Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is the 2004 direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 feature film Starship Troopers. It had a $7 million budget as opposed to the $105 million of the original. Even though the film was released direct to video in the United States, it had a theatrical release in Japan and Spain. It has almost no relationship to the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein; even less than the first Starship Troopers film, which was based on an original screenplay that was revised to co-opt character names and story elements of the Heinlein book. None of the characters from the original film appear in this sequel (except for in recycled footage), although the actress Brenda Strong appears in both films as different characters. The film was directed by Phil Tippett, who is also the founder of Tippett Studio, the visual effects company that created the creature and miniature effects for the original film. Further sequels, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Starship Troopers: Invasion, have since been released.