Few things charge my battery like original science-fiction cinema. Rare these days are stories of ambitious, high-concept, big-budget original sci-fi films. Though last year saw two that struck this chord in me, Pacific Rim and Elysium-both of which were underwhelming-original sci-fi in cinema remains too rare.

Both Pacific Rim and Elysium failed at the box-office, part of a summer trend for 2013. That should be a concern for fans of sci-fi cinema. If you care about science-fiction, especially original sci-fi, it’s important to get out and see those movies that make it to the theater. It’s not difficult to see a future devoid of original sci-fi films.

And it’s not hard to see why. Franchise is the order of the day in Hollywood. Adaptation of comics and YA novels, along with re-boots and TV adaptaions, all provide a built-in audience. I love Marvel, and Star Wars, and Star Trek, and Bourne and Hunger Games and Harry Potter. But they are a threat to original sci-fi.

Original stories, especially original science-fiction stories, live or die on the recommendations of the audience. Which naturally makes producers wary. If asked to choose between a guaranteed hit with another Iron Man or Thor, or risk a $100 Million on an unknown quantity, the suits aren’t going to hesitate. With the bar for success today-given the ever-expanding costs of production-being so high, uncertainty will always cloud unknown quantities.

The latest film to seek success in original sci-fi is Jupiter Ascending, by Andy and Lana Wachowski.

The Wachowski’s made essentially the standard-bearer of original science-fiction cinema in the new millennium, The Matrix. It was a creative story built into the history of sci-fi while always building something new. And it was stunning experience to watch, even if the story suffered as the series progressed. The Matrix was massively successful, grossing over $2 billion for the series. But since then, the Siblings Wachowski have struggled to find success. Speed Racer cost $120 Million and grossed $44. And Cloud Atlas, co-directed with Tom Tywker, cost over $100 Million and grossed only $27.

While both films were underrated by movie-going audience, neither will go down as lasting imprints in the annals of sci-fi cinema. Also worth noting: neither was an original story. I remain encouraged that the Wachowski’s continue to find the money and freedom to produce the kind of science-fiction that too rarely makes it to the screen, and am hopeful more film-makers are given the chance to tell original science-fiction stories.

Because nothing compares to that feeling of seeing something without precedent. This is one of the primary-and most exciting-functions of science-fiction: the chance of being confronted with something you’ve simply never seen, never even conceived of, before. A wholly new story in a new vision of the world. It’s why audiences get primed, months, sometimes years, ahead of a film: the anticipation of seeing something that actually might alter the sci-fi landscape. Even if the film eventually disappoints, the possibility is exciting.

To that note, here’s the first trailer for the Wachowski’s new film, Jupiter Ascending.

I remember watching Cloud Atlas and thinking that I’d rather be watching an entire film set in Neo-Seoul. Well.