Before ‘Project Hail Mary,’ here are our 8 favorite movies about getting lost in outer space

Let me tell you, space is absolutely unforgiving. It’s not like being stuck on a road trip – there’s no air to breathe, no way to ask for help, and absolutely no room for mistakes. When something breaks down up there, you’re completely on your own, relying on what you brought with you and hoping it lasts until you can get home. It’s a really tough situation, and every detail matters.

The new sci-fi film “Project Hail Mary,” starring Ryan Gosling, hits theaters Friday. Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up with amnesia on a spaceship far from Earth. He soon discovers he’s on a crucial mission to save the sun, which is mysteriously losing its brightness. The story starts with Grace completely alone, but takes an unexpected turn when he teams up with an alien named Rocky, who is also working to solve the same crisis. It evolves from a solitary journey into a surprising partnership.

Review

In ‘Project Hail Mary,’ saving the galaxy requires a hopeful, nerdy Ryan Gosling

Okay, so after absolutely killing it with “Across the Spider-Verse,” the team behind that – Lord and Miller – decided to launch Ryan Gosling into space! It’s a really hilarious and surprisingly heartwarming movie, and honestly, it’s all about what makes people great.

March 18, 2026

The new film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and it’s based on a story by Andy Weir, the author of the popular survival novel “The Martian.” That book was successfully turned into a 2015 film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars. Like “The Martian,” this new movie focuses on a character using their intelligence to overcome a series of life-threatening challenges. “The Martian” was a major success, receiving critical acclaim, strong box office numbers, and seven Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture.

Send a person into space for an extended period, and their story could unfold in countless ways – focusing on their struggle to survive, their internal journey, or even taking a terrifying or darkly humorous turn. Here are eight of our favorite films featuring people lost or stranded in the vastness of space. We recommend watching them where breathable air is readily available!

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s influential film, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” starts as a journey to Jupiter but quickly becomes something far more mysterious. After the ship’s computer, HAL 9000, malfunctions and threatens the crew, astronaut Dave Bowman finds himself alone on a spacecraft that feels increasingly detached from human control, all while HAL continues to speak calmly. Considered a cinematic masterpiece and even more relevant today with the rise of artificial intelligence, the film moves beyond a simple story of survival, creating a colder, more unsettling experience focused on a journey into the unknown.

‘Solaris’ (1972)

Andrei Tarkovsky’s film, “Solaris,” based on a novel by Stanisław Lem, is a slow and mesmerizing story about a psychologist sent to a distant space station. The crew is struggling with their sanity, and they’ve discovered the planet they’re studying is actually a living, thinking entity. This planet manifests people from their past into reality – for the psychologist, it’s his deceased wife, Hari (played powerfully by Natalya Bondarchuk), who seems perfectly alive. He tries to get rid of her, but she keeps coming back, leaving the crew questioning whether they are subjects of an experiment, being evaluated, or losing their minds. Often compared to “2001,” “Solaris” focuses on internal struggles, suggesting the real danger isn’t a lack of supplies, but the inability to confront one’s own inner self.

‘Silent Running’ (1972)

Douglas Trumbull, a visual effects master known for films like “2001,” “Close Encounters,” and “Blade Runner,” made his directorial debut with “Silent Running.” The film presents a future where Earth’s last forests exist inside self-contained, space-traveling domes. Bruce Dern stars as the man in charge of these gardens, who defies orders to destroy them and is left to care for the plants alone, aided by a team of small robots. Though modestly successful when released during the early 1970s environmental movement, the film gained a devoted following thanks to Dern’s unique performance and its distinct, handcrafted aesthetic. “Silent Running” is a poignant and unusual film that uses the vastness of space to explore themes of loss and the importance of preserving what matters most.

‘Dark Star’ (1974)

John Carpenter’s first feature film, made with very little money and originally a student project, presents space travel as a surprisingly mundane job. The crew spends their time on a long, unimportant mission by goofing off, playing jokes, and bickering—even with one of the ship’s intelligent bombs, which needs to be reasoned with after experiencing an existential crisis. “Dark Star” uses its unusual concept for comedic effect, featuring a wildly unpredictable and hazardous alien shaped like a beach ball. However, the humor comes from a distinctly 1970s feeling of aimlessness, where boredom and loneliness combine, and nothing seems truly pressing, even when it should.

‘Alien’ (1979)

Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi horror film, known for its chilling tagline “In space, no one can hear you scream,” transformed a simple cargo ship, the Nostromo, into a terrifying and confined space. After responding to a distress call, the crew unwittingly brings a deadly alien aboard, turning their vessel into a lethal trap. The creature evolves in unpredictable ways, culminating in one of cinema’s most iconic and shocking moments. Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley, a resourceful and courageous heroine facing impossible odds with no hope of rescue, redefined the action genre and remains a powerful performance to this day. The film won an Academy Award for its visual effects and launched a long-lasting franchise.

‘Apollo 13’ (1995)

Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13” tells the true story of the troubled 1970 lunar mission, transforming a failed moon landing into a tense struggle for survival. When an explosion damages the spacecraft, astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) and his crew face a series of life-threatening challenges with dwindling oxygen, power, and time. The film excels in its realistic details – from frost forming on the walls to rising carbon dioxide levels and the crew’s resourceful, step-by-step solutions – as each small victory is immediately followed by a new crisis. Despite global attention, the experience feels deeply isolating, with the crew trapped inside a damaged spacecraft where any mistake could be fatal.

‘Moon’ (2009)

Duncan Jones’ first film, “Moon,” is a tightly focused, low-budget movie. Sam Rockwell plays a solitary worker finishing a three-year assignment on the moon, where his days are dictated by habit and the calm voice of the station’s computer. After an accident and the shocking discovery of another ‘himself,’ his sense of reality begins to unravel. Featuring Rockwell as the only actor for much of the film, “Moon” makes being lost in space feel more like a mental struggle than a practical one.

‘Gravity’ (2013)

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” throws you right into a disaster and doesn’t let up. The film begins with a devastating hit that damages a spaceship during a spacewalk, leaving Sandra Bullock’s character drifting helplessly in space. George Clooney plays a seasoned astronaut trying to help her from afar. The movie relies heavily on creating a strong emotional and physical experience – you truly feel the desperation of trying to find something to hold onto and the understanding that even a small error could be fatal. “Gravity” strips the experience of being lost in space down to its most basic elements: breathing, movement, and simply knowing which way is up.

2026-03-19 13:34