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The Martian poster

Movies that feel likeThe Martian (2015)

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

If you loved The Martian, the closest films we have are Ad Astra (2019), Passengers (2016) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). All three share The Martian's cerebral and awe feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Wall (2012).

πŸ… 91% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ridley Scottcerebralcontemplativeepicawelonely
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If The Martian hit the spot, these will too

Ad Astra poster
Ad Astra
2019 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.5science fiction Β· dramaNetflix

The solar system as a lonely frontier for one man's journey

The difference: Interior and melancholy where Watney cracks jokes

The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.

Passengers poster
Passengers
2016 Β· dir. Morten Tyldum
πŸ… 30%β˜… 7drama Β· romance Β· science fiction

Stranded in space, engineering a way to keep living

The difference: A morally thorny romance, not a rescue

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early.

Star Trek Beyond poster
Star Trek Beyond
2016 Β· dir. Justin Lin
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7action Β· adventure Β· science fictionParamount+

A crew scattered and improvising their way back to each other

The difference: Action-forward; problems get punched more than calculated

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

The Wall poster
The Wall
2012 Β· dir. Julian PΓΆlsler
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· dramaPrime Video

Pinned in one spot, thinking your way through hour by hour

The difference: Airless and cruel; no support system, no lightness

A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2015 Β· dir. J.J. Abrams
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7adventure Β· action Β· science fictionDisney+Starz

A desert-stranded survivor swept into something bigger

The difference: Space fantasy, the science fictional

Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers.

Dune: Part Two poster
Dune: Part Two
2024 Β· dir. Denis Villeneuve
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8.4science fiction Β· adventureMax

A hostile desert world that demands adaptation to survive

The difference: Mythic war epic, no botany jokes

Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

The Dog Stars poster
The Dog Stars
2026 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 40%β˜… 6.5science fiction Β· thriller Β· adventure

Both are Ridley Scott's work, and they rhyme

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

After the world's population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in a Colorado airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he’s flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.

Project Hail Mary poster
Project Hail Mary
2026 Β· dir. Phil Lord
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.2science fiction Β· adventurePrime Video

Common ground in both: space and astronaut

The difference: Easier on the stillness than The Martian

Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction.

Interstellar poster
Interstellar
2014 Β· dir. Christopher Nolan
πŸ… 73%β˜… 8.7adventure Β· drama Β· science fictionPrime VideoParamount+

Space survival where science is the lifeline and Earth watches

The difference: Cosmic mysticism versus duct-tape pragmatism

The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

Solo: A Star Wars Story poster
Solo: A Star Wars Story
2018 Β· dir. Ron Howard
πŸ… 69%β˜… 6.9science fiction Β· adventure Β· actionDisney+

Common ground: spacecraft

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than The Martian does

Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian.

John Carter poster
John Carter
2012 Β· dir. Andrew Stanton
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: planet mars

The difference: Leans harder into action than The Martian does

John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Ex Machina poster
Ex Machina
2015 Β· dir. Alex Garland
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.7drama Β· science fictionHulu

Smart-people sci-fi where intelligence is the whole game

The difference: A locked-house AI thriller, quietly sinister

Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.

In the mood for more cerebral?

all cerebral movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Martian’s defining feeling.