Across the many streamers, there are plenty flexing some top-tier sci-fi films.
Regardless of which subgenre of science fiction you’re looking for, each of the different services has something to offer. 2026 has been a strong year for the genre in general, and there are a pair of new films now streaming that are worth a watch, but for very different reasons – “Project Hail Mary” and “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.” And if you want a sci-fi showing from some of the top filmmakers of the moment, there are other options here in “Interstellar” and “Nope.”
These are the 5 sci-fi movies that you should stream in September.
Project Hail Mary
“Project Hail Mary” remains one of the best movies of 2026. The film adapts the book by Andy Weir – who also wrote “The Martian” – and stars Ryan Gosling as a man who has to team up with an alien to solve a problem that is threatening the suns in both their solar systems.
Penned by Drew Goddard and directed by beloved filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, “Project Hail Mary” is brimming over with Spielbergian goodness and was one of the first big hits of the year. Check in now before it likely makes a showing at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan’s latest film “The Odyssey” lit up the film world, so it’s the perfect time to revisit what many consider to this point to be his best film. The sci-fi story follows a man tasked with traveling through a wormhole to try to find a new home for Earth’s residents after a second Dust Bowl ravages the planet. What follows is a twisting, turning, heart-on-its-sleeve thrill ride that has become commonplace for Nolan’s films. Pair the story with an all-time showing from Hans Zimmer and “Interstellar” proves to be just as exhilarating whether it’s the first or 31st watch.
Nope
“Get Out” earned Jordan Peele many of his accolades after he burst onto the scene as a premier horror director, but it’s “Nope” that is his true crowning achievement. The film follows a man who raises horses for use in movies and learns that his home and land are being treated as a hunting ground for an alien. It’s a classic everyman vs. the extraordinary story that has as many genuine scares as it does humor.
“Nope” might get lost in the shadows of “Get Out,” but it represents a creator truly at the top of his game.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
“Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” remains possibly the weirdest movie of 2026 – which is a compliment. It starts a bit odd as Sam Rockwell’s character barges into a diner, proclaims himself a time traveler, and says some configuration of the patrons is the group meant to save the world, but he keeps getting the pairings wrong. From there, it spirals more and more into lunacy and ends in the last place you’d expect. Come for an extremely great performance by the lead and stay for the story’s zany twists and turns.
Ready Player One
“Ready Player One” is one of director Steven Spielberg’s more recent filmography entries and adapts the popular book of the same name about a boy who gets wrapped up in a massive virtual reality Easter egg hunt that will end with the winner in control of the most influential piece of technology in the world – the Oasis.
Much of the original story was threaded with references and inspirations from Spielberg’s work, so the director handling the film himself just felt like a full-circle moment. “Ready Player One” does not get as many accolades as Spielberg’s other films, but it’s well worth a watch.
