10 Most Influential Sci-Fi Movies That Inspire Every Film In The Genre

A handful of sci-fi movies’ influence on the genre can always be seen when some imagery or plot point originating with one of them turns up in practically every new movie of the same genre. Such sci-fi titles are likely to be counted among the best movies of all time when their widespread influence is the result of stellar filmmaking. They inspire new movies, which in turn inspire even more movies, extending their legacy for decades.

The most important sci-fi movies include staples like Star Wars and The Matrix, which gave rise not just to recognizable visuals in the genre, but also specific tropes and modes of storytelling. Sci-fi movies are also likely to claim the biggest breakthroughs in special effects technology, given the nature of the genre. Die-hard sci-fi fans have enjoyed some breathtaking movies over a century of cinema, as well as seeing the enduring legacy of these movies take shape.

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10 A Trip To The Moon (1902)

Georges Méliès’ Space Adventure That Gave Rise To The Sci-Fi Genre

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Collider claims: “Without this silent short, we probably wouldn’t have sci-fi films.”Georges Méliès was a visionary filmmaker who relied on a repertoire of illusionary and sleight-of-hand tricks to bring his imaginative worlds to life. Le Voyage Dans La Lune remains his most famous movie. The very notion of humans leaving Earth as the premise for the story took off, still seen in space adventure movies today, with tones ranging from the novelty of 2001: A Space Odyssey to the hopefulness of Interstellar to the horror of Alien.

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A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Méliès, is a groundbreaking 1902 silent film that follows a group of astronomers who journey to the moon in a spaceship and explore its surface. The film is notable for its innovative special effects and imaginative storytelling, marking a significant milestone in early cinema history.

Director Georges Méliès Release Date October 4, 1902 Writers Georges Méliès , Jules Verne , H.G. Wells Cast Georges Méliès , Bleuette Bernon , François Lallement , Henri Delannoy , Victor André , Brunnet , Depierre , Farjaut , Kelm , Jehanne d’Alcy , Jules-Eugène Legris Runtime 15 Minutes

Related 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time, Ranked

Sci-fi is one of Hollywood’s biggest markets, and these films are the best of what the genre has to offer, from space operas to family adventures.

Even if a specific sci-fi filmmaker did not revisit A Trip to the Moon before making their movie, they probably watched something that was directly inspired by it. Méliès’ cutting techniques were also important to the genre, but perhaps not so much as the idea that humans could plausibly reach a planet inhabited by whimsical alien life. Essentially, every movie that depicts a fantastical alien species within traveling distance of Earth can be traced back to A Trip to the Moon, exemplary of Méliès’ boundless imagination.

9 Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis Is Arguably The Original Evil Robot Movie

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Today, AI-turned-evil movies are widespread, including milestone titles like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Terminator, The Matrix, and Ex Machina, although depictions of AI are gradually becoming more nuanced than straightforward cautionary tales. Metropolis’ visual take on a supposedly utopian city is also commonly paid homage to in new depictions of harsh metropolitan settings. The Batman movies directed by Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan are clear examples of this, drawing upon Metropolis to showcase the skewed power balance in Gotham City (via Far Out).

The central plot element of the relationship between man and machine is everywhere.

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Director Fritz Lang Release Date February 6, 1927 Writers Thea von Harbou , Fritz Lang Cast Alfred Abel , Gustav Fröhlich , Rudolf Klein-Rogge , Fritz Rasp , Theodor Loos , Erwin Biswanger

The central plot element of the relationship between man and machine is everywhere. Additionally, C-3PO’s design in Star Wars is none-too-subtly a reference to the Maschinenmensch, whose sleek frame may be seen in more toned-down versions elsewhere in cinema. Arguably, it is the inspiration for the automaton’s design in Hugo, a book and movie that celebrates Méliès’ career. This would create a circular effect, as Méliès certainly inspired Metropolis, while Hugo then paid homage to it.

8 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey Was The Beginning Of The Modern Sci-Fi Genre

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It borders on cliché for a sci-fi director to say they were inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, while references to the movie turn up in all genres. Outside the sci-fi genre, this is likely to be played as a joke; the memorable, iconic theme is commonly used to signal the evolution of something greater, most recently in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The evil autopilot robot in WALL-E demonstrates how HAL’s design and characteristics may either be subtly or very obviously repurposed.

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

Director Stanley Kubrick Release Date April 3, 1968 Writers Stanley Kubrick , Arthur C. Clarke Cast Keir Dullea , Gary Lockwood , William Sylvester , Daniel Richter , Leonard Rossiter , Margaret Tyzack Runtime 149 minutes

All sci-fi movies, to some degree, try to capture the feeling of awe that 2001: A Space Odyssey once inspired. Stanley Kubrick again launched forward special effects technology, yet he still relied on models and massive sets in the pre-CGI era. Some filmmakers still revert to this technique with spectacular results, such as some of the action sequences in Inception. However, most movies inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey exhibit the same visual cues of a spaceship setting that will never go away.

7 Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars Changed The Sci-Fi Genre With Tales Of Classic Heroes In Space

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Star Wars obviously draws upon Metropolis, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Star Trek, but popularized the hero’s journey narrative like never before. Star Wars revitalized the sci-fi genre in Hollywood with its widely appealing plot and characters, better than any movie that came before it. Titles like A Trip to the Moon, Metropolis, and 2001: A Space Odyssey are too philosophical or too dated in composition to draw in the audience that an action blockbuster like Star Wars could.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope 8

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The film that began the Star Wars franchise, Episode IV – A New Hope tells the story of wistful Force-sensitive Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who longs to leave his home planet of Tatooine to fight the evil Empire. After inheriting his Jedi father’s weapon, a lightsaber, Luke sets off under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) with smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to join the Rebellion and face the evil Darth Vader.

Director George Lucas Release Date May 25, 1977 Writers George Lucas Cast Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Alec Guinness , David Prowse , James Earl Jones , Frank Oz , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Peter Mayhew , Peter Cushing Runtime 121 Minutes

George Lucas also relied on practical tricks, like models of various machinery, but Star Wars was the beginning of sci-fi’s reliance on CGI. Great movies inspired by Star Wars are everywhere, showcasing moments both seriously and jokingly inspired by Luke, Han, and Leia’s original adventure. In summation, Star Wars changed Hollywood forever because of a perfect combination of a highly enjoyable story, sci-fi homages, and original visuals, making everyone want to get away with copying it.

6 Alien (1979)

Alien Heralded A New Era Of Horror Meets Aliens

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Alien has some similar undertones to 2001: A Space Odyssey, regarding its emphasis on just how big and mysterious space is. However, Alien‘s biggest contribution to cinema is its perfectly crafted, claustrophobic horror movie scenario set in space, as well as Sigourney Weaver’s genre-defining performance. Movies inspired by 1979’s Alien tend toward themes of the fear of the unknown, with the alien species more distant than in some other movies where they are given more characterization.

Alien (1979) 3

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Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, is a science fiction horror film that follows the crew of the commercial spacecraft Nostromo. Upon investigating a distress signal on a distant moon, they discover a deadly extraterrestrial lifeform. The film stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley and became a seminal work in both the sci-fi and horror genres, known for its atmospheric tension and groundbreaking visual effects.

Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 22, 1979 Writers Dan O’Bannon , Ronald Shusett Cast Sigourney Weaver , Tom Skerritt , John Hurt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , Ian Holm , Yaphet Kotto , Bolaji Badejo Runtime 117 Minutes

Alien gave rise to a series of space-themed breaches and outbreaks, as well as a darker spaceship aesthetic than 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars’ typically less cramped, more whitewashed corridors. Encountering extra-terrestrial life is the ultimate dream of the sci-fi genre, one which many movies have jumped at, no matter how implausible it may be in real life. What Alien emphasizes is the potential danger of this situation, as well as themes of ingenuity and being the last person standing.

5 Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner Revamped Technology Discourses & Sci-Fi Visuals

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While Star Wars and Alien may have given sci-fi more classic heroes to root for in the context of standard action and horror adventures, Blade Runner brought the genre back to its deeply philosophical origins. This inspired movies like The Terminator, Soldier, and Ghost in the Shell, as well as shows like Westworld and Raised by Wolves. Movies like Gatacca specifically delve into the implications of artificial humans, while those along the lines of Dark City borrow plot elements like malevolent authority and false memories.

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

Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 25, 1982 Writers Hampton Fancher , David Webb Peoples , Philip K. Dick , Roland Kibbee Cast Harrison Ford , Rutger Hauer , Sean Young , Edward James Olmos , M. Emmet Walsh , Daryl Hannah , William Sanderson , Joe Turkel Runtime 117 minutes

Related 10 Best Legacy Movie Sequels Of All Time, Ranked

Creed, Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, and other movies can be counted among the best legacy sequels of all time.

Chris O’Falt also discusses (via SlashFilm) the impact of Blade Runner‘s unique aesthetic, giving rise to cyberpunk, “The popular science fiction sub-genre juxtaposes a technologically-advanced future with the breakdown of social order.” Nowhere is the influence of this seen more than in The Matrix, although the Wachowskis’ setting differs from the recognizable neon world of Blade Runner. Blade Runner is strangely dream-like yet resonant, an effect movies going forward would attempt to mimic.

4 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

E.T. & Elliot’s Hopeful Friendship Changed The Alien Genre Once Again

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The surprising E.T. Easter Egg in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is fitting when E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Star Wars are both more lighthearted additions to the sci-fi genre, which influenced other movies with their hopefulness. E.T. has also been mockingly referenced by other movies, but its heartfelt storyline of the friendship between the stranded alien and human children is what really provokes emotions. Amazingly, Steven Spielberg created an atmosphere where E.T. is terrifying at first, making the development of the friendship more impactful when it is the result of overcoming misconceptions.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 3

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Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial tells the story of Elliott Taylor (Henry Thomas), who befriends a small alien left stranded on Earth. When government forces come to take the benevolent creature away, Elliott does everything he can to protect his new friend, risking his own safety in the process in order to help E.T. return home.

Director Steven Spielberg Release Date June 11, 1982 Writers Melissa Mathison Cast Drew Barrymore , Henry Thomas , Robert MacNaughton Runtime 1h 55m

The sci-fi genre had some fun after E.T. with plenty more friendly aliens and ragtag bands of kids, often leaning into themes of the cost of science when these newcomers are persecuted when they come to Earth and how children have the most honest, accepting perspective. Great movies inspired by E.T. include cuddly creatures like Gizmo but also feature the strangeness of the aliens in Nope and Arrival. E.T. blends space horror with compassion for another, unfamiliar living thing, introducing a new take on how sci-fi approaches the unknown.

3 The Terminator (1984)

The Terminator Popularized Time Travel & A New Version Of Killer Robots

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The combined influence of The Terminator‘s release meant the advent of time travel and a different kind of robotics in sci-fi movies and TV. RoboCop and Cyborg came out shortly after The Terminator, twisting the first movie’s story of human-appearing robots, technological dangers, and a specific character needing to be protected. Meanwhile, the lines “Come with me if you want to live” and “I’ll be back” proliferated in pop culture, as well as other visual and verbal references to The Terminator and its sequels.

The Terminator 2

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The Terminator is a sci-fi action film directed by James Cameron. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a cyborg assassin sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, whose son will lead a resistance against machine domination. Michael Biehn portrays Kyle Reese, a soldier also sent back in time to protect Sarah. The film explores themes of time travel, artificial intelligence, and survival.

Director James Cameron Release Date October 26, 1984 Writers James Cameron , Gale Anne Hurd , William Wisher Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger , Michael Biehn , Linda Hamilton , Paul Winfield , Lance Henriksen , Bess Motta Runtime 107 Minutes

Another effect of The Terminator contained within sci-fi and fantasy is the modality of time travel where the future cannot be changed. Movies including Interstellar, Tenet, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azkaban take after The Terminator in depicting time travel as a closed loop, where no version of the timeline where the time-traveler is not present ever exists. The Terminator franchise gradually moved away from this logic, but none of its installments have had the same impact as the first two.

2 Akira (1988)

Akira Is The Key Movie In The History Of Sci-Fi & Animation

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While the two things seem like a perfect match, sci-fi told through animation took a very long time to reach Hollywood, and even more time to reach the heights of epic animated events like the planned Spider-Verse trilogy today. Anime movies and series like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, and Neon Genesis Evangelion were obviously inspired by Akira, but its influence is present elsewhere. Akira‘s setting is visually similar to that of Blade Runner, contributing to its proliferation; Collider also highlights the many times movies and TV shows copied the “Akira slide.”

Akira laid the groundwork for other sci-fi anime to become beloved properties worldwide.

Akira (1988) 0

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A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.

Director Katsuhiro Otomo Release Date July 16, 1988 Writers Katsuhiro Otomo , Izô Hashimoto Cast Mitsuo Iwata , Nozomu Sasaki , Mami Koyama , Taro Ishida , Tesshô Genda , Mizuho Suzuki , Tatsuhiko Nakamura , Fukue Itō , Kazuhiro Shindō Runtime 124 Minutes

Akira laid the groundwork for other sci-fi anime to become beloved properties worldwide. Akira is credited as an inspiration for movies such as The Matrix and Stranger Things, combined with the influence of Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey (via CBR). However, Akira truly changed the sci-fi genre by pushing the boundaries of animation, becoming more successful than anyone would have thought it could be.

1 The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix Solidified Cyberpunk & Created Many Choreography Tropes

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The Matrix spawned countless “red or blue” choices in movies and TV (another sci-fi reference made by Barbie) and similarly styled action sequences of people suspended in midair. It renewed the “chosen one” storyline for sci-fi, getting very complicated about it and never totally answering the question of what being “the One” really means. The Matrix also gave cyberpunk one last push with its own green-tinted version of the precedent set by Blade Runner and Akira, as well as giving rise to “Bullet Time” style action sequences.

The Matrix 3

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The Matrix, directed by the Wachowskis, stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker who discovers that reality is a simulated construct controlled by intelligent machines. Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss co-star as Morpheus and Trinity, who help Neo navigate and ultimately challenge the artificial world. The film blends action, philosophy, and groundbreaking visual effects, establishing itself as a pivotal entry in the science fiction genre.

Director Lana Wachowski , Lilly Wachowski Release Date March 31, 1999 Writers Lilly Wachowski , Lana Wachowski Cast Keanu Reeves , Laurence Fishburne , Carrie-Anne Moss , Hugo Weaving , Gloria Foster , Joe Pantoliano Runtime 136 minutes

Related 10 Times The Matrix Sequels Tried To Copy The Original Movie

The Matrix sequels are full of scenes and lines of dialogue borrowed from the original movie to remind fans why they enjoyed it so much.

The influence of The Matrix can also be seen in movies that play with the idea of a false reality, including Inception. The Matrix is responsible for the X-Men costumes in Fox’s earliest X-Men movies, creating some division concerning whether they should have been true to the comics. Any sequence of a deadpan, unshakable hero walking calmly into battle can arguably be attributed to The Matrix. Sci-fi movies like this are all linked to one another and spawn many knock-offs and more artistic homages, making it impossible to tell where their influence ends and begins.

Source: Collider, Far Out, SlashFilm, CBR

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