With smartphones, electric cars, and robots, we’re living in a future that many sci-fi writers imagined. All of that modern technology has inspired even more thoughtful, provocative sci-fi. Now more mainstream than ever, sci-fi films boast huge budgets, mind-blowing special effects, and often deeply disturbing themes. Netflix has a movie for every sci-fi fan, but there’s a lot to choose from. So, to narrow down your options, we’ve rounded up the best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now.
In need of a few more suggestions? We’ve curated a guide to the best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video and the best sci-fi movies on Hulu, too.
124m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery
Stars
Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko
Directed by
Joseph Kosinski
After decades of war with an extraterrestrial race known as the Scavs, Earth has been evacuated. However, it’s not bereft of resources, and leaders have left behind a vast operation to extract vital resources from the planet to contribute to the future of humanity. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last drone repairmen stationed on Earth, and his mission is nearly done. But when Julia (Olga Kurylenko) crashes to Earth in a spacecraft, Jack rescues her, triggering a chain of events that challenges everything he thought he knew about his mission and the fate of humanity.
127m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Stars
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy
Directed by
J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek introduces a new generation to a classic sci-fi franchise (and crew). James Kirk (Chris Pine) is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy recruited to Starfleet Academy by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). There, he quickly sparks up a rivalry with Spock (Zachary Quinto), a Vulcan raised in a logic-based society that rejects emotion. But when the Federation comes under attack, the rivals are forced into early conscription. Now, they must find common ground to command the maiden voyage of the most advanced starship ever created, the U.S.S. Enterprise.
109m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley
Directed by
Neill Blomkamp
It’s the year 2154, and Earth is grossly overpopulated and polluted. The very wealthy have separated themselves from the planet, inhabiting a pristine space station called Elysium. When a hacker named Spider (Wagner Moura) is caught smuggling people to Elysium to use their panacea Med-Bays, several of his spacecraft are shot down by ambitious Defense Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster). Furious at being reprimanded, Delacourt plots with Armadyne Corp CEO John Carlyle (William Fichtner) to stage a coup, offering him defense contracts for life in exchange for a program that will help install her as President. But Spider wants that information, and to get it, he offers to give a radiation-exposed Armadyne Corp laborer, Max (Matt Damon), a ride to Elysium as long as Max steals the program.
105m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Stars
Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Directed by
Daniel Espinosa
Let’s be clear, Morbius is not very good, but it was a blockbuster movie with implications for Sony and Marvel’s shared Spider-Man universe. So, it makes the list. Jared Leto plays Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant biochemist and hematologist who is ironically being killed by a blood disorder that he just can’t crack. Desperate to find a cure so that others may avoid the same fate, Morbius tests an illegal, dangerous serum on himself. While the cure works, it comes at the cost of unleashing a darkness within him that slowly turns him into a vampire. As Morbius tries to manage his increasingly violent urges, his best friend and benefactor, Milo (Matt Smith), suffers from the same disorder. That’s why Milo plots to wrest the cure from Morbius, whom he believes is selfishly keeping it for himself.
137m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama
Stars
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Tarn
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick’s classic examines the logical extremes of a society consumed by and constantly exposed to violence. In a near-future Britain, Alexander DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) leads a group of unemployed brigands who spend their days assaulting literally anyone they please and enjoying the melodies of Beethoven. But the state is eager to crack down on crime, so when they capture Alex, he’s subjected to an invasive procedure that aims to rob him of his agency and recondition all of his violent tendencies.
100m
Genre
Horror, Action, Science Fiction
Stars
Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius
Directed by
Paul W. S. Anderson
Based on the extremely successful horror video game franchise, the original Resident Evil was more of a hit with fans than critics. And what a hit it was, because 20 years later, they’re still making movies and even a Netflix original series based on the franchise. The story begins in a top-secret government research facility, where a virus breaks out, turning all of the resident researchers into zombies and the lab animals into mutated hellhounds. To contain the outbreak, the government sends in an elite task force led by Rain (Michelle Rodriguez), who soon discovers Alice (Milla Jovovich) suffering from a form of amnesia. But before Alice can determine who she was before the incident, she learns that the pathogen will become airborne and infect the world in three hours unless she manages to stop it.
116m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action
Stars
Aaron Eckhart, Ramón Rodríguez, Will Rothhaar
Directed by
Jonathan Liebesman
Sometimes, you just want a big old alien invasion movie. And Battle: Los Angeles delivers. In 2011, Earth is attacked by an unknown extraterrestrial force, felling the world’s great cities with devastating efficiency. Los Angeles is one of the few cities that remains standing, setting up a critical battle for the future of mankind. Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon become the focal point of Earth’s defense against a horrifying enemy.
98m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
Stars
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
Directed by
Barry Sonnenfeld
One of the most popular sci-fi movies of the ’90s, Men In Black combined a heady idea about aliens already living normally on Earth with some great special effects and the shockingly charming odd couple of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. In the first film in the franchise, Agent K (Jones) is a veteran of Men In Black, a government agency tasked with managing the alien population on Earth. For all intents and purposes, this agency doesn’t exist. So when K recruits James Edwards (Smith) to the agency, James is justifiably skeptical. Unfortunately, there’s not much time for the newly christened Agent J to get acclimated and learn the ropes because an invasive alien has already surreptitiously landed on the planet. And if Earth falls, the alien threat may destroy the galaxy itself.
106m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Stars
Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo
Directed by
Shawn Levy
After a decade in development hell, with Tom Cruise attached to star at one point, Netflix finally saved the day and brought The Adam Project to life. Our story follows Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), a fighter pilot living in a dystopian 2050. While manning a time jet to rescue his wife, Adam’s craft plummets into 2022, where the adult Adam is forced to take up arms with his younger self (Walker Scobell) in order to save the world from the tyrannic clutches of Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), the wretched ruler of the future. At this point, we’ve seen Ryan Reynolds do it all, especially when it comes to action. While there’s plenty of the actor’s familiar chops on display, the sci-fi backbone of The Adam Project gives Reynolds a fun sandbox to show off in. And he delivers a performance that is a few notches above what we’d normally expect to see.
117m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller, Adventure
Stars
Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim
Directed by
Joe Penna
Stowaway is a sci-fi film that explores just how far human beings are willing to go to protect one another, breathing new meaning into words like “sacrifice” and “preservation.” Following the crew (played by Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, and Daniel Dae Kim) of a Mars-bound spacecraft, the trio of planetary researchers discovers an accidental fourth passenger named Michael (Shamier Anderson) trapped aboard the vessel. Literally entangled in a carbon dioxide purifier, the dislocated launch engineer inadvertently destroys the device, robbing everyone aboard of precious oxygen. As the clock starts ticking on how much air is left to breathe, the crew is forced to consider some perilous and tragic choices in order to arrive on Mars safely. There’s nothing like the absence of familiar Earth to raise the stakes in any live-or-die situation, and Stowaway handles this familiar sci-fi formula with an impactful narrative.
101m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller, Horror
Stars
Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton
Directed by
Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson
Synchronic stars Anthony Mackie and Steve Dornan as New Orleans paramedics Steve and Dennis. When a series of deaths are linked to an experimental new drug called Synchronic, the emergency responders are forced to follow the trail of the elusive chemical when Dennis’ daughter vanishes. Her disappearance may have more to do with the mind-altering substance and inter-dimensional time travel than either medical technician could ever expect. With the look and feel of a raw ’70s film, Synchronic successfully balances its sci-fi horror leanings, delivering thrill after thrill as the plot compounds and time begins to fold.
Digital Trends streaming roundup
114m
Genre
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction, Action
Stars
Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
Directed by
Michael Rianda
Want to get the kids into sci-fi? This techpocalyptic animated thrill ride from Lord/Miller (The Lego Movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story) ought to do the trick. Teenager Katie Mitchell has trouble connecting with her oddball family, especially when it comes to her father, who just could not be more different than Katie. But when he fears he might lose her forever when she leaves for film school, Katie’s father cancels her plane ticket to LA and takes the family on a road trip instead. Unfortunately, mid-trip, a scorned artificial intelligence (A.I.) called Pal incites a robotic rebellion, rounding up all the people of the Earth to send them out to space. Narrowly escaping capture, the Mitchells are now the last free humans on Earth, and with the help of a couple of damaged robots, they must find a way to save humanity — and their family.
121m
Genre
Horror, Thriller, Action
Stars
Peri Baumeister, Carl Anton Koch, Kais Setti
Directed by
Peter Thorwarth
What’s the last kind of plane you want to hijack? Well, relatively high on the list is a plane on which a vampire is a passenger. Yet that’s exactly what happens in Blood Red Sky, which Deadline reports is on track to becoming the most successful German-made Netflix film ever, with over 50 million views globally. In this fast-paced fusion of horror, sci-fi, and action, Peri Baumeister plays Nadja, a newly transformed vampire traveling incognito. Once the hijackers shoot her and leave her for dead, we learn exactly what she is, and soon, the villains wish they hijacked a plane with Wesley Snipes as a passenger instead.
101m
Genre
Horror, Drama, Fantasy
Stars
Suliane Brahim, Sofian Khammes, Marie Narbonne
Directed by
Just Philippot
Bugs. They’re smaller than us, but few things freak us out more. Director Just Philippot capitalizes on our innate fear of things that crawl and hop in his 2020 horror film The Swarm. Suliane Brahim stars as the widow Virginie, who’s trying and failing to keep her family afloat by raising locusts. When she learns the insects have developed a taste for human blood, it opens the door for her to finally make money off the things while at the same time making them more dangerous. When the inevitable comes, as Richard Brody writes for The New Yorker, the film does for grasshoppers “what Alfred Hitchcock did for birds.”
148m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Horror, Crime
Stars
Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick
Directed by
Zack Snyder
What do you do when there’s a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas? Well, obviously, you take advantage of the situation and rob one of the city’s most successful casinos. At least that’s what Dave Bautista’s Scott Ward and his squad of mercenaries do in the zombie heist flick Army of the Dead. Judging by the previews for the film, Ward and his squad of mercs will need all the firepower they have and more. Unlike the shambling horrors populating your average zombie story, the undead of Vegas (sounds like a band name) not only count Elvis Presley impersonators, Vegas showgirls, and Bengal tigers among their ranks, but they’re fast, smart, and a lot more organized.
100m
Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller, Drama
Stars
Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi
Directed by
Alexandre Aja
Waking up with no memory of your identity would be pretty bad, right? Imagine that, on top of amnesia, you’re also inexplicably trapped in a cryogenic pod that’s slowly running out of air. That’s the premise for the French language sci-fi drama Oxygen. Mélanie Laurent plays the imprisoned protagonist who has nothing but her buried memories and the pod’s uncooperative computers to piece together who she is and how to survive. Oxygen looks to be a claustrophobic and gripping thriller, and it will be available for streaming beginning Wednesday, May 12.
109m
Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller, Action
Stars
James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Gonzalo Menendez
Directed by
Nic Mathieu
If you’re in the mood for good ol’ fashioned alien warfare, you’ll love Spectral. This early Netflix original shows just how creative the studio could get with a slim budget despite significant action demands. An extraterrestrial force begins to wreak havoc on a war-torn European city, forcing local engineers to team up with American Special Ops to stop the invasion.
118m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama
Stars
George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo
Directed by
George Clooney
George Clooney directs and stars in The Midnight Sky. With humanity on the brink of extinction, scientist Augustine Lofthouse (George Clooney) refuses to vacate his Arctic laboratory when radiation levels on Earth grow to dangerous levels. Instead, he chooses to use his lab’s computer system to search for orbiting ships deployed on missions. Intending to warn the distant crew of Aether of Earth’s impending doom, Lofthouse discovers a young girl in the lab. The two band together to brave the Arctic elements on a journey to a north-bound radio tower that will be powerful enough to send a warning signal to Aether. An effects-laced sci-fi thriller, The Midnight Sky looks and feels like similar brink-of-the-apocalypse films but with extra weight placed on the performances — notably, Clooney. It’s not a perfect film, but it more than does its job.
116m
Genre
Thriller, Action, Science Fiction
Stars
Anthony Mackie, Damson Idris, Enzo Cilenti
Directed by
Mikael Håfström
In 2036, a Russian civil war has the U.S. providing wartime support to the nation. The military now fights alongside “Gumps,” robot soldiers that occupy every branch. As punishment for disobeying squad commands, Harp (Anthony Mackie), a drone pilot, is sent to Ukraine to fight alongside Leo (Damson Idris), an android super-soldier. Together, the duo is forced to take on Victor Koval, a terrorist determined to use Cold War missiles for combat. Led by two great lead performances and a medley of sci-fi action that’ll keep you glued to your seat, Outside the Wire delivers the thrills from start to finish.
102m
Genre
Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Stars
Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Robert Redford
Directed by
Charlie McDowell
In a reimagined modern era, proof of the afterlife is amongst us, thanks to the research of scientist Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford). With the news hitting the world by storm, suicide rates climb exponentially as people opt to begin life anew as opposed to remaining in troubling situations. Harbor’s son, Will (Jason Segel), questions his father’s studies. Meeting Isla (Rooney Mara) on a ferry, the two discuss mortality and eventually begin a relationship. When Will takes Isla to his father’s hidden compound, the nature of his father’s work comes to light in ways neither father, son, or Isla could ever expect. A wonder-filled, philosophical film, The Discovery features an intriguing story and stellar performances, especially from Segel and Redford.
Genre
Science Fiction, Action, Drama
Cast
Qu Chuxiao, Li Guangjie, Zhao Jinmai
The Wandering Earth may be the biggest film that you’ve never heard of, but it was a huge blockbuster in China. The movie takes place in the future, as the expanding sun forces humanity to literally move the Earth to another solar system. This requires Captain Wang Lei (Li Guangjie) to leave behind his son, Liu Qi (Qu Chuxiao), as his mission in space keeps him away for several years. However, both father and son will have major roles to play in order to ensure that the Earth survives its perilous journey.
Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller, Drama, Romance, Mystery
Cast
Adriana Ugarte, Chino Darín, Javier Gutiérrez
Don’t be afraid to read subtitles when watching Mirage. This Spanish sci-fi film has a story that is universal no matter which language is used. Adriana Ugarte stars as Vera Roy, a woman who inadvertently discovers a way to communicate with a teenager named Nico Lasarte (Joel Illescas) 25 years in the past. After helping Nico prevent his own accidental death, Vera discovers that her own world and timeline have greatly changed. Vera’s daughter no longer exists, and her husband, David (Álvaro Morte), is married to someone else. Subsequently, Vera desperately searches for a way to regain what she lost.
Genre
Science Fiction, Mystery, Drama, Thriller, TV Movie
Cast
Fionn Whitehead, Will Poulter, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe, Asim Chaudhry
There’s nothing else on Netflix exactly like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. This spinoff from the British sci-fi anthology series is an interactive movie that allows players/viewers to control the fate of Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead). In 1984, Stefan is a young programmer who gets the chance to adapt a “choose your own adventure” book into a video game. However, art imitates life, and Stefan is soon faced with questions about his own free will. It’s not possible to see every bit of footage from Bandersnatch in one continuous viewing. That’s why it invites repeat viewings by letting alternate choices unlock new story paths. This may not be the future of all movies, but it is a subgenre worth exploring.
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama
Cast
Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams
Advantageous is not a flashy sci-fi movie, but it is thought-provoking. In the near future, a single mother named Gwen Koh (Jacqueline Kim) loses her job and her financial security. Desperate to provide for her daughter, Jules (Samantha Kim), Gwen volunteers for a radical experiment to transfer her mind to a younger body. However, Gwen 2.0 (Freya Adams) is a very different woman from the original model, much to the horror of Jules and even Gwen herself.
113m
Genre
Action, Crime, Science Fiction
Stars
Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Directed by
Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Superheroes aren’t real, but their powers are. That’s the premise behind Project Power, a film that presents a near-future world in which superhuman powers can be granted to almost anyone via a special pill called Power. For five minutes, users of Power have abilities uniquely tied to them. New Orleans police detective Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) openly uses Power, even against regulations. In his search for the source of Power, Frank comes across Art (Jamie Foxx), a man who may have unexpected connections to the development of the drug. This is a cautionary tale, and a fresh take on a very familiar genre.
124m
Genre
Thriller, Drama, Science Fiction
Stars
Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver
Directed by
Susanne Bier
It’s understandable if you get some Quiet Place vibes from Bird Box. Both are sci-fi horror movies that deal with monsters that directly connect with human senses. In this flick, the creatures can make anyone who sees them become insane with suicidal urges. Hence the constant blindfolds to keep the entities out. Sandra Bullock plays Malorie Hayes, a woman struggling to survive in this horrific new world, while flashbacks explore how she dealt with the end of life as she knew it. Not all of the moments land, but Bird Box has its share of real scares.
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure, Crime, Action
Cast
Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow, Astro
Many sci-fi films have something important to say about the present, and See You Yesterday has a premise that seems all too timely. The story follows C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith), a revolutionary genius even as a teenager. C.J. has come up with actual working time machines, and she has a very personal reason to use them. Her brother, Calvin Walker (Brian “Stro” Bradley), has been killed during an encounter with the police. To save Calvin, C.J. and her friend Sebastian (Danté Crichlow) try to change the past. Needless to say, complications ensue.
105m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Adventure, Horror
Stars
Frank Grillo, Bojana Novaković, Iko Uwais
Directed by
Liam O'Donnell
The long-delayed follow-up to 2010’s Skyline is one of the rare instances where the sequel is vastly superior to the original. This unapologetically pulpy, alien invasion B-movie shows what happens when civilians are left to defend themselves against a superior species of aliens. Frank Grillo stars as a cop at odds with his son when the aliens strike. Suddenly sent running for their lives, the father-son duo move at a breakneck pace, traversing through subterranean tunnels to the nuclear wasteland of Los Angeles to an alien ship to a rebel human base in Laos to mount a final defense. Beyond Skyline is absolutely nutty, but if you like big action, ludicrous sci-fi tropes, and good ol’ fashioned human versus alien violence, this one’s for you.
Genre
Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction, Action
Cast
Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Seo-hyun Ahn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Devon Bostick, Lily Collins, Steven Yuen
Bong Joon-ho earned Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for Parasite, but he was making remarkable movies well before that recognition (Okja isn’t his only entry on this list). Okja is one of his most polemical films, taking on the meat industry and capitalism at large in this touching sci-fi drama for Netflix. The story follows Mija, a young girl who has grown up in the mountains of South Korea with a fictional super-pig best friend named Okja. But when the multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation kidnaps Okja and transports her to New York to launch an entirely new meat industry, it’s up to Mija to save her best friend. A caustic satire of the greed and grotesqueness of American food processing, Okja pokes fun at everyone from self-obsessed CEOs to bumbling, naive activists in a sci-fi romp that hits close to home.
105m
Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Stars
Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace Park
Directed by
Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
One of the most highly regarded sci-fi films of the past few years, Freaks follows a 7-year-old girl named Chloe who has spent her entire life completely isolated from the world inside her home with her father, Henry (Emile Hirsch). Henry has told Chloe that the outside world is a terrifying, dangerous place but as she gets older, Chloe becomes too curious to not venture out into the world. This character-driven movie is dripping in tension and mystery, which slowly becomes revealed as Chloe discovers more about the world in which she inhabits. It’s a master class in how to make high-quality sci-fi on a limited budget.
114m
Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Clara Rugaard, Hilary Swank, Rose Byrne
Directed by
Grant Sputore
Director Grant Sputore turned a lot of heads with I Am Mother, a superbly made and terrifically acted sci-fi thriller. In the far future, humanity is seemingly extinct. An android called Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) fulfills its primary function by attempting to revive humanity. But first, Mother raises Daughter (Clara Rugaard) for practice and teaches her how to survive in this inhospitable world. However, Daughter’s reality is shattered when she encounters a woman (Hilary Swank) from the outside, who happens to be the first human that Daughter has ever met. And once the newcomer is inside of the bunker, I Am Mother takes a decidedly sinister turn. The truth will come out, but will anyone survive to see it?
Related topics: Netflix | Hulu | Amazon Prime | more streaming services
Editors' Recommendations
- The 112 best movies on HBO Max right now (November 2022)
- The best movies on Disney+ right now (November 2022)
- The 84 best movies on Hulu right now (November 2022)
- The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (November 2022)
- The best shows on Netflix right now (November 2022)
