13 Must-Watch Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix Right Now (March 2026): ‘War Machine’ and More

While in the final stages of training for the US Army Rangers, an unnamed veteran known only as 81 (Alan Ritchson) finds himself up against a threat greater than terrorists. During a simulated training session to find and recover a classified aircraft, an unknown blast from the sky disrupts the team, leading to a UFO they believe to be part of the mission. When the team attempts to destroy the craft, it remains impervious and instead becomes a deadly walking killing machine. The team suddenly finds themselves up against an entity from another world that is intent on destroying them all.

You might not find much complex character depth or storytelling in War Machine, but you will find a charismatic action hero performance in Ritchson and a sufficiently entertaining sci-fi action thrill ride. If you’re looking for something easy and fun to watch on a lazy Friday night, you’ll likely find that War Machine proves to be a better-than-your-average streaming original with a brisk, compelling pace and some delightful blood and guts.

In a dystopian future, war rages on between humans and an A.I. created by the United States government, while elsewhere in the world, other countries embrace artificial intelligence and the advancements made by A.I. architect “Nirmatra.” Ex-special forces agent Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) is recruited to find and kill Nirmata, who has developed a mysterious weapon that could spell not only the end of the war, but also the world. But when Joshua and his team enter into enemy territory, they realize this dangerous A.I. weapon takes the form of a young child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).

While The Creator can’t quite live up to its own thematic ambitions, the lack of a more complex commentary on humanity and artificial intelligence is made up for in the fact that it is a singular and original sci-fi spectacle that is enthralling in its world-building and action. The visual artistry, production design and stimulating narrative will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the surprisingly heartfelt story may even sneak up on you.

When powerful aliens launch a worldwide attack on the entire human race, disparate factions of people across the globe band together to fight back and survive. Converging in the Nevada desert, the groups plan to launch their counterattack during America’s Independence Day. Roland Emmerich‘s epic adventure film charts this ambitious act of bravery during the course of the July 4th weekend, following pilot Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith), United States President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and eccentric former fighter pilot Russell Casse (Randy Quaid)

Despite an admittedly thin plot and some poor character development, it’s hard to deny that Independence Day succeeds as an exciting piece of big spectacle entertainment. The film boasts some impressive, Oscar-winning special effects along with exciting high-stakes action, and the charismatic performances elevate otherwise flat character writing. Overall, Independence Day is a great “turn-off-your-brain-and-vibe” type of action sci-fi film.

While David Lynch‘s version of Dune from 1984 may have been viewed as a failure at the time and has since been eclipsed by the success of Denis Villeneuve’s two Dune films, a vocal few rightfully sing this version’s praises. What Dune (1984) lacks in coherent plot or interesting character development, it makes up for in how weird it is. The movie follows Kyle MacLachlan‘s Paul Atreides as he comes to understand his fate so that he can lead the Fremen people to take back Arrakis from the brutal Harkonnens.

You can say a lot of things about Lynch’s Dune, but it is undoubtedly a film by Lynch — for the better. Even though the director had to chop the film down and thus was robbed of realizing his original vision, the film still bears a striking originality, eccentric atmosphere and unique, stylish flair. Dune (1984) doesn’t have Hans Zimmer, but it did have Toto doing a rockin’ electric score, and Sting dons a mere codpiece in his unhinged portayal of Feyd Rautha. Maybe you won’t like this Dune, but you probably won’t forget it.

Racism is no longer just a human problem in District 9. In this Oscar nominee for Best Picture, alien refugees are stranded on Earth and horribly treated by humanity. It was a fitting metaphor for Apartheid, as depicted by South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp.

An alien prawn calling himself Chris Johnson (Jason Cope) is so fed up with the situation that he puts together a plan to escape Earth and summon help. Human bureaucrat Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) stumbles upon the plot and is forced to help Chris. Wikus doesn’t have a choice because he’s mutating into a prawn, and Chris’ plan is his only hope for a cure.

District 9 is streaming on Netflix.

Four years before he plugged into The Matrix, Keanu Reeves headlined Johnny Mnemonic, a sci-fi cyberpunk thriller written by William Gibson, one of the creators of the genre. In this dark future, Johnny (Reeves) has given up his earliest memories to transport sensitive data inside his brain.

Johnny had a cybernetic upgrade to become a courier, and he’s probably rethinking his life choices. After the passcode to retrieve his memories is lost during an ambush, Johnny discovers he’ll die if the information isn’t taken from his head soon.

Johnny Mnemonic is streaming on Netflix.

Our Times is a Spanish sci-fi rom-com starring Lucero and Benny Ibarra as a married pair of scientists, Dr. Nora Cervantes and Dr. Héctor Esquivel. In 1966, Nora is a genius, but the only way to publicize her findings is through her husband. She’s the one who successfully figured out how to time-travel, and both of them jump to the present when their experiment goes awry.

Nora loves living in 2025, as she is finally accepted by her peers and recognized for her brilliance. Héctor isn’t as thrilled about it, and he finds himself feeling increasingly jealous and bitter when his wife gets all of the adoration. When it comes time to go back to where they came from, Héctor’s ready to leave, and Nora doesn’t want to go.

Our Times is streaming on Netflix.

Before reteaming for Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy collaborated on the Netflix original film, The Adam Project. Reynolds plays Adam Reed, a time travel pilot who goes back in time from 2050 to prevent the death of his wife, Laura Shane (Zoe Saldaña). Instead of arriving at his intended destination, Adam arrives in the present and comes face-to-face with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell).

There’s a bigger conspiracy across time than either Adam could have dreamed, and it traces back to their late father, Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who died the year before. The two Adams may even get to see their dad one last time if they can stay alive long enough to reach him.

The Adam Project is streaming on Netflix.

There are four main characters in Stowaway, and that’s a problem because their spaceship can only handle three people. On a two-year mission to Mars, Zoe Levenson (Anna Kendrick), Marina Barnett (Toni Collette) and David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim) were supposed to make the trip together. Michael Adams (Shamier Anderson) was caught on board by accident.

Since Michael’s presence is endangering the mission and the lives of the crew, he’s the one who’s expected to sacrifice himself. However, Zoe wants to wait until the last possible moment before letting Michael take that step. But the crew may not have as much time as they think.

Stowaway is streaming on Netflix.

What Happened to Monday was among the first Netflix original movies before the streamer produced seemingly countless films every year. In the future, overpopulation has led to strict rules about having children. Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe) came up with a novel solution for his seven granddaughters (all played by Noomi Rapace).

To hide the truth of their existence, only one daughter – named for her day of the week – is allowed to leave at a time. This week, Monday never came home and her sisters want to know what happened. And they’re willing to break the rules that governed their lives to solve the mystery.

What Happened to Monday is streaming on Netflix.

Oxygen may be one of the most claustrophobic movies ever made. That’s because Elizabeth “Liz” Hansen (Mélanie Laurent) wakes up in a stasis pod without her memory or any idea how she got there. The onboard A.I., M.I.L.O. (Mathieu Amalric), offers her some assistance, but even M.I.L.O. can’t open the pod without the access code.

Using only the tools she has in the pod, Liz has to jog her memory and learn who she is in the hope that she can remember what she needs to know before the oxygen runs out.

Oxygen is streaming on Netflix.

It’s lonely out in space, especially for cosmonaut Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) in Spaceman. This film has a rare dramatic turn for Sandler, whose character is emotionally crippled on his long trip to Jupiter. Mission Control won’t even tell Jakub that his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), wants to leave him.

Jakub’s only companion on this journey is an alien spider he names Hanuš (Paul Dano), which can communicate with him telepathically. Once Hanuš learns more about Jakub and humanity in general, he may not be as willing to hang around.

Spaceman is streaming on Netflix.

Get ready for all the John Boyega you can handle in They Cloned Tyrone. He both is and isn’t the title character. More accurately, Boyega is playing several characters, including Fontaine, a drug dealer whose murder is witnessed by one of his clients, Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx).

When Fontaine reappears the next day as if nothing happened, Slick convinces him and the only other witness, a sex worker named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), to help him figure out what’s really going on. Their investigation leads to uncomfortable revelations about how many clones are out in the wild, and why their neighborhood is being preyed upon.

They Cloned Tyrone is streaming on Netflix.