Stargate fans were just reminded that Amazon is trying to bring back the series with another writer after passing on Martin Gero's project, and they're pretty upset. The company is making moves to ensure fans can watch a revival of the series with a Prime Video subscription. However, many fans are seemingly wondering why they're abandoning the latest idea.

It was announced earlier this year that Amazon wouldn't move forward on the Stargate series developed by Gero and would look to bring the series back with someone else, some fans just heard about that bit from a recent piece of reporting from Deadline. In an article about, ironically enough, a Robocop TV reboot being picked up by the aforementioned streamer, this was mentioned lower:

As mentioned, this was known information and alluded to in comments by actor Michael Shanks and others, but it seems this additional mention of it is striking a nerve. The Stargate faithful popped up in the comments and talked about how upset they were to hear Martin Gero wouldn't be involved in the series:

• I hope it's not true. I don't want a new writer. I want Martin Gero's Stargate. #SaveStargate - @KStargateFan
• The nerve from Amazon after what they did... There's only right thing, bring back Martin Gero! There's no Stargate without this team. #SaveStargate - @pfabechannel
• Yep they will produce more trash that won’t be watched and then wonder why. How do morons make it to the executive levels?? #SaveStargate - @Geek_Roberts
• Wait who did he piss off? - @pickanything1
• Everybody stop buying from Amazon - @realDavidAllenO

I understand the fans' frustration. Martin Gero has experience rebooting shows and, while his Quantum Leap reboot didn't last long, it was a solid series. Additionally, by the look of it, he had the backing of producers and stars who worked on the series, many of whom now lead the charge to "save" Stargate.

For now, it doesn't seem as though any of these fan-led efforts have had an impact on Amazon's decision. As mentioned, the studio is still looking for someone to take on a revival of Stargate, after passing on the previous pitch. Per the initial news, executives decided the first attempt at a revival only appealed to the die-hard fans of the franchise.

Of course, now, those same diehard fans are campaigning to save that Stargate iteration, which makes me question how effective their efforts will be. Obviously, the appeal of any revival is to try and capture the attention of a pre-existing fandom who will tune in. That said, it seems like that fandom alone was decidedly not enough in Prime Video's eyes, and it wants to try to open the (star) gate a little more to allow a more mainstream audience a chance to jump in.

We'll see if this fan campaign encourages Amazon to reverse course on Stargate, and hopefully, not abandon the idea altogether. I'd love to see any new tentpole sci-fi series on the way, provided it's handled the right way.

Another prominent actor has joined the ongoing effort to get the Stargate revival back on track with its original plan, which Amazon MGM passed on not long ago. As Michael Shanks and producers speak up in defense of Martin Gero's vision for the comeback, Robert Patrick has added his support and spoken to the "rare" gifts he's gotten from his experience.

While he may be known for his Terminator 2 fame or litany of other roles on shows like Tulsa King and Peacemaker, Patrick notably played Colonel Marshall Sumner in the two-part pilot of Stargate: Atlantis before he was killed off. Now, the genre icon is going to bat for the fan movement to persuade Amazon to return to Gero's idea, as fans rally behind the long-in-development project. He wrote a brief statement on X, but it's the word he used twice I'm focused on:

It's nice to see him talk about the "rare" element of Stargate, speaking both to the fandom and the cast. Once again, he was only in two episodes of the series, so it does seem wild that he's still in contact with some of the cast this very day.

I never would've imagined seeing Robert Patrick use the phrase "LFG" in a social media post, but I'm here for it. He's putting the message out to his 179k followers on X that he's behind the #SaveStargate campaign, and maybe that'll bring others to the cause in a truly "rare" way.

The fans have rallied behind this revival based on the insistence from the show's original producers, actors, and creatives that it catered to both dedicated fans and casual audiences. Amazon allegedly disagreed, as reports went out stating decision-makers felt the series would only appeal to the core of the Stargate fandom.

While I can't speak to the Stargate revival's quality or who it would appeal to, I can point to Martin Gero's past revivals. I thought he did a fantastic job with the Quantum Leap revival, but NBC decided to axe that series after just two seasons. I can't imagine the network show's factored into any decisions to pass on the Stargate series, especially given the sci-fi project has been in development for quite a while.

I also have to point out that while the #SaveStargate movement is growing and gaining support, the name is a bit of a misnomer. Amazon is reportedly still planning to bring Stargate back, but it's seeking out a new showrunner and an idea to make it happen. Presumably, the next idea would be more of a reboot of the franchise that provides an entry point for casuals less familiar with the show.

Stargate is facing the same issues that a lot of legacy sci-fi shows are seeing at the moment, as it seems the core fandom is not enough to support these franchises anymore. Either that, or the threshold for a successful series on streaming has risen; the answer isn't exactly clear. What is clear is that there's still an appetite for these shows, but it looks like we're going to need some fresh eyes to keep them going into the future.

We'll see how this fan effort plays out, and if any hearts and minds at Amazon are changed by it. I'm rooting for the Stargate fans, but I just hope that if they get their wish, they show up to watch the series when it premieres.

When Amazon announced a Stargate revival, OG fans were thrilled at the possibility that their favorite characters would be returning. And when the revival was greenlit, that dream finally seemed to be happening. Unfortunately, the streamer has since backtracked on that announcement, stating that the revival would not be moving forward. As disappointed as I was by the news, no one was more so than the cast and writers, especially Joseph Mallozzi. The writer has shared a cheeky bit of trivia about what happened the last time Stargate was cancelled, and how he managed to work in one of the show’s most graphic jokes in revenge.

I was familiar with the scene in which Christopher Judge’s Teal’c attends a female empowerment play. The awkward moment was perfectly captured by the actor, who was known for his comedic timing throughout the series. It was definitely the most graphic moment in SG-1 since the pilot. You can rewatch this scene, along with the entire series, with an Amazon Prime subscription. I also recommend checking out the spin-offs, Atlantis (featuring a pre-Aquaman Jason Momoa) and Universe. Check the scene out in Mallozzi's comment:

Additionally, Joseph Mazzolli took issue with the streamer’s alleged reason for the cancellation. Amazon claims they wanted an idea that appealed to a broader audience and didn't feel this reboot could do that. The cancellation has fans wondering if this is part of a larger issue surrounding major sci-fi franchises, as following in the wake of this is the BBC decision to cancel the traditional Christmas special for the long-running series Doctor Who.

The writer also answers multiple questions in the comments, where he reveals fun trivia, such as the scene featured “paid actors and background.” One fan, jimjim1987, says, “I always wondered how this got in.” Fans waited a long time to get answers about the episode, and Mallozzi is happily spilling the tea. He also teases:

However, Mallozzi doesn’t specify what other gags were in the episode. I recommend fans going back and re-watching to see if they can find them. The Stargate world has held a dedicated fan base since the original film, starring James Spader and Kurt Russell. But some of the most dedicated fans, are the actors themselves, such as Michael Shanks, who took over the role from Spader.

The actor has shared multiple stories over the years about his time on set, including his surprise when Stargate finally got cancelled. He is one of the most vocal, other than fans, about his disappointment over the revival’s cancellation, and Amazon’s claim that the revival would focus too much on existing canon. He was especially up in arms over an Amazon post that asked what TV universe would you spend the summer in, and has been leading the charge for the ‘Save Stargate’ campaign.

One thing is for certain, if Shanks has anything to do with, there is still a possibility that Stargate will live again.

Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks was fed up after it seemed like Amazon's social media account could be trolling fans. As news hit that the streamer passed on the previously in-development Stargate revival and would start fresh with a new idea, Shanks and fans didn't respond kindly to a social media post put online.

It's quite possible some social media person hasn't had a great past couple of days after it posed a seemingly harmless question to @AmazonMGMStudio's 1.9 million followers. Unfortunately, it looks like they didn't get the memo about the current news cycle, and that even though there are plenty of great answers to this question, one certain fandom is only concerned with Stargate's return:

I don't know if the post was made to intentionally antagonize the Stargate fandom and prompt them to engage with it, but that's what happened. Even actor Michael Shanks, who played Dr. Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1, got in on it and quoted the post in his response:

I can see why he'd be surprised, especially as the #SaveStargate campaign gets traction on social media. I feel like someone on Amazon/MGM's team should've seen the response coming, and that the replies would be filled with people bashing them for passing on Martin Gero's Stargate revival that had the blessing of many who were previously involved with the show.

To be clear, Amazon did not announce it was abandoning efforts to bring back Stargate altogether. It was reported, however, that the idea that Gero developed would primarily appeal only to core fans, while Amazon was trying to draw in a broader audience. The studio will continue to search for someone else to tackle Stargate's return to television, but with so many notable past creatives backing Gero's vision, fans are understandably antsy about that effort.

Stargate is the latest sci-fi franchise to face issues on the 2026 TV schedule, as Doctor Who recently announced it's putting the franchise on hiatus, and Star Trek has zero shows in active development. The bottom line seems to be that these major franchises no longer have the core fandom numbers studios want to support a series on its own, which leads many to consider a hard reboot of these franchises altogether.

All this to say, if there are enough Stargate fans out there to get Amazon to reverse course on their decision, now is the time to speak out. It also probably wouldn't hurt to bring a few more people into the fandom as well, and start sharing Stargate with other fans of sci-fi who still have yet to check the series out. With streaming, it's never too late to find a favorite show, even if it is a bit old.

We'll see how this Stargate situation develops, and hopefully, fans of the franchise end up with a conclusion that they want. It doesn't seem like the best idea to directly oppose something the core supporters are directly against, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Stargate fans received some not-so-good news when it was confirmed that Amazon MGM had pulled the plug on the revival that was in the works. Various franchise devotees subsequently took to social media to air their displeasure with the studio’s decision. Joining them was Michael Shanks, the veteran actor known for his role as archaeologist Daniel Jackson on the long-running Stargate SG-1. Shanks isn’t just wallowing in disappointment, though, as he’s also rallying fans who want to make efforts to “Save Stargate.”

Not long after the cancellation of the latest Stargate show became public knowledge, Shanks has been incredibly active on social media, conversing with fans and sharing support for petitions that have been established. Early on, the actor made his position quite clear, as he took to X to directly address those who wanted to see another chapter in the beloved sci-fi franchise. Shanks shared the following message, which apparently lit a fire under more than a few fans:

Overall, it would seem that franchise aficionados are doing just that. Across X, many have been using “#SaveStargate” in an attempt to get Amazon’s attention and convince execs to reverse their decision. The various posts include a number of appeals as well as personal stories from viewers about their experiences with the space travel-centric IP. Take a look down below to see just a handful of the responses that have hit the web:

• A small but vocal minority will think it's the majority because it is so vocal. But when the silent majority awakens and finds its voice. Major change ensues. We are that silent majority. Speak up now! - @RalphsTarot
• [Amazon MGM] I have a job because of Stargate. When I was seeking jobs in publishing, I reached out to Sally Malcolm, who oversaw this series. She allowed me to help copyedit several books & I got a job because of that experience. That’s the Stargate community. - @DarksaberLight
• Amazon really thought they could cancel Stargate and I wouldn't notice? Jokes on them. I’m stepping through the gate to have a very serious (and possibly geeky) word with management. Stand by for mission updates! 🚀✨ - @tea_telly
• I’m absolutely pissed. Stargate is so treasured and so amazing a series. To have top execs gut the revival is tragic. I hope they see the fans are over the the poor handling of this IP. please all let them know that the people aren't happy! - @carbone_nikolas
• I'm a huge Stargate fan and was really looking forward to the new series. Super sad to see it got canceled by Amazon. Make some noise if you want to see it too! - @pitofsuccess

Few concrete details were actually known about the new Stargate show, though it had been confirmed that Martin Gero was to serve as showrunner. Gero was notably a writer on Stargate: Atlantis, SG-1 and Stargate Universe. After the show was initially announced in November 2025, Gero expressed excitement about the project, noting how his career had come “full circle.” The series was said to be a fresh take on the franchise but would still contain elements familiar to longtime fans. Yet, per sources, Amazon was skeptical about just how much appeal the show might have with wider audiences.

On the one hand, Stargate fans are definitely showing up in full force online to advocate for the new show, which more than indicates that there’s still love for the property. Yet, on the other hand, there’s seemingly the question of whether these responses equate to a large pool of viewers or simply a vocal minority. Whether or not this revival gets, well, revived is tough to say, though X user @EverySGAFrame did make a point involving another sci-fi series:

It’s definitely true that The Expanse was saved by Amazon after being canceled at Syfy in great part due to fans’ persistence and earned the last three of its six seasons. Yet it remains to be seen if lightning strikes twice. For now, though, I can certainly see Michael Shanks continuing to keep fan morale up until they’re able to enter the stargate once more. They can also rewatch episodes of Stargate SG-1 using a Prime Video subscription.

When news broke that Amazon moved on from the Stargate project it announced last year, I was only mildly surprised. I was even less surprised when I heard the alleged reason was due to its concept, which was deemed something that could only appeal to dedicated fans and not a wider audience. That's because I think this cancellation points to a larger problem that's seemingly impacting a lot of major sci-fi franchises.

The 2026 TV schedule has been brutal for fans of sci-fi television, as Star Trek has zero shows in active production, Doctor Who will reportedly cancel its Christmas special, and The Mandalorian and Grogu is struggling to fight off being overtaken by a horror movie at the box office. Legacy sci-fi franchises are going through it right now, and there are some common threads between all these situations that I think creatives need to figure out quickly.

Core Fandom Support Is Seemingly Not Enough To Make A Show Successful Anymore

One thing all these franchises have in common is their ties to streaming, and it seems the messaging is clear. While there may once have been a time when a franchise's fandom could support a series on its own, those days are gone. I've theorized that different generations of fans with different beliefs have segmented fandoms and made it difficult to unify what they all want in a series.

A simpler expectation is that older fans are dying, and one Star Trek actor confirmed as much. I guess it makes sense, as some of these franchises reach the 60-year mark and beyond that a few would be lost along the way or simply fall off. Then limiting access to streaming subscriptions feels like it further sections off who can watch, with the bottom line seemingly being that executives aren't keen on relying on the small population of fans who will stream.

Changing A Treasured Franchise Is Not The Key To Success Either

It is frustrating to hear that Amazon allegedly passed on Stargate because it felt too niche and not something that appealed to a wider audience. While I don't know anything about the plot, I do know the person responsible for it, Martin Gero, made the revival of Quantum Leap. That probably landed him the job with Stargate, because he did about as good a job as possible at creating a revival that honored the original show while still being accessible to casuals.

We've also seen plenty of shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Wars: The Mandalorian strive to prove there is a way to walk the tightrope between serving fans and the masses.

However, it sounds to me as though Amazon is seeking someone to take the concept of Stargate and make it something new, and if that's the new corporate playbook for success, I'm worried for the rest of the legacy sci-fi franchises.

We'll see what becomes of Stargate as Amazon reportedly looks for someone else to bring the franchise back to life. As for the rest, we may hear more on Star Trek and Doctor Who when San Diego Comic-Con rolls around, and I'm hoping we'll finally see some good news.

Less than a year after it was announced that Amazon would revive Stargate, Prime Video opted out of moving forward on the project. Amidst the reports that the idea only appealed to the core of the franchise's fans, former Stargate showrunner and consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi disagreed.

As new and returning sci-fi hits the 2026 TV schedule, Amazon is hitting the reset on its search for a Stargate pitch. Execs allegedly want something that, as Variety reported, will appeal to a broad audience. Mallozzi, whose accolades include numerous writing credits across Stargate SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe, pushed back against that narrative over on X:

Mallozi disagrees with the alleged news that the Stargate revival didn't appeal to a broader audience. At this point, it's hard to say since there are no official details about the plot or what it would be about. It's not surprising that a Stargate series would appeal to its core audience, however, as a pre-existing fandom is often the reason why studios like to pursue known IPs rather than new ones.

The consulting producer was a big fan of the Stargate project, and had nothing but kind words to say about its passionate creator, Martin Gero. Here's what he had to say when the news first dropped about the series not moving forward:

As someone who loved what Gero did to revive Quantum Leap without former star Scott Bakula in the fold, I certainly have faith that he found a unique way to make Stargate appeal to a broader audience. Of course, Quantum Leap did get canceled after just two seasons and failed to find the audience to keep it going as long as the original series did.

The good news, for Stargate fans feeling disappointed right now, is that Amazon is still looking for ways to continue the franchise. There is still interest in getting a series available with a Prime subscription in due time, even if we have no idea when that may be.

The bad news is that it seems a prominent writer for the franchise is speaking out against the narrative that the Stargate project wasn't a great entry point for fans. Creatives can always be wrong, but if you were to ask me which would have a better grasp of what Stargate fans may enjoy between an executive and someone who worked on the show during its peak, well, I'm not sure I have to explicitly answer which I would choose.

We'll have to wait and see when the next update on a potential Stargate return will be, and hopefully we'll get that update sooner rather than later. In the meantime, there's plenty of other great stuff to check out on Prime Video, and great sci-fi on the way the rest of this year.

While Stargate fans were treated to the prequel web series Stargate: Origins back in 2018, it’s been well over a decade since the franchise’s last proper TV show, Stargate Universe, concluded its two-season run. But that dry spell is in the process of ending, as it was announced last week that Amazon MGM is developing a Stargate revival series. Martin Gero has been tapped as the showrunner, and as someone who also goes way back with the previous Stargate TV shows, he posted a touching message about what it means to him to being the sci-fi franchise.

These days, Gero is best known for his work spearheading shows like Blindspot and the Quantum Leap revival, but he also spent the earlier years of his career working on Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate Universe in various capacities. Taking to his Instagram, Gero shared a photo of himself 20 years ago, during his first week working on Atlantis of a story editor, standing on Stage 6 at Bridge Studios in Vancouver near the show’s Stargate. He continued:

Yes, just like how Star Trek has a home on Paramount+ and Star Wars can be found on Disney+, fellow sci-fi hit Stagate is setting itself up on one of the best streaming services. So you’ll need to make sure you’re signed up for an Amazon Prime Video subscription to watch the arrival whenever it arrives. Although the franchise began with the 1994 theatrical movie starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, and SG-1 spawned two direct-to-video movie, this is very much a franchise that’s thrived in the TV space.

It’s amazing that all these years after he gained so much experience working on Stargate, Martin Gero gets to lead the charge on bringing Stargate back. “Full circle” is the perfect way to describe it, but he also shared gratitude to the Stargate fans who’ve stayed diligent in championing the franchise. As he put it:

No plot details for the Stargate revival have been revealed yet. However, Martin Gero did confirm that this “bold new chapter” will be set in the same continuity as the previous shows rather than a straightforward reboot. That means the door is open for SG-1, Atlantis and Universe characters to return, though it’s also important that the series hook in newcomers to grow the fanbase.

While it’s unlikely that the new Stargate series will be ready in time to premiere on the 2026 TV schedule, here’s hoping the coming year bring plenty of update on its progress. In the meantime, you’re can stream the older Stargate shows on Prime Video, and the 1994 movie can be found on free platforms like Tubi and Pluto TV.

While Stargate might not be on the same level of popularity as sci-fi staples like Star Wars and Star Trek, there’s no question that it’s had a dedicated fanbase ever since the original movie starring Kurt Russell and James Spader was released in 1994. This mythology centered around the alien wormholes capable of transporting users across the universe instantly would go on to be expanded through various TV shows, web series and TV movies released between 1997 and 2018. Today it’s been announced that Stargate is finally being revived, and I already have one big hope for the project as it starts to take shape.

Amazon MGM Studios, which owns the Stargate franchise, announced today that Martin Gero, the showrunner of series like Blindspot and the short-lived Quantum Leap revival, will fulfill that same duty on a new Stargate show that will exclusively stream with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Gero goes way back with the franchise, having started out as a story editor on Stargate: Atlantis and risen through the ranks from there, and he also served as a consulting producer on Stargate Universe. In a separate Prime Video, uh, video, Gero also confirmed that this new Stargate show will be set in the same continuity as its predecessors, saying:

I’m so glad that this Stargate revival isn’t a traditional reboot akin to the Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy those movies, but it’s not necessary to carve out a new reality in the Stargate franchise. Like Martin Gero said, it should be an easy enough thing to create a new show that can draw in new fans, while also appealing to the people who’ve been enthusiastic about this property for decades, set in the same universe rather than break out a blank slate.

So with that concern out of the way, my new hope is that this new Stargate series brings back Richard Dean Anderson as Jack O’Neill. When Stargate: SG-1 began airing in 1997, Anderson, also known as the lead of the original MacGyer, took over the O’Neill role from Kurt Russell. Anderson starred in SG-1 for its first eight seasons, made guest appearances in the final two seasons and appeared in the second tie-in movie, Stargate: Continuum, as well as appeared in four Stargate: Atlantis episodes and six Stargate Universe episodes. If there’s a face that longtime fans associate with Stargate, I’d argue Anderson is among the top choices, if not in the #1 slot.

Richard Dean Anderson hasn’t acted onscreen since guest starring in an episode of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 back in 2013, but my fingers are crossed that this Stargate revival can lure him back to the TV space. That doesn’t mean he has to be a series regular on the new show. I would be more than happy if he reprised Jack O’Neill in a recurring or guest capacity, with the character still among the top military officials associated with the Stargate program. It would just be nice to have them as this connective thread between the old and new Stargate eras.

We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more news about this Stargate revival, including if Anderson is brought aboard. The revival’s creative team also includes Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell will executive produce alongside Stargate creators Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi, who have been “longtime creative leaders within the Stargate universe,” will serve as consulting producers.

I'm a big fan of Sci Fi movies, and I'm a huge fan of great war movies. Sometimes, those two genres meet. It's not always with spectacular results, if I'm honest, but I still end up looking forward to movies and shows that bring them together. I'm talking about movies like Dune and Starship Troopers, and TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and Silo. This is a list dedicated to movies like that. So grab your gear and let's get into the action.

Dune

There are a lot of things that make Dune one of the best science fiction stories of all time. War is a major theme throughout the whole series and certainly something the recent movies have focused on. The politics of war and various armies across the universe feature heavily.

Ender's Game

Despite a stellar cast, including Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, and Viola Davis, and rich source material from the original novel to draw on, Ender's Game was a critical and box office disappointment, some of which is because of some controversy surrounding the book's author. However, if you're like me and enjoy this kind of movie, about the young trainees in a futuristic army, you will certainly find things to like about the movie.

Avatar

I'll be the first to say that while many love Avatar, I am not among them. That said, it's a movie that definitely belongs on this list. It's about a military mission, though the critiques of the military are a little heavy-handed, and it's one of the biggest box office draws of all time, so whether I like it or not, I'm including it.

Star Trek

This one is a little tricky, as I'm sure fans of Star Trek will be immediately noting in their heads. The United Federation of Planets, and by extension the crew of the USS Enterprise, are primarily a political organization with a mission to promote peace. That said, the ship has a military-like hierarchy, and the crew often finds themselves battling hostile elements in the galaxy. So there are heavy military overtones in every Star Trek series and movie.

Firefly

Like some others on this list, Firefly is a bit of an edge case. While most of the crew of the spaceship Serenity are ex-military, the show itself doesn't have many of the elements of a futuristic army, more a rag-tag crew of space explorers. It's as much a space western in the style of Star Wars as anything else.

Halo

You knew this one had to be here. Halo, based on the video game of the same name, ran for two seasons on Paramount+ and was a moderate success, though it never reached the same popularity as the game it was based on.

Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1, which was a show that was born on the heals of the movie Stargate. It ran for 10 seasons, first on Showtime and later on Syfy.

Aliens

One of the most beloved sci-fi movies of all time, Aliens has some of the coolest military scenes featuring the crew of Marines on the mission with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). One of the most iconic moments in the movie comes when the Marines all wake up from their long trip and Sgt. Apone says. "Another day in the core!"

Battlestar Galactica

The classic sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica is one of the best examples of a futuristic military, even if it's really just a small piece of what its space force used to be. Led by Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos), the military members run the ship, and by default, the last of humankind, in partnership with civilian leadership.

Starship Troopers

Are you doing your part? There may be no more obvious movie to include on this list than the cult favorite Starship Troopers. The recruiting video alone puts it near the top of the list of movies about the military in the future, to say nothing of the political overtones and satire of the rest of the movie.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 And 2

The Hunger Games didn't start with a military of the future as a key component, but it certainly ends with two militaries, both the revolutionaries and the army from The Capitol, in the final two movies of the original franchise. It's a great example of two different kinds of armies, as well.

Pacific Rim

I'm not the biggest fan of Kaiju movies, but I absolutely love Pacific Rim from director Guillermo del Toro. This is a bit of an edge case, because it's not really set in the distant future (the 2013 movie was actually set in 2020), the presence of a great military leader like Marshal Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) means it absolutely demands to be on this list. It's not like we have technology like the Mechas in the movie anyway, so it feels very futuristic.

The Terminator Franshise

Throughout the entire Terminator franchise, even when the movies aren't about the coming war between humans and machines, there are heavy military overtones, to say nothing of when we do see the actual war in some of the latter movies. The fourth movie, Terminator Salvation, is especially militaristic.

Doom

When I first saw 2005's Doom, based on the notorious video game from the '90s, I couldn't help but be reminded of Aliens in the way the futuristic Marines are portrayed as they travel to Mars to assist the UAC scientist after the attack. John "Reaper" Grimm and Sgt. Mahonin (Karl Urban and Dwyane Johnson, respectively) ooze the same kind of energy that Hicks and the other Marines in Aliens have.

Edge Of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow seems to either be revered or ignored by film fans, but include me in the former. It's such a great sci-fi war movie. Led by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the movie, though not set in the distant future, sees humanity's military come together to fight off invading aliens.

Star Wars

Obviously I had to include Star Wars here. Not only do we get to see the military apparatus of the Empire (and its successor) in all ten of the movies thus far released, but we also see the hierarchy of the Rebel Alliance. The scene at the end of the first movie, when Chewie doesn't get the medal that Han and Luke receive, but that he also deserves, is very much a military-looking ceremony as well.

And yeah, I will acknowledge that technically the movies are "a long time ago" and not in the future...but....c'mon.

Stargate

I'm a huge Kurt Russell fan, and while I loved Stargate when I first saw it, I did not expect it to spawn a franchise. Director and writer Roland Emmerich loves to make movies about futuristic armies, and Stargate is a perfect example of when he is at his best. It's a little cheesy, sure, but that's part of the charm of a good Emmerich popcorn flick.

Babylon 5

Set about 250 years in the future, Babylon 5 is one of those classic '90s TV shows that feels like it's adjacent to the Star Trek universe, but in this case, much more directly military-related. The titular space station is filled with both military personnel and civilians, but it was always the military plotlines that grabbed me the most.

Jupiter Ascending

2015's Jupiter Ascending, from writers and directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski, is a wild movie. It's kind of hard to explain, except to say that the protagonist, a soldier played by Channing Tatum, is part man and part...dog... is a great military character from the future.

Soldier

Kurt Russell and director Paul W. S. Anderson teamed up for 1998's Soldier, about a dystopian military project that turns orphans into killers for the military until things get really weird in the future. Yeah, it's a wild movie, and it was written by David Peoples, who also wrote Blade Runner and considered Soldier to be in the same universe. Yikes

Terra Nova

Terra Nova is a show that got canceled way too soon. It was a big-budget show that looked fantastic and told a super interesting story about a dystopian future that led humanity to open up a portal to another Earth. The military in the show, led by Commander Nathaniel Taylor (Stephen Lang) wasn't the focus, but played a huge role. It's just too bad we didn't get to see more, as the show was canceled after just 13 episodes.

Universal Soldier

Roland Emmerich's first big-budget Hollywood movie, Universal Soldier, has a ton of the DNA that the polarizing director would be known for throughout his career. It's a pretty ridiculous, over-the-top movie about soldiers in the future, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as the primary soldiers.

SeaQuest DSV

The simplest way to describe SeaQuest DSV is to say it's Star Trek in a submarine. The cast was led by Jaws star Roy Scheider, and the show ran for three seasons in the mid-90s. It was a fun NBC show, and like Star Trek, it was exactly military, but the organization the sub crew represented was similar to the U.N. and acted in a very militaristic way. Though it took place in 2020, that was 25 years in the future when the show aired.

The Matrix Revolutions

The final Matrix movie in the original trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, is when things really got militaristic. Throughout the whole series, there were always some aspects of a futuristic military, but the series really leans in with what I would consider the weakest movie of the franchise, but still a really fun movie.

Snowpiercer

Imagine living your whole life in the back of an endless train trip as 5th-class "citizens" of the last people on Earth. That's where we find our heroes in Snowpiercer, who are finally forced to take on the train's military when the horrible conditions bring them to a breaking point.

Andromeda

Set hundreds of years in the future, Andromeda was loosely based on work from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, so as you would expect, it feels like his most famous show, but it also feels a little cheap. Like many shows about spaceships, it's not exactly military, but has a militaristic hierarchy..

The Tomorrow War

The Tomorrow War is a little tricky for this list. It's set in 2022, but it tells the story of time-traveling soldiers from the future. So it kinda counts, right? Sure, why not!

Silo

This is another tricky one, but it's such a great show, I had to include it. Common plays the head of security in Silo, and while they aren't strictly a military organization, they operate very much like one. They are also oppressive and scary, as the military is often shown to be in dystopian futures, like the one in Silo. So it works for me.

Farscape

Farscape is another example of a wild show that was born in the '90s. Though it was canceled after four seasons, cutting short the story, it had legions of fans who still love it today. The story was finally wrapped with a three-hour made-for-TV movie in 2007, called Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars.

The Chronicles of Riddick

Though The Chronicles of Riddick is actually a sequel to Pitch Black, it is far more militaristic in its style than the first movie in the series, which was more of a horror flick. Vin Diesel plays a former bounty hunter on the run from a crew of other hunters who operate very much like a military unit.

The Creator

2023's The Creator is a movie that not enough people have seen. Set in a near-ish future (2065), it stars John David Washington as Sergeant Joshua Taylor, who is part of a force helping to shut down all AI, which has turned against humanity. It's a complicated movie, but it looks amazing, and you should see it just for that.

Defiance

Dystopian futures are always a popular way for shows and movies to show what the future of the military looks like, and sometimes those shows feature rag-tag groups of veterans of a past war just trying to survive, as in Defiance. It's another show that didn't seem to get the kind of attention it deserved from the general public when it ran from 2013 to 2015 on Syfy.

These days, Christopher Judge is best known for playing Kratos in the God of War video games, but there’s a select group of science fiction fans who still remember him fondly for playing Teal’c in Stargate: SG-1 (a show that came with filming struggles). The Stargate franchise has been mostly dormant for more than a decade now, with the only major release in that period being the web series Stargate: Origins that was later recut into a movie. However, Judge has been trying to get a Teal’c spinoff going for years now, and he opened up about its Black Panther-like premise, as well as shared why it hasn’t gotten off the ground.

Judge stopped by Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum to talk about his personal and professional lives with the title host. When Rosenbaum asked the actor if he’d consider returning to Stargate if the story was right, Judge said he would “consider it.” He then shared that while he was working on God of War, he and his partner start working on a Stargate SG-1 spinoff series, and the pitch made it through “three different regimes” at MGM. He continued:

For those who need context, Teal’c is a Jaffa, i.e. an genetically modified human who has an abdominal pouch that’s used as an incubator for a larval Goa’uld, an alien parasite that take control of a host’s body and mind once they’re fully matured. While these creatures give the Jaffa abilities like enhanced strength and a longer lifespan, when Stargate SG-1 began, they’d been enslaved to the Goa’uld and also served as their soldiers. These larval Goa’uld were also crucial to a Jaffa’s immune system, and if one was removed, they’d die unless a new larva was implanted, although the drug Tretonin later fixed that problem.

Teal’c defected from his Goa’uld master Apophis at the beginning of Stargate SG-1, and as the series continued, he inspired other Jaffa to rebel against these sinister aliens. By the time the Goa’uld were defeated, the Jaffa were able to finally to forge a society all their own, and that’s what Christopher Judge has been looking to explore in-depth with this Stargate spinoff. The comparison to Black Panther is definitely apt, because as we’ve seen from reading the comics and watching the Marvel movies in order, Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation on Earth, with gadgets and devices that are on par with alien technology. But like Judge pointed out, in this instance, the Jaffa were inheriting the Goa’uld’s technology, so that adds another layer of complexity that would make this an interesting Stargate show to watch.

However, the actor then implied that Amazon buying MGM is the reason his Teal’c-centric spinoff has been stalled, if not outright scrapped. That’s a shame, because that would make a worthy piece of programming to stream with a Prime Video subscription. Hell, I’ll take the Stargate franchise being revived in any form on that platform. Rest assured, we’ll let you know if that happens.

I don’t know about all of you, but I’m loving Terminator: Zero. Though I haven’t finished the 2024 Netflix series, the anime set in the universe of James Cameron’s all-time great sci-fi movie franchise has a great story and wild animation. As I’ve been watching, I can’t help but think about other franchises I would love to see get the anime treatment at some point in the future.

Some of these picks have already been turned into live-action TV shows or animated series, but they have never received a proper anime series that approaches the source material with a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective. I think each of these properties would be well-suited for the medium and a ton of fun to watch.

Alien

With the box office success of Alien: Romulus and FX’s upcoming Alien: Earth live-action series coming in the near future, it’s safe to say the iconic franchise is alive and well. What better way to capitalize on the success of Alien’s resurging popularity than by giving it an anime series set somewhere in the property’s sometimes confusing timeline?

It wouldn’t have to be about Ellen Ripley, though Neil Blomkamp’s awesome sequel idea would be awesome in anime form, and instead could be about new characters living through the pattern of finding a strange organism, having it burst out of someone’s chest, and then trying to escape an almost perfect xenomorph. In an ideal world, there could be multiple seasons with each telling a new story set somewhere deep in space. 

Predator

Though there is reportedly a finished Alien vs. Predator anime series locked up in the Disney vault, according to Bloody Disgusting, there’s a good chance we’ll probably never get to see what the show had in store for us. That said, I would still love to see a series based on at least Predator, as the franchise has shown time and time again that it can work when creative forces are willing to try new things.

With animated anthology series like What If and Tales of Jedi finding audiences, I think a Predator anime set in different historical periods would be cool to see. We could have one season set in feudal Japan, another set during the French Revolution, another deep in the heart of Africa, and so forth. Disney really needs to make this happen.

Mad Max

I understand that Fuiosa: A Mad Max Saga didn’t perform well at the box office and we may never see another movie set in George Miller’s wasteland because of the bomb, but that doesn’t mean the franchise has to be over and done with, right? Well, imagine if Warner Bros. turned its attention to creating an anime series in the vein of Terminator: Zero that tells one of Miller’s unproduced ideas on a smaller (and probably less expensive) scale. 

There was a pretty sweet Mad Max: Fury Road prequel comic series that was released around the same time as the 2015 action flick, and I think that could be a cool series to adapt and fill in some of the gaps between the Mel Gibson-led movies and the more recent additions to the franchise. This four-issue series explored various characters from the wasteland and I would love to see those stories unfold in an animated series that combines elements of anime and Miller’s distinct visual style.

Planet Of The Apes

Planet of the Apes has grown a great deal over the years, going from a popular book to a landmark film to a massive multimedia brand with movies, TV shows, cartoons, and multiple reboots. Because Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has given new life to the franchise, I think now’s a good time to come out with an anime series set somewhere in the franchise’s timeline.

I’m fully aware of the Return to the Planet of the Apes Saturday morning cartoon that aired on NBC back in 1975, but the show only lasted a single season and shouldn’t prevent an anime based on the property from seeing the light of day. The gap between War for the Planet of the Apes and Kingdom is a vast one, so it would be cool if we got to see at least some of what happened in the hundreds of years between the two. 

Stargate

I have fond memories of Stargate as a kid, and I’ll never forget the first time I watched it at a friend’s sleepover the summer between second and third grade. There was just something about the look and tone of Rolan Emmerich’s sci-fi adventure that prevented me from looking away from the screen or thinking about it while I was trying to sleep that night. Thirty years later, I want to see an anime series that either revisits one of the best ‘90s sci-fi movies or at least is set in its universe.

Yeah, there have been a few TV shows (both live-action and animated) based on one of Kurt Russell’s best movies, but I would love a nitty-gritty and incredibly violent series with stylized animation and all that anime flair. Hell, you could even bring back Russell and James Spader to reprise their roles and take us off to another alien world with a culture modeled after a different ancient civilization. 

Men In Black

Remember Men in Black: The Series, the cartoon based on the hit Will Smith movie? If not, make sure to check it out because it’s a ton of fun and further expands upon the lore and characters of the sci-fi action flick. That said, the show has been off the air for nearly 25 years at this point, and I think now would be the perfect time to retool the franchise as an anime.

I mean, Men in Black is one of the best comic book movies not from DC or Marvel, and there’s a lot that could be explored from the short-lived yet influential six-issue run. It would be great to see Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones come back and voice their famous characters, but if they weren’t willing or able to, I still think there’s enough fun to be had in this sandbox. 

Metal Gear Solid

There has been a lot of talk about a Metal Gear Solid movie over the years, but I, for one, have grown tired of waiting for the upcoming video game adaptation to finally come to fruition. However, I do have an idea for how Konami could introduce its iconic tactical espionage action series to a new audience: anime. 

There are unofficial anime series inspired by Hideo Kojima’s landmark action video game, but none of those have ever had the seal of approval from Komani or anyone associated with the franchise. I would be fine with anything set in the world of Metal Gear, be it straight-up adaptations of the games or new stories about Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Les Enfants Terribles, the shadowy government project that cloned Big Boss to super soldiers. Maybe even a proper ending for Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. 

I don’t know if any of these will happen (they should), but there are a lot of great 2024 TV shows we can watch right with a Netflix subscription, like Terminator: Zero.

The final decade of the 20th century gave us some of the most unforgettable cinematic experiences, including some game-changing science fiction spectacles. If you want to go back and revisit some of the best ‘90s sci-fi movies like Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and so much more, then you’ve come to the right place. From some of the best ‘90s movies to sci-fi deep cuts you may have forgotten, there’s a lot to choose from.

Here’s everything you need to know about what we think are some of the best sci-fi movies of all time and how you can go about watching them in a variety of ways, including on some of the best streaming services.

The Faculty (1998) 

A great horror movie that never got a sequel, The Faculty is also one of the most overlooked sci-fi films of the ‘90s. Released on Christmas Day 1998, Robert Rodriguez’s thriller follows a group of high school students (played by Jordana Brewster, Josh Hartnett, and Elijah Wood, among others) as they try to save their school after members of the faculty have been infected by alien brain parasites.

Stream The Faculty on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy The Faculty on Amazon.

Alien 3 (1992) 

Though not the best Alien movie, David Fincher’s 1992 sequel isn’t a terrible one by any means. Set almost immediately after the events of James Cameron’s Aliens, this down-and-dirty sci-fi thriller has more in common with Ridley Scott’s franchise starter when it comes to its tone and approach. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) attempting to escape a prison colony invaded by xenomorphs is quite the experience.

Stream Alien 3 on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Alien 3 on Amazon.

Flatliners (1990)

Released in 1990, Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners has one of the most unique concepts of any sci-fi movie in the ‘90s: what happens when a group of medical students intentionally kill themselves before being brought back to life to document their near-death experiences? With a cast that features Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Bacon, to name a few, the movie sets out to answer that question and explore the ramifications of playing with death.

Rent/Buy Flatliners on Amazon.

The City Of Lost Children (1995)

Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, The City of Lost Children is one of the most terrifying and unsettling sci-fi movies to come out of the ‘90s. Basically, a mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) kidnaps children to steal their dreams after losing the ability to make them on his own. With off-putting cinematography, unnerving performances by its cast, and a general sense of eeriness, there’s a lot to unpack.

Rent/Buy The City of Lost Children on Amazon.

Face/Off (1997)

Featuring one of the craziest Nicolas Cage performances, John Woo’s 1997 sci-fi action flick shows what happens when an FBI agent (played by John Travolta) and terrorist (played by Cage) swap faces. What follows is one of the wildest movies to come out of the decade, which is saying something.

Stream Face/Off on Prime Video.
Rent/Buy Face/Off on Amazon.

The Matrix (1999)

In one fell swoop, the Wachowskis forever changed the action genre and ushered in a new era of sci-fi with their landmark 1999 film, The Matrix. With its unique and engaging story about the last remnants of humanity fighting to free themselves from a computer simulation, along with its inventive action, and loads of philosophical discussions, there are countless reasons The Matrix is so influential 25 years later.

Rent/Buy The Matrix on Amazon.

The Fifth Element (1997)

With its futuristic setting, ridiculous collection of outfits, and characters that are just too good to believe, there’s much to love about The Fifth Element. Luc Besson’s 1997 sci-fi action film follows Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) as he is tasked with saving the world by working with a mysterious woman named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), and it just gets better from there.

Rent/Buy The Fifth Element on Amazon.

12 Monkeys (1996)

Sent decades into the past, James Cole (Bruce Willis) is put up to the task of preventing a devastating plague from being released. In a race against time, the unsuspecting hero encounters all manner of obstacles and crazed characters in Terry Gilliam’s 1996 sci-fi adventure, 12 Monkeys.

Rent/Buy 12 Monkeys on Amazon.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Considered one of the best action movies of all time, James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day took everything that worked about its predecessor and turned it up a few notches. This story of survival, redemption, and making a better world is just as good in 2024 as it was back in 1991.

Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Netflix.
Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Amazon.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, a movie that defined 1993, is one of those massive blockbusters that combines elements of multiple genres to create an unforgettable experience. Sci-fi, action, adventure, comedy, drama, they’re all there in what is -- and forever will be -- the greatest dinosaur movie ever made.

Rent/Buy Jurassic Park on Amazon.

Ghost In The Shell (1995)

The ‘90s saw a golden era of anime, and one of the best examples is Mamoru Oshii’s adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Set in a futuristic 2029, the movie follows Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) as she tracks down a mad scientist who is hacking into the brains of cyborgs before the damage cannot be undone.

Stream Ghost in the Shell on Freevee.
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Rent/Buy Ghost in the Shell on Amazon. 

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Released in 1999, Galaxy Quest finds the perfect balance between homage and parody with its story inspired by shows like Star Trek and the lore and fandom surrounding them. Tired, jaded, and bitter, the stars of a fictional TV show find themselves on a real-life space adventure after an alien civilization mistakes their series for the real thing.

Stream Galaxy Quest on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Galaxy Quest on Amazon.

The Iron Giant (1999)

Though it wasn’t a box office success, The Iron Giant has since become one of the most cherished and beloved sci-fi and animated movies of the ‘90s. Brad Bird’s touching and powerful adventure film follows a young boy as he strikes up an unlikely bond with a massive alien robot, a machine being hunted by the government.

Rent/Buy The Iron Giant on Amazon.

Contact (1997)

With great performances, stellar and inventive visual effects, and a controversial movie ending we’re still debating, Contact had it all. Robert Zemeckis’ 1997 sci-fi thriller stars Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a brilliant scientist who comes in contact with a mysterious alien civilization with technology far eclipsing anything on Earth. But like other great sci-fi films, that’s only part of the story.

Rent/Buy Contact on Amazon.

Stargate (1994)

Scientists and soldiers form an uneasy bond after humans discover a mysterious gateway that can transport them to an alien planet that looks very similar to ancient Egypt in Stargate. But after visiting the magical world, the travelers find themselves trapped by its tyrannical leader.

Stream Stargate on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Stargate on Amazon. 

Dark City (1998)

After waking up alone and confused, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) finds himself on the hook for a series of murders, crimes he has no memory of committing (or not committing). In his attempt to solve the mystery, however, he finds himself falling a little deeper into the madness of it all in Dark City.

Rent/Buy Dark City on Amazon.

Strange Days (1995)

Set in a world in which people become addicted to experiencing recordings of others’ memories and experiences, Strange Days follows Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), a former cop-turned-dealer. When one of the recordings shows a grisly crime, Nero goes back to his old ways to solve the case. 

Buy Strange Days on DVD on Amazon.  

Starship Troopers (1997)

A movie that perfectly blends sci-fi and satire, Starship Troopers is one of the most misunderstood movies of the ‘90s. On one hand, it’s about humanity getting revenge against a civilization of bugs who killed millions of people, while on the other, it’s an exploration of fascism, imperialism, and every other ism in the book.

Rent/Buy Starship Troopers on Amazon.

Men In Black (1997)

After having a chance encounter with an extraterrestrial criminal, Agent J (Will Smith) finds himself as the new partner for Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) as they try to prevent an interstellar war from destroying the universe. Men in Black checks all the boxes when it comes to sci-fi, action, and movie tie-in music videos.

Stream Men in Black on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Men in Black on Amazon.  

Independence Day (1996)

One of Will Smith’s best movies, Independence Day follows humanity’s effort to come together and defeat a malevolent alien force that is determined to wipe out all life on Earth. A massive box office hit, this 1996 blockbuster also features some of the most terrifying movie moments of the ‘90s.

Stream Independence Day on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Independence Day on Amazon.

Total Recall (1990)

After undergoing an experimental virtual reality procedure to visit Mars, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) realizes that his life isn’t what he thought it was. Total Recall, a wild adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name, does a lot of things well, including some key Arnold freakouts.

Stream Total Recall on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Total Recall on Amazon.  

Gattaca (1997)

Upon learning that he wasn’t accepted into a space program because he was deemed “in-valid,” Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) draws up a plan to use the DNA signature of another man (played by Jude Law) to make his dreams come true, in Gattaca.

Stream Gattaca on Max.
Rent/Buy Gattaca on Amazon. 

Fire In The Sky (1993)

Inspired by the alien abduction account told in the book The Walton Experience, Fire in the Sky follows a group of friends who find themselves in the middle of a terrifying situation after one of them is abducted by aliens and the others are accused of killing him. The story only gets stranger from there.

Rent/Buy Fire in the Sky on Amazon.

Mars Attacks! (1996)

With Mars Attacks!, Tim Burton created one of the strangest movies about Las Vegas and one of the goofiest alien movies ever made. There’s just so much going on in this fun throwback to mid-century sci-fi stories, including its bonkers cast.

Rent/Buy Mars Attacks! on Amazon.  

Cube (1998)

Vincenzo Natali gave audiences one of the most unique and terrifying sci-fi experiences of the ‘90s with Cube. This low-budget sci-fi horror film follows a group of random strangers who wake in a series of cube-like rooms with no explanation and no memories of how they got there. Paranoia, claustrophobia, and madness are aplenty in this cult classic.

Stream Cube on Freevee.
Stream Cube on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Cube on Amazon.

The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998)

About halfway into the show’s run, The X-Files got the big-screen treatment with 1998’s Fight the Future. Serving as a narrative bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons,  Rob Bowman’s movie follows Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they unwittingly uncover a government conspiracy revolving around, you guessed it, aliens.

Rent/Buy The X-Files: Fight the Future on Amazon.

eXistenZ (1999)

David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ follows a game designer (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) as she goes on the run from a killer and teams up with a young businessman (Jude Law). But their journey isn’t a simple Point A to Point B affair, as they fall into a place between the rules of reality and virtual reality.

Buy eXistenZ on 4K on Amazon.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Considered one of the best Star Trek movies, 1996’s First Contact feels very much at home with The Next Generation TV series and is a must-watch for fans of the franchise. After following a Borg ship through a wormhole, the Enterprise crew finds themselves trapped in the past with no way of getting home, or so they think.

Stream Star Trek: First Contact on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Star Trek: First Contact on Amazon.

Predator 2 (1990)

Though Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t return, there’s still a lot to love about Predator 2. Replacing the jungles of the first film with the busy streets of Los Angeles, the movie follows a group of cops and special agents as they try to combat the technologically advanced and deadly predator before it’s too late.

Stream Predator 2 on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Predator 2 on Amazon.

Back To The Future Part III (1990)

Back to the Future Part III, which is primarily set in the Old West, follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he goes back in time to save Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) one final time. The mixing of old and new creates an exciting and clever way of wrapping up the beloved franchise.

Stream Back to the Future Part III on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Back to the Future Part III on Amazon. 

Demolition Man (1993)

Though it's cheesy and silly, Demolition Man is a gem of a movie. This 1993 sci-fi action flick starring Sylvester Stallone as a renegade 20th-century cop waking up in the future to take on an old enemy is just so much fun.

Rent/Buy Demolition Man on Amazon.

If you’re all caught up with these great flicks, check out our breakdown of all the upcoming sci-fi movies that could very well become classics before long. 

Binary sunsets, endless oceans, futuristic worlds beyond our comprehension, and all other manners of planets have helped make some of the best sci-fi movies of all time so iconic. And while we’ll never get to travel to these beautiful and oftentimes dangerous locations except for in our imaginations (or video game versions of these films), we can still dream about them, right?

Well, here are 32 planets from sci-fi movies I want to visit, even if it means I would risk life and limb to do so. But if I were to meet my end, it would be such a glorious way to go out.

Krypton (Superman: The Movie)

Visiting Krypton would be tricky for a variety of reasons, the biggest being that it is swallowed by its exploding red supergiant sun in the opening act of Superman: The Movie. However, if I could get there before the planet’s destruction, walk around its terrain, and learn its peoples’ ways, it would be an incredibly enlightening and memorable experience.

Caladan (Dune)

Like other great sci-fi film franchises, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies are filled with an assortment of unforgettable planets. Caladan, the homeworld of House Atreides, looks like one of the safer and milder planets in the galaxy with its seemingly endless seas, towering bluffs, and seemingly mild weather. That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad place to prop up your feet and learn about its history with the help of a mentat.

Planet 0259-S (The Avengers Movies)

After Thanos wiped out half of all living things in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War he retired to Planet 0259-S, a peaceful world where he didn’t plan his next attack, but instead became a simple farmer to live out the rest of his days. I’m not saying I would carry out Thanos’ plan, but having a little planet of my own to get some rest and relaxation while farming some alien fruit honestly sounds pretty nice.

Arrakis (Dune)

Arrakis, aka Dune, is probably one of the most inhospitable worlds in all of sci-fi thanks to its endless deserts, soaring temperatures, and those earth-shaking sandworms beneath its surface, but there’s no denying it’s a beautiful place. Sure, it might be the spice talking, but those sunsets on the primary location of Dune look magical.

Pandora (The Avatar Franchise)

I know Pandora is a moon and not a planet, but I’m going to let it slide because this world from the Avatar movies is one of the most beautiful locations in all of sci-fi. Sure, I’d have to wear an oxygen mask or get an avatar of my own to survive my trip, and I’d have to learn to fight off some terrifying creatures, but it’d so be worth it. 

Genesis (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock)

If I could get to Genesis before its destruction in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, I think I’d have a good and memorable time. With all kinds of alien flora, fauna, and those awesome Klingons, a short stint on this planet would be a great trip away from the doldrums of modern suburban life.

Naboo (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace)

“But Naboo looks just like Earth?” Oh, boo hoo, cry me a river. This planet first seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace looks like a paradise, and unlike a lot of other sci-fi worlds, it looks like I could survive without supplemental oxygen. On my hypothetical trip, I would visit those underwater civilizations, the rolling hills that look like a Windows XP background, and pay my respects to the fallen Qui-Gon Jinn.

Ego (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2)

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies were full of exotic and alien planets that look cooler than anything we’ll ever have on Earth, and that includes Ego, the Living Planet. Visiting this god/planet would be a trip of a lifetime with its outrageous scenery, stunning architecture, and Kurt Russell. I would just avoid taking a trip below the surface though. No one’s trying to see all those bones.

Solaris (Solaris)

Okay, Solaris is pretty much a giant brain in the shape of a planet, but that could make for a unique vacation that’s off the beaten path. The hallucinations and dreams and inevitable damage to my psyche would be a tough pill to swallow, but I’m down to try almost anything once. 

Cybertron (The Transformers Movies)

Cybertron, the home world of the Autobots and Decepticons in the Transformers movie franchise, doesn’t look like the most peaceful vacation destination and is lacking when it comes to lush forests, beaches, and nature in general. However, waking up to witness a civil war between two rival factions of machines that can turn into cars or animals would make for a great story when I got back to work.

LV-426 (The Alien Franchise)

LV-426, which is technically a moon and not a planet, is a location that comes up multiple times in the Alien cinematic universe. It’s dark, it’s wet, it’s deadly, and full of an army of xenomorphs, but visiting the terraformed rock would be an exciting adventure like no other. I would just have to watch out for those face-huggers popping out of giant eggs.

Kashyyyk (Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)

There are so many cool planets to check out in the Star Wars galaxy, including Kahsyyyk, the homeworld of the Wookiees. Hanging out with Chewbacca’s family, shooting crossbows, and fighting off clone troopers would be an adventurous vacation. I just need to see about booking some time in a bacta tank at the hotel.

Fhloston (The Fifth Element)

Fhloston from The Fifth Element would be a great way to spend a few days, or weeks, resting and relaxing from traveling through the cosmos. This paradise planet, with its resorts, opera singers, and all kinds of alien creatures, is perfect for a more low-key stay.

Vogsphere (The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy)

Though not one of the most exotic, colorful, or evolved planets in all of sci-fi, Vogsphere from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would still be fun to visit, even if just for a short while. If I were looking for somewhere I didn’t need to be creative, come up with complex ideas, or use my brain for more than simple motor skills, this would be the place to go.

Mars (Total Recall)

Will I ever get to go to Mars? No, probably not. But if I could, I would want it to be the version of the red planet from Total Recall. This wild world from the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is something else with its deadly terrain, bizarre humanoids, and sinister plots. I would just need to make sure I didn’t walk the surface without my spacesuit.

Asgard (The Thor Movies)

Asgard is more of a realm than a planet, but it’s my vacation and I can go where I want. That being said, hanging out with Thor, Loki, and those actors from the play in Thor: Ragnarok would be pretty, pretty good. Also, Asgard has the Bifröst, which would make for some cool excursions during my stay.

Altair IV (Forbidden Planet)

Altair IV, the rocky world from Forbidden Planet is pretty limited when it comes to scenery, but being a great distance from Earth could make it a nice escape from life for a while. Plus, the planet has an almost turquoise sky, which would probably make for some majestic sunsets, or Altair-sets, if we’re being precise.

Kaitain (Dune: Part Two)

The home planet of Emperor Shaddam IV in Dune: Part Two, Katain would be a nice vacation destination in Denis Villeneuve’s film franchise. Sure, I’d have to watch out for politicians and other unsavory characters, but there aren’t any sandworms or seas of sand.

Abydos (Stargate)

Abydos is essentially the alien version of ancient Egypt in Stargate but with just even more great technology. As a kid, I was always drawn to the planet and its intricate structures and culture. Would it be hot, strange, and dangerous? Yeah, but I’d have a killer time.

Xandar (Guardians Of The Galaxy)

As long as I could get there before Thanos destroyed the planet to get the power stone before Avengers: Infinity War, a visit to Xandar would be a nice place to spend a few days. But since the Nova Corps isn’t too fond of criminals, or really anyone who goes against the grain, I would need to be on my best behavior. I’m not trying to spend my vacation in the Kyln.

Coruscant (Star Wars)

Coruscant, which has popped up in various Star Wars movies and TV shows over the years, is essentially one giant city in the shape of a planet. Though I’m not too fond of crowds, traffic, or politicians, witnessing the controlled chaos of the capital city-planet would be something to see.

Mongo (Flash Gordon)

Mongo, the home of Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, seems like a cool place to visit despite not having the chill factor most seek out when planning a vacation. But this technicolor and dangerous alien world has a certain charm like the cheap end of the Vegas strip that could make it a bargain.

Miller's Planet (Interstellar)

I would need to get a surfboard and a supply of Dramamine before setting my sights on this water world, but Miller’s Planet from Interstellar would be a unique vacation spot if I’m on that side of the wormhole. And knowing that those aren’t actually mountains but giant waves, I think I could manage.

Tatooine (Star Wars)

A holiday in the vast deserts of Tatooine probably doesn’t seem like the ideal space vacation, but this planet on the outer rim of the galaxy has a lot going for it. The party scene in Mos Eisley is raging, the binary sunsets are something to see, and you never know who or what you’ll see on your travels.

Giedi Prime (Dune: Part Two)

Giedi Prime, the homeworld of House Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two, probably isn’t the best place to go for someone who’s susceptible to sunburns, but the way in which the closest star turns everything to black and white is something I’d love to see. It’d be a short trip, but I’d be down to hang out with the Harkonnen.

Titan (Avengers: Infinity War)

If I could be a fly on the wall when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes confronted Thanos on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War, I would be there in a minute. However, I’d prefer to go to the Mad Titan’s home planet before its overpopulation and limited resources led to its demise.

Vulcan (Star Trek)

Spock’s homeworld gets taken out in spectacular fashion in the 2009 Star Trek movie, but if I could somehow go back in time and visit before its annihilation, it could be a great trip with the family. Learning more about the Vulcan culture and hanging out with Spock’s family and friends would definitely be an enlightening experience.

Counter-Earth (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3)

Counter-Earth in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a place that I’d love to visit, but only if the timing was right. It’d be like going to Canada in the sense that there are some cultural differences but there are enough similarities to figure out what’s going on.

LV-223 (Prometheus)

LV-223, as seen in the opening of Prometheus, seems like a great vacation destination, especially if I’m not trying to hang out with a lot of people. Sure, I’d have to avoid the Engineer if I wanted to keep my head on my shoulders, but I’m pretty good at avoiding people here on Earth.

Helion Prime (The Chronicles Of Riddick) 

Helion Prime from The Chronicles of Riddick probably isn’t the safest place to visit on my annual family vacation, but life’s about living, right? It’s kind of drab and the locals are kind of stuffy, but it could be one of those sneaky-good holidays that catch you by surprise.

Magrathea (The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has some nifty worlds that are as cool as they are exotic, including Magrathea. If I could get a tour of the planet and find the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, this could be a memorable and powerful retreat from society.

Earth (The Blade Runner Movies)

Though the Blade Runner movies technically take place on Earth, the real-life version of the planet is nowhere as cool as seen in this classic sci-fi franchise. Ridley Scott’s vision of the future in the form of Los Angeles in 2019 is so rad. The same goes for Denis Villeneuve’s design in Blade Runner 2049. 

If anyone knows of a good travel agent who can get me to places like Pandora, Arrakis, Titan, or Coruscant please let me know because now I really want to visit these iconic sci-fi planets.

In 2021, Denis Villeneuve released one of the best sci-fi movies of all time with Dune, his massive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s landmark novel of the same name. Three years later, the second part of the expansive saga about Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) conquering his fear, surviving the unforgiving desert planet of Arrakis, and fulfilling his destiny is out in the wild with the long-awaited Dune: Part Two. 

If you’re a fan of the first film and have either seen the sequel (or at least plan on watching it soon), there’s a good chance you’re looking for other movies and TV shows to watch that deal with similar topics, settings, or themes. If that’s the case, you’ve come to right place, because we’ve put together a list of sci-fi stories, historical epics, and all-time great TV shows that should do the trick while holding out for a possible Dune: Part 3.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Before Denis Villeneuve turned his attention to the Dune franchise, he breathed new life into another great sci-fi property with Blade Runner 2049. Picking up years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece, this rich cinematic experience set in a near-future technicolor dreamland (or nightmare, depending on who you ask) was something you had to see to believe. Its story following Officer K (Ryan Gosling) as he unearths a nearly forgotten secret is the stuff of wonder and feels very much at home with Dune.

Rent/Buy Blade Runner 2049 on Amazon.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982)

Any of the Mad Max movies are a good option for Dune fans, but the film that fits in the most in this case is the franchise’s second chapter. Subtitled The Road Warrior, George Miller’s 1982 dystopian film follows Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) as he becomes the reluctant (and out of place) leader of a peaceful group of nomads who’ve become the target of the charming, violent, and diabolical Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson). Deserts, tribes with unique cultures, heroes rising to the occasion, it’s all here.

Rent/Buy Mad Max 2 on Amazon.

Stargate (1994)

If you are a fan of epic sci-fi stories about groups of people becoming trapped on a desert alien planet then Roland Emmerich’s Stargate is going to do the trick. Much like Dune, this 1994 adventure film introduces otherworldly beings, dastardly villains, and unlikely heroes who must rise to the occasion, learning something about themselves and the universe around them in the process.

Stream Stargate on Pluto TV.
Stream Stargate on Tubi. 

The Expanse (2015 - 2022)

Futuristic settings, space travel, the colonization of planets, and the uncovering of far-reaching conspiracies that could spell disaster for the galaxy are just a few of the similarities shared by both Dune and the long-running sci-fi series, The Expanse. If you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre in general, this series, which is based on James. S.A. Corey’s novel of the same name, is going to be something you won’t want to miss.

Stream The Expanse on Prime Video.

Star Wars (1977 - Present)

This is probably a given, but Star Wars is the perfect option for fans of Dune. Both properties have rich lore, obsessive fanbases, and tell enchanting stories about fulfilling one’s destiny. Few film franchises capture the hero’s journey better than these beloved films, and the various trilogies in the galaxy far, far away do a masterful job of showing what happens to once-noble characters who became obsessed with power, revenge, and complete control.

Stream the various Star Wars movies and shows on Disney+.

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

One of the best biopics of all time, Lawrence of Arabia, recounts the life of British archaeologist and army officer T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) as he finds himself leading a group of rebels on an epic journey across the Arabian desert after going against his superior’s orders. This cinematic masterpiece is epic in both scope and scale, and offers a lot for fans of Dune, even though it’s far from being a sci-fi film.

Stream Lawrence of Arabia on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Lawrence of Arabia on Amazon.
Buy Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Game Of Thrones (2011 - 2019)

Okay, Game of Thrones may not be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing TV shows for Dune fans, but this is honestly one of the best options. The political in-fighting, the wars between houses with claims to the throne, and intense battle sequences are just some of the similarities between the two properties, but they don’t stop there.

Stream Game of Thrones on Max.
Buy Game of Thrones on Amazon.
Buy Game of Thrones on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

What do Dune and Planet of the Apes have in common besides both being based on iconic sci-fi novels? Well, for starters, both tell incredible fish-out-of-water stories about strong characters finding themselves in strange lands where they’re forced to prove themselves. There’s also the whole rebellion aspect of the movies, as well as great lore that continues to be explored by fans all these years later.

Stream Planet of the Apes on Starz.
Rent/Buy Planet of the Apes on Amazon.

Foundation (2021 - Present)

The Apple TV+ original series, Foundation, follows a group of exiles as they try to save the Galactic Empire from utter destruction by taking an unlikely and dangerous course. Inspired by Issac Asimov’s novel of the same name, the series is full of epic space travel, alien lands, and a massive scope that is impressive to say the least.

Stream Foundation on Apple TV+.

Arrival (2016)

Arguably Denis Villeneuve’s best movie, Arrival is a technical, visual, and emotional masterpiece that was more than deserving of all the praise it has received since its 2016 release. Starring Amy Adams, the movie follows a team of scientists trying to communicate with new extraterrestrial visitors before the world’s military leaders can do what they do best: blow everything up.

Stream Arrival on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Arrival on Amazon.
Buy Arrival on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind (1987)

One of Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature films, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind very much feels like the anime version of Dune, both in its setting and story. Released in 1984, this animated epic follows Nausicaä (Sumi Shimamoto), a young princess who can communicate with various lifeforms on her ravaged and dying planet as she attempts to prevent a formidable kingdom from using a powerful weapon that could make life for everyone much, much worse.

Stream Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on Max.
Rent/Buy Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on Amazon.

The Matrix (1999)

There are a plethora of similarities between Dune and The Matrix, all of which make this 1999 sci-fi flick a must-watch for fans of Denis Villeneuve’s epic, if they haven’t already seen it. Both of these movies center on characters deemed to be “The One,” both argue the dangers of unchecked technology, and both touch on rebellion. Most of all, both of these movies are so much fun to watch.

Stream The Matrix on Max.
Rent/Buy The Matrix on Amazon.

Previous Dune Adaptations

If you’re a fan of Villenuve’s masterpiece, then you should definitely watch David Lynch’s 1984 Dune, as well as the incredible documentary film, Jodorowsky’s Dune, which detailed all the work the Chilean-French filmmaker put into his ill-fated adaptation that never came to fruition in the 1970s. There’s also a 2000 miniseries titled Frank Herbert’s Dune, but it isn’t currently available to stream or purchase.

Stream Dune on Max.
Rent/Buy Dune (1984) on Amazon.
Rent/Buy Jodorowsky’s Dune on Amazon.

Well, this should be more than enough for all the Dune fans out there. But if you want to know about all the new films coming to theaters (and streaming services) after Dune: Part Two makes its debut, take a look at our 2024 movie calendar for all the latest.

1993 and 1994 were some particularly big year when it comes to the best Kurt Russell movies. The former saw him starring in Tombstone as Wyatt Earp, and then he followed that up with playing Colonel Jack O’Neil in Stargate. Of course, if you’re familiar with some of the Tombstone behind-the-scenes facts, you know that this wasn’t the easy production to take part in, and Michael Biehn, who played Johnny Ringo in the Western, thinks Russell’s experience on that movie is what led to him seeming so “angry” in Stargate. 

For those unaware, about a month after Tombstone began production, Kevin Barre, who wrote the screenplay and was supposed to make his directorial debut on the movie, was fired, and George Cosmatos took his place. However, it’s been rumored over the years that Kurt Russell was actually the movie’s secret director, and in 2017, co-star Val Kilmer said Russell was “solely responsible for Tombstone’s success.” During his recent appearance on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Biehn clarified that Tombstone was ultimately put together by a “committee,” but he believes that the rocky process of shooting that movie influenced his performance in Stargate shortly thereafter. As Biehn recalled:

Rosenbaum then questioned if Russell’s demeanor stemmed from his Tombstone experience, and Michael Biehn said he suspected as much, noting how he’d “never seen him so grumpy before” when they were shooting the Western together. We can’t say with 100% certainty this was the case, but Russell certainly couldn’t be faulted for feeling this way since he and the rest of the cast and crew went through so much on Tombstone.

Honestly, the grumpy demeanor enhanced Russell’s performance as Jack O’Neil, a member of the Air Force whose son died after he accidentally shot himself. Between that tragedy and leading the mission through the title wormhole-creating device to visit another planet, it’s no wonder he’d come across as grumpy and angry in Stargate. Funny enough though, while Russell played O’Neil rather humorlessly, the character became more of a wisecracker when Richard Dean Anderson took over the role for the TV series Stargate SG-1, which ran for 10 seasons.

If you’re now in the mood to watch Tombstone and/or Stargate, the former can be streamed with a Hulu subscription, and the latter can be viewed on MGM+, which can be added on to your Amazon Prime Video subscription. If you’re looking for something more current from Kurt Russell, use your Apple TV+ subscription to watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the MonsterVerse franchise’s first live-action TV show.

The big news regarding Jason Momoa this weekend has been all the hype around the final season premiere of his Apple TV+ series See. It was exactly at that premiere that eagle-eyed fans of Momoa from early on in his career may have spotted a reunion from another of the actor’s popular shows. That would be none other than Stargate: Atlantis, as a couple of the actor’s longtime co-stars popped up for a pic at the Season 3 premiere.

You’d be forgiven for not noticing the big Stargate: Atlantis reunion as it was buried in a photodump of other photos from the See premiere. Both Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett made multi-episode appearances in See, so their appearance at the event makes total sense, but it's still nice to see the three reunited and looking so good so many years later. 

It’s also, in my opinion, worth noting that Joe Flanigan looks nearly unrecognizable with grey hair and facial hair. Don’t get me wrong, he’s aging like fine wine, but scrolling through it took me a second to get to any sort of aha moment. In fact, I don't even thinking I would have made the connection when he appeared as "The Military" if Flanigan's appearance on See hadn't been announced in advance.

David Hewlett also nodded at the reunion in a comment on his own Instagram post, noting: 

It’s been well over a decade since Stargate: Atlantis wrapped its run on cable and it’s been nearly two decades since the show got the greenlight and embarked on the journey to winning over Stargate SG-1 fans. In the time since, Jason Momoa has shot to superstardom thanks to his "gate"-way role (sorry) in Game of Thrones as Khal Drogo and subsequent work as Aquaman in the DCEU, among other gigs. Momoa may have taken on plenty of badass roles at this point, but he’s still interested in creating for the television format and fans of the actor have reaped the benefits of that.

He's also clearly still interested in working with some pals from his past, and I wouldn't be too surprised if a Stargate: Atlantis reunion of this ilk happens again sometime in the future. At least a girl could hope. 

Unfortunately, See is heading into its third and final premiere, but not before it has made a mark as one of the first shows to really jumpstart those Apple TV+ subscriptions. The Apple TV+ series may be ending, but from the images, it certainly seems like it will be going out with a bang. 

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A lot of the best action movies (in my opinion) that I can think of, came out in the 1990s, such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Michael Mann’s Heat, and Speed, just to name a few. However, I also believe that the decade is littered with films that, while still enjoyable to many action junkies, missed the mark of what they could have been due to egregiously cliche-ridden camp, or could be ready for a reintroduction to the mainstream for a new generation of moviegoers. The following are the ‘90s action movies I believe are most deserving of a revisit, starting with the first of a few Sylvester Stallone classics on our list.

Demolition Man (1993)

I enjoy Demolition Man - about a loose-canon cop (Sylvester Stallone) and eccentric terrorist (Wesley Snipes) continuing their cat-and-mouse game after more than 30 years in cryogenic stasis - mostly for its silly, but poignant, social commentary. It imagines a seemingly utopian 2032 in which violence is virtually non-existent, in-person conversations are censored, Taco Bell is the only eatery available, and metal seashells have replaced toilet paper somehow.

Given the increased scrutiny surrounding these exact topics (and others the movie explores) today, a remake (if not the rumored sequel) could double down on the satire, and I’d be curious to see how new cast members would handle the lead roles, including Sandra Bullock’s character.

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

Director Jan de Bont’s acclaimed 1994 hit Speed - about a loose-canon cop (Keanu Reeves) trying to save passengers of a city bus rigged to explode if it drops below 50 mph by an eccentric terrorist (Dennis Hopper) - is another great Sandra Bullock action movie. However, few would say the same about its sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, which essentially recycles the concept, but sets it on a luxury cruise ship, replaces Reeves with Jason Patric, and fails to deliver much of the same cleverly constructed thrills or well-timed humor.

Still, I would love to see this franchise resurrected, either as a way of revisiting the otherwise intriguing concept of the 1997 sequel, or a whole new installment that could reunite Reeves with Bullock. Maybe set this one in space?

Stargate (1994)

Speaking of space movies with franchise potential, Stargate was the catalyst for a few enduringly popular, critically acclaimed, planet-hopping sci-fi TV shows set in the same universe(s) - including, most notably, Stargate SG-1. Despite this, the original film - in which a loose-canon colonel (Kurt Russell) and eccentric linguist (James Spader) lead an expedition through a strange, ancient device that sends them to a primitive alternate dimension - is a lot of the same cheesy schlock you would expect from Roland Emmerich movies (Independence Day: Resurgence, 2012, etc).

Considering its grand story potential and the creative rejuvenation it would experience on the small screen, I believe this franchise deserves the same treatment on the big screen, and perhaps with a filmmaker as gifted as Jon Favreau or Denis Villeneuve at the helm.

Daylight (1996)

Our second Sylvester Stallone film on this list, Daylight, comes from another notorious B-movie proprietor: Rob Cohen, helmer of the original Fast and the Furious and xXx movies. While it is not the most ridiculous and cliche-ridden of the director’s work (also including The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and The Hurricane Heist), the story of a disgraced first responder (Stallone) racing to rescue survivors trapped inside New York’s Hudson Tunnel after an explosion causes it to cave in at both ends earns a spot, mostly for how shamelessly it borrows from more acclaimed disaster movies before it.

However, because people still love disaster movies and the pitch for this flick still intrigues me, I’d be down to see a new take on it in the hands of someone who could really freshen it up.

Volcano (1997)

I feel the same way about Volcano, which sees Tommy Lee Jones face off against an explosive natural disaster that awakens underground after a startling earthquake hits Los Angeles, California. The Mick Jackson-directed B-movie is one of several films that suffered from the “twin movies” trend throughout the ’90s (it came out the same year as the similarly plotted Dante’s Peak).

Well, because it has been quite a while since we have seen a movie about volcanic eruptions taking place in modern day, now might be the perfect time for a new version of this story that also could use a script with a little more imagination.

Twister (1996)

For the record, I do not believe there has ever been a better thriller about tornadoes than Twister, but I also believe that I am not saying too much with that statement. In yet another over-the-top ‘90s action classic from director Jan de Bont, Helen Hunt and the late, great Bill Paxton play storm chasers on the verge of a divorce, which is interrupted by a series of devastating twisters sweeping through Oklahoma.

While its Oscar-nominated visual effects still hold up grandly today, the plot, character motivations, and oddly placed humor have not aged as well, which is why I would love to see Hunt’s idea for a reboot (written by Daveed Digs and Rafael Casal with the Academy Award winner directing) finally become a reality.

Hudson Hawk (1991)

Now, I would normally consider the idea of remaking a Bruce Willis action movie to be sacrilege (especially if that movie is called Die Hard), but there is one early ‘90s flick that I believe many would agree could use another shot. A critical and commercial misfire, Hudson Hawk is another example of a really fun concept - following a recently released burglar (Willis) forced into stealing some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous pieces as part of a world domination plot - that does not live up to its potential and, instead, resulted in forgettable, mediocre farce.

By replacing the lead (sorry, Bruce) with a witty performer like Ryan Reynolds and getting someone with the gifts of say, James Gunn, a Hudson Hawk remake could be the new action-comedy classic we have been waiting for.

Last Action Hero (1993)

Speaking of action-comedy classics, the cult favorite, Last Action Hero - in which a boy meets Arnold Schwarzenegger (sort of playing himself) after he is magically transported into the actor’s latest movie - was also a critical and commercial misfire, but undeservedly so. Supposedly, seeing Schwarzenegger in the lead and Die Hard director John McTiernan in the credits did not prepare audiences for what was intended to be a send-up of action movie cliches. Thus, this is a ‘90s action movie particularly deserving of a second chance, especially with the genre conventions that exist today. And, filling in for Schwarzenegger in the meta role of a leading action star would have to be Dwayne Johnson.

I bet this would not be the first time that a remake of Last Action Hero was ever proposed, including one with The Rock involved. Of course, there are other ‘90s action films that could benefit from some fresh material and some that others would prefer be left alone as their flaws are what makes them special in their eyes. Do you believe any of those above fall under that criteria?

This poll is no longer available.

You may or may not be ready for another month of movie and TV options making their way to Netflix's streaming platform. Which is rather appropriate, considering May 2021 is rearing its head, and bringing a huge spectrum of old favorites and exciting new originals to your TV in the coming month. It’s a natural part of life, so if you’re not ready just yet, you can breeze through and find April 2021’s full lineup and movie highlights included below. Should you be primed to take that slight step (back) into the future, then get ready to enjoy the listing of what’s headed to Netflix in May 2021!

Premiering On Netflix - May 1

Aliens Stole My Body - 5/1/21

Angelina Ballerina: Season 5 - 5/1/21

Angelina Ballerina: Season 6 - 5/1/21

Back to the Future - 5/1/21

Back to the Future Part II - 5/1/21

Back to the Future Part III - 5/1/21

Barney and Friends: Season 13 - 5/1/21

Barney and Friends: Season 14 - 5/1/21

Best of the Best - 5/1/21

Dead Again in Tombstone - 5/1/21

Due Date - 5/1/21

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) - 5/1/21

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - 5/1/21

Green Zone - 5/1/21

Hachi: A Dog's Tale - 5/1/21

JT LeRoy - 5/1/21

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - 5/1/21

Mystic River - 5/1/21

Never Back Down - 5/1/21

Notting Hill - 5/1/21

Open Season - 5/1/21

Resident Evil: Afterlife - 5/1/21

Resident Evil: Extinction - 5/1/21

S.M.A.R.T Chase - 5/1/21

Scarface - 5/1/21

SITTING IN LIMBO - 5/1/21

Stargate - 5/1/21

State of Play - 5/1/21

The Land Before Time - 5/1/21

The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure - 5/1/21

The Lovely Bones - 5/1/21

The Pelican Brief - 5/1/21

The Sweetest Thing - 5/1/21

The Whole Nine Yards (2000) - 5/1/21

Under Siege - 5/1/21

Waist Deep - 5/1/21

Your Highness - 5/1/21

Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 5/1/21

Zombieland - 5/1/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week of May 2

Hoarders: Season 11 - 5/2/21

The Clovehitch Killer - 5/4/21

Selena: The Series: Part 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/4/21

Trash Truck: Season 2 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 5/4/21

Framing John DeLorean - 5/5/21

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 5/5/21

Dead Man Down - 5/6/21

Girl from Nowhere: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/7/21

Jupiter's Legacy - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/7/21

Milestone - NETFLIX FILM - 5/7/21

Monster - NETFLIX FILM - 5/7/21

Mine - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/8/21

Sleepless - 5/8/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week of May 9

Money, Explained - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 5/11/21

Dance of the Forty One - NETFLIX FILM - 5/12/21

Oxygen - NETFLIX FILM - 5/12/21

The Upshaws - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/12/21

Castlevania: Season 4 - NETFLIX ANIME - 5/13/21

Layer Cake - 5/13/21

Ferry - NETFLIX FILM - 5/14/21

Haunted: Season 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/14/21

I Am All Girls - NETFLIX FILM - 5/14/21

Jungle Beat: The Movie - NETFLIX FAMILY - 5/14/21

Love, Death & Robots: Volume 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/14/21

Move to Heaven - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/14/21

The Strange House - NETFLIX FILM - 5/14/21

The Woman in the Window - NETFLIX FILM - 5/14/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week of May 16

Sleight - 5/16/21

Sardar Ka Grandson - NETFLIX FILM - 5/18/21

The Last Days - 5/19/21

Sabotage - 5/19/21

Small Town Crime - 5/19/21

Who Killed Sara?: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/19/21

Hating Peter Tatchell - 5/20/21

Special: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/20/21

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World - 5/20/21

Army of the Dead - NETFLIX FILM - 5/21/21

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 5/21/21

The Neighbor: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/21/21

Sam Smith: Love Goes - Live At Abbey Road Studios - 5/22/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week of May 23

Home - 5/25/21

Baggio: The Divine Ponytail - NETFLIX FILM - 5/26/21

High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America - NETFLIX FILM - 5/26/21

Nail Bomber: Manhunt - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 5/26/21

Black Space - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/27/21

Blue Miracle - NETFLIX FILM - 5/27/21

Eden - NETFLIX ANIME - 5/27/21

Soy Rada: Serendipity - NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL - 5/27/21

Dog Gone Trouble - NETFLIX FAMILY - 5/28/21

Lucifer: Season 5 Part 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/28/21

The Kominsky Method: Season 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/28/21

Premiering On Netflix - May 31

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story - 5/31/21

The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 5/31/21

May TBD

AlRawabi School for Girls - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (2021)

HALSTON - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Mad for Each Other - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Master of None - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Racket Boys - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Ragnarok: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Netflix’s Movie Highlights For May 2021

After what feels like an eternity of delays and waiting, the Amy Adams-led thriller The Woman In The Window finally will be making its debut on Netflix! Acquired after both the Disney/Fox merger and the 2020 pandemic saw the film sailing on rough waters, author A.J. Finn’s best selling mystery sees Adams’ agoraphobic protagonist, Dr. Anna Fox, trying to solve a murder she may have seen from her own window. The only problem is, the reality of what Dr. Fox thinks she saw may not line up with what really happened.

Meanwhile, those of you who have been waiting for Zack Snyder to finally make his return to zombie action in Army of the Dead only have to wait just a little longer. First proposed in 2007, the long awaited post-apocalyptic heist movie boasts a killer ensemble headed by Dave Bautista, all of whom are looking to hit it big in Vegas! Normally, this would be a great idea; but with Sin City becoming a zombie-ridden wasteland, the stakes are even higher than one would have hoped.

Netflix’s TV Highlights For May 2021

Premiering as a runaway hit for the Netflix TV scene, Selena: The Series’s first part was a smash debut at the end of 2020. So naturally, those who watched the first 9 episodes are going to have had time to convert some friends, and hype up a potentially larger fanbase for the debut of Part 2. Set to debut on the Netflix slate in the middle of May, the continuing story of Selena Quintanilla will be poised to dazzle those who followed it as it happened, as well as those who are new to the fold.

Being a superhero is hard, but in the Netflix adaptation of Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy, being the next generation of supers is just as taxing. With an aging generation of superheroes (including Josh Duhamel and Lesliel Bibb) looking to hand their mantle of protecting the world down to their younger counterparts, things are going to get a bit stressful. Especially when the villains of the world certainly won’t let something like the line of succession stop them from doing their evil deeds.

May 2021 has a lot going for it when it comes to providing Netflix subscribers with something to talk about. But you’re going to want to be sure that you keep an eye on the new crop of titles debuting through the month, as everything listed above is subject to change and availability. With that in mind, we’ll see you back here around this time next month, when June 2021’s new crop of contenders unveil themselves to the world.

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Going back more than 50 years, Kurt Russell has been in some of cinema’s most treasured titles. From all those badass characters in films like Escape From New York and Big Trouble in Little China to hilarious and timeless romantic comedies like Overboard, and even sci-fi adventure flicks like Stargate, there’s a lot to choose from when thinking about Kurt Russell’s best movies. And while a lot of us have seen the best the former child actor-turned-action hero has to offer, there are some out there who either haven’t seen the man’s best work or perhaps haven’t seen some of these in years.

Luckily for everyone (myself included), I have put together this list (which is about as close to definitive as possible) of Kurt Russell’s best movies, where you can stream them, rent or buy them digitally, and purchase physical copies for those fearsome of world in which streaming services go by the wayside. There’s a lot to tackle here, so let’s get started.

Tombstone (1993)

Tombstone happens to be not only one of the best Westerns but also in the top tier of Kurt Russell’s library of work. Despite its notoriously difficult production, the George P. Cosmatos-directed tale of lawman Wyatt Earp (Russell), his brothers (Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton), and the iconic Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) protecting the town of Tombstone is just as much fun as fun can be. With more memorable lines than anyone can count, formidable villains, and the best mustaches you’ll see on screen, there are plenty of reasons this movie is so beloved nearly 30 years later.

Stream Tombstone on Amazon.

Buy/Rent Tombstone on Amazon.

Get Tombstone on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Escape From New York (1981)

John Carpenter's Escape From New York is one of the oddest, bleakest, and most violent movies to come from the sci-fi boom of the early 1980s. When the President of the United States is taken hostage in a walled-off New York City (which is now a massive prison colony), it’s up to the most reluctant of all reluctant heroes, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to get the job done. And boy does he. This movie, which features some crafty James Cameron visual effects work, is worth of every line of praise it’s received over the years.

Stream Escape From New York on HBO Max.

Buy/Rent Escape From New York on Amazon.

Get Escape from New York on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Thing (1982)

The sci-fi horror classic The Thing (which is actually a remake) brought John Carpenter and Kurt Russell together for their third of five collaborations in 1982. Set in a remote research facility at the South Pole, the movie follows a group of scientists, support staff, and an alcoholic and nihilistic helicopter pilot by the name of R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) as their space is overtaken by a shape-shifting alien threat that could potentially wipe out all life if left unchecked. This movie has it all: a great cast, engaging story, insane animatronics work, and an unsettling tone. No wonder The Thing is considered one of the best horror movies of all time.

Buy/Rent The Thing on Amazon.

Get The Thing on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

In 1986, John Carpenter and Kurt Russell made perhaps their funniest movie together when they reunited for the cult classic Big Trouble in Little China. Russell’s Jack Burton, the cocky truck driver who finds himself in one hell of a situation, brings an oversized ego and impeccable comedic timing to this fantasy sci-fi action-comedy about an ancient sorcerer searching for a green-eyed woman to break a curse that has held him hostage for centuries. One of the best parts about this movie is its runtime (a swift 99 minutes) that doesn’t waste any time getting to the heart of the story.

Buy/Rent Big Trouble In Little China on Amazon.

Get Big Trouble In Little China on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

There are plenty of reasons why James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is one of the best sequels of all time, but right there near the top is Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Ego, aka “The Living Planet.” As soon as he introduces himself to Guardians and reveals himself to be Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) father, you know there is going to be some funny business down the road. And boy, is there. The way Ego’s true nature and motivations are revealed to the characters and the audience make rewatching the 2017 MCU film the gift that keeps on giving.

Stream Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 on Disney+.

Buy/Rent Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 on Amazon.

Get Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Overboard (1987)

My grandma had two tapes in her VHS collection when I was a kid: Sister Act and Overboard. She was obsessed with Gary Marshall’s 1987 romantic comedy about a wealthy amnesiac (Goldie Hawn) who is made to believe she’s the wife of a widowed carpenter (Kurt Russell) and mother of his pack of near-feral children. The on-screen chemistry shared by the two stars (who became a real-life couple a few years earlier) is off the charts here and their timing is perfect, especially during their first meeting aboard a yacht. Time to watch it again and think about my grandma, who hopefully has a better copy up in the Great Beyond.

Buy/Rent Overboard on Amazon.

Get Overboard on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Backdraft (1991)

Ron Howard’s 1991 drama Backdraft tells the story of Chicago firefighter Brian McCaffrey (William Baldwin), who spends his entire life trying to get out of the shadow of his older brother Stephen (Kurt Russell) who just so happens to be one of the greatest firemen in the city’s history. Despite their best efforts, the two can’t stay apart long as they are tasked with uncovering an arson conspiracy that could leave more than building damaged. This riveting and emotional exploration of what it means to be a hero will absolutely gut you by the end.

Stream Backdraft on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Backdraft on Amazon.

Get Backdraft on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Death Proof (2007)

Though it’s probably not anyone’s favorite Quentin Tarantino movie, his addition to the 2007 Grindhouse double-feature, Death Proof, features one of the most insane, unlikable, and menacing characters in Kurt Russell’s library, Stuntman Mike. The way the stuntman with a souped-up, reinforced death machine stalks and attacks his villains goes beyond creepy, but his tenacity does lead to an awesome chase sequence, which is only made better when the tables are turned. Often overshadowed by its counterpart, Planet Terror, Death Proof is still one hell of a ride.

Stream Death Proof on Amazon.

Rent/Buy Backdraft on Amazon.

Get Death Proof on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 character study that is The Hateful Eight features a few of the filmmakers most memorable (and unsavory) characters to date, with Kurt Russell’s John “The Hangman” Ruth near the top of the pack. And even though his treatment of everyone else, especially Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), leaves a bad taste in my mouth, his commitment to the character (and his not so friendly ways) is a testament of his talent and love of his profession. Just watch out when smashing guitars in the future, Kurt.

Stream The Hateful Eight on Netflix.

Rent/Buy The Hateful Eight on Amazon.

Get The Hateful Eight on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Silkwood (1983)

The 1983 biographical drama Silkwood, which was co-written by the late Nora Ephron, tells the story of the final days of nuclear whistle-blower and activist Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) leading up to the one-car accident that claimed her life after she exposed alleged wrongdoing of the plutonium plant where she worked. The supporting cast, which is led by Kurt Russell and Cher, and multiple other acting greats, put on equally amazing performances and do a tremendous job of telling the tragic story.

Get it on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Executive Decision (1996)

Not to be confused with Air Force One, which would follow a year later, the 1996 action thriller Executive Decision follows U.S. Army specialist David Grant (Kurt Russell) and Austin Travis (a still-in-his-prime Steven Seagal) as they attempt to prevent a hijacked plane from reaching its destination: Washington, D.C. This movie is about as mid-'90s as it gets, which could be a good thing or bad thing depending on your preferences.

Rent/Buy Executive Decision on Amazon.

Get Executive Decision on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)

Before he was Ego and even before he was Snake Plissken, Kurt Russell had a remarkable run as a child actor, appearing in numerous Walt Disney productions and as beloved by the old man himself. One of Russell’s most memorable roles is that of Dexter Riley, the teenager who becomes one with a machine in 1969’s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. This family-friendly comedy has a little something for everyone.

Stream The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes on Disney+.

Rent/Buy The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes on Amazon.

Get it on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Miracle (2004)

One of the great hockey movies, the 2004 Disney (on ice) sports drama Miracle tells the unbelievable story of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey team who shocked the world when they defeated the overmatched Soviet team at the Winter Olympics. With drama on and off the ice, some amazing performances, and one of the greatest speeches in sports movie history by Kurt Russell’s Herb Brooks, there is a reason Miracle is just as loved now as it was when it came out 17 years ago.

Stream Miracle on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Miracle on Amazon.

Get Miracle on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Santa Claus movies are a dime a dozen, but the 2018 Netflix adventure film The Christmas Chronicles paints jolly Saint Nick as full-on badass Kurt Russell stepping in to take the reins of the mythical sleigh. What starts out as a ploy by two siblings to capture Santa quickly turns into a race against time that involves some heroics and badassery by the film’s Kris Kringle.

Stream The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.

Stargate (1994)

The 1994 sci-fi action film Stargate follows professor Daniel Jackson (James Spader) and retired Army Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell) as travel through an interstellar gateway (a stargate, if you will) and end up on an alien world that looks a hell of a lot like ancient Egypt (but with nifty technology and deadly futuristic weapons). What follows is a series of adventures experienced by the central heroes, those who joined them, and the inhabitants of the mysterious planet that looked really, really cool when it came out more than 25 years ago.

Stream Stargate on Hulu.

Get Stargate on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

On the surface, Bone Tomahawk looks like another western featuring Kurt Russell and a badass mustache, but once you peel back the layers, you quickly discover why S. Craig Zhaler’s thriller is considered one of the best horror movies of 2015. Everything about this movie is extremely brutal and it doesn’t really hold back in its depiction of the ways of the west or the evil that awaits Kurt Russell’s Sheriff Franklin Hunt on his mission to rescue a group of people held captive by cave-dwellers.

Stream Bone Tomahawk on Hoopla

Rent/Buy Bone Tomahawk on Amazon.

Get Bone Tomahawk on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Tango And Cash (1989)

The 1980s gave the world a few of the best buddy action movies of all time, one of those being the 1989 pairing of Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone in Tango and Cash. The movie follows two rival narcotics detectives with extremely different methods who are forced to team up after being framed for a crime neither committed. With their reputations tarnished and no one else to depend on, the once-enemies come together for one hell of a good time.

Rent/Buy Tango And Cash on Amazon.

Get Tango and Cash on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Captain Ron (1992)

Best movies is a subjective term, right? Well, if so, then the 1992 comedy Captain Ron deserves a spot on this list. When a family comes into a vintage yacht by way of inheritance, they hire Captain Ron (Kurt Russell) to help sail the ship from the Caribbean to Miami, adventure (and misadventure) are not too far behind.

Rent/Buy Captain Ron on Amazon.

Get Captain Ron on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Fox And The Hound (1981)

The 1981 Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound starts off with one of the most joyful stories in the studio’s history but quickly turns to anything but when Tod and Copper, the one-time pals, are driven apart by their respective natures and places in the world. When the story shifts its focus to the adult versions of the central characters, Kurt Russell, who appeared in Escape from New York the same year, lends his voice to Copper following his heartbreaking turn against his former friend.

Stream The Fox And The Hound on Disney+.

Rent/Buy The Fox And The Hound on Amazon.

Get The Fox and the Hound on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Well, those were just a few of Kurt Russell’s best movies that are available to watch right now. This didn’t even go into films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the Fast & Furious franchise, or other movies where Russell appeared in a smaller capacity. Now we just have to wait and see if the successful actor shows up in any of the upcoming 2021 movies.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links. The following article was produced in partnership with Plex.

Not too long ago, we here at CinemaBlend partnered with the streaming service Plex to highlight some of the best movies it had to offer on their platform. But streaming libraries being what they are, new and exciting stuff gets added and taken away on a regular basis, so we felt like it was a good idea to check in and see if anything new and cool was added. Plus, give that the Halloween season has concluded, the horror movie binges we’ve just finished have us all ready for some genre adjacent thrills in the way of some great sci-fi movies. Get ready to stream, as this list has 10 awesome picks just waiting to meet your acquaintance at this very moment.

Minority Report

One half of one of the greatest Steven Spielberg double plays ever, Minority Report adapts Philip K. Dick’s short story into an action mystery that is pure Spielberg. As Tom Cruise’s law enforcement protagonist is on the run for a crime he’s supposedly about to commit, his detective skills will be put to the test in order to clear his own name. The message, and the set pieces, absolutely hold up; and it boasts an ending that still has audiences debating its true meaning, as well as whether it fits the film or not.

Pacific Rim

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, even those created by the colorful mind of director Guillermo del Toro. Nowhere has that action gotten its largest and most comprehensive workout than in the anime/Godzilla-inspired Pacific Rim, where a group of brash and determined pilots set out to cancel the kaiju apocalypse. A lot of mad science makes its way into this fun-filled ride, as large scale aggressors require some pretty big solutions, and an even larger sense of resolve, to be defeated.

Cube

Sci-fi is one of the great genres where no matter what size or scale the ideas are presented in, the right idea comes across like a charm. Writer/director Vincenzo Natali’s Cube embodies that scrappy spirit, telling a tale of puzzles of imprisonment which sees a group of strangers struggle to survive in a maze that has tons of nasty surprises awaiting them around every turn. If you’re a fan of the Saw franchise and/or the more recent thriller Escape Room, you can thank Cube for helping those movies come to life.

Stargate

Before it was a wildly successful television franchise across multiple spinoffs, Stargate started out as a theatrical blockbuster that wowed fans at the multiplex. With Kurt Russell and James Spader respectively originating the iconic roles of Colonel Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson in director Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi adventure, the story of how humanity first used the Stargate, and where the world that eventually spawned Stargate SG-1 came from, are both built from the ground up in this picture. So if you’re looking for a new series to binge or want to see how the franchise began, Stargate is a great choice to indulge in.

Star Trek: First Contact

There are several of Paramount’s Star Trek films to choose from on Plex’s extensive library, and they’re actually some of the fan favorites from the franchise. Perhaps the best one on offer is 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact, which kept the series tradition of using time travel as an exciting story device going with the Next Generation crew. Action packed, extremely humorous and even a bit frightening at times, the eighth Star Trek movie is one of the entries that fans continually heap praise onto, even after all of these years. Resistance is futile.

Monsters

Another example of low budget origins making sci-fi magic, writer/director Gareth Edwards tangled with gigantic beasties before he even set eyes on the director’s chair to the 2014 reboot of Godzilla. In Monsters, Edwards not only wrote and directed the story of a world where monstrous invaders pose a rather inconvenient threat to the human race, but he also tackled the roles of cinematographer, production designer and visual effects powerhouse. This indie darling packed such a punch that Gareth Edwards found himself tangling with Titans and the forces of the Empire, as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also enlisted his talents upon the results of his humble, but impressive beginnings.

The Dead Zone

One of Stephen King’s best-selling novels, The Dead Zone, is another one of those successes that eventually found itself on both the big and small screens. But even after doing pretty well for itself as a USA original series, the David Cronenberg-directed film is still a chilling masterpiece of grounded tension. With Christopher Walken playing the central role of reluctant clairvoyant Johnny Smith, he delivers a landmark performance as his school teacher-turned-psychic tries to prevent an apocalypse the likes of which we’ve never seen. Political paranoia and heartbreaking drama take the stage in this adaptation of a King classic.

Vanilla Sky

What if we told you that Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise made a sci-fi movie that nearly defies explanation? If we were around to spread that message back in 2001, maybe Vanilla Sky might have been a bigger hit than it turned out to be at the box office. However, it’s never too late to discover the truth about this cult classic for yourself, as Cruise’s charming millionaire David Ames goes from schmoozing power brokers and famous friends to having a rather unique crisis of personality. We’re being vague here, but it’s best to go into this one with as little knowledge as possible.

Paycheck

Another charming defiance of expectations comes from the John Woo/Ben Affleck pairing that’s known to the world as Paycheck. Also torn from the pages of Phillip K. Dick, this sci-fi mindbender shows a world where looking into the future is possible, but it comes with a lot of strings. Affleck’s Michael Jennings is the man that creates this technology, but the only problem is, he doesn’t remember a thing. All he has are a series of clues his past self has left him, with a ticking clock hounding his every move.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

We close our rundown of great sci-fi movies with another one that’s gained quite the following in its post-release life. Meant as a tribute to his late friend and mentor’s work, Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence was a project that originated as a Stanley Kubrick picture. But over the course of several decades, Kubrick would try to convince Spielberg that the film was something that was more aligned with the blockbuster director’s sensibilities. It’s a haunting riff on the Pinocchio legacy, with young Haley Joel Osment delivering a hell of a performance in the afterglow of The Sixth Sense.

Before we go, we’d like to remind you that if you saw a movie on this list that caught your eye, you can start watching it immediately through the Plex service right this very moment. So don’t think we’re just hyping you up for coming attractions that have a bit more of a wait time on their debut. You now have all you need to either start enjoying this streaming service, or to continue where you left off when we last spoke of it. Stream responsibly, and don’t forget, there’s plenty more where these came from. So be sure to check Plex real carefully, as all titles are subject to change and availability.

Sometime it’s hard to believe it’s been more than 25 years since Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich found the budget to make Stargate, a sci-fi fan favorite that went on to spawn multiple shows that aired for audiences on cable. Years later, Devlin still has fond memories from the making of the now-iconic film, but in a recent interview Stargate’s writer revealed one funny thing he really wish he could change about the 1994 film.

If you are familiar with Stargate at all, you may already know that much of the film was created using practical effects, including large sets and more, though some limited CGI was used at the time. However, given the budget of the flick was not as big as they probably would have liked, sometimes the film had to resort to some janky methods to get the scope it wanted, as Dean Devlin hilariously revealed to Dial the Gate.

These days, making a ragtag group of extras look like a small army's worth of characters would not be such a ridiculously hard feat, thanks to the beauty of VFX. However, I have to shout out to the men and women who have been tirelessly creative when it comes to practical effects in years past (and still sometimes today). The idea of buying a stick with a costume on it as a character seems laughable, but I’ve seen Stargate more than once and have never noticed this before.

There was actually some CG in Stargate, as Dean Devlin did tell David Read during the interview that the impressive helmet effect of the Horus and Anubis guards was “the first” time they’d messed with that type of technology, which Read rightfully mentions was “impressive.”

Both Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin originally had big plans for a Stargate film franchise and multiple sequels. Those never came to fruition, though the possibility has been touched on occasionally, including earlier this year. Some of the ideas were ultimately worked into the TV shows that came later and some were not, but Devlin has said previously even seeing that happen was “tough” because he wanted to be the one to get the job done. Interestingly, the series had its own struggles with VFX.

Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have gone on to bigger budget projects – they even worked together on Independence Day and 1998’s Godzilla movie – but Stargate has always stuck out as the one that got away. Perhaps we’ll get more from the future. For now though, still getting these set stories is an alright consolation prize.

James Spader has been a respected character actor since he was only in his 20s. He has had over 40 years in the acting industry and garnered several major awards, like multiple Emmys and a Cannes Film Festival award, and Spader has been nominated for everything from a Screen Actors Guild Award to an Independent Spirit Award. Currently, Spader has been gaining a new generation of fans with his role as Red on The Blacklist.

For many, The Blacklist is their first introduction to Spader. This is unfortunate because the '80s and '90s were a golden time for Spader’s movie career. He appeared in over two dozen films during those two decades. If you’re new to the Spader fandom (first off, welcome), then here are a few movies from the '80s and '90s to check out featuring The Blacklist actor.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Steven Soderbergh directed and wrote Sex, Lies, and Videotape. It’s a movie about a woman whose marriage is falling apart because of her unfaithful husband. He’s secretly sleeping with her sister. His old friend comes to town, and the wife and he form a bond. James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, and Laura San Giacomo star.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape is about sexuality in its many forms. James Spader plays Graham, John (Peter Gallagher)’s college friend. Graham tells Ann (Andie MacDowell) that he’s impotent and can’t have sex with another person. She later discovers that he records women talking about their sexual experience, and that’s how Graham “gets off.” Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a very fascinating film, and one of those reasons is because of Spader’s performance. He plays a much more vulnerable and introspective character than his typical dubious roles. Sex, Lies, and Videotape really is a film that highlights the versatility and talent of Spader.

Less Than Zero (1987)

Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., Jami Gertz, and James Spader star in Less Than Zero. Clay (Andrew McCarthy) leaves for college. While he’s away, his girlfriend Blair (Jami Getz) and best friend Julian (Robert Downey Jr.) start having an affair. But things are much more complicated than a romantic entanglement because Julian and Blair have both become dependent on drugs. Clay returns briefly for winter break, and reconnects with Blair and must save Julian from himself.

James Spader has a supporting role as Rip, the town drug dealer. Unlike Spader’s many bad guy-ish roles, Rip (in my opinion) isn’t that bad of a guy. Yes, he’s a drug dealer and forces people into prostitution, but he’s actually pretty fair with Julian until he’s had enough. He also tries to warn Clay to just stay away from his old classmates who are now drug dependent youths. Less Than Zero has many flaws, but Spader’s Rip is one of the more interesting elements of the movie.

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Pretty In Pink is the John Hughes-written comedy directed by Howard Deutch. It stars Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, Andrew McCarthy, Molly Ringwald, and James Spader. It’s about a young girl Andie (Molly Ringwald), who starts to fall for the rich Blane (Andrew McCarthy), putting her friendship with best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) in danger.

Many people remember this 80s Spader role the most because the character is one of his most infamous. He plays the quintessential sleaze-ball. Steff is just the ultimate rich jerk that makes your skin crawl and blood boil. You definitely cheer when this dude gets slugged a few times or two. And that’s a testament to Spader’s ability to really create multi-dimensional believable characters. Pretty in Pink is available to stream on Showtime.

Tuff Turf (1985)

Morgan (James Spader) comes to Los Angeles when his family loses their wealth. Immediately, he gets on the bad side of the school’s gang, run by Nick (Paul Mones). Morgan becomes even more of the gang’s target when he falls for Nick’s girlfriend Frankie (Kim Richards).

Tuff Turf is James Spader’s first leading film role. It’s a very-80s movie with a very over-the-top storyline of a powerful gang that seems to have one goal: destroy Morgan. Tuff Turf also stars Robert Downey Jr., Spader and his first movie together. Though Tuff Turf is a very silly film in premise, Spader manages to charm his way through it and give a standout performance that makes it easy to see why he has had such an enduring career. Tuff Turf is available to watch on Amazon and Tubi.

Jack Is Back (1988)

Someone is killing young women like famed serial killer Jack the Ripper. It’s the 100-year anniversary, so the killer is honoring him by murdering women just like Jack the Ripper did. John Westford (James Spader) is a young doctor who discovers the murderer and is then killed himself. His twin brother senses his death and goes on a quest to find his killer.

Jack is Back is an interesting role for Spader, because it was still early in his career. It’s also fascinating to see him play twins. He does a good job of making the twins distinctly different. They also feel like Spader’s '80s/'90s character archetypes, one sort-of bad boy and one an intellect who may be a little naive. Jack is Back is available to watch on Tubi.

Stargate (1994)

Stargate kicked off the Stargate franchise. In the film, Americans open a portal to another planet inhabited by humans and an alien who took over a human body. Kurt Russell plays Colonel Jonathan “Jack” O’Neil who leads the mission. Spader plays Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist and linguist who finds the keys to open the Stargate portal. Most of the movie involves Jack, Daniel, and their crew trying to find a way back home and fighting the alien Ra (Jaye Davidson).

Daniel is an optimistic and curious character. He explores this new world with compassion and a healthy curiosity and respect for the inhabitants. Daniel is intellectual but he’s also a bit of an oddball, which makes him a fun character, especially when paired with the more serious Jack character. Stargate is currently available to watch for free on Youtube with ads.

2 Days In The Valley (1996)

2 Days in the Valley focuses on several people through the course of 48 hours. It starts with Lee (James Spader) and Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello) executing a murder. The film then diverts to show these two characters and several others who all intersect, leading to a big showdown.

James Spader plays a ruthless psychopath that is really good at his job as a hitman. 2 Days in the Valley feels like a movie that got him ready for roles like Red in The Black List. 2 Days in the Valley is a very entertaining black comedy that includes some big names like Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher, Eric Stoltz, and Charlize Theron. It’s a film that keeps you amused and engrossed all the way through. 2 Days in the Valley is available to stream on Pluto.

True Colors (1991)

John Cusack and James Spader play Peter and Tim, two life-long friends. Their relationship starts rocky with them getting into a fight upon entering campus and then discovering that they are roommates. The two get over their initial differences and become best friends. As adults, Tim becomes an attorney and Peter seeks a political career. True Colors shows Peter’s ambitions turn him into a power-hungry, corrupt man. He’ll step on anyone to get to the top, including Tim.

If you’re a Cusack fan and a Spader one then, you’re in for a treat with True Colors. Cusack is subtle with his slow descend into corruption, which may make his performance more realistic than some of the flashier turn-to-the-darkside performances. Spader takes more of a sideline role as he doesn’t really join the action until the final act. He’s a man who wants to be good but often finds himself falling into the trap of revenge. True Colors is available on Amazon Prime.

White Palace (1990)

Susan Sarandon and James Spader star as Max and Nora in White Palace. She’s in her 40s and he’s in his 20s. Their romance begins when she seduces him. They’re both dealing with a loss. For him, he’s mourning the death of his wife and she is mourning her son, so at first it’s more of a steamy affair but they grow to love each other. Max must gain the courage to let Nora become part of his life, and stop trying to hide her from his friends and family. Jason Alexander and Kathy Bates also have small parts in White Palace.

Max is a typical young professional, but he has a sort of loneliness about him because of the death of his wife that makes him an empathetic character. It’s through Nora that he starts to enjoy life again. Nora and Max are an interesting couple because it does start a little sleazy, but their romance ends up feeling genuine due to Sarandon and Spader’s performances. White Palace is available to stream on Peacock.

Mannequin (1987)

Mannequin is a movie starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall, about a man who works as a department store window dresser. One night, the store’s mannequin comes alive. The two start to fall in love.

Mannequin is peak-80s ridiculousness with such an insane, but entertaining story of falling in love with a mannequin who becomes a human sometimes. James Spader plays Mr.Richards, the manager of the department store. Spader matches the premise’s energy and tone with his own exaggerated villain character. He feels like a baddie that you might find on a Scooby-Do episode or some Saturday morning cartoon.

James Spader gave so many great performances in the '80s and '90s, so if I included all of them, this list would be never-ending. If you need more to check out, watch Bad Influence, Bob Roberts, Wolf, and The Music of Chance. You can catch Spader on The Blacklist when it returns to NBC for its 8th season.

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Snake Plissken. Wyatt Earp. John "The Hangman" Ruth. Any given actor would give an arm and a leg to just to play one of these badass characters, but longtime Hollywood staple Kurt Russell has portrayed all three, plus dozens of other characters just as brash, quick-witted, and well-equipped as three legendary ass kickers.

Throughout his career, Kurt Russell has brought some of the most daring heroes (and a few villains) moviegoers have ever seen. Just think about it, John Carpenter turned to the actor not for just one movie, but five over the course of the pair's nearly 20-year partnership that produced some of the best action heroes the likes of which haven't been seen since. But the badassery doesn't stop there. Outside of his collaborations with the acclaimed filmmaker, Russell has shown up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Fast And Furious saga, and countless other franchises, many of which are included on this list of the most badass Kurt Russell characters.

10. Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey - Backdraft

In terms of movies about firefighters, it doesn't get much better than Ron Howard's 1990 drama Backdraft about two brothers in the Chicago Fire Department hot on the trail of a serial arsonist wreaking havoc across the Windy City. Kurt Russell plays the older Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey, a fearless, no nonsense veteran fireman who stops at nothing to save lives and extinguish fires, both on and off the job.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: After Bull and his younger brother fall down trying to save a young boy, Bull looks at his younger brother and says, "Don't take that kind of shit from it, don't let it know you're scared," before running into the flames.

9. Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil - Stargate

Kurt Russell had already proven his sci-fi and action movie prowess by the time he was cast as Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil in Roland Emmerich's 1994 epic Stargate. In the film, Russell's character suffers from suicidal depression after his son accidentally shoots and kills himself, but the broken and grieving father finds new meaning in life with the discovery a stargate that connects our world to the ancient Egyptian-like planet of Abydos.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: After being confronted by the Horus guards, O'Neil looks up, says "How ya doing," winks, and blasts him with his rifle.

8. Stuntman Mike McKay - Death Proof

Kurt Russell and Quentin Tarantino have worked together quite a bit in the past two decades, but that relationship got off to an insane start with the 2007 Death Proof, a high-octane throwback to the exploitation horror movies of the '70s, in which Russell plays the depraved Stuntman Mike McKay, a lunatic behind the wheel of a reinforced death machine. Though not Tarantino's best work, this fantastic thrill ride of a murder movie is a hell of a lot of fun.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: I feel wrong talking about a badass moment from such a reviled and horrible character, but the first time you actually get to see Stuntman Mike's stunt car that is only "death proof" for the driver, but the visual of him speeding like a madman and then slamming on the brakes, killing his first victim, is despicable at best, but it does set up the rest of the movie.

7. Sheriff Franklin Hunt - Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk is essentially what you get when you make a venn diagram consisting of westerns, cannibals, and oversized mustaches. Kurt Russell stars as Sheriff Franklin Hunt in this 2015 thriller that CinemaBlend previously described as being a horror take on John Ford's The Searchers in which a group of men go out to locate and rescue a group of people kidnapped by cannibals.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: Sheriff Hunt is a badass pretty much through the entire movie, but his sacrifice at the end of the film speaks volumes.

6. Gabriel Cash - Tango & Cash

Although critics seemed to take a crap all over this movie, Tango & Cash is probably one of the most absurdly fun buddy cop movies from the '80s not called Lethal Weapon. Kurt Russell appears as Gabriel "Gabe" Cash alongside Sylvester Stallone as Raymond "Ray" Tango, two narcotics detectives framed for murder. Finding themselves on the other side of the law, these former rivals must put their past aside and clear their names.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: Does the boiler room brawl ring any bells?

5. John "The Hangman" Ruth - The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight is one of the best westerns to come out in the 21st Century, and the reason behind it is the stellar cast, which includes Kurt Russell as the feared and consistent bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth. Although his treatment of Jennifer Jason Leigh's Daisy Domergue is more than a little unsavory, is pretty badass up until his death.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: During the introduction of John Ruth, it's told that he doesn't shoot you in the back to collect the bounty, he makes it a point to see you hang.

4. Jack Burton - Big Trouble In Little China

Big Trouble In Little China is one of those movies that could only exist in the '80s, even if they're trying to make a remake. A lot of that has to do with the look of the film, the underworld in the middle of San Francisco, and martial arts, but let's be real, Kurt Russell's Jack Burton is a badass through and through. Sure, he doesn't get a lot of things right the first time, and yeah, he did kind of fall into the plot, but the hair, the tank top, and the attitude make up for it.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: I'm just going to say that Jack Burton catching a knife and throwing it back directly in the middle of David Lo Pan's forehead should do the trick.

3. R.J. MacReady - The Thing

John Carpenter's 1982 sci-fi classic The Thing follows a group of American researchers who come face to face with the shape-shifting alien simply referred to as the "Thing." Kurt Russell appears as the station's helicopter pilot, R.J. MacReady who stops at nothing to wipe out the threat even if it means that he'll die too.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: There are only a couple other moments in Kurt Russell's filmography that will live up to MacReady's confrontation with the "Thing" in which he yells "Fuck you, too," before blowing the alien to smithereens.

2. Wyatt Earp - Tombstone

We might never know exactly who really directed Tombstone, but for now, let's just focus on the badassery of this western classic. With a cast that includes Val Kilmer (in his prime), Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, and countless others, one name stands above them all: Kurt Russell in his portrayal of real life lawman Wyatt Earp. This movie is just as enjoyable and badass today as it was in 1993.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: Picking just one moment of badassery exhibited by Earp is no easy task, but nothing beats out the scene where the lawman slaps Billy Bob Thornton's character and says, "Are you gonna do something? Or just stand there and bleed?"

1. Snake Plissken - Escape From New York

Was there ever going to be any other Kurt Russell as badass as Snake Plissken in John Carpenters 1981 classic Escape From New York? You could make a case for Wyatt Earp or R.J. MacReady, but neither of those characters glided into a prison the size of a city, saved the President of the United States, and kicked all sorts of ass while wearing an eye patch.

Ultimate Moment Of Badassery: You could say the fight scene in the wrestling ring is Snake Plissken's most badass moment, but you really see what the character is made of during his introduction where he remains defiant even with the President being held captive.

Those are just 10 of Kurt Russell's most badass characters. Do you agree with my ranking or do you think that Captain Ron or Dean Proffitt from Overboard should have been included on the list? Make sure to fill out the poll below and sound off in the comments.

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It’s no question the Stargate franchise has an avid fanbase, as shown by the movie and the success of shows such as Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe (RIP), not to mention web series Stargate Origins. At some point there were talks about a second movie as well, but where we are at currently does not seem to be on the brink of making it happen, although Roland Emmerich says there were talks.

The popular director of such projects as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Midway and of course 1994’s Stargate was recently doing press for his 2019 WWII film’s DVD release. When you have such a large catalog of movies to talk about, occasionally things like Stargate do come up. Here’s what Roland Emmerich had to say to Comicbook.com about the movie:

As recently as 2015, which just so happens to be prior to the release of Stargate Origins, Roland Emmerich was working with Dean Devlin on creating a reboot of the film. Sounds cool right? Roland Emmerich had previously mentioned things were "looking good" there for a little while, but then time passed and like many great ideas, this one seemingly puttered out over time.

More than a year ago producer Dean Devlin talked about creating Geostorm and coming to the realization that perhaps he shouldn’t be doing big studio movies. He’d left the Stargate reboot and really wasn’t sure if MGM wanted to move forward or not.

That’s the last thing we really heard about bringing the popular franchise back to the big screen, although Amanda Tapping and Richard Dean Anderson did reunite recently and also did express interest in doing some sort of continuation. When they spoke out they also noted there was interest from MGM, with Tapping noting,

So, from the looks of things MGM is aware the fanbase might appreciate new Stargate content and some people have been approached, but for whatever reason (Budget? Talent?), it just hasn’t come together yet. In more bad news, Stargate Command shut down at the tail end of 2019, too. So, there’s really nothing sort of propelling a new project forward at the moment.

To me, Amanda Tapping's idea of a one-off movie or a limited run actually sounds ideal. Some sort of fan event on a smaller scale could actually work budget-wise and could bring characters people really love back for one more round. This obviously wouldn't be the same thing as the project Roland Emmerich was propelling forward just a few years ago, but it would be something that I think could have the potential to resonate.

But for now, we'll have to wait, hope and revisit that Season 4, Episode 6 time loop episode to buoy our spirits when things feel particularly bleak. There's nothing like watching people play golf through the Stargate, after all.

When the first Stargate movie was released in 1994, the original plan was for it to be the first installment of a film trilogy. Instead, the story continued in the TV series Stargate SG-1, which was followed by the spinoffs Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. In the past few years, though, there had been talk of bringing this mythology back to the big screen through a reboot, but recently it's seemed like these plans are no longer moving forward. The latest indication of this has been that producer Dean Devlin, who wrote the original Stargate movie with Roland Emmerich, is no longer attached to the franchise. As Devlin put it:

So whatever the future holds for all things Stargate, Dean Devlin made it clear during his visit to The Matthew Aaron Show that he will not be involved with it, nor will he be working on anything Independence Day-related, another property he co-created with Roland Emmerich. When it comes to reboots, normally they're spearheaded by fresh creative talent, so it's not unusual for the creator of the property or the individual(s) who oversaw the last iteration not to play a big role in the new version. Nevertheless, Devlin was an integral component to bringing Stargate to life, so it would be strange not to have him involved in any capacity. Evidently though, following his experience on Geostorm, which was his directorial debut, he's no longer interested in working with any major studios, so his time with the Stargate franchise has concluded.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've heard that plans for future Stargate movies have stalled. Roland Emmerich, who directed the original movie, said as much back in November 2016, noting that while it initially looked like "it was all firing at the same time," unforeseen complications put the kibosh on all that. So unless Emmerich and whoever else he's working with can somehow overcome whatever obstacles are in place for this reboot, I suspect we'll just have to remain content with the original Stargate movie, which made over $196 million worldwide. The TV side of the Stargate world has also been on indefinite hiatus since the cancellation of Stargate Universe in 2011. Earlier this year saw the release of the digital series Stargate Origins, which was a prequel to both the movie and SG-1, but otherwise, this franchise is very much still in a holding pattern.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any major updates concerning the Stargate franchise. If you're interested in what movies are coming out soon unrelated to people traveling through space via alien-constructed portals, check out our 2018 release schedule.

Ever since 1994, the Stargate franchise has managed to keep die-hard science-fiction nerds enamored with its sometimes bizarre tales. With the upcoming release of Stargate Origins, we are finally getting a chance to see where the whole story started, at least for Catherine Langford. The first official trailer for the upcoming Stargate: Command web series has finally dropped online, and Stargate: Origins looks like a hell of a good time for fans of both this franchise and hard sci-fi with an epic scope. Take a look at the trailer below.

Canonically speaking, Stargate Origins (as the title would suggest) is meant to be the first story in the overarching Stargate story. Taking place before both the other TV entry or the original movie, Origins will focus on Catherine Langford and the fallout of her father's discovery of the Stargate in Egypt by her father, Professor Langford, ten years earlier. Because of its prequel distinction, this new series can reasonably be expected to show fans things that will help to recontextualize how we look at the other elements of the Stargate franchise as a whole.

And of course, because this is a science-fiction period piece, the upcoming series will also feature battles against Nazis. That's pretty much a given for a story such as this, and it looks like it's going to make for a swashbuckling, Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque good time.

Structurally, Stargate Origins will deliver its content to audiences in small, digestible bites. Each of the ten episodes in the series will run roughly ten minutes in length, and as such, the entire run of the series will add up to the length of a feature movie, give or take. This is obviously a different approach when compared to other popular TV franchises that typically run extended episodes for longer stretches, but the level of restraint shown here in the process of delivering a proper story is arguably something to be commended. And let's not forget that this isn't heading to a major network, and the Stargate: Command service was started up with its success in mind.

The creative turnaround on Stargate Origins is also worth pointing out. The show was only recently announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 (in honor of the 20th anniversary of Stargate SG-1), and hitting a February release date so soon after its announcement is an impressive feat, no doubt helped by the short episode lengths.

Stargate Origins will drop on Stargate: Command on February 15, and if you want more information about all of the TV content debuting over the next few months, then make sure to click over to our fall TV premiere guide and our midseason premiere guide and fill out your television-watching calendars accordingly! As for shows that haven't been lucky enough to get renewals this year, you can also see our handy 2017 cancellation guide to pay your respects to the shows that are no longer with us.

In the world of audio content, make sure to listen to the most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear everything that we have to say about the latest and greatest streaming content!

Fans were surprised and saddened when Syfy cancelled Dark Matter after three seasons a couple of months ago. This was especially true since the space drama ended on a major cliffhanger, and now we know that the series not only almost got another shot at life, but that it could have crossed over with another sci-fi franchise: Stargate.

When Dark Matter was cut loose by Syfy, the show's creator and executive producer, Joseph Mallozzi, began working on ways to give fans closure before time ran out on the contracts they had with the cast and crew of the series. During that process, he tried getting other networks or services to agree to at least a mini-series that would allow him and his creative team to wrap up the storyline so that the small but dedicated fanbase wouldn't be left hanging. While this was going on, MGM came to Mallozzi with the possibility of not only picking up another season of Dark Matter for its new streaming service, Stargate Command, but of, at some point, having the show cross over with the new series Stargate: Origins.

Stargate Command is, as you can imagine, the streaming service dedicated to all things Stargate. Fans of the franchise can watch all three of the movies that were produced (the last two of which debuted on Syfy), as well as the Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe television shows, the last of which ended in 2011. In order to really get people interested in the new service, MGM is producing a prequel series, Stargate: Origins, which will follow the daughter of the archeologist who first found a Stargate in Egypt.

As Mallozzi tells The Verge, the idea could have led to either a full continuation of Dark Matter, or short episodes that would have wrapped up the show. Those at MGM were likely keen on the idea because Mallozzi had held various producing and writing gigs on each of the previous Stargate shows, so he was fully aware of the lore and could have found a way to link the new series with Dark Matter.

Now, if you watched Dark Matter, you'll know that the show took place firmly in the future and out in space, as it focused on the ragtag crew of a spaceship trying to build new lives after waking up with their memories erased. And, even though Stargate: Origins will take place in the past (and mostly on Earth), Joseph Mallozzi already had an idea on how to combine the two shows, figuring that the blink drive used to travel great distances in an instant on Dark Matter would allow the worlds of each show to merge. Seeing as how the blink drive was frequently wonky tech that could lead to accidental travel through time or to alternate universes if it wasn't calibrated exactly, this makes a lot of sense.

Well, all hope is now lost for this awesome crossover between Dark Matter and Stargate: Origins, as time to work out a deal ran out before everyone's contract with the show expired. You can drown your sorrows by watching all of Dark Matter on Netflix right now. Stargate: Origins will be coming to Stargate Command in the near future, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for information on the new show as it becomes available.

It's been more than twenty years since Stargate first burst onto the scene with a self-titled movie. Through additional films, more than 300 television episodes, dvd releases, video games, new projects, unfortunate setbacks and countless fan conventions and appearances, the fandom has grown, at least among a very vocal base. Now, those diehards are being rewarded with a brand new television series.

The exciting news broke earlier today at Comic-Con, and fortunately, the announcement was filled with plenty of details. The show will be called Stargate: Origins, and it will primarily follow Catherine Langford. She's the daughter of archeologist Paul Langford, who led the Egyptian dig in 1928 that uncovered the first Stargate near the Great Pyramids in Giza. It'll run for 10 episodes, and it'll air exclusively on a new digital online fan platform called Stargate Command.

Here's what the show's creative team had to say during the panel today...

The panel also included a short trailer teaser, and you're not going to believe this, but it went over very well with fans, who have wanted a new show desperately since Stargate: Universe was cancelled in 2011.

The current offering will be produced by MGM, and it will come with the Stargate Command site that will allow enthusiasts to come together. More details will no doubt pour out in the coming days. Until then, get excited, and if you're a hardcore fan, thank yourself and your fellow die-hards for never letting this franchise die.

With shows like The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones, and Stranger Things dominating daily pop culture talk, folks are having real discussions as to whether or not television has surpassed film as the dominant medium. We like to think this change was super-recent, but while there has definitely been an increase in quality and budgeting for television in the last decade, TV's been kicking narrative ass for awhile. Sure, film has had the upper hand and the more immediate financial outcome, but more than a few times over the years, TV series have gone on to outshine the films based on the same concept.

Some of these examples are current, while some are older. One goes way back and I believe it will without a doubt will show you that while television is only getting recognized for its superiority today, TV creators been crushing it for a long while. Let's start off with one of the most popular examples.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

I'm sure not too many people will fight me on this, but there's so much about the Buffy The Vampire Slayer that makes the series better than the film. For starters, I mean no disrespect to actress Kristy Swanson, but Sarah Michelle Gellar is THE Buffy. While she may not have the unique ability to sense vampires via menstrual cramps, she did star at the center of a franchise that took an arguably forgettable film and made an iconic coming-of-age series that is still celebrated today. And in terms of the discussion as to whether the film is better than the series or vice versa, there are basically no arguments.

In all fairness, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's TV show offered stories and concepts that 90 minutes of film just can't wrap that quickly. The show opened us up to a deeper and more meaningful mythos involving vampire covens and demons, and actually gave these characters substantial enough backstory that fans still want more! Very few people were clamoring for a sequel to the Buffy film, and while an effort to reboot the film has popped up in Hollywood within the past decade, no one is biting.

Westworld

Many seem to forget that one of 2016's hottest series was once was the creation of prolific science fiction icon Michael Crichton. While I'll give Crichton all the credit in the world for works like Jurassic Park and the primary concept of Westworld, I think we can all say the series has outshone his original film in more ways than one. Visually certainly, but it seems like a low blow to measure 70s special effects against the production budget and technology of a modern era HBO series, so we'll stick to the story elements.

The Westworld film only grazes the surface of what we now know to be a very expansive world, quite possibly because it's a Crichton film that isn't based on a novel of his. Granted, the film Westworld also featured a Medieval World and a Roman World, so they may have had a bit more to juggle, but the movie is basically people having fun until robots attack. It's the typical Crichton plot where humans foolishly think nothing could go wrong until it inevitably does. The robots attack, but for what reason? The series gives these androids a heart and voice to the point where they're more sympathetic than normal antagonists. Being able to explore the additional narrative of the "hosts" and their lives definitely gives Westworld the series an edge over its predecessor.

Fargo

This may be a bit of a hot take, but after two seasons, I'm more than comfortable saying Noah Hawley's Fargo series has risen above Ethan and Joel Coen's original. Don't get me wrong, the film is a classic, and I'm not sure the TV series would be able to cast the likes of Martin Freeman, Ewan MacGregor, Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson had the movie not been so beloved. That said, the casting on this show's first three seasons has been outright phenomenal. When you put the original actors up against the show's actors, the star power isn't even a competition.

The writing has been a thing of beauty as well, and Noah Hawley deserves all the awards in the world for the acclaim he's brought FX with Fargo (and more recently, Legion). It's one thing to make a film about the midwestern mindset's approach to criminal happenings of Fargo, North Dakota, and quite another to do the same thing over the course of a TV season, multiple times. When you don't have a big city setting like New York to tell part of your story, you really have to rely on your characters and storyline to keep things moving, and the show hasn't struck out on any ideas yet. If you've been watching and still aren't convinced the Fargo series is better than the films, Season 3 should definitely close the book (or the Blu-ray case?) on the argument one way or the other.

Stargate

I'm not sure even Roland Emmerich predicted the Stargate franchise would survive far beyond the film's opening weekend after those reviews came in. While it went on to be financially successful, critics panned the film for a thin plot line, too many cliches, and too many special effects. Even a decade later, after seeing the success and critical acclaim of TV's Stargate SG-1, Roger Ebert still regarded the original Stargate as one of the worst films he'd ever seen. When your film ends up on a top critic's worst list alongside Spice World and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, you know something went wrong.

Yet Stargate didn't merely survive after its release; it thrived! Stargate SG-1 ran for 10 years and 214 episodes before hanging it up. Stargate Atlantis would be less successful, but still hit the mark of 100 episodes, and the franchise also launched another live-action show and an animated series in its run, as well as launch two straight-to-DVD films. Of course, the latter two made nowhere near as much as the major motion picture, but neither of them was at the top of Roger Ebert's shit list either. Out of all the shows on here, Stargate really made lemonade out of lemons when it came to the original.

Lassie

The original tale of a boy and his dog Lassie, Lassie Come Home, was one that struck a real chord with audiences in 1943. The film was a commercial success and spawned 7 sequels, all of which were well-received by audiences. That's pretty impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the Lassie television series, which would begin production in 1954 and finally end in 1973. In 19 years and 17 seasons, the show won 2 Emmys and the hearts of children everywhere, transitioned from black and white to color picture, and had a multi-part episode edited into a feature film Lassie's Great Adventure. Not too many shows based off films can claim they inspired another feature film! It's also a pretty good run for a show that spent it's first 10 seasons watching a boy get into trouble and his dog saving him. Side note, did you know little Timmy never actually fell down a well?

Yep, the popular trope made fun of again and again by numerous television show's isn't even a thing. The joke originated from some comedian back in the day, and folks have been running with it ever since. Somewhat ironically, there is an episode of Lassie in which she falls down a well and has to be rescued. That blows my mind even more than the fact that all 9 Lassie dogs were descendants of the original. Bark, er, talk about a talented bloodline.

Friday Night Lights

This is a case where even the director of the film will agree. Peter Berg is a second cousin to H.G. Bissinger, the writer of the original Friday Night Lights novel, and he went on the record to say he regretted having to drop many of the novel's interpersonal topics due to the length of his film. Berg later went on to create the NBC series, which used other fictional characters and a fictional town to tackle many of the book's topics that were excluded in the film. But while the serialized series was different, Berg still kept elements like the team name and even brought some of the movie's actors and actresses to the series in similar roles.

Let's also talk coaches. I take nothing away from Billy Bob Thornton's role as Coach Gary Gaines in the film, but Kyle Chandler never stopped killing it as Coach Eric Taylor, the better half of Connite Britton's wine-loving Tami Taylor. It's even more impressive when you start to look into the free-flowing nature of Friday Night Lights' filming process, and how much of the action and dialogue was the result of ad-libbing. The show did suffer in ratings and time shifts in its final years, but fans who stuck with it for all 5 seasons will tell you it was well worth it.

M.A.S.H

I think most people reading this will say the M.A.S.H series is better than the film, and that could be an age gap thing more than anything, but true nonetheless. The original film from iconic filmmaker Robert Altman was good, but watching it again after seeing the TV show makes it feel like it's the Earth-2 of the Korean War series. This is mainly due to the film being based more on the original novel by Richard Hooker. While I'm sure there are plenty willing to stick up for the film versus the television series, you can't really dispute the popularity of M.A.S.H, as it remains in syndication to this day!

Perhaps back in the day, you would've had more of a fight on this, as the initial launch of M.A.S.H implied this was a doomed project. Low ratings for Season 1 had the series headed towards cancellation until it was positioned behind the very popular All In The Family. From there, the show celebrated 11 seasons of success and only came to a close after the cast voted to end the series 4-3. Could you imagine any show giving their cast the vote behind whether to end their show today? I guess actors and actresses do still have that decision currently but it's usually a little more dramatic than a vote.

Are there any shows we missed that you think need to be added to the list? Did we completely screw the pooch on any of these choices? Share your thoughts on films vs. their tv version in the comments below, and head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see what other film-to-TV projects are coming int he near future.

Stargate may not have achieved the same level of popularity as the Star-related movies of the Trek and Wars variety, but it remains a cult classic. Following that first tale, the franchise moved to television, but two years ago, director Roland Emmerich and writer/producer Dean Devlin announced plans to reboot the original movie as a fresh trilogy. Now Emmerich has revealed that the Stargate reboot probably won't be made due to unforeseen complications. He explained:

Roland Emmerich informed Empire that while there was originally a lot of enthusiasm to bring Stargate back to the big screen a little while back, it doesn't look like the reboot will move forward anymore. After the original Stargate movie was released in 1994, there were plans to release sequels, but they never came to fruition. By 2014, Emmerich realized that it was better to start from scratch and re-tell the Stargate tale for a new generation, but that's been put on ice.

Along with the "fire dying," Roland Emmerich attributed the modern moviemaking model as the reason for why the Stargate reboot fell through, specifically citing how he believe studios pay more attention to the "idea" of a movie rather than how it actually turns out. He continued:

While there may be some truth to what Roland Emmerich said, no doubt Independence Day: Resurgence critically bombing earlier this year didn't help matters. If that attempt at revisiting his other big sci-fi movie from the '90s was so poorly received, surely MGM doesn't want Stargate to share the same fate. Dean Devlin also noted in the Empire report that they made the original Stargate movie without a major studio backing them, but that same kind of freedom isn't available anymore.

With the Stargate movie reboot apparently dead (for now), maybe MGM should consider bringing the property back to television. Stargate SG-1 aired for 10 seasons and spawned the spinoffs Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. After the latter concluded in 2011, the franchise has been in suspended animation. So if attempts to make a new movie series have stalled, bring in a new TV show, and rather than go the reboot route, have it take place in the same continuity with a brand new cast of characters. That's something worth considering.

What do you think of the Stargate reboot being axed? Were you looking forward to it or are you glad it's not happening? Let us know in the comments below.

Before Roland Emmerich became known for large-scale films that had a tendency to destroy the planet, he and his production partner made a little science fiction movie called Stargate. Now, it looks like a reboot of that film may happen, but the difference here is that the original creators plan to do it themselves. And one of the men responsible for the original Stargate says that in order to make the trilogy that they had always planned on, they need to just start over at the beginning.

When the original Stargate came out in 1994 it was always meant to be the first part of a film trilogy. However, after MGM obtained the rights to the property, they went on to create a number of TV series without input from the film's creators, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. Since the first series, Stargate SG-1, used the original film as its launching point, Dean Devlin tells Variety that the only way to go back and make the film trilogy that they want is to reboot the entire thing.

Even if Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich wanted to ignore the TV series and make a direct sequel to the original Stargate, all the characters would be 20 years older and, for whatever reason, Devlin says that wouldn't work with the story they want to tell. As much as we'd love to see a modern day James Spader in a Stargate movie, hopefully with his Raymond Reddington hat in tow, we can understand how that might be difficult to pull off.

It's clear from Dean Devlin's comments that he doesn't seem to have a problem with the direction that Stargate SG-1 took. The issue is simply that it wasn't what he and Roland Emmerich had planned. That show was fine, but now they want to tell their story.

We'll say this much: with all of the sequels, franchises, and reboots that are happening at the movies, the Stargate reboot would be unique in that the original creators will be involved. If there's ever a completely justifiable reason to reboot a franchise, this would be it. Even the most cynical movie fan would likely give this one a chance; we're certainly curious what the original creators had in mind for these characters.

Are you excited for a potential new Stargate trilogy? Sound off in the comments.

Director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin has some very big plans for the Stargate franchise. As we reported late last month, the two filmmakers are now working hard to reinvigorate the sci-fi series they created back in the mid-90s, bringing it back with a whole new trilogy of movies. What may surprise you, however, is that the plans they are moving forward with are the ones they originally envisioned back when the first film was being made.

Speaking with the Portland Business Journal (via Giant Freakin Robot), Devlin revealed a few key details about his ideas for the future of Stargate, the most significant being that the new plans are actually the old plans. Discussing returning to the sci-fi genre after spending some time away, the producer discussed how the original Stargate was made very differently than blockbusters are today, and that progress on the small screen helped handcuff any progression of theatrically released feature-length movies. Said Devlin,

In discussing how the Stargate franchise would up heading to television, one can't really argue with Devlin's point. Stargate-SG1, which first started airing in 1997, was seen as a follow-up to the 1994 movie, and lasted an impressive 10 seasons. That series was followed by Stargate Atlantis, which ran from 2004 to 2009, lasting five seasons. Most recently the franchise launched Stargate Universe - which debuted just a few months after the end of Atlantis - but that run only lasted 40 episodes.

So here is the big question: if the shows are historically far more popular than the original film ever was, is it really a good thing that the reboot if going to be more closely related to the latter? It's certainly interesting that this is an idea that Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have been sitting on for two decades, but is it really the proper direction? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.