Starship Troopers
Official franchise logo
Created by	Robert A. Heinlein (original novel) Edward Neumeier andPaul Verhoeven (film andSony Pictures–owned adaptations)[a]
Original work	Starship Troopers (1959)
Owners	Heinlein PrizeTrust (publishing) TriStar Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment) (multimedia)
Years	1959–present
Print publications
Novel(s)	Starship Troopers (1959)
Films and television
Film(s)	Starship Troopers (1997)
Animated series	Starship Troopers (1988) Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999–2000)
Television film(s)	Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)
Direct-to-video	Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017)
Games
Traditional	Starship Troopers (1976) Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game (2005)
Role-playing	Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game (2005)
Video game(s)	Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy (2000) Starship Troopers (2005) Starship Troopers: Terran Command (2022) Starship Troopers: Extermination (2023)
Miscellaneous
Pinball	Starship Troopers (1997)
Official website
starshiptroopers.com

Starship Troopers is an Americanmilitary science fictionmedia franchise based on the 1959novel of the same name byRobert A. Heinlein and thesatirical1997 film adaptation by screenwriterEdward Neumeier and directorPaul Verhoeven.

The series is set hundreds of years in the future, after a collapse ofWestern democracy and many resulting wars. In this future, human society is now ruled by the Terran Federation, agovernment run by military veterans. Military service is voluntary, but required to earn the full rights of citizenship, such as holding office and voting.

Much of the series focuses on the experiences of Juan "Johnny" Rico and the lessons he learns enlisting in military service along with his hometown friends, Carmen Ibanez (a love interest who becomes a pilot) and Carl (who, in the films, is shown as being apsychic who joins military intelligence). Johnny joins the 'Mobile Infantry', the primaryfoot soldiers of the Federation (depicted in the book as having advanced armored suits equipped withjetpacks andnuclear weapons). While Johnny is in training, an alien species known as the "Arachnids" attacksBuenos Aires, resulting in the death of Johnny's family (only his mother in the books, his entire family in the film). After this, the Federation goes to war and the series follows their attempts to defeat the "bugs", especially by capturing part of the Arachnid ruling class.

At some point between 1958 and 1959,Robert Heinlein put aside the novel that would becomeStranger in a Strange Land and wroteStarship Troopers. His motivation arose partially from his anger at US PresidentDwight Eisenhower'sdecision to suspend US nuclear tests, and theSoviet tests that occurred soon afterward.^[1] Writing in his 1980 volumeExpanded Universe, Heinlein would say that the publication of a newspaper advertisement placed by theNational Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy on April 5, 1958, calling for a unilateral suspension ofnuclear weapons testing by the United States sparked his desire to writeStarship Troopers.^[2] Heinlein and his wifeVirginia created the "Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the US nuclear testing program. Heinlein stated that he used the novel to clarify his military and political views.^[3]

Like many of Heinlein's books,Starship Troopers was completed in a few weeks. It was originally written as ajuvenile novel for New York publishing houseScribner; Heinlein had previously had success with this format, having written several such novels published by Scribner. The manuscript was rejected, prompting Heinlein to end his association with the publisher completely, and resume writing books with adult themes.^[1][4][5] Scholars have suggested that Scribner's rejection was based on ideological objections to the content of the novel, particularly its treatment of military conflict.^[4][6]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction first publishedStarship Troopers in October and November 1959 as a two-partserial titledStarship Soldier.^[5]

Commentators have written thatStarship Troopers is not driven by its plot, though it contains scenes of military combat. Instead, much of the novel is given over to a discussion of ideas.^[7] In particular, the discussion of political views is a recurring feature of what scholar Jeffrey Cass described as an "ideologically intense" book.^[8] A 1997 review inSalon categorized it as a "philosophical novel".^[9] Critics have debated to what extent the novel promotes Heinlein's own political views. Some contend that the novel maintains a sense of irony that allows readers to draw their own conclusions; others argue that Heinlein is sermonizing throughout the book, and that its purpose is to expound Heinlein's militaristic philosophy.^[8]

Humans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.

In the sequel to Paul Verhoeven's loved/reviled sci-fi film, a group of troopers taking refuge in an abandoned outpost after fighting alien bugs, failing to realize that more danger lays in wait.

Johnny Rico is called back into action to defeat the bugs.

In December 2011, film producerNeal H. Moritz announced plans to produce areboot of theStarship Troopers film franchise.^[10] In November 2016, Columbia and Moritz announced the writing team ofMark Swift andDamian Shannon had been signed to pen the screenplay.^[11] Verhoeven expressed skepticism at the proposed remake, citing reports that it draws heavily from the original militaristic 1959 novel.^[12] In 2025,Neill Blomkamp was announced to write and direct a new adaptation ofStarship Troopers which would be closer to the source material than the Verhoeven film.^[13]

A black op has gone terribly wrong. Now, Captain Carmen Ibanez and a hardcore trooper famed as Major Henry "Hero" Varro must lead a team of battle-weary troopers to find the missing ship and discover what went wrong.

Federation trooper, Johnny Rico's ordered to work with a group of new recruits on a satellite station on Mars, where giant bugs have decided to target their next attack.

Mysterious monstrous alien creatures attack Earth's colonies. This six-part OVA focuses on Juan "Johnnie" Rico who joins the army because of Carmen, a girl he likes, his days in boot camps, his losses and Earth's first counterattack.

The missions of a Mobile Infantry squad as they participate in a war of survival against a ferocious alien insectoid invader.

List indicators

• This table shows the principal characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise.
• A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film or video game, or that the character's presence in the film or video game has not yet been announced.
• A^V indicates a voice only role.

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• Use mdy dates from April 2018