The 20 best sci-fi movies and TV shows based on books

Many might not realize that Soylent Green is based on a novel, but it draws from Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. Its vision of a world that is close to collapse due to overpopulation and climate catastrophe is one that continues to have resonance, and the film retains its power to shock and horrify. It certainly helps that it’s grounded by the performance of Charlton Heston who, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, showed that he made for a very compelling sci-fi hero.

Jack Finney’s original novel The Body Snatchers has been adapted several times, and one of the better versions is the original 1956 adaptation. It’s one of those films that is very much of its moment, with its paranoia about conformity and the alien within, as well as the domineering power of McCarthyism. As such, the movie version is both a success on its terms and a snapshot of a postwar American culture grappling with its sense of itself and what kind of country it wanted to be. 

Dune: Prophecy, based on a series of books by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, takes place thousands of years before the main story of Dune. The heart of the story is the Harkonnen sisters Valya and Tula, who try to control the Bene Gesserit while also contending with their family’s feud with the Atreides. The series is very much in the space opera mold, focusing as it does on the conflicts between the various members of the noble families and the Padishah Emperor. It manages to be true to Herbert’s and Anderson’s vision while also having enough to satisfy those who like the political element of Frank Herbert’s original book. 

The Strain, based on the trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, is notable for peeling away the romance of the figure of the vampire to reveal the rot beneath. The series’ creatures are very much the blood suckers of traditional vampire mythology, but they spread their contagion through worms (the original vampires are also the product of a fallen angel). The series is grotesque and horrifying in all of the right ways, as one would expect from the imagination of del Toro.

The science fiction of Philip K. Dicĸ has often been the inspiration for screen adaptations, and one of the best of these is Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.  Tom Cruise gives one of his usual blockbuster performances as John Anderton, who is falsely framed for a crime. The film explores numerous weighty issues, including the nature and ethics of police surveillance and, as technology continues to advance, it becomes one of those films that seems particularly prescient. Given that Spielberg directs it, it’s also a rousing adventure.

The film version of Blade Runner might take some generous liberties with the original book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep  by Philip K. Dicĸ, but it’s nevertheless a true masterpiece from Ridley Scott. The film is an expert blend of sci-fi and noir, and it also includes Harrison Ford in one of his most recognizable and beloved roles. The film has gone through several different versions but, even so, it’s undeniably an influential piece of sci-fi filmmaking and further testament to both Dicĸ’s skills as a sci-fi author and Scott’s skill as a director in the genre.

Denis Villeneuve has repeatedly shown himself to be a true maestro in science fiction. In Arrival,  for example, he endowed Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life” with majesty and magic that can only come from epic cinematic storytelling. It certainly helps that Villeneuve assembled such a talented cast, including the likes of Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. This is a sci-fi film that swings for the fences and never misses, and it is a movie that leaves the audience pondering their place in the world long after it’s over.

After achieving success with Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss turned to another speculative fiction series for their next television show: 3 Body Problem. Based on the novels by Liu Cixin, the series follows a group of people who must race against time to protect Earth from an invasion from hostile aliens. Though the series might lack some of the rich philosophical underpinnings of the novels, it’s still an entertaining piece of TV storytelling, and a strong first season has guaranteed a second and a third, meaning the story will get a full adaptation. 

Station Eleven gained extraordinary power because it was released in 2021, when the pandemic was still raging. Based on Emily St. John Mandel’s novel, it takes place in a world ravaged by a virulent flu pandemic. Mackenzie Davis gives a particularly haunting and poignant performance as Kirsten Raymonde, whose life was changed forever on the night the pandemic began to take hold. Among other things, it’s a story of how art has the capacity to uplift humanity, especially in its darkest hours.

The sprawling series known as The Expanse is the creation of writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, writing under the pen name James S.A. Corey. In addition to being captivating and immersive in its own right, it also inspired the TV series of the same name. Broadcast on Syfy, it remains one of that network’s most beloved and well-received series. Like all good sci-fi, it uses its futuristic setting and the trappings of space opera to interrogate such basic human questions as the fear of the other.

The film adaptation might not have a great deal in common with its source material, the novel written by Jeff VanderMeer, but it’s still a powerful and deeply disturbing piece of sci-fi filmmaking. It's a story about a group of women investigating a mysterious phenomenon known as the Shimmer, asking some very troubling questions about the nature of humanity and just how much any person can control what happens to their body. 

H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds is one of those novels that can be said to be a true classic of science fiction. Arguably the most powerful adaptation is Steven Spielberg’s from 2005. It has all of the trappings of blockbuster science fiction cinema — and it includes a major star in the person of Tom Cruise — and it has some truly disturbing scenes. While it features a lot of CGI and special effects, Spielberg makes sure to pay just as much attention to the human drama at the heart of his story.  

Frank Herbert earned himself a place in the pantheon of science fiction writers with his novel Dune. Thanks to Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation, Herbert’s work has finally gained the cinematic adaptation that it deserves. Villenveuve’s films are powerful and epic and sweeping, capturing so much of the texture and operatic grandeur of Herbert’s vision. What’s more, Paul Atreides will surely come to be seen as one of Timotheé Chalamet’s best roles, even as his character is a cautionary tale about the dangers and perils of being a messianic figure.

Children of Men remains one of director Alfonso Cuarón’s most suspenseful and well-wrought films, eerily capturing a world that has fallen into disarray due to a dearth of children. Both the novel and the film have the kind of sharp edges and piercing commentary that one associates with the best of dystopian sci-fi. In addition to featuring Cuarón’s expert direction, the film also features several powerful and haunting performances from the likes of Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, and Michael Caine. 

During the course of its two seasons, the Apple TV series Silo  has demonstrated that it’s one of the best series the streamer has produced. It is based on the series of novels by Hugh Howey, who self-published the original stories on Amazon. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette Nichols who, along with the other characters, lives in a silo, while the outside world remains uninhabitable. Its two seasons have followed Juliette’s journey as she questions the whole world around her, and the series effectively combines thought-provoking questions, stellar performances, and strong production values to create a strong piece of sci-fi TV. 

Based on the series of novels by Isaac Asimov, Apple TV’s Foundation is a truly epic piece of sci-fi television. At the heart of the series is the group Foundation, who attempt to hold onto the secrets of civilization as the vast Empire begins to collapse. It’s the type of series that takes some big swings and asks some big questions and, after a rather uneven and strangely paced first season, it has found its footing. It manages to be both thought-provoking and exciting to watch, and a third season will no doubt raise the stakes even further.

Planet of the Apes remains a true powerhouse of sci-fi filmmaking, thanks in no small part to the devastating ending. Though some might not realize it, the original film is based on the novel by French writer Pierre Boulle (who also wrote the book The Bridge over the River Kwai). Though the film keeps the novel’s central premise, many aspects, including the twist ending, emerged thanks largely to the writing of Rod Serling, who was also the genius behind The Twilight Zone. The original novel is a bit drier than its adaptation, but it still stands as a fascinating and thought-provoking piece of literature.

Technically speaking, Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi opus 2001: A Space Odyssey is based on several short stories by Arthur C. Clarke. However, Clarke also worked with the director to produce a full-length novel that largely coincided with the film version. Both are works of thought-provoking science fiction, and they both challenge the viewer to think in new, exciting, and sometimes terrifying ways about the nature of the human and the place of humanity in the vastness of the cosmos.

The late Michael Crichton was undoubtedly one of the giants of sci-fi literature, capable of crafting compelling plots bolstered by rigorous scientific research. Jurassic Park is, likewise, one of the best adaptations of his work, and Steven Spielberg imbues the work with all of his customary wonder and blockbuster magic. Even today it’s the kind of film that inspires awe and terror, and the film inspired an entire generation to have a fear and admiration for such classic dinos as T. rex and Velociraptor. 

Ridley Scott brings his undeniable skills as a director of sci-fi to The Martian,  the 2015 film based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name. Matt Damon also gives one of the best performances of his career as an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive. In addition to being compelling filmmaking in its own right, the film is also remarkably scientifically accurate, demonstrating that some of the best sci-fi is that which sets its drama in the realm of the plausible.