6 Upcoming Sci-Fi Films, Ranked by Hype

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Published Nov 9, 2026, 7:31 AM EST Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel. A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated. Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point. Sign in to your Collider account Since the early days of cinema, the science fiction genre has produced several of the greatest and most entertaining genre movies imaginable. As the years have passed, the genre has kept evolving in ways that people couldn't have possibly predicted decades ago, making it so that sci-fi has managed to keep itself fresh and exciting over the years' passage. Every year, the world is treated to at least a few exceptional sci-fi movies—and if they're lucky, audiences may even get to experience a genre-defining masterpiece. This year, we've been gifted gems of the caliber of Project Hail Mary and Disclosure Day, and the coming years promise to deliver sci-fi films every bit as exceptional and unforgettable. Whether we're talking about the newest installment in an ongoing gold mine of a franchise, such as the long-awaited Avatar 4; or perhaps the latest Marvel crossover event, such as Avengers: Doomsday, there is plenty for sci-fi fans to be not just excited, but genuinely hyped about. Indeed, we're talking about projects surrounded by such buzz and anticipation that simply "looking forward to them" seems like an underreaction. Will these movies actually manage to live up to the hype and deliver the kind of experience that fans are expecting? Only time will tell. But for now, simply being hyped to see them is a fun enough experience in itself. 6 'Avatar 4' (2029) Premieres on December 21st Image via 20th Century Studios Calling James Cameron's Avatar an unprecedented blockbuster event would be an understatement. With its release in 2009, Cameron smashed his own Titanic record, seeing Avatar become the highest-grossing film of all time. The foundational ideas for this franchise had accompanied Cameron for decades, but he had to wait for technology to catch up to his ambition in order to finally make this passion project a reality. Just days before the release of the first film, four sequels were announced. Two sequels in, something has become very clear: The Avatar franchise is very far from just being a one-hit wonder. Both Avatar fans and those who simply have a solid-enough interest in the franchise should be immensely hyped to see what Cameron ends up doing with Avatar 4. Avatar: The Way of Water was phenomenal, and even though Avatar: Fire and Ash failed to live up to expectations, it nevertheless had plenty to offer—including being one of the movies with the most perfect special effects in history. Because of this, both Avatar fans and those who simply have a solid-enough interest in the franchise should be immensely hyped to see what Cameron ends up doing with Avatar 4. What ways will he find to make the CGI look even more impressive than Fire and Ash's? Where will Jake Sully's journey take his family next? What element of nature will be put under the spotlight this time? Cinephiles can't wait to find out. 5 'Man of Tomorrow' (2027) Premieres on July 9th Image via Warner Bros. Pictures Genre purists sometimes object to superhero films being called sci-fi films, but if there's one superhero blockbuster that perfectly earned its right to be considered one of the best sci-fi movies of the past few years, it's Superman. It was announced at the beginning of 2023 that James Gunn and Peter Safran would become co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, laying out the foundations for the first chapter of a rebooted franchise. The first movie in this new DCU was Gunn's Superman, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would object to calling it one of the best superhero movies released since 2020. Next year, two years after the first movie's release, the world will be treated to David Corenswet's return as the Man of Steel in Man of Tomorrow, which will see the superhero reluctantly team up with Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor to defeat Lars Eidinger's Brainiac. It's a story that fans of the comic books are already perfectly familiar with, and which should give people unfamiliar with the source material plenty of reasons to be hugely hyped as well. An iconic villain, Aaron Pierre's first movie appearance as John Stewart, the return of Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle, and Gunn's signature bright direction should all make this quite the cultural event. 4 'Star Wars: Starfighter' (2027) Premieres on May 28th Image via Lucasfilm For its 50th anniversary, the Star Wars franchise will add yet another spin-off to its cinematic canon: Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, written by Jonathan Tropper and starring Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray. The story will reportedly be set five years after the events of Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, and will be the culmination of Levy having been in conversation with Lucasfilm to make a Star Wars project since the mid-2010s. Though several filmmakers' Star Wars projects have unfortunately not come into fruition in recent years, Starfighter seems to be moving at light-speed. The project is meant to be a standalone film and not launch any sequels, and if there's one thing that Star Wars fans love, it's great standalone stories that expand and enrich the galaxy far, far away in ways that mainline projects really can't. After Andor proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there's definitely an appetite for Star Wars stories able to stand on their own two feet as separate titles, fans' hype for Starfighter has only grown as more comes to be revealed about it. Inspired mostly by Return of the Jedi's blend of thematic depth and lighthearted fun, it's one of the biggest reasons for a sci-fi fan to be hyped for 2027. COLLIDERInteractive Long-range scan active Movies/Science Fiction/Survival Assessment Collider Survival Assessment Which Sci-Fi WorldWould You Survive? 8 questions · 5 worlds · one honest verdict Five of the great screen futures, and not one of them is built for comfort. Answer eight questions about instinct, loyalty and the line you would cross, and the scan will tell you which one you would still be standing in. Worlds in range ▦︎The Matrix ◈︎Mad Max ◑︎Blade Runner ▲︎Dune ✦︎Star Wars Begin the scan Question 01 of 08INSTINCT The world as you know it ends overnight. What is your first move? No wrong answer. There is a wrong hesitation.AFind out what is really going on behind all of it BGrab a vehicle and as much fuel as you can carry CKeep your head down and show up to work anyway DLearn the rules of whoever is in charge now EFind other people and start organizing ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 02 of 08RESOURCE You can stockpile exactly one thing. What is it? Choose carefully. You are not getting a second run.AInformation nobody else has BFuel CClean money and cleaner documents DWater EA ship that can get you off-world ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 03 of 08THREAT Which kind of enemy scares you the most? Be honest about what keeps you up.AOne that can be anywhere, wearing anyone's face BA convoy of people who want what you are carrying CSomeone who looks exactly like you DA rival family that has been planning your downfall for generations EAn empire with unlimited resources and no patience ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 04 of 08AUTHORITY How do you handle the people in charge? Every world has them. Even the ones that pretend otherwise.AAssume they are lying and work around them BNobody is in charge where I am CFollow the orders, file the report, stay invisible DStudy them, get close to them, outlast them EJoin whoever is fighting them ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 05 of 08ENVIRONMENT Pick the place you would rather wake up in: You will be there a while.AA grey city that feels slightly too perfect BAn endless desert highway CA rainy neon street at three in the morning DA dune sea with a fortress on the horizon EA crowded spaceport full of strangers ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 06 of 08ALLIANCE Who do you want standing next to you? Pick one. You only get one.AA guide who knows far more than they are telling you BOne person you trust and nobody else CNobody. You work alone DA loyal circle you grew up with EA crew of misfits who argue the whole way ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 07 of 08MORALITY Which line would you cross to survive? Everybody crosses one.ALying to the people closest to you BTaking what you need by force CLooking the other way DPlaying a long game that costs other people dearly EBlowing something very expensive up ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Next Question 08 of 08PURPOSE What are you really fighting for? Last question. Make it count.AThe truth, whatever it turns out to be BTomorrow. Just tomorrow CSomething that finally feels like a real life DYour family's name EEveryone who cannot fight for themselves ← Back Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance Run the scan Scan completeYou would survive ▦︎ The Matrix The Resistance, Zion You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. You would survive The Matrix because you were never fully sold on the version of reality you were handed. You notice the seams. You ask the second question. In a world built to keep people comfortable and incurious, that instinct is the whole fight, and it is why Morpheus would have found you long before you found him. From the Collider file The Wachowskis' 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film Editing. Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the actors. Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot, recovering from neck surgery the whole time. It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the world in front of you. Red pill energy Pattern spotter Built to question ◈︎ Mad Max The Wasteland Oh, what a day. What a lovely day. You would survive the Wasteland because you do not waste energy mourning the world that ended. You move, you improvise, and you are very good with whatever is bolted to the thing in front of you. Furiosa would let you drive. That is not a compliment anybody earns easily. From the Collider file Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year. George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a script. The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and real stunt performers. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024. Keeps moving Improviser Good with engines ◑︎ Blade Runner Los Angeles, 2049 All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. You would survive 2049 because you know how to be small in a very loud city. You keep your head down, you do the job, and you hold onto one private thing that belongs only to you. That quiet stubbornness is exactly what both Deckard and K run on, and it is what keeps either of them going when the case stops making sense. From the Collider file Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth nomination. The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott's 1982 original. Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever he could. Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the two movies. Keeps her head down Private Noir soul ▲︎ Dune Arrakis Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. You would survive Arrakis because you think in decades while everyone around you thinks in weeks. You read the room, you learn the customs, you wait. The desert does not reward speed. It rewards people who understand that patience is a weapon, which is the one lesson the Fremen never had to be taught. From the Collider file Denis Villeneuve's Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and Original Score. Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan's Tenet so he could score Dune instead. Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken. David Lynch's 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky's unmade one are both their own legends by now. Plays the long game Reads the room Patient ✦︎ Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away Rebellions are built on hope. You would survive the galaxy because you never try to survive it alone. You collect people. You end up in the middle of other folks' problems and you stay anyway. Every version of this story, from the Falcon's crew to the Ghost's, runs on somebody exactly like that holding the group together. From the Collider file The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects. John Williams' score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever. Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both seasons. The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+. Collects people Shows up Hope merchant Compatibility readout · top three 1 2 3 ↻ Retake the quiz Copied to your clipboard Scan filed byCOLLIDERCollider.com · The Sci-Fi Desk 3 'Avengers: Doomsday' (2026) Premieres on December 18th Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures When Iron Man came out to incredible acclaim in 2008, little did audiences know that they were witnessing the birth of the biggest, most financially successful film franchise in history. By this point in time, however, no longer is the Marvel Cinematic Universe label a seal of guaranteed quality. The franchise has a lot to prove if it wants to bring fans back in droves, and what better way to do exactly that than an Avengers movie? Where Avengers: Endgame felt like everything that the Infinity Saga had built up to, Avengers: Doomsday has the mission to be a game-changing turning point for the Multiverse Saga. If all goes right, Avengers: Doomsday will not only be one of the best comic book movies since 2020, but truly one of the biggest and most unforgettable blockbusters in modern history. It has been seven years since the last Avengers film hit theaters, so fans don't really know what to expect—but how could they not be hyped about a project as grand, ambitious, and mysterious as this one? Who will make it out alive? How will the Avengers possibly deal with a threat as unprecedented as Doom? How will the script handle Robert Downey Jr. playing the iconic villain? Whatever the answers to those questions end up being, there's nothing but excitement and buzz surrounding Doomsday. 2 'Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse' (2027) Premieres on June 18th Image via Sony Pictures Releasing After the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took the world by storm in 2018, expectations were set sky-high for its sequel. Somehow, Across the Spider-Verse ended up not only fully living up to expectations, but somehow surpassing them in every way imaginable. As a result, it set the bar even higher for its sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse. Originally set to release mere months after Across the Spider-Verse, the project has been delayed multiple times, with it currently being slated to premiere in the summer of 2027. Though it's undeniably frustrating that fans have had to wait so long for a film that was meant to come out two years ago, the wait will most definitely be worth it. After all, Across the Spider-Verse is one of the best animated movies of the last five years, and Beyond the Spider-Verse (which was developed concurrently with it) is meant to follow up on its cliffhanger ending in a pretty direct way. Described by directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson as the most emotional installment in the trilogy, it promises to be one of the most exciting and exhilarating action movies of the decade—animated or otherwise—, making it so that fans' hype hasn't died down over the course of the last couple of years. 1 'Dune: Part Three' (2026) Premieres on December 18th Image via Warner Bros. Pictures Frank Herbert's Dune is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most important works of science fiction literature in history, and as such, any sort of adaptation is a titanic task with huge shoes to fill. Leave it to Denis Villeneuve to make an adaptation as masterful as 2021's Dune and 2024's Dune: Part Two, a pair of masterpieces that take one of the most amazing sci-fi books ever written and live up to its legacy wonderfully. Later this year, Villeneuve will take the book's legendary sequel, Dune Messiah, and deliver Dune: Part Three. All of the promotional material shown so far promises that this will be every bit as much of a masterful delight as its two predecessors, but even without counting that promotional material, the creative pedigree of the people behind this film would already be more than enough to make the hype go off the charts. The world had never anything quite like Dune and Dune: Part Two, and if things go the way sci-fi fans expect them to go, it's quite likely that the same will be said about Dune: Part Three. Dune: Part Three Release Date December 18, 2026 Director Denis Villeneuve Writers Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Frank Herbert Producers Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Tanya Lapointe