Sci-fi is easily one of the most creative and innovative genres in film, but with sci-fi epics, everything is taken up to another level. Sci-fi is a broad genre that covers everything from synthetic superheroes, to aliens in distant space, and time travel. The vast expanse of the genre allows for a lot of creativity, but it doesn't mean that the stories need to be all that complex.

In fact, many sci-fi films are built around one simple concept or idea, and they explore that singular topic in depth. But, when movies to tell the story, then great, but even a single film can be a sci-fi epic when done right.

10 Cloud Atlas

Directed By Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski

Cloud Atlas Movie Poster

Your Rating

Cloud Atlas
Release Date
October 26, 2012
Runtime
172minutes
Director
Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

David Mitchell's novel gets the big screen treatment with Cloud Atlas, a sci-fi action adventure epic that stars several actors as protagonists across multiple storylines. Six tales in all are told as actors play different characters in each one; from a dystopian Korea to a space-faring adventure, one soul is tossed between bodies as they experience several different lives.

For example, the first entry on this list, Cloud Atlas, is a single film with vast open-ended stories contained inside. The film certainly isn't for everyone, but in of an anthology-style sci-fi epic that jumps through alternate concepts and ideas to create one extensive narrative thread, Cloud Atlas does it better than most. Of course, this was likely down to the incredible talent involved both on screen and behind the camera.

Their creativity and ambitious exploration of various concepts meant the film constantly kept the audience engaged

Interestingly, the film was a t collaboration between the Wachowski sisters, the duo that brought The Matrix into the world, David Mitchell, and Tom Tykwer. Their creativity and ambitious exploration of various concepts meant the film constantly kept the audience engaged, and the film was able to explore deeper concepts throughout. Over the nearly three-hour runtime, the film sees one man transform through a kind of modern A Christmas Carol-style fairytale as his soul moves between the past, present and future.

9 Blade Runner

Directed By Ridley Scott

Blade Runner Movie Poster

Your Rating

Blade Runner
Release Date
June 25, 1982
Runtime
117 minutes
Director
Ridley Scott

WHERE TO WATCH

The original Blade Runner is a sci-fi neo-noir film set in 2019 in a dystopian cyber-punk society. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard as a Blade Runner for the LAPD, tasked with hunting rogue replicants, genetically engineered humans designed to tackle tasks that human beings cannot. When four replicants go rogue and begin killing humans, Deckard is forced out of retirement to hunt them down and stop them - but the truth isn't as simple as it seems. Deckard will have to reckon with the philosophical dilemma of what makes someone human.

While Blade Runner has since been adapted into a larger franchise with multiple films and TV shows expanding on the world of Rick Deckard, the first film established a world all on its own. From the spectacular towering buildings, to the exploration of life on the streets, the movie delivers a clear insight to the spectrum of lives in its world. In addition, the film does an incredible job introducing elements that happen across planets, while maintaining a story on Earth alone.

This expansive story creates a rich viewing experience that drops the audience into the middle of an entire world that can easily be imagined stretching beyond the borders of the screen. And by way of upping the sci-fi elements, the entire story revolves around hyperrealistic androids that have advanced to such a level that they are nearly indistinguishable from humans. This masterpiece by Ridley Scott continues to set the bar high for anyone attempting to tell an epic sci-fi story.

8 Planet Of The Apes

Directed By Franklin J. Schaffner

Planet of the Apes (1968)

WHERE TO WATCH

RENT
BUY

However, even earlier than Blade Runner, the 1968 movie, Planet of the Apes was able to present a world that bore some striking similarities to our own, while simultaneously having one significant difference: the dominant species are sentient apes. The film is not as polished as later sci-fi movies, but the practical effects and the clever storytelling more than make up for it. And in one sub-2-hour movie, an entire civilization is unveiled.

This film was creative enough and intriguing enough, that it led to numerous sequels, both shortly after its release, and with contemporary reboots that have brought the franchise back into vogue. But the interesting aspects of the film come from the exploration of the relationship between a more primitive form of man, and the advanced apes who rule the world. The films are nothing short of epic, and continue to paint a vivid picture of an alternate reality.

7 The Terminator

Directed By James Cameron

01422901_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

The Terminator
Release Date
October 26, 1984
Runtime
108 minutes
Director
James Cameron

WHERE TO WATCH

The Terminator, directed by James Cameron and released in 1984, features a cyborg assassin sent back in time to eliminate Sarah Connor, the mother of a future resistance leader. As the relentless machine pursues its mission, a human warrior is sent to protect her and secure humanity's survival.

Speaking of alternate realities, the Terminator franchise, first brought into existence by the incredible James Cameron, did wonders both for sci-fi as a genre in of what was capable, and storytelling in sci-fi movies as the films crafted a dystopian future, from the safety of the contemporary era.

The T-800 robot, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, creates a link between these two periods of time, and makes the story feel so much larger than what is shown on screen. As they recount the horrors of the future, and why they must complete their mission, it's clear that a great deal of consideration and thought went into crafting this story.

The films only continued to grow in of their epic content as the franchise grew, with new robots, new settings, and new missions. However, throughout all the early entries, the urgency and intensity of the mission to save the future was felt. Cameron did a spectacular job crafting a narrative that would be able to grow beyond him, and it likely influenced his own later works as well.

6 2001: A Space Odyssey

Directed By Stanley Kubrick

Your Rating

2001: A Space Odyssey
Release Date
April 3, 1968
Runtime
149 minutes
Director
Stanley Kubrick
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Keir Dullea
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Gary Lockwood

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

2001: A Space Odyssey is one of Stanley Kubrick's most well-known films. A science-fiction epic, the film tells the story of the journey of Discovery One, a spacecraft operated by a group of scientists, astronauts, and a sentient computer, on a mission to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious monolith. Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Kubrick combines sparse dialogue with the heavy use of scoring and ambiguous imagery to create something that eschews conventional filmmaking. 

When exploring the most epic sci-fi stories of all time, it would be impossible to create a list without referencing the masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick, which is 2001: A Space Odyssey. Decades before computers were an everyday device, and in an era when the concept of Artificial Intelligence was a distant and foolish dream, Kubrick looked directly into the future and depicted the most terrifying elements of AI. The movie is stunning, creative, and brilliant, but it also boasts a scale that is difficult to obtain in a single film.

Over the course of the movie, the story can feel claustrophobic, as the pilots of Spacecraft Discovery One are trapped with the HAL 9000. However, as the story develops, and the film dives deeper into psychological elements that go beyond the confines of the story, it quickly becomes so much grander. It's a movie that demands introspection, due to the expansiveness of its own story, and as a result, it continues to define sci-fi epics.

5 Everything Everywhere All At Once

Directed By Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan

Your Rating

Everything Everywhere All at Once
Release Date
March 25, 2022
Runtime
132 minutes
Director
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
  • Headshot Of Jenny Slate In The 2024 Disney Upfront
    Jenny Slate
  • Headshot Of Ke Huy Quan
    Ke Huy Quan

WHERE TO WATCH

In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu). 

One of the most recent entries which is worthy of a title as a sci-fi epic is the incredible Everything Everywhere All At Once. With impressive precision and conciseness, the Daniels, who wrote and directed the film, are able to create an expansive sci-fi tale that spans the multiverse. The film is not only incredibly ambitious in of story, as hinted at by the title, but the visuals throughout and the choreography when it comes to action scenes are outstanding.

Everything Everywhere All at Once won 7 Oscars in 2023, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh).

As a middle-aged Chinese woman becomes swept up in an adventure to save all reality, the film delivers compelling action, heart-thumping thrills, and intrigue that elevates it beyond a typical story. The film also spans several genres, but with the nature of time and space travel through dimensions, it certainly fits the bracket of sci-fi epic, and stands out as one of the greatest modern classics to date.

4 Avatar

Directed By James Cameron

0138014_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

Avatar
Release Date
December 15, 2009
Runtime
162 minutes
Director
James Cameron

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Avatar is a 2009 science fiction film directed by James Cameron. Set in the 22nd century, it follows a paraplegic Marine sent to the moon Pandora on a mission. He becomes conflicted between his orders and defending the indigenous Na'vi civilization.

Returning to James Cameron, as his career continued to see the incredible filmmaker climb to new heights and dominate the box office with some of the only titles that can even compete with the megalithic MCU, his Avatar franchise has become one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Unlike The Terminator franchise, Avatar sees humans travel beyond Earth to far-flung planets in order to mine precious resources. However, there are two camps in of how people believe these materials should be excavated. The more militaristic, corporate side of the operation believes the direct approach to be best as it barrels on and mines for what it needs, regardless of other consequences.

Related
15 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows Of 2024

Sci-fi television has never been stronger, & the best shows of 2024 have made this even clearer with their amazing characters & innovative stories.

1

While scientists believe it's vital to communicate with the locals and earn their trust in order to share resources and not upset the balance of nature. These films explore the heights of human hope and the depths of despair as humans war with one another, and the alien Na'vi offer humanity a lesson in community and respecting their planet.

3 The Matrix

Directed By Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski

01406847_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

The Matrix
Release Date
March 31, 1999
Runtime
136 minutes
Director
Lana Wachowski

WHERE TO WATCH

The Matrix, released in 1999, is set in the 22nd century and follows a computer hacker, Neo, portrayed by Keanu Reeves. He s a group of underground insurgents led by Morpheus to combat the domineering computers that control the earth, in a battle that blurs the lines between reality and illusion.

While Cameron's career has continued to develop and led to even more spectacular works of science fiction, the Wachowski's struck gold early in their careers. The Matrix is arguably one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

The movie has had such an influence on the cultural zeitgeist, that it led to the introduction of numerous words which are now commonplace.

Not only does it depict an in-depth dystopian society, but it also reveals a method of keeping the humans ive in an aptly named Matrix which keeps their minds active and engaged. The movie has had such an influence on the cultural zeitgeist, that it led to the introduction of numerous words which are now commonplace.

The film explores two forms of reality, one experienced inside of one's own mind, but influenced and programmed by machines, and the dark and dreary reality of what the world has become in the real physical space. This layered reality, and the exploration of individuals on both sides of this led to an incredible and intricate story that the Wachowski's may struggle to ever outshine, but the films remain some of the best sci-fi epics of all time.

2 Dune

Directed By Denis Villeneuve

Your Rating

Dune
Release Date
October 22, 2021
Runtime
155 minutes
Director
Denis Villeneuve

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Dune the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Dune is perhaps the most easy film to define as a sci-fi epic on this list, due to the films being adapted from the epic sci-fi novels from Frank Herbert. Not only do the films explore a vast alien world, but they dig deep into the culture of its local inhabitants, their customs and traditions, and the politics that dominate the galaxy as noble houses bicker and allocate dominion of the galaxy on a whim. Everything about these stories is epic.

And Denis Villeueve has been doing a spectacular job of delivering a series of films that feels huge in scale, both in of the story, the wider world and galaxy, and the future of the franchise. Dune has a significant library of source material to draw from to expand the story, but Villenueve has done an incredible job in conveying that expansiveness and depth to the films. And every detail within the films feels important, as the scenes, characters, and dialogue are all used in an incredibly effective manner.

1 Star Wars

Created By George Lucas

Star Wars Franchise Poster
Created by
George Lucas
Cast
Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
TV Show(s)
The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
Movie(s)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
Character(s)
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand iral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.

Topping off the list, however, has to be the original space opera, Star Wars. When the first film, originally just called Star Wars, was released in 1977, these movies created a sense of scale and vastness that was nearly impossible to capture. Thanks to innovations and clever camera tricks from George Lucas and company, the films created a vast tapestry of stories, with governments, factions, religions, and criminals that spanned lightyears of a galaxy as they hop from planet to planet in pursuit of resolution.

Related
Star Wars Movies In Order: How To Watch Release Order, Chronologically & With The TV Shows

What's the best way to watch Star Wars? Here's everything you need to know to watch in release or timeline order, and how to include the TV shows.

7

The original trilogy focused on the story of Luke Skywalker, and it did an incredible job introducing the Jedi, as he was pitted against his arch nemesis, and a leader of the Empire. However, as a true space opera, the movies take Luke on a rollercoaster, as he meets new friends, and uncovers the truth about his father. The movies are epic in every capacity, and while the latest entries in the ever-growing franchise have failed to resonate in the same way, the sci-fi epic sensationalism of the franchise as a whole remains just as significant as when the original films first came out.