After a sci-fi megaflop: Roland Emmerich is working on a gigantic new space opera

The times when catastrophe movie pope Roland Emmerich delivered safe blockbusters like “Independence Day”, “The Day After Tomorrow” or “2012” seem to be over. After his war action film “Midway – For Freedom” only managed to recoup its production budget with a bang, his latest film “Moonfall” was a clear flop last year (budget: approx. $140 million, gross revenue: approx. $67 million).

Not least because of this, Emmerich is now turning away from the big screen and focusing on other projects – which, however, sound no less ambitious than his usual riot cinema. Last year it was already announced that he would soon direct his first series with the gladiatorial spectacle “Those About To Die”.

And that’s not all: how experienced Roland Emmerich is now developing an all-new sci-fi franchise called “Space Nation”, which will include an online role-playing game, a TV series, and a series of animated shorts.

This is “Space Nation”

The starting point of the “Space Nation” franchise is the video game, for which Emmerich brought on board the expertise of “World Of Warcraft” contributor Jerome Wu and “Warframe” developer Tony Tang. In the game, players step into the shoes of starship captains who embark on an epic journey to unravel the mysteries of the so-called Telikos Cluster. The brand new universe is populated not only by alien races, but also by members of three major factions, each with their own ideologies and goals.

An alpha test of the game, in which gamers can play an early, unfinished version, is scheduled for August 2023. “Space Nation” should then be released regularly in the second quarter of 2024. The sci-fi world should then be further expanded by the mentioned series, the short films and offshoot games.

It is not yet known whether Roland Emmerich will take the director’s chair himself on any of these projects, but that is likely due to his driving creative role behind the project. One can only hope that the genre in which he has already delivered cult films such as “Universal Soldier”, “Stargate” and “Independence Day” will bring him happiness again after the “Moonfall” flop.