Definition of space opera
: a futuristic melodramatic fantasy involving space travelers and extraterrestrial beings
Examples of space opera in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Rather than go full maximal space opera like his predecessor Michael Bay, director Travis Knight opts for a movie rooted in humor and 80s nostalgia.
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Marcus Jones, EW.com, "The best movies on Amazon Prime right now," 30 June 2020 Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back Cinespia presents outdoor screenings of George Lucas’ blockbuster 1977 space opera and its 1980 sequel; with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones.
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Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "SoCal movie events & revivals, July 7-14: ‘Double Indemnity,’ ‘Star Wars’ and more," 7 July 2019 Casting the right actors is one thing, but in a space opera like Star Wars, getting a creature to resonate on-screen can be a far more complex undertaking, requiring the brilliance of so many veteran hands.
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Michael Cavna, Washington Post, "The secrets to creating an irresistible Star Wars creature, from Chewie to Baby Yoda," 19 Dec. 2019 On the set of the space opera, the cast truly bonded, forming a special on and offscreen dynamic similar to that of the Star Wars OGs (Harrison Ford, Mark Hamil, and the late Carrie Fisher).
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Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "Sebastian Stan Joins Oscar Isaac & John Boyega In Subtly Calling Out Disney," 31 Jan. 2020 Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet This sci-fi romance is a blazingly bright space opera, streaking across the metaphorical sky of its pages with the fizzy effervescence of a firework show.
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Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, "The 10 best romance novels of 2019," 23 Dec. 2019 How, then, to take the space opera genre and the comic book format to make new ideas become real?
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Christian Holub, EW.com, "The best comics of the decade," 21 Nov. 2019 The trailer plays up the space opera/spaghetti Western crossover vibe.
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Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "A lone gunman roams a galaxy in chaos in first trailer for The Mandalorian," 24 Aug. 2019 Part mystery, part political thriller, part classic space opera, The Expanse has earned almost nothing but praise from critics and its devoted fans alike, not just for its gripping storytelling, but also for its excellent use of accurate physics.
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Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Rocinante crew ventures into worlds beyond the Ring in The Expanse S4 trailer," 18 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'space opera.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for space opera
The first known use of space opera was in 1941
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