Starfield - 20 Movies You Need To Watch

Starfield lets you go on adventures in various star systems across the galaxy. If you enjoyed Starfield's cinematic rendition of outer space and science fiction, we recommend watching movies like Starfield to keep you hyped. Here are 20 movies like Starfield, to watch after beating the game.

While many movies presented here don’t directly correlate to the game, we look at films with similar themes and settings. So, let’s look at movies similar to Starfield without further ado.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Credit: STX Entertainment

Director: Luc Besson

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock

If you’re looking for an immersive and cinematic experience similar to Starfield, try the 2017 space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Focused around two space operatives, Valerian and Laureline, the movie takes you on a journey to explore a wide array of planets and alien species.

The narrative of this movie focuses heavily on space exploration, interstellar travel, and galactic diplomacy, themes found in Starfield.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Director: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace

Another solid, action-packed space movie you could watch is Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. It centers around Peter Quill and his group of misfit heroes who take on formidable villains threatening the existence of the multi-verse.

The team’s dynamic and humor are some of the best aspects of the movie, a feature you see in Starfield when building chemistry with your companions in the game.

Sunshine (2007)

Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada

This sci-fi thriller puts you in the shoes of a team embarking on the mission to save the dying by re-igniting it. It’s an epic and intense telling of the human condition under stressful situations with high stakes.

The stunning visuals and fantastic storytelling in this movie will provide you with a visceral experience that is certain to fill your Starfield-like movie needs.

Moon (2009)

Credit: Sony Pictures

Director: Duncan Jones

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Malcolm Stewart

If you’re looking for something more thought-provoking, check out Duncan Jones’ Moon, which centers around an astronaut nearing the end of his three-year mission on the Moon’s mining base. The sense of solitude in the vast open universe is a dreadful thought, a feeling encumbered perfectly in Moon and Starfield.

The movie can get unsettling, delving into deep themes similar to the immersive storylines in Starfield.

Event Horizon (1997)

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson

For fans of psychological horror and space, Event Horizon is the perfect pick as it resolves around a crew investigating a spaceship after its sudden disappearance into a black hole. The spaceship re-appears with malevolent force, troubling the astronauts.

The sense of cosmic wonder, paired with the fear of the unknown, relates this movie to the latest Bethesda title.

Pandorum (2009)

Credit: Overture Films

Director: Christian Alvart

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse

Exploring the themes of memory loss, survival, and the unknown terrors of space, Pandorum is a sci-fi thriller about two astronauts stuck in a spaceship. After waking up on the ship with no memory, they fight some monstrous beings while discovering their reality.

This movie taps into space travel's psychological and physical struggles, creating an atmosphere of suspense and discovery, a feeling Starfield tries to provide its players.

Blade Runner (1982)

Credit: Warner Bros

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

This classical sci-fi film, based on Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” explores a dystopian world where artificial humans, known as Replicants, are hunted by Blade Runners. The original film and Denis Villeneuve’s sequel, Blade Runner 2049, explore the themes of personal identity, inner humanity, and the blurred line between real and artificial.

The moral dilemmas confronted by characters in this series while searching for what it means to be human are reminiscent of Starfield’s narrative, where your decisions can affect the fate of entire colonies of stars.

Ad Astra (2019)

Credit: Walt Disney Studios

Director: James Gray

Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland

With an emotional and heartfelt story, Ad Astra takes you on a journey across the stars, following an astronaut on a mission to search for his father.

Like Starfield, this movie explores the emotional and psychological toll of venturing into the unknown, highlighting the connections and conflicts that arise as individuals confront the vastness of space, underscoring the innate human desire for connection and understanding amid the stars.

Prospect (2018)

Credit: Dust

Director: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Sophie Thatcher, Jay Duplass

Another solid sci-fi thriller on the list, Prospect, follows the journey of a father-daughter duo. They travel to a distant moon, looking for valuable resources, only to encounter various strange and dangerous individuals in a hostile environment.

The film's focus on survival, resource extraction, and the complexities of human interactions in a vicious and unknown space setting mirrors the themes of Starfield, which also explores multi-faceted aspects of space travel.

Dune (2021)

Credit: Warner Bros

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista

The visually striking adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune, transports you into the shoes of Paul Atreides as he learns about the political struggle over Spice, a valuable resource on the desert planet Arrakis.

With a sequel in development, Dune is highly recommended for Starfield lovers as it explores the power dynamics and resource struggles between different parties in a vast galactic setting.

Arrival (2016)

Credit: Sony Pictures

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma

In Arrival, we follow the heartfelt story of a linguist expert whose life suddenly changes when extraterrestrial strangers visit Earth. In her attempt to understand and communicate with these aliens, we learn about the complexities of her past, present, and future life.

The reflective themes of Arrival, like the burden of choice and one’s need to develop a bond amidst the harshest times, resonate with the depth and narrative exploration of cultural interactions in Starfield.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Credit: Warner Bros

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood

Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece from 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is a tale of human evolution from prehistoric times to a cosmic future. Similar to Starfield, it explores human interaction with advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial entities.

Both the movie and the game present a rich narrative, delving deep into the mysteries of existence and addressing one’s place in a vast cosmic arena.

Star Wars Episodes 1 to 6 (1977 - 2005)

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Director: George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz

The space opera Star Wars, created by George Lucas, follows the struggle between Jedi and Sith in a galaxy far, far away. The theme of heroism in the diverse galactic civilization of Star Wars is a reflection of the key gameplay features of Starfield.

If you still haven’t gotten into this massive world, this is the best time to explore this iconic franchise by watching episodes 1 to 6 in chronological order as you await the release of Starfield DLC.

The Martian (2015)

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara

Andy Weir’s novel The Martian is an epic tale of an astronaut stranded on the surface of Mars who uses ingenuity to survive while awaiting rescue. It grips the audience by depicting a man in a dire situation as he struggles with isolation and maintaining the human spirit.

Since Starfield is an immersive experience where you navigate challenges, craft solutions, and make impactful decisions, you will feel right at home when watching Matt Damon’s struggles in The Martian.

Interstellar (2014)

Credit: Warner Bros

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine

Christopher Nolan's masterpiece, Interstellar, is the best movie to simulate Starfield’s experience. It follows a group of astronauts as they warp through a wormhole to reach distant galaxies to save a dying Earth.

It is a heartfelt and emotional story that dives deep into the themes of time dilation, relativity, and human intellectual curiosity while depicting love as an essence of all emotions. The essence of exploration here is quite similar; however, it reaches emotional heights that Starfield has been unable to achieve.

Arrival (2016)

Director - Denis Villeneuve

Starring - Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

This cinematic experience reverses the roles where the aliens invaded Earth. This is a ride for those who like mystery combined with sci-fi. The plot revolves around alien spaceships passing overhead at different points on Earth. Affected governments dispatched military and scientific specialists to observe and analyze them during the subsequent worldwide hysteria. Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly are sent in by US Army Colonel Weber to investigate the craft above Montana.

The Arrival is a thought-provoking film that explores and emphasizes the theme of understanding and communication with unknown life, similar to our encounters with Starborn and the mysterious Artifacts.

Alien (1979)

Director - Ridley Scott

Starring - Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

The classic science fiction horror film follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo, who, upon receiving a distress signal from a planet, set out to investigate and encounter a deadly extraterrestrial creature. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto.

It is a must-watch for those who still need to, and the atmosphere created throughout the film's runtime will give you chills.

Prometheus (2012)

Director - Ridley Scott

Starring - Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof, Dan O’Bannon

Prometheus is the fifth installment in the Alien franchise. The film features an ensemble cast including Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron. Set in the late 21st century, the film centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as it follows a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures.

It is one of the films that provides viewers with thought-provoking sci-fi visuals to get lost in.

Gravity (2013)

Director - Alfonso Cuaron

Starring - Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed HarrisGravity

The film deals with isolation and the fear of being stranded in space. Somewhere that you can’t reach out or communicate with someone. It tells the story of Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer who embarks on her first space mission with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski; during a routine spacewalk to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a cloud of debris from a Russian satellite collision hurtles towards them, destroying the space shuttle and leaving them stranded in orbit with no means of communication or escape.

It is one of those shows that would be a must-watch as it can strike fear of isolation and loneliness in the viewers. It's very similar to the isolation in the vast expanse and emptiness of Starfield's deserted planets.

Pitch Black (2000)

Director - David Twohy

Starring - Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy, Vin Diesel

It's a sleeper hit for those who love sci-fi and action. The plot revolves around Riddick, a dangerous criminal being transported to prison in a spacecraft when the ship is damaged by comet debris and crash-lands on a deserted desert planet. When predatory creatures attack the survivors, Riddick joins them to escape the world.

The atmosphere and visuals of the film are two of its most vital points as they capture the viewer's attention through action and striking visuals.

That concludes our list of 20 movies like Starfield. Hopefully, this will stave off the boredom for a while. You could also check out some games similar to Starfield to play and learn about all the companions within the game.

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