Which Science Fiction Universe Would You Like To see onscreen?

For me it comes down to the three "B's"

Bolos

Berserkers

Battletech.

Now, Battletech did have a brief animated series but that was all.

I would love to see both Keith Laumer's Bolos and Fred Saberhagen's Berserkers on television or movie screens.

I've always wanted to see the Elijah Bailey/robots novels filmed.

The Hyperion Cantos universe

I'd Like to see a Starship Troopers/Roughnecks TV series that slowed way down and played out the war the way that DS9 took time with the Dominion War.

Admittedly, I think what you'd end up with would be real similar to S:A&B....but that would be a good thing.

But it would have to be done by someone who could take an intelligent look at the pros and cons of Heinlien's aledgedly "fascist" society and the philosophies that RAH put forth. In so doing, I'm guessing the audience willing to invest themselves in such a series would be too small to pay the freight.
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I would LOVE to see "Lucifer's Hammer" worked up into a "Taken" length mini-series. Hell, even a full fledged series. If I could talk to a producer and sell him on an idea, I'd try to convince Sean Cassidy to take up this project.

This is probably my first choice.
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I'd like to see a couple more Heinlien stories done on film-

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: Reportedly a treatment has been done by Tim Minear, who is perfectly suited to capture RAH's attitude in the story. There are elements that will have to be largely ignored to make it work in a film but the core story and characters are solid. With apologies for being such a Browncoat, I could see Fillion as Mannie (or Ben Browder, though the novel suggests Mannie looks young even though he's not) and Ron Glass as Prof (though I think Olmos would be perfect for the role) and Tracie Halfer is a perfect embodiment of the physical description of Wyo.

Glory Road: an easy adaptation until you get to the last quarter of the novel where you have a lot of internal narrative to shoehorn into a post-climax ending to a film. Again, here's a hero who's suited to the talents of Fillion or Browder (a younger Richard Dean Anderson would be cool) or, if you really wanted to get out on the edge, cast Bruce Campbell.

He Built a Crooked House: this is probably an insane notion since the overlap between SF and comedy is very narrow but, done as a dark-ish comedy, with someone who has good skills at reaction humor (as opposed to the physical sort) I think this would be a fun little bit of fluff.
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There are quite a few that have been done in some form that I'd like to see in a different form or an expanded format.

for instance, I'd like to see a Riverworld series....I'd like to see the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen done in a longer format and closer to the source material. Basiclly anything that mingles fictional characters from different source materials, or mingles historical figures from different eras, fascinates me.

I'd like to see an Original Series Trek animated series done in CGI format someday...but with the re-casting that is far distant if it ever happens at all.

I'd love to see an updated Buck Rogers which found a way to be more "serious" but not dark and humorless like NuBSG.

I'll second the motion for Lucifer's Hammer, great story.

Actually, Niven's Known Space series would make for great stuff, all the way up to Ringworld.

I'm still waiting for a faithful adaption of Edgar Rice Burroghs' Tarzan of the Apes, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground. Really, even by today's standards, for CG animation, I think it looks pretty good.

For me, I'd throw in a vote for Heinlein's "Job: A Comedy of Justice." Think it could be pulled off convincingly now.

Honor Harrington!!!

I want to see spaceships that blast the living shit out of each other!!!

... Foundation, man.

Privateer

I'd like to see a film adaptation of House of Leaves. Or at the very least, a complete retelling of the Navidson Project in film format from without as per Johnny's perspective.

Actually, I'd love to write that.

Stephen Baxters Xeelee Sequence.

The caveat being that I'd hate to see it done badly.

John Carter of Mars would be possible with today's technology, and likely highly entertaining if done faithfully.

Smith's Lensman series would be pretty darned good, too.

A series based on the Hammer's Slammers would be pretty good, I'd think.

Robert Aspirin's Phule's Company series. Think F-Troop in space.

Disney is doing John Carter of Mars as we speak.

And a script is being done up for Hyperion, we'll see if it ever makes it to the screen.

Personally, I'd like to see Starship Troopers.

Foundation I don't think they could do and stay faithful, though it might be a good movie anyway. Certainly it's a deep and fascinating universe, but what it comes down to is most of the time it's just a couple of old guys sitting around and talking.

I'd like to see some of Vernor Vinge's stuff done, like a Deepness in the Sky.

Startide Rising by Brin would make a brilliant movie.

And Illium and Olympos by Simmons.

David Weber's Honor Harrington

David Drake's Hammer's Slammers

Larry Niven's Ringworld

Clarke's Rama

John Ringos' Posleen Invasion Saga

Robinson's Mars trilogy

Flint's 1632 series.

Drake & Flint's Belisarius series.

Id like to see Brin's Uplift universe on film, especially Startide Rising. Computer graphics have gotten to the point where that could work really well.

Echoing Dayton on BattleTech. I think the Fourth Succession War would make one hell of a miniseries. Then you have the Clan invasion for a follow-up . . .

Wild Cards could be an ongoing series to make Heroes look like a kindergarten recital.

The Dragonriders of Pern was optioned for movie or TV treatment at one time, but I think that's fallen thru or expired. Either way, the initial trilogy would be great on the big screen.

I've said before, I'd pay good money to see the novel of The Time Machine on screen.
Ditto War of the Worlds, now that I think of it. Says something that the best version of that novel outside the original was originally on vinyl...

And I'd love to see Discworld done without trying to shoehorn David Jason in everywhere...

That's SO cool!

Though what I actually had in mind was a post-V'ger mission but still....I could definitely go with that.

What I think would be pretty cool is if someone took the audio track of a TAS episode, then did a CG take on it. I think that could make a CG Animated series take off. But, knowing Paramount, they'd probably sue whoever did it for not getting the rights to use the audio .

The Culture.

I think most of these would be far better in a long mini-series so they can have justice done to them.

I agree on the Ringworld by Niven.

I'd add the Pip and Flinx novels by Alan Dean Foster.

There are many other one off books by non famous authors that I think would make great screen shows.

I would pay large sums of cash to see Yesteryear done that way.

I'd like to see an Ender's Game movie.

PART 1:

You know, it's amazing we get such crap sci-fi on TV and in movies...and often cliche' and derivative and old stuff, when there are so many sf universes out there that have NEVER been touched...

So:

(Before I would have said "Jumper" and "The Golden Compass" but Hollywood seems to have fucked these both up.

* Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow - combined. (WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN MADE YET!?!?!?!)

* The Forge of God (Epic, literally End of the World stuff - )

* a second for Iain M. Banks "Culture" novels (Player of Games,Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons- all would make excellent films of tv mini's....)

* The Forever War (Along with Starship Troopers & Ender's Game, on fo the *must-read* sci-fi war novels.)
* Starship Troopers - but made like Space: Above & Beyond meets Aliens (Colonial Marines - 'nuff said.)

* Snowcrash (WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN MADE YET!?!?!?!)

* Emergence (was planned for a film that never manifested. Young teen girl genius survives NBC war in her dad's shelter - he's a diplomat/agent- then sets out across America to look for survivors - and discovers something extraordinary about herself.)

* Coyote/Coyote Frontier/Coyote Rising. (Colonists steal a starship - The Alabama - to escape a right-wing theocratic tyranny...later to have to stand against a left-wing socialist tyranny....yep, expect libertarian themes, but t NOT preachy. Originally published as short story "Stealing Alabama" )

* Ringworld (Just the first book really...)

* Footfall (most realistic alien invasion story I have read. The aliens motives and reason for invading - while it is a bit convoluted - actually made sense. No silly aliens who have interstellar travel but must steal *water* from Earth, when they could just mine comets, etc...posits a plausible reason they aliens HAVE to come to Earth. )

* Lucifer's Hammer (make excellent mini-series, IMHO....won't all fit in 90min film.)

* some of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence/Destiny's Children stories in some form or another.)

* Replay. <- Read it at the link! On his deathbed, and man "wakes up" tro find he's living his life over and over (kinda "Groundhog Day" style...only each replay, is shorther and shorter...and he's not the only "re-player")

* Chaga (aka "Evolution's Shore" US)/Kirinya (After the disappearance of one of Jupiter;'s moons. something crashers on Earth on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and from the crash site an "infestation" or alien ecology/biology/nanotechnology begins transforming the southern hemisphere of Earth (but it avoids the North) - and transforming the people who come into contact with it. Why is it here? Gift or curse? The author's portrayal of Africa are brutal and visceral. Disturbing, but hard to ignore. And the alien "Chaga" is endlessly fascinating - I can't describe it, you just have to read it...the Chaga is...paradigm shifting...something amazing and wonderful and frightening....and how it affects the politics of the world...the world fears it, fears it as a plague, and fears how it will change the economics and the balance of power of the world.. This movie would need to have a lot of CGI, ala some of the really alien worlds in Revenge of the Sith. (Imagine the mushroom.

* Earth - David Brin. Great mini-series stuff.

* In the Ocean of Night - could be the next 2001.

ETA: A Gift Upon The Shore (M.K. Wren) two women survive a nuclear war, and set out to preserve a library of books for any future generation...and must battle - and learn to co-exist with - members of a Christian survivalist cult , a few of whom's members have a view that worldly knowledge is evil and responsible for the Fall...beautiful, moving book for anyone who LOVES BOOKS...a story about the flicker knowledge vs. darkness.)

Hitchhikers kinda sucked...but I'd still like to see a sequel, and a Dirk Gentley tv series.

The Forge of God has been optioned by Warner Brothers, as well as it's sequel.

Supposedly Dan Simmons himself is fine working a script for Ilium and Olympos to be brought to the big screen. Rumors were that Martin Scorsese wanted to do Hyperion, but the treatment I heard butchered it.

I picked up Olympos but couldn't get anywhere in it.

Interesting concept but it just didn't do anything for me.

Ben Bova's GRAND VOYAGE would make a great series of movies. And if it's only to piss the fundies off

I want to see (not mentioned yet):
Niven/Pournelle - The Mote In Gods Eye
Gibson - Neuromancer
Heinlein - Time Enough For Love (mini-series)
Poul - Gateway
Haldeman - The "World's" series (mini-series)