There is a reason science-fiction films have fascinated audiences since the beginning of the film industry. It is a genre that can imagine what the world will look like in the future or imagine another world outside of our own. Sci-fi films have created some of the most interesting concepts as well as some of the most iconic characters.
However, not every sci-fi creation is a winner. While Han Solo and E.T. might be classic characters, there are countless other sci-fi characters ranging from forgettable to terrible. The last decade has introduced some amazing new genre characters, but also a lot of not-so-great ones. Here are the worst new sci-fi characters of the decade.
10 Jim Preston (Passengers)
Chris Pratt became one of Hollywood's biggest stars thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy. But his other sci-fi film Passengers was much less successful. Pratt plays Jim Preston, one of many passengers on a decades-long trip through space to a new homeworld.
Jim's cryogenic chamber malfunctions, waking him up years too early. Instead of living the rest of his life alone, he decides to wake up another passenger (Jennifer Lawrence) to keep him company. While that sounds like an interesting idea for a sci-fi thriller, the movie tries to make Jim a likable character who made one mistake instead of acknowledging the murderous creep he actually is.
9 Maz Kanata (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
The new Star Wars trilogy had a difficult task of introducing new characters who would share the spotlight with the icons of the original trilogy. Impressively, the like of Rey, Finn, and Poe proved to be great new additions. However, not all new characters were worthwhile.
The addition of Maz Kanata was exciting, especially with the stellar actor Lupita Nyong'o playing her. Sadly, the character comes off as a desperate Yoda clone who only spouts exposition and adds nothing interesting to the story. Hopefully, the character and Nyong'o will get more to do in Rise of the Skywalker.
8 Balem Abrasax (Jupiter Ascending)
The Wachowskis are responsible for one of the most influential and groundbreaking sci-fi films of all time with The Matrix. Fans were hoping they would recreate the magic with Jupiter Ascending but it proved to be an ambitious mess.
One of the most baffling parts of the film was the villainous Balem Abrasax played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne. Though Redmayne is clearly a skilled actor, he made some very strange decisions here with all his dialogue being either whispered or shouted. It makes the lead bad guy unintentionally hilarious instead of intimidating.
7 Will Caster (Transcendence)
There were few actors as big and popular as Johnny Depp during the 2000s, but the 2010s have been less successful for him. Depp's star power began to fade and he starred in a string of disappointing movies. Possibly the worst of the bunch is Transcendence.
Depp plays Will Caster, a dying scientist whose consciousness is uploaded to an A.I. system. The new power corrupts him and he becomes more dangerous. Depp comes off as uninterested in the role and the script offers him no help. The result is a character who is meant to terrify but instead is a complete bore.
6 Meredith Vickers (Prometheus)
Prometheus was the long-awaited return of Ridley Scott to the Alien franchise. While the prequel has its fans, many people pointed to the characters as a major problem with the film. One of the most annoying characters is Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron.
Theron is obviously a phenomenal actor, but she is given a poor character to work with. Vickers is the typical corporate villain for much of the film but with nothing interesting to do. Last-minute twists surrounding her character add nothing and her death scene remains one of the dumber moments in recent sci-fi films.
5 Dr. Emma Russell (Godzilla: King Of The Monsters)
Godzilla: King of Monsters promised to be a throwback adventure featuring Godzilla taking on various classic monsters like Rodan and King Ghidorah. While it delivered on that promise for some fans, many agreed that the human characters in the film were much less thrilling.
The most distracting human character is Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), a mad scientist who unleashes the gigantic monsters in the world. The motivations for her plan and how she carries it out are cartoonishly ridiculous and she even gets a hilariously awful villain monologue. The character is made even worse by how earnestly she is portrayed.
4 Chappie (Chappie)
Neill Blomkamp became an instant sci-fi icon with his debut film District 9, but he has not been able to recreate the magic of that film since. Chappie was his most unusual attempt at an original sci-fi story and helped introduce one of the more annoying characters in recent film memory.
Chappie is the titular police robot who is taken by a group of thugs and reprogrammed to be a childlike being who they teach to be a gangster. The character's childish way of talking and overdone innocence might have seemed endearing to Blomkamp, but it came off as very cheesy in the film.
3 Kitai Raige (After Earth)
M. Night Shyamalan is another filmmaker who seems to have drifted away from his promising early films. He has won back some fans with his latest projects, but some still haven't forgiven him for After Earth. The film stars Will Smith and Jaden Smith as a father and son traveling through space who crash-land on Earth, which is now a dangerous and uninhabited planet.
Jaden Smith has impressed in some of his roles, but he did not seem ready to take on the action hero lead in this film. He is not a character that we want to follow in this adventure, which makes it hard to care about his journey at all.
2 Eddie (Pixels)
Pixels is another film with a very promising premise that was unfortunately squandered. When aliens who resemble classic arcade characters begin attacking earth, it's up to a group of champion arcade players to battle them and protect the world. The movie could have been a fun sci-fi comedy but instead becomes a lame Adam Sandler vehicle.
Most offensive of all, the movie completely wastes the talents of Peter Dinklage, who plays an obnoxious and arrogant gamer. Dinklage tries to give some life to the role, but the character is so annoying and cartoonish that you cringe whenever he appears onscreen.
1 Shane Dyson (Transformers: Age of Extinction)
The Transformer movies have never been known for their great characters, but Transformers: Age of Extinction was introducing all-new characters to replace Shia LaBeouf and company. However, the addition of Shane Dyson (Jack Reynor) was ill-advised.
Shane was introduced as the rebellious, car racing boyfriend of Cade Yeager's (Mark Wahlberg) daughter. Aside from having little to no reason for being a part of this story, Shane is a constant annoyance throughout the film and even justifies the disturbing age gap between him and his girlfriend with a really gross and problematic scene.
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