10 Awesome Modern Sci-Fi Movies That Are Based On Books

Many classic sci-fi movies are based on novels, and this trend is still alive and well. Sci-fi novels are often the source of the genre’s most innovative and interesting ideas, partly because they are a relatively low-risk medium compared to film or TV. Once these stories gain traction, it’s not uncommon for Hollywood to step in and fund a big-budget adaptation.

Movie adaptations always come under a certain level of scrutiny from fans of the book. This can be even more intense with sci-fi movies, since the stories can be filled with ideas that are either hard to visualize or require an immense sense of scale. Only the best sci-fi directors, like Denis Villeneuve and Ridley Scott, can make suitable adaptations that are loved by newcomers and fans of the source material.

10

Annihilation (2018)

Based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer

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Annihilation

R

Sci-Fi

Mystery

Horror

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7/10

11

8.2/10

Release Date

February 23, 2018

Runtime

115 Minutes

Director

Alex Garland

Writers

Alex Garland, Jeff VanderMeer

Cast

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Annihilation is a very loose adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel, but it’s still a great movie. One reason why Alex Garland makes so many changes to the story is that some of VanderMeer’s ideas are intentionally hard to visualize, like the creature he describes as being made of light and noise. Garland finds a way to retain the same kind of ambiguous cosmic horror on the big screen.

Some of VanderMeer’s ideas are intentionally hard to visualize.

Another change Garland makes to the book is that he adds more detail to the characters. This slightly shifts the story’s focus, so that the characters can be more relatable conduits for the audience as they venture further into a strange scientific anomaly that plays tricks on their minds. Annihilation ends with some lingering mysteries, meaning that it’s worth watching multiple times.

9

The Martian (2015)

Based on the novel by Andy Weir

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The Martian

PG-13

Sci-Fi

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9/10

9/10

Release Date

October 2, 2015

Runtime

2h 24m

Director

Ridley Scott

Writers

Drew Goddard

Cast

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    Kristen Wiig

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The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars after his crew wrongly believe that he has been killed. The incredible story of his survival, as scientists on Earth scramble to bring him back home, is an uplifting tale of human resilience and ingenuity.

Imagery-from-Avatar-and-Blade-Runner-2049

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The Martian has plenty of humor to brighten up a dramatic plot, which allows Damon the chance to flex his underrated comedy chops. Although the story can often be extremely tense and filled with peril, Damon’s performance is a key part of keeping the tone light, which contributes to a crowdpleasing sci-fi thriller that ranks among Ridley Scott’s best movies.

8

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Drama

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9/10

15

8.4/10

Release Date

November 17, 2023

Runtime

157 Minutes

Director

Francis Lawrence

Writers

Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt, Suzanne Collins

Sequel(s)

The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Cast

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    Tom Blyth

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Although the Hunger Games franchise may lean more toward action than sci-fi at times, the dystopian thriller still has plenty of otherworldly concepts. The franchise seemed like it was over for a while, but Suzanne Collins’ prequel series has caused a rebirth, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the first movie to take a look at Panem long before Katniss’ birth.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes introduces audiences to a different version of Panem, one that is moving deeper into totalitarianism as the government extinguishes the last flames of rebellion. With the knowledge of everything that’s coming, it’s a fascinating prequel for fans of the franchise, and the action scenes are thrilling for anyone. Coming next is Sunrise on the Reaping, the long-awaited story of Haymitch’s Hunger Games campaign.

7

The Wild Robot (2024)

Based on the novel by Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot

PG

Animation

Drama

Sci-Fi

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8/10

90

9.2/10

Release Date

September 27, 2024

Runtime

101 Minutes

Director

Chris Sanders

Writers

Chris Sanders, Peter Brown

Cast

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    Lupita Nyong’o

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    Pedro Pascal

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One of 2024’s outstanding animated movies, The Wild Robot is an adaptation of a popular children’s book by Peter Brown. The book’s two sequels mean that The Wild Robot could become a franchise for DreamWorks, rejuvenating their lineup of animated movies alongside The Bad Guys and returning classics like the Shrek franchise.

The Wild Robot is a heartwarming story about an alien robot who lands on Earth and has to learn about the new forms of life he encounters. It’s also frequently hilarious, as the fish-out-of-water story makes the robot seem like an overgrown child at times. A stacked voice cast is the icing on the cake for the instant classic.

6

Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Based on All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

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Edge of Tomorrow

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Action

Thriller

Adventure

ScreenRant logo

7/10

15

8.9/10

Release Date

June 6, 2014

Runtime

1h 53m

Director

Doug Liman

Writers

John-Henry Butterworth, Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth

Sequel(s)

Edge of Tomorrow 2

Cast

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Doug Liman’s adaptation of All You Need Is Kill makes the story more palatable to Western audiences, starting with the title. The mech suits and sci-fi action scenes mean that the story’s Japanese origins are still clear, but Edge of Tomorrow is a Tom Cruise actioner through and through, with Emily Blunt also delivering a memorable performance.

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Edge of Tomorrow‘s time loop structure sets up some incredible action scenes, but it also means that there’s a compelling mystery at the heart of the story. As the characters learn more about their foes and their strange circumstances, so do the audience. This allows Liman to keep the stakes high when his characters can die without immediate repercussions.

5

Ready Player One (2018)

Based on the novel by Ernest Cline

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Ready Player One

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Action

ScreenRant logo

6/10

4.6/10

Release Date

March 29, 2018

Runtime

2h 20m

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Eric Eason, Zak Penn, Ernest Cline

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    T.J. Miller

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Ready Player One received some mixed reviews when it came out, but it proved to be more popular with audiences than critics. As with so many of Steven Spielberg’s movies, Ready Player One delivers jaw-dropping spectacle, but the difference is that the virtual setting gives Spielberg license to let his imagination run wild.

A sequel to Ready Player One has been in development hell for years.

Ready Player One mostly takes place in a virtual world where people in the near-future go to escape the drudgery of their everyday lives. The world is teeming with characters and icons from pop culture, and it’s always enjoyable trying to spot as many of these Easter eggs in the background as possible.

4

Paprika (2006)

Based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui

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Paprika

R

Anime

Drama Fantasy

Release Date

November 25, 2006

Runtime

90 Minutes

Director

Satoshi Kon

Writers

Yasutaka Tsutsui, Seishi Minakami, Satoshi Kon

Cast

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    Megumi Hayashibara

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    Tōru Emori

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    Katsunosuke Hori

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    Tôru Furuya

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Paprika has been adapted into two different manga, but it originally appeared as a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, published in four parts. Satoshi Kon’s masterful anime adaptation blows away the other versions of the story, as the medium of film allows the concept of dream interventions to come to life in a more vibrant and unexpected way.

Paprika has often been cited as a precursor to Inception, since both movies deal with the lines between dreams and reality. Paprika‘s animation allows it to create more bizarre and colorful visions of the subconscious, and it constantly delivers surprising, surreal visuals that still manage to tie into the movie’s themes.

3

Under The Skin (2013)

Based on the novel by Michael Faber

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Under the Skin

R

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Drama

Horror

ScreenRant logo

7/10

7.7/10

Release Date

April 4, 2014

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

Jonathan Glazer

Writers

Jonathan Glazer, Walter Campbell

Cast

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    Dougie McConnell

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    Lynsey Taylor Mackay

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Under the Skin remains a hidden gem, although plenty of sci-fi fans now appreciate its mysterious charms. Jonathan Glazer’s dark, unsettling horror movie stars Scarlett Johansson as a shape-shifting alien wandering through rural Scotland, capturing unsuspecting men and banishing them to an inky black void.

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Under the Skin leaves plenty of questions unanswered, so the alien’s origins and intentions are unclear. This allows people to cast their own ideas onto the story, and it has been interpreted as a feminist revenge thriller, an allegory about colonization and a metaphor for the random chaos of the universe. Michael Faber’s novel adds a little more detail, but there are still questions hanging over the plot.

2

Arrival (2016)

Based on Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang

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Arrival

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Documentary

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

8/10

24

7.8/10

Release Date

November 10, 2016

Runtime

116 Minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Writers

Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang

Cast

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    Michael Stuhlbarg

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    Forest Whitaker

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Arrival is Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of a short story by Ted Chiang. Eric Heisserer’s script masterfully translates Chiang’s themes to the big screen, which is no simple feat considering how the story is all about linguistics and philosophical theories. Heisserer retains this kernel of an idea while setting the groundwork for Villeneuve.

Arrival‘s non-linear timeline highlights the central idea of Chiang’s story: that language can affect our perception of the world around us. Villeneuve’s sense of spectacle does the rest of the work, creating large, imposing monoliths reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and strange aliens unlike anything else the genre has produced.

1

Dune (2021)

Based on the novel by Frank Herbert

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Dune

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Science Fiction

Drama

ScreenRant logo

5/10

31

8/10

Release Date

October 22, 2021

Runtime

155 minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Writers

Frank Herbert, Eric Roth, Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts

Cast

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    Dave Bautista

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    Rebecca Ferguson

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Arrival isn’t Denis Villeneuve’s only major contribution to the sci-fi genre. Blade Runner 2049 showed that he was unafraid of tackling a legacy sequel to one of the biggest sci-fi movies ever, and he continued his daring streak with Dune, an adaptation of a novel that had long been given the tag of “unfilmable“.

Splitting the first book into two parts proved to be a shrewd move.

Villeneuve’s Dune is a suitably extravagant adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel, bringing the desert planet of Arrakis and its violent mythology to life. Splitting the first book into two parts proved to be a shrewd move. While there are still cuts and alterations, it allows Villeneuve’s Dune to tell more of the story without compromising his methodical pacing. Dune Messiah is already in the works, but it remains to be seen if the other book sequels also get adaptations.