Film adaptations of pre-existing materials - namely novels - are incredibly popular, not only in modern-day Hollywood but throughout cinematic history. Commercially, there is the opportunity to capitalize on interest in an established intellectual property that already has a fan base. Creatively, it presents filmmakers with an enticing challenge to shift a successful story to film, a transition that demands maximum efficiency without robbing the source material of its power. Throughout the 21st century, science fiction has been a fascinating genre in this regard.

Ranging from epic action adventures to young adult drama, and even gritty high-concept films that teeter on the edge of horror, these 10 science-fiction stories have all excelled with their screen adaptations to be among the best sci-fi films ever made. While that is a big claim, it should come as little surprise given many of them have been helmed by some of the greatest filmmakers in cinematic history.

10 'War of the Worlds' (2005)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Ray Farrier (Tom Cruise) runs for his life as people all around him flee in different directions.
Image via Paramount Pictures

As a master of sci-fi entertainment, it should come as no surprise that Steven Spielberg features on this list. His 2005 adaptation of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds was a fine exhibition of some of the filmmaker's defining markers, such as his personable characters, wondrous spectacle, and his ability to conjure weighty, powerful thrills. The modernized take on the story follows docker Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) as he struggles to get his children to safety when the world is attacked by aliens.

Like many of the dramatic blockbusters released in the early 2000s, War of the Worlds had a sense of sickening disaster about it which touched on the vulnerability felt by many Americans post-9/11. Respectful of the sense of dread and paranoia that still permeated around the nation, Spielberg put forward a gripping, suspenseful, and exciting disaster film that stands as one of the best adaptations of any of Wells' works yet.

War of The Worlds
PG-13
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Release Date
June 28, 2005
Director
Steven Spielberg
Runtime
117

9 'The Hunger Games' Franchise (2012 - 2015)

Directors: Gary Ross, Francis Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Image via Lionsgate

Adaptations of dystopian young adult fiction novels reached a high point through the 2010s, with The Hunger Games franchise, based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel series, both the spark and the pinnacle of the phase. Set in the futuristic Panem, in which 12 districts live under the totalitarian rule of the Capitol, the series centers on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who participates in the annual Hunger Games. Throughout the four The Hunger Games films, her actions reshape the political and social structure of Panem.

A powerful and impressively faithful adaptation of Collins' novels, the film series earned high praise for its accessible yet intricate story, its excellent characters, and its immersive realization of the vastly differing districts of Panem. While many YA films copied The Hunger Games' tone and formula, none ever surpassed it, which is a testament to both the execution of the movies and the quality of Collins' books.

The Hunger Games

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8 'Ready Player One' (2018)

Director: Steven Spielberg

A teenage boy wears an advanced virtual reality set in the confines of a van in 'Ready Player One' (2018)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

A sci-fi action film based on Ernest Cline's 2011 novel of the same name, Ready Player One saw Steven Spielberg embrace his penchant for blockbuster fun in a dystopian 2045. Set in a decrepit future where society has turned to a virtual reality system, the OASIS, as an escape, it follows a teenage orphan and his friends through their adventures in the game. Competing against other players and corporate gamers, they battle it out to win the grand prize left by the program's creator: ownership of the OASIS.

While it makes some drastic changes from the novel, Ready Player One was an enjoyable journey across the many fantastical realms of the OASIS, one that also touched on social topics of corporate greed, commercialization, and the ever-rising popularity of gaming. Loaded with hundreds of pop-culture references, it had an electric, fun-fueled vibrancy when operating at its best.

Ready Player One
PG-13
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Release Date
March 28, 2018
Director
Steven Spielberg
Runtime
140

7 'Annihilation' (2018)

Director: Alex Garland

Five armed women, each carrying large backpacks, stand in a line looking at what lies before them.
Image via Netflix

Alex Garland is a modern master of contemplative and contained sci-fi cinema, and his 2018 film, Annihilation, saw the acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter adapt Jeff Vandermeer's 2014 novel of the same name with arresting results. It centers on a squad of scientists who venture into "the Shimmer," an enigmatic zone spawned from where a meteorite struck Earth. With a goal of understanding the expanding zone's mysterious nature, they make discoveries as awe-inspiring as they are disturbing.

Like most of Garland's projects, the film embeds its enthralling, existential explorations within a visually divine spectacle of dreamlike imagination and spell-binding cinematography. It makes some significant changes to VanderMeer's book, but the end result is a beautiful yet harsh and depressing film that thrives as a terrifying horror movie as well as a sci-fi think-piece.

Annihilation
R
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Release Date
February 22, 2018
Director
Alex Garland
Runtime
115 minutes

6 'V for Vendetta' (2005)

Director: James McTeigue

A man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, a black hat, and a black cape stands surrounded by armed me.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Based on Alan Moore, David Lloyd, and Tony Weare's DC Vertigo Comics limited series of the same name, V for Vendetta still stands as an intriguing spin on superhero tropes that eagerly addresses the power of a symbol. Set in a dystopian future in which the UK is governed by a fascist totalitarian state, it revolves around Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), a young woman who becomes the acquaintance and reluctant ally of a masked freedom fighter using drastic means to spark a revolution.

Given the nature of Alan Moore's views towards adaptations of his work, V for Vendetta has been meticulously analyzed, but it still prevails as an impressive, thought-provoking, and action-packed contemplation of political corruption and violent revolution. Its flourishes of sci-fi influence and dystopian narrative, as well as its use of the Guy Fawkes mask, have seen it endure as an undying icon of 21st-century cinema.

V For Vendetta
R
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Release Date
February 23, 2006
Director
James McTeigue
Runtime
132

5 'The Martian' (2015)

Director: Ridley Scott

Mark Watney in his spacesuit in Mars looking down in The Martian (2015)
Image via 20th Century Studios

One of Ridley Scott's best and most successful films, The Martian served as an adaptation of Andy Weir's sci-fi novel. Set in the near future, it follows American astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) as he is left behind on Mars when his crew members need to escape a severe storm and are led to believe that he has died. Stranded on the red planet, Watney must use all his resources to fend for himself, while his story inspires an international rescue mission back on Earth.

Drew Goddard's screenplay was acclaimed for its intelligence, not only as a grounded and scientifically accurate space adventure but as a sharp and calculated adaptation of complex source material that could appeal to a vast audience. The Martian brilliantly and harmoniously blends intelligence, humor, strange character quirks, and suspense on a big canvas and is led by another outstanding performance from Damon.

The Martian
PG-13
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Release Date
October 2, 2015
Director
Ridley Scott
Runtime
144 minutes

4 'Edge of Tomorrow' (2014)

Director: Doug Liman

Rita (emily Blunt) and William (Tom Cruise) kneeling and looking ahead in the film Edge of Tomorrow
Image via Warner Bros.

One of the best films to run with a time-loop narrative, Edge of Tomorrow was based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka's 2004 light novel All You Need Is Kill and featured plenty of action thrills, entertainment value, and a space marine sci-fi. It follows Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a meek public relations officer who becomes the key to humanity's fight against an alien invasion when he finds himself caught in a temporal loop.

With Cage and Sergeant Rita Vrataski's (Emily Blunt) student-mentor relationship the emotional core of the film, Edge of Tomorrow launched from the actors' fun chemistry to be a thoroughly enjoyable, genre-blending adventure. While its box office performance was marred by a confusing marketing campaign, the film has come to be viewed as one of the best action flicks of the century and a fine adaptation of Sakurazaka's story.

Edge of Tomorrow
PG-13
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Release Date
June 6, 2014
Director
Doug Liman
Cast
Tom Cruise , Emily Blunt , Brendan Gleeson , Bill Paxton , Jonas Armstrong , Tony Way
Runtime
113 minutes

3 'Arrival' (2016)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Louise Banks standing on a field looking pensive in Arrival.
Image via Paramount Pictures

The first of Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi masterpieces, Arrival was adapted into an Oscar-nominated screenplay by Eric Heisserer, who based it off Ted Chiang's 1998 novella, Story of Your Life. The film follows linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) as she is recruited by the U.S. Army to establish communications with one of twelve alien vessels that have arrived on Earth. As tensions rise all around the world, Louise takes a daring chance as she experiences visions of her daughter.

The film was quite a faithful adaptation, though it did purposefully muddle some plot details, particularly ones linked to Louise's daughter. It was actually a phenomenal move by Heisserer as it enabled what would be Arrival's major plot twist – the revelation of the nature of the aliens' language – to pack a mighty emotional punch. Arrival is universally viewed as one of the best sci-fi films of the century, one which earned eight Oscar nominations, winning for its sound editing.

Arrival
PG-13
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Release Date
November 11, 2016
Director
Denis Villeneuve
Runtime
116 minutes

2 'Dune' (2021)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Paul and Jessica in the desert looking to the distance in Dune
Image via Warner Bros.

One of the most impressive film adaptations of all time, Frank Herbert's 1965 novel was long thought of as being impossible to bring to the screen due to its intricate and immense world lore and the story's sheer magnitude. Focusing only on the first half of the book, Dune follows young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as his family is handed the responsibility of mining the immensely valuable "spice" from the unforgiving desert planet, Arakis. As Paul begins to grasp the extent of his own power, his family is plunged into an intergalactic war.

Villeneuve's ability to execute the slow-burn space opera to such mesmerizing effect marks one of the most impressive directorial feats blockbuster cinema has ever seen. Dune's willingness to blend its enormity with quieter, more artistic flourishes while efficiently tackling its imposing, exposition-heavy narrative was immaculate.

Dune
PG-13
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Release Date
October 22, 2021
Director
Denis Villeneuve
Runtime
155 Minutes

1 'Children of Men' (2006)

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

clive owen and clare hope ashitey as theo faron and kee huddling amongst soldiers
Image via Universal Pictures

Viewed by many who have seen it to be among the best films this century, Children of Men saw Alfonso Cuarón co-write and direct a stunning, bleak, yet hopeful film based on P. D. James' 1992 novel of the same name. Set in a dystopian 2027 where the human race has been unable to reproduce for 18 years – and society has collapsed through sheer hopelessness – it follows a former activist as he is recruited by an ex-lover to help shelter the first pregnant woman in a generation.

Children of Men made some significant shifts from the source material, but all of them were for the better, as the film has come to be cherished as a stunning sci-fi classic that has an enormously powerful effect on the audience. Famous for its incredible tracking shots, thematically captivating story, and Clive Owen's career-best lead performance, Children of Men remains a criminally underrated sci-fi masterpiece that balances hope and despair with evocative results.

Children of Men
R
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Release Date
September 19, 2006
Director
Alfonso Cuarón
Cast
Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi , Mishal Husain , Rob Curling , Jon Chevalier , Rita Davies , Kim Fenton
Runtime
109

NEXT: The Highest-Grossing Original Sci-Fi Movies, Ranked