Fans of the Starship Troopers franchise will soon see Johnny Rico fighting nasty CG bugs again as Casper Van Diem reprises the role in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. Like the second film in the series, this third installment is being released directly to home video on Aug. 5. Featuring behind-the-scenes looks at the visual effects and other aspects of making the film, the disc will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and UMD for PSP as part of a complete trilogy release. Watch the trailer now on AniMagTV.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder finds a team of elite soldiers on a secret mission to rescue a small crew of fellow troopers stranded on the remote planet of OM-1. Battling a variety of extraterrestrial bugs, the crew turns to the Marauder advanced weapons technology as its only hope against a treasonous element operating within the Federation itself. But the insects have a secret weapon of their own that could destroy humanity.
Van Dien returns from the first film to lead a cast that includes Jolene Blalock (Stargate SG-1), Amanda Donohoe (Lair of the White Worm), Boris Kodjoe (Madea’s Family Reunion), Marnette Patterson (Charmed) and Catherine Oxenberg (Dynasty). Making his directorial debut on the pic is Ed Neumeier, screenwriter and co-producer of Starship Troopers and RoboCop. Visual effects were overseen by Academy Award-winning vfx supervisor Robert Skotak (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens, X2: X-Men United).
The DVD Blu-ray discs will offer the featurettes Evolution: The Bugs of Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Enlist: Marauders Mobile Infantry. Other bonus features will include commentary by the filmmakers and cast, and an all-new extended version of the music video ‘It’s a Good Day to Die.’ Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is a interactive feature titled ‘Put Yourself in the Film: Join the Fight!’ Viewers will be able to upload a photo and insert themselves into key scenes in the film. There will also be a Marauder Mode picture-in-picture feature, which employs graphics, text and pop-up video to provide insight into the film’s characters and story while expanding on the general mythology of the Starship Troopers universe. The DVD version will include a bonus digital copy of the film that consumers can unlock and play on their PCs and/or PSPs.
The original Starship Troopers from 1997 will be available for the first time on Blu-ray with all-new special features including FedNet Mode picture-in-picture/graphic-in-picture, a recruitment test trivia challenge and the ‘Put Yourself in the Film: Join the Fight!’ function. The trilogy will also include the 2004 sequel Starship Troopers: Hero of the Federation, which marked the directorial debut of visual effects guru Phil Tippett.
