Fan Casting

In the 23rd century, while colonizing new planets, humans have encountered a hostile non-technological insectoid species known as Arachnids or "Bugs". In the Federation, citizenship is a privilege, earned by performing such activities as military service, which grants individuals opportunities prohibited to basic civilians. John "Johnny" Rico, his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez, and best friend Carl Jenkins attend high school in Buenos Aires. Fellow student Isabelle "Dizzy" Flores is in love with Rico. They all enlist in the Federal Service after graduation, despite Rico's parents' disapproval of military service. Carmen becomes a spaceship pilot, while psychically gifted Carl joins Military Intelligence. Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry and is surprised to find Dizzy has deliberately transferred to his squad. In Mobile Infantry basic training, Career Sgt. Zim trains the recruits. Rico is later promoted to squad leader and befriends Ace Levy. He later receives a Dear John letter from Carmen, as she desires a career with the fleet and now serves under Rico's high-school sports rival, Zander Barcalow. Following a live-fire training incident that kills one of Rico's squad members and causes another to quit out of guilt, Rico is demoted and flogged. He resigns and calls his parents to ask them if he can return home, but the call is cut off when an asteroid, reported to be launched by the Arachnids, obliterates Buenos Aires, killing them and millions of others. Rico rescinds his resignation. An invasion force is deployed to Klendathu, the Arachnids' home planet, but the operation is a total disaster. Rico is severely wounded in the leg and mistakenly reported killed in action. After recovering, he, Ace and Dizzy are reassigned to the "Roughnecks", an elite unit commanded by Lt. Jean Rasczak, Rico's former high-school teacher. He quickly gains the respect of his peers and is promoted to the rank of Corporal after taking out a tanker bug. His relationship with Dizzy continues to grow, and they have sex during their night on Tango Urilla. The Roughnecks respond to a distress call from Planet "P", where they reconnoitre an outpost that has been devastated by Bugs. They soon realise that the distress call is a trap, and the Arachnids swarm the outpost. Rico, now an acting sergeant, euthanizes a mortally wounded Rasczak after a buried Bug bites off his legs. After a Bug stabs Dizzy in the torso, she dies in Rico's arms as they are rescued by Carmen and Zander. Rico and Carmen encounter Carl, now a high-ranking intelligence officer, at Dizzy's funeral. Carl reveals that there is reason to believe an intelligent "brain bug" is directing the other Bugs and has been learning how to fight humans. He field-promotes Rico to lieutenant and gives him command of the Roughnecks, ordering the Mobile Infantry units under his control to return to "P" in an attempt to capture the brain bug. The Fleet encounters unexpectedly heavy fire from the Bugs, and Carmen's ship is destroyed. Carmen and Zander's escape pod crashes into a Bug tunnel system near Rico. They are surrounded by Bugs, and a brain bug uses its proboscis to pierce Zander's skull and eat his brain. As it is about to do the same to Carmen, she cuts off its proboscis with a knife. Rico, Watkins and Ace arrive and threaten the Bugs with a small nuclear bomb, which the brain bug recognizes. They flee, while the brain bug makes its escape. Arachnids pursue them, and Watkins, mortally wounded, sacrifices himself by detonating the bomb to enable the others to escape. After returning to the surface, they find that former Sergeant Zim, who had requested a demotion to private so that he could serve at the front, has captured the brain bug. Carl tells Rico and Carmen that the humans will soon be victorious, now that Military Intelligence can study the brain bug. Carl mentally scans the Bug and reveals it is afraid, to the cheers of the troops. A propaganda clip shows Carmen, Ace, and Rico as model servicemen, encouraging viewers to enlist in the armed forces.