The Robert A. Heinlein sci-fi novel “Citizen Of The Galaxy” is getting an animated movie. “Citizen Of The Galaxy” is a 1957 book centred on a boy named Thorby who is enslaved but is bought by a beggar named Baslim for a trivial sum. This event changes Thorby’s life and sets him on an epic quest that will change the galaxy.
The works of Robert A. Heinlein have been adapted many times in Hollywood over the decades. We have seen adaptations of the novel “The Puppet Masters” with a 1994 movie starring Donald Sutherland and an adaptation of the novel “Predestination” with a 2014 movie starring Ethan Hawke. However, the famous adaptation of a Heinlein novel is the movie “Starship Troopers”, a 1997 film directed by Paul Verhoeven, which got two sequels. Starship Troopers also got an animated series, “Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles,” and two direct-to-video animated movies, “Starship Troopers: Invasion” and “Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars”.
The film is being helmed by Jay Oliva, who has worked on projects like DC animated films such as “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” and “Justice League: War”. He also worked on Marvel animated projects like the “Hulk Vs.’’ movie and the animated TV show “Twilight of the Gods” on Netflix. Oliva has been working as a storyboarder on live-action movies like the first Deadpool movie.
Olivia said this about working on this adaptation:
“This is an inspiring, come-full-circle career moment for me, having begun my animation directing career in the late 1990s on Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, which were based within one of Heinlein’s most famous stories. It’s a joy and an honor to return to these massively imaginative roots, and to bring one of Heinlein’s previously unproduced works to a medium the entire planet can experience and enjoy.”
Luke Lieberman, who worked on the Red Sonja comics, is writing the script for this movie. Lieberman said this about writing the script for this movie:
“Citizen is a book I’ve always wanted to adapt, so I’m really grateful for this opportunity. Thorby has such a compelling character arc on his journey through the stars. He travels every walk of life, treads a mile in many different shoes, set against the biggest canvas possible, and sprung from Robert Heinlein’s wild imagination full of his wisdom and insights. This is a special story, and I can’t wait to share it with a whole new generation.”
This movie is being produced by Startling, Inc. and is looking at a 2027 theatrical release date.
