Introduction

Starship Troopers is an American military science-fiction media franchise based on the novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein and in part by its loose film adaptation by Paul Verhoeven.

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Outline (Novel)

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 in December 1959.

The story is set in a future society ruled by a human interstellar government dominated by a military elite, referred to as the Terran Federation.

The first-person narrative follows Juan “Johnny” Rico through his military service in the Mobile Infantry. Rico progresses from recruit to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between humans and an alien species known as “Arachnids” or “Bugs”.

Interspersed with the primary plot are classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical and moral issues, including aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, and war; these discussions have been described as expounding Heinlein’s own political views.

Starship Troopers has been identified with a tradition of militarism in US science fiction, and draws parallels between the conflict between humans and the Bugs, and the Cold War.

A coming-of-age novel, Starship Troopers also critiques US society of the 1950’s, argues that a lack of discipline had led to a moral decline, and advocates corporal and capital punishment.

Starship Troopers brought to an end Heinlein’s series of juvenile novels. It became one of his best-selling books, and is considered his most widely known work.

It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960,[3] and garnered praise from reviewers for its scenes of training and combat and its visualisation of a future military.

It also became enormously controversial because of the political views it seemed to support. Reviewers were strongly critical of the book’s intentional glorification of the military, an aspect described as propaganda and likened to recruitment.

Cast (1997 Film)

• Casper Van Dien as Pvt./Cpl./Sgt./Lt./Col./Gen. John “Johnny” Rico.
• Dina Meyer as Pvt. Isabelle “Dizzy” Flores.
• Denise Richards as Lt./Capt. Carmen Ibanez.
• Jake Busey as Pvt. Ace Levy.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Col. Carl Jenkins.
• Patrick Muldoon as Lt. Zander Barcalow.
• Clancy Brown as Career Sgt./Pvt. Zim.
• Michael Ironside as Lt. Jean Rasczak.
• Seth Gilliam as Cpl. Sugar Watkins.
• Bruce Gray as Sky Marshal Dienes.
• Marshall Bell as General Owen.
• Matt Levin as Pvt. Kitten Smith.
• Eric Bruskotter as Pvt. Breckinridge.
• Brenda Strong as Captain Deladier.
• Christopher Curry as Bill Rico.
• Lenore Kasdorf as Mrs. Rico.
• Denise Dowse as Sky Marshal Meru.
• Amy Smart as Pilot Cadet/Lt. Lumbreiser.
• Dean Norris as Commanding officer.
• Rue McClanahan as Biology teacher.
• Dale Dye as Unnamed general.
• Anthony Ruivivar as Shujumi.
• Robert David Hall as Recruiter.

Trivia

• In December 2011, film producer Neal H. Moritz announced plans to produce a reboot of the Starship Troopers film franchise.
• In November 2016, Columbia and Moritz announced the writing team of Mark Swift and Damian Shannon had been signed to pen the screenplay.
• Verhoeven expressed skepticism at the proposed remake, citing reports that it draws heavily from the original militaristic 1959 novel.

Starship Troopers Series

• Films:
  • Starship Troopers (1997).
  • Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004).
  • Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008).
  • Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012).
  • Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017).

• TV Series:
  • Starship Troopers (1988).
  • Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999-2000).

• Games:
  • Starship Troopers (1976): Board wargame by Avalon Hill, redesigned and re-released in 1997 to coincide with the 1997 film.
  • Starship Troopers Pinball: Released by Sega Pinball in 1997.
  • Starship Troopers – The Miniatures Game: A short-lived miniature wargame released in 2005 by UK gaming company Mongoose Publishing.
  • Starship Troopers – The Roleplaying Game: A tabletop role-playing game released in 2005 by Mongoose Publishing.
  • Starship Troopers – Terran Ascendancy: a real-time tactics video game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse label on 28 October 2000 (based on the 1997 film).
  • Starship Troopers: A first-person shooter game developed by UK company Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive in 2005 (based on the 1997 film).

Production & Filming Details

• Running Time: variable.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.