# The Best Sci-Fi Movies And TV Of 2026 So Far

_Inverse_’s writers rank the best sci-fi films and TV of 2026 (so far).

by [Katie Rife](/content/profile/katie-rife-450540157/index.html), [Ryan Britt](/content/profile/ryan-britt-18846684/index.html), [Lyvie Scott](/content/profile/lyvie-scott-183474719/index.html) and [Dais Johnston](/content/profile/dais-johnston-21768942/index.html)

July 18, 2026

Jonathan Olley / Amazon MGM Studios

We’re not colonizing the moon (yet), but with artificial intelligence taking over the tech sector and large-scale commercial space travel only a few years away, in 2026 the science-fiction genre seems closer than ever to our lived reality. So perhaps it’s appropriate that the films and TV series featured on _Inverse_’s list of the best sci-fi of the year so far are as engaged with the world we live in today as they are with the possibilities of life in the future.

Conspiracy theories, class conflict, fears of an AI apocalypse — these aren’t just trending topics, but vital themes in some of the most prescient and entertaining sci-fi storytelling of today. You’ll get all of this, plus nostalgia trips, revenge plots, interstellar friendship, and a rainbow of multicolored goo, on our list of the best the genre has to offer in 2026 so far.

## 10. _Paradise_ Season 2

Paradise Season 2 \| Official Trailer \| Hulu - YouTube

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[Paradise Season 2 \| Official Trailer \| Hulu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQfqQ-oIXiA)

Hulu2.7M subscribers

_Paradise_ established itself in [Season 1](/content/entertainment/paradise-hulu-review/index.html) with a shocking pilot revealing a presidential murder mystery in a postapocalyptic bunker. Now, in [Season 2](/content/entertainment/paradise-season-2-review-hulu-apocalypse-thriller/index.html), we finally got to see how the rest of the world survived on the surface — and it’s not a pretty sight. This series may be helmed by _This Is Us’_ Dan Fogleman, but it’s top-to-bottom classic sci-fi, involving a stand-alone episode in a postapocalyptic Graceland, a big AI plot twist, and something possibly involving changing time itself. If Season 1 established that this show is more than a murder mystery, Season 2 revealed it’s about much more than the apocalypse. — _[Dais Johnston](/content/profile/dais-johnston-21768942/index.html)_

## 9. _Redux Redux_

Redux Redux \| Official Trailer \[4K\] - YouTube

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[Redux Redux \| Official Trailer \[4K\]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeccBZFKP_U)

Umbrella Entertainment182K subscribers

Multiverses have been trending since _[Everything Everywhere All at Once](/content/entertainment/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-review/index.html),_ but _[Redux Redux](/content/entertainment/redux-redux-kevin-matthew-mcmanus-interview/index.html)_ puts a fresh spin on the concept by transporting it to the dusty American Southwest and setting it on fire. Like Christopher Nolan’s _Memento_, this is a revenge thriller built around the concept of memory. Unlike _Memento_, it spins the concept out into explicit sci-fi territory as Irene (Michaela McManus) tracks down and assassinates her daughter’s murderer, over and over again, in infinite parallel universes. As one might expect, this has some psychological consequences, and the story spins out from there in the McManus’ Brothers’ indie festival hit. — _[Katie Rife](/content/profile/katie-rife-450540157/index.html)_

## 8. _For All Mankind_ Season 5

For All Mankind — Season 5 Official Trailer \| Apple TV - YouTube

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[For All Mankind — Season 5 Official Trailer \| Apple TV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zojwKLlY_H8)

Since 2019, [_For All Mankind_](/content/for-all-mankind/index.html) has easily proved itself to be one of the best science-fiction shows of the 21st century, and perhaps one of the best space shows of all time. Season 5 was, perhaps, the most challenging so far, if only because at this point in the show’s alternate timeline, nearly all of the characters from the earlier seasons [are gone.](/content/entertainment/joel-kinnaman-for-all-mankind-season-5-inteview-spoilers/index.html) However, _For All Mankind_ gave its [younger generation](/content/entertainment/sean-kaufman-for-all-mankind-inverview-season-5/index.html) plenty to do, partly by depicting a full-blown revolution on Mars and, at the same time, pushing the series to the outer planets, specifically [Kelly Baldwin’s mission to Titan](/content/entertainment/for-all-mankind-season-5-ending-explained/index.html). The sixth season will be the swan song for the series, and when that happens, fans will mourn the intricacies and intelligence of this intergenerational epic. — _[Ryan Britt](/content/profile/ryan-britt-18846684/index.html)_

## 7. _The Boroughs_

The Boroughs \| Official Trailer \| Netflix - YouTube

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[The Boroughs \| Official Trailer \| Netflix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsvUvqXoTpE)

The Duffer Bros. followed up _[Stranger Things](/content/stranger-things/index.html)_ by producing _The Boroughs,_ a supernatural mystery show set in a retirement community. The series quickly gained a reputation for being “ _Stranger Things_ for old people,” but the result was so much more: _The Boroughs_ is a star-studded, thrilling ride through aging and memory. Despite the huge fan reaction and a creative premise involving a lot of different-colored goo, Netflix canceled the series after a single season. Even if we don’t see what happens next, it’s bound to go down in history as Netflix’s best one-season wonder. — _Dais Johnston_

## 6. _X-Men ’97_ Season 2

Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Season 2 \| Official Trailer - YouTube

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[Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Season 2 \| Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfUtseK27pc)

It’s somewhat incredible that within the pantheon of the X-Men comics, the basic premise — mutants who have incredible powers — sometimes takes a back seat to wacky time-travel paradoxes. While adapting [various comic storylines](/content/entertainment/x-men-97-season-2-time-travel-comics-canon/index.html) at once, _X-Men ’97_ Season 2 has made time-travel paradoxes one of its most central themes. The notion that effect can precede cause is a classic sci-fi notion, and oddly, nobody does it better than the most enduring Marvel super-team. This may not be the best representation of time travel in Marvel, but right now, _X-Men ’97_ easily beats the 2014 big-screen version of _Days of Future Past_. — _Ryan Britt_

## 5. _Disclosure Day_

Disclosure Day \| Official Trailer - YouTube

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[Disclosure Day \| Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCYT8vb2siQ)

Spielbergian wonder takes on a new cast in _[Disclosure Day](/content/entertainment/disclosure-day-review-steven-spielberg/index.html),_ a movie that doesn’t ask if aliens are real, but rather: What do they want? What is their purpose for us? The iconic director of _[E.T.](/content/entertainment/magical-sci-fi-classic-august-2021-amazon-prime-et-the-extra-terrestrial/index.html)_ and _[Close Encounters of the Third Kind](/content/entertainment/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-retrospective-spielberg/index.html)_ explores these questions through the unlikely medium of a conspiracy thriller, starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt as strangers united by uncanny circumstances and a shared purpose that they’re just beginning to understand. The road to this awe-inspiring revelation is full of masterfully executed sci-fi thrills — a chase scene aboard a moving locomotive is especially exciting — on the way to a finale that adds an unexpected new element to this paranoid mix: hope. — _Katie Rife_

## **4. _Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie_**

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE - Official Trailer - YouTube

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[NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE - Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2K9ccMREOI)

On the surface, [_Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie_](/content/entertainment/nirvanna-the-band-the-show-the-movie-review/index.html) appears to be yet another slacker comedy about middle-aged boys who refuse to grow up. But that’s only part of what Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol are up to in this wildly resourceful and oddly wistful big-screen adaptation of their long-running web series. It’s also a singular take on time travel, as Matt’s _[Back to the Future](/content/entertainment/back-to-the-future-plot-40-year-anniversary/index.html)_ riff spins out of control and accidentally launches the boys back to 2008. There they confront not only their past selves but also their shared future — not to mention a whole lot of problematic media. — _Katie Rife_

## 3. _Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die_

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE \| Official Trailer - YouTube

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[GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE \| Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm4WbapDzDQ)

If good science fiction can help serve as a mirror to modern anxieties, then the film [_Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die_](/content/good-luck-have-fun-dont-die-review-beyond-fest-gore-verbinski/index.html) represents our need to laugh in the face of certain doom. Calling this film a comedy may not be entirely accurate, but Gore Verbinski’s film — with a script from Matthew Robinson — will make you grin even when it’s presenting several worst-case scenarios for the human race. Will AI destroy us all? Can we travel back in time and make ourselves clear, or get _something_ right? These tropes are familiar to many sci-fi fans, but _Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die_ makes them seem brand-new. — _Ryan Britt_

## 2. _I Love Boosters_

I LOVE BOOSTERS - Official Trailer - YouTube

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[I LOVE BOOSTERS - Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xZegSgN8w)

Boots Riley pictures are never about solely one thing, which is a great part of what makes his projects so deliriously fun. _[I Love Boosters](/content/i-love-boosters-review-sxsw/index.html)_ is no different — in fact, it might be his zaniest, most colorful, and most hilarious movie so far. What begins as a revenge-fueled heist spirals into an all-out class war between Bay Area designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore), the women boosting her department stores all over town (Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Poppy Liu, and Taylour Paige), and a labor factory in China. That’s just the foundation for an adventure involving an overpowered transmutation device, a lonely lothario with supernatural powers (LaKeith Stanfield), and _literal_ skinwalkers, but Riley juggles it all with washes of vibrant color, masterful practical effects, and a sense of humor bold enough to blow to the top of his entire operation. — _[Lyvie Scott](/content/profile/lyvie-scott-183474719/index.html)_

## 1. _Project Hail Mary_

Project Hail Mary - Official Trailer - YouTube

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[Project Hail Mary - Official Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08TxIsFTRI)

The feel-good sci-fi epic of 2026 is one of the few hit films in recent memory that truly deserves the title of “instant classic.” Adapted from the 2021 novel of the same name by [Andy Weir](/content/entertainment/andy-weir-interview-project-hail-mary-sci-fi-sherlock-holmes/index.html) — famous for _[The Martian](/content/entertainment/the-martian-10-year-anniversary/index.html) —Project Hail Mary_ is a sci-fi masterpiece for the masses. While the film retains the science-as-solution plotting of _The Martian_, the larger aims of the film are broader and more humanistic. Rarely have [plausible sci-fi films](/content/entertainment/spaceflight-in-movies-nasa-for-all-mankind-project-hail-mary/index.html) felt so simple and direct, and thanks to a [last-minute revelation](/content/entertainment/project-hail-mary-ending-explained-twist-ryland-grace-andy-weir/index.html), Ryan Gosling’s Ryland Grace becomes the kind of hero we can actually, truly understand. — _Ryan Britt_