film adaptation by screenwriter Edward Neumeier and director Paul Verhoeven.
The series is set hundreds of years in the future, after a collapse of Western democracy and many resulting wars. In this future, human society is now ruled by the Terran Federation, a government run by military veterans. Military service is voluntary, but required to earn the full rights of citizenship, such as holding office and voting.
Much of the series focuses on the experiences of Juan "Johnny" Rico and the lessons he learns enlisting in military service along with his hometown friends, Carmen Ibanez (a love interest who becomes a pilot) and Carl (who, in the films, is shown as being a psychic who joins military intelligence). Johnny joins the 'Mobile Infantry', the primary foot soldiers of the Federation (depicted in the book as having advanced armored suits equipped with jetpacks and nuclear weapons). While Johnny is in training, an alien species known as the "Arachnids" attacks Buenos Aires, resulting in the death of Johnny's family (only his mother in the books, his entire family in the film). After this, the Federation goes to war and the series follows their attempts to defeat the "bugs", especially by capturing part of the Arachnid ruling class.
At some point between 1958 and 1959, Robert Heinlein put aside the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers. His motivation arose partially from his anger at US President Dwight Eisenhower's decision to suspend US nuclear tests, and the Soviet tests that occurred soon afterward. [1] Writing in his 1980 volume Expanded Universe , Heinlein would say that the publication of a newspaper advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy on April 5, 1958, calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear weapons testing by the United States sparked his desire to write Starship Troopers. [2] Heinlein and his wife Virginia created the "Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the US nuclear testing program. Heinlein stated that he used the novel to clarify his military and political views. [3]
Like many of Heinlein's books, Starship Troopers was completed in a few weeks. It was originally written as a juvenile novel for New York publishing house Scribner; Heinlein had previously had success with this format, having written several such novels published by Scribner. The manuscript was rejected, prompting Heinlein to end his association with the publisher completely, and resume writing books with adult themes. [1] [4] [5] Scholars have suggested that Scribner's rejection was based on ideological objections to the content of the novel, particularly its treatment of military conflict. [4] [6]
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction first published Starship Troopers in October and November 1959 as a two-part serial titled Starship Soldier. [5]
Commentators have written that Starship Troopers is not driven by its plot, though it contains scenes of military combat. Instead, much of the novel is given over to a discussion of ideas. [7] In particular, the discussion of political views is a recurring feature of what scholar Jeffrey Cass described as an "ideologically intense" book. [8] A 1997 review in Salon categorized it as a "philosophical novel". [9] Critics have debated to what extent the novel promotes Heinlein's own political views. Some contend that the novel maintains a sense of irony that allows readers to draw their own conclusions; others argue that Heinlein is sermonizing throughout the book, and that its purpose is to expound Heinlein's militaristic philosophy. [8]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Troopers | November 7, 1997 | Paul Verhoeven | Edward Neumeier | Jon Davison Alan Marshall |
| Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation | April 24, 2004 | Phil Tippett | Jon Davison | |
| Starship Troopers 3: Marauder | August 5, 2008 | Edward Neumeier | David Lancaster | |
In December 2011, film producer Neal H. Moritz announced plans to produce a reboot of the Starship Troopers film franchise. [10] In November 2016, Columbia and Moritz announced the writing team of Mark Swift and Damian Shannon had been signed to pen the screenplay. [11] Verhoeven expressed skepticism at the proposed remake, citing reports that it draws heavily from the original militaristic 1959 novel. [12]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Troopers: Invasion | August 28, 2012 | Shinji Aramaki | Flint Dille | Shinji Aramaki Joseph Chou Shigehito Kawada | Joseph Chou |
| Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars | August 21, 2017 | Shinji Aramaki Masaru Matsumoto | Edward Neumeier | Joseph Chou Max Nishi Tomi Hashimoto | |
| Series | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Troopers | 6 | October 25, 1988 | December 17, 1988 | Tetsurō Amino | — |
| Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles | 36 + 4 clip shows | August 30, 1999 | April 3, 2000 | Richard Raynis | BKN |
| Video game | U.S. release date | Developer | Publisher | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Troopers [13] | 1979 | Dendron Amusements | Dendron Amusements | CP/M |
| Starship Troopers | 1997 | MGA Entertainment | MGA Entertainment | Handheld LCD game |
| Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy | October 23, 2000 | Blue Tongue Entertainment | Hasbro Interactive | Windows |
| Starship Troopers | October 27, 2005 | Strangelite | Empire Interactive and Destineer | Windows |
| Starship Troopers: Terran Command | June 16, 2022 | The Artistocrats | Slitherine Software | Windows |
| Starship Troopers: Extermination | May 17, 2023 (early access) | Offworld Industries | Offworld Industries | Windows |
List indicator(s)
- This table shows the principal characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film or video game, or that the character's presence in the film or video game has not yet been announced.
- A V indicates a voice only role.
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Troopers | 63% (63 reviews) [14] | 51 (20 reviews) [15] | C+ [16] |
| Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation | 33% (6 reviews) [17] | — | — |
| Starship Troopers 3: Marauder | 50% (6 reviews) [18] | — | — |
| Starship Troopers: Invasion | — (4 reviews) [19] | — | — |
| Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars | — (4 reviews) [20] | — | — |
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons on November 5, 1959.
Paul Verhoeven is a Dutch film director. His films are known for their graphic violence and sexual content, combined with social satire. After receiving attention for the TV series Floris in his native Netherlands, Verhoeven's breakthrough film was the romantic drama Turkish Delight (1973), starring frequent collaborator Rutger Hauer. Verhoeven later directed successful Dutch films including the period drama Keetje Tippel (1975), the war film Soldier of Orange (1977), the teen drama Spetters (1980) and the psychological thriller The Fourth Man (1983).
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier, based on the 1959 novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Set in the 23rd century, the story follows teenager Johnny Rico and his comrades as they serve in the military of the United Citizen Federation, an Earth-based world government engaged in an interstellar war against an alien species known as the Arachnids. The film stars Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, and Michael Ironside.
Starship Troopers is a board wargame by Avalon Hill based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally released in 1976 and designed by Randall C. Reed. Twenty years later, Avalon Hill redesigned and re-released a "movie" version in 1997 to coincide with the movie's release.
Edward Neumeier is an American screenwriter best known for his work on the science fiction movies RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He wrote the latter's sequels Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars.
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is a 2004 American military science fiction horror film directed by Phil Tippett and starring Richard Burgi, Lawrence Monoson, and Colleen Porch. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and the second installment of the Starship Troopers franchise. The film premiered on Encore Action on April 24, 2004, and was released on DVD and VHS on June 1, 2004. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the shift from the first film's action to horror, as well as the lack of returning cast from the first film. It was followed by the direct-to-video prequel Starship Troopers 3: Marauder in 2008.
Phil Tippett is an American film director and visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM and DreamWorks, and in 1984 formed his own company, Tippett Studio.
The science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) was productive during a writing career that spanned the last 49 years of his life; the Robert A. Heinlein bibliography includes 32 novels, 59 short stories and 16 collections published during his life. Four films, two TV series, several episodes of a radio series, at least two songs and a board game derive more or less directly from his work. He wrote the screenplay for Destination Moon (1950). Heinlein also edited an anthology of other writers' science fiction short stories.
Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game is a tabletop role-playing game produced by Mongoose Publishing in 2005. The game is based upon the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, but it is mostly based on its adaptations, Starship Troopers (1997) and Starship Troopers 2 (2004), and the cartoon series ; the game itself was published under license of Sony Pictures. While it is impossible to seamlessly merge all three different interpretations, this RPG does not pick one over the other, instead merging the three as best it can.
Starship Troopers is a six-part anime OVA produced by Sunrise and Bandai, and released in 1988. It is based on the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. The OVA was dedicated to Heinlein, who died before the first part of the series was released.
Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game was a short-lived miniature wargame released in 2005 by UK gaming company Mongoose Publishing. It drew upon Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 Starship Troopers novel, the films, and the TV series as inspiration through a license from Sony. The game was pulled from the shelves in 2007, and formally discontinued a year later.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder is a 2008 American science fiction film written and directed by Edward Neumeier and starring Casper Van Dien, who returned as Johnny Rico from the original film, along with Jolene Blalock and Boris Kodjoe. It is both a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and a prequel to Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) and the third installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released directly to video in the U.S. on August 5, 2008. It received generally negative reviews.
The Heinlein juveniles are the science-fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line. Each features "a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities." Together, they tell a loosely connected story of space exploration. Scribner's published the first 12 between 1947 and 1958, but rejected the 13th, Starship Troopers. That one was instead published by Putnam. A 14th novel, Podkayne of Mars, is sometimes listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one.
Starship Troopers is a 1959 novel by Robert Heinlein.
Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy, also known as simply Starship Troopers in the U.S., is a real-time tactics video game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse label in 2000. The game is based on both the 1997 movie Starship Troopers and the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
Starship Troopers: Invasion is a 2012 American-Japanese adult animated military science fiction horror film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released in Japan on July 21, 2012, and in North America on August 28, 2012, as a direct-to-video title.
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars is a 2017 Japanese-American adult animated military science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki and Masaru Matsumoto and written by Edward Neumeier. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and the fifth installment of the Starship Troopers film series. It also marks the return of two original actors; Casper Van Dien reprises his role as Johnny Rico from the first and third films and Dina Meyer reprises her role as Dizzy Flores from the first film.
Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? is an essay by author Robert Heinlein, defending continued above-ground nuclear testing by the United States. It was printed as a paid ad in 1958, in response to a similar ad by The National Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy urging that the U.S. unilaterally end testing.