While Robert Heinlein’s original 1959 novel is a wildly influential (and wildly controversial) foundational text for contemporary science fiction, it’s impossible to think of Starship Troopers and not think about Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 satirical classic. Even though it was a commercial disappointment and was misrepresented at the time as endorsing the very fascism it was meant to be critiquing, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a beloved cult classic and one of the director’s most urgent and prescient films, rivaled only by the original Robocop. The movie was responsible for two live-action sequels, two animated films, and a host of video games, both inspired by the series and directly set in the universe, including the upcoming retro-shooter Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War.
In an interview with Inverse, Anthony O’Neill and Jack Chapman — the producer and level designer, respectively — discussed what it was like trying to make a game that fit within the legacy of Starship Troopers, and making something that honored the world crafted by the cinematic depiction. “I’ve always been a massive fan of Starship Troopers,” O’Neill explains. “It was one of those films that I was definitely too young to watch, but I took gleeful joy in going to my friend’s house with more relaxed parents and watching it without my parents’ permission. It’s always had a bit of a soft spot in my heart.”
