8 Thought-Provoking Movies Like Dune For Sci-Fi Fans

Denis Villeneuve’s huge 2021 movie version of Frank Herbert’s 1965 book of the same name is Dune. If you’ve seen the trailer, one thing is clear: it’s big. That’s the first thing that everyone will notice when they see how big the sci-fi story was constructed. It’s very big. Don’t get us wrong—filming on location and combining practical and special effects makes for a big visual spectacle—but the movie also tells the first part of its story in a proper, but again, epic, way.

We wouldn’t blame you if, after that, you started to want more of what you just got. We might have to wait a little while longer for the Dune sequel or spinoff, but there are plenty of other movies and TV shows that are also set in the same kind of world.

There are many other space and sci-fi epics you can read. There are also general epics that you can look for. Telling a hero’s story on a big scale is not just something that happens in space. You could compare Dune to other movies that have been made, or you could watch films about movies that tried to adapt Dune but failed. There is a lot of past. You might even just want some sci-fi and want to tone things down a bit.

There are many good movies like Dune, no matter what mood you’re in. We have put together a list of some of the best.

The Top 8 Movies Like Dune – Must Watch: 

Star Wars

This is a suggestion for not only Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which is like Dune: Part One in Galaxy Far, Far Away, but also for the whole franchise, which was highly inspired by Herbert’s 1965 book from the start. So it’s funny that Star Wars, with 11 movies, a hit live-action show, and an entire cartoon universe, eventually became something that the world of Dune had to recognize.

“It was a very long process to find this identity in a world with the giant elephant of Star Wars in the room,” said Villeneuve. “George Lucas got ideas for Star Wars from the book Dune. Then, while we were making a movie about Dune, we had to deal with why Star Wars was important. It comes full circle.”

There’s only one place to start if you haven’t seen Star Wars yet.

Stalker

The Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker is by far one of his best movies. It is one of the best foreign arthouse movies of all time and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. There’s a strange area called the Zone in a small country called the Zone. There’s a room there called the Room that people say can grant their deepest wishes. They are led by a “stalker,” who is a guide, through this dangerous area to get to the “mythical Room.”

While Stalker takes a very different method than Dune, it still deals with religious and high-level philosophical issues. Anyone who likes movies should see it, but Dune fans should see it even more. Like Villeneuve’s most recent epics, Stalker takes great care with its complicated plot, giving us beautiful visuals and a lot of memorable set pieces.

Blade Runner 2049

Another big movie by Denis Villeneuve was Blade Runner 2049, which was a 25-years-later follow-up to Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner in 1982. Harrison Ford is back as Rick Deckard, but Ryan Gosling takes the major role this time. The whole movie, Ryan Gosling plays a sad guy effectively, and he wears a really cool coat. Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, and Jared Leto all have great supporting parts. But, just like Dune, what makes Blade Runner 2049 stand out is how it looks and how big it is. Watching this movie is amazing. Try to get the biggest screen you can. Then press “play.”

Also Read: 8 Best Movies Like Anyone But You – To Watch in 2025

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings didn’t need an opening even before the year 2000. But Peter Jackson’s movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous trilogy were what really made the series more well-known than ever. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in the series. It puts the main characters together at the start of their trip to Mount Doom, where they plan to destroy the secret weapon of a cruel despot.

That summary might make Fellowship sound like any other Hero’s Journey book, but that’s not at all what it is. It is one of the best movies of the 2000s and a great way to start learning about the magical world of Middle-earth and the interesting people who live there. Villeneuve has made it clear that Lord of the Rings had a big impact on how he wrote the story of Arrakis and Paul, and you can see those effects in Fellowship. This is a huge, epic, and deeply gripping first step into a huge world, just like Dune in 2021.

Interstellar

A lot of different Christopher Nolan movies could have been on this list, but we’re going to include his space drama because, well, why not? There’s a good chance that Nolan’s most complex movie yet is Interstellar. It’s a story about space travel that tries to help people stay alive. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, and more. A bonus for Dune fans? A young Timothée Chalamet plays the son of Matthew McConuaghey in the movie.

2001: A Space Odyssey

It goes without saying that 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick is one of the most important science fiction movies ever made. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, since many people think Kubrick is the best American director ever. His intellectual space epic is about a spaceship with two people and a supercomputer on board that is sent to Jupiter to find out where a strange object that landed on the Moon came from.

To say that 2001 has had a clear impact on almost every space adventure movie made in the 21st century would be an understatement. This includes Villeneuve’s Dune movies, of course. This 1960s masterpiece has amazing color and visual effects that were ahead of their time, as well as interesting ideas, a gripping story, famous music, and a famous finish that everyone should see before they die.

Arrival

It would be hard to argue with someone who said Arrival was Denis Villeneuve’s best movie. Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever. The story is twisty and interesting, and by the end, it blows your mind. Amy Adams may have given her best performance as the lead (she should have won an Oscar!) and the music in the movie is also great. The movie Arrival is based on a short story by author Ted Chiang. It’s a great example of why Hollywood should make a lot more movies based on his work.

The Matrix

In The Matrix by The Wachowski Brothers, Neo is a computer hacker who is taken by a beautiful stranger into a world below. There, he decides to find out the shocking truth: the life he thinks he lives is a complex lie made up by a bad cyber-intelligence. It’s both a lot of fun to watch and a lot to think about. It has some of the most exciting action scenes and one of the most deceptively deep sci-fi stories of the 20th century.

The Matrix is another one of the most important sci-fi movies ever made. It has some of the most groundbreaking special effects since CGI came along. People who like sci-fi stories with a bit of philosophical depth will love this. It’s the kind of sci-fi that can both amaze them with action and make them think with deep stories. So, the similarities to Dune become clear.

Conclusion:

If you liked Dune, there are a lot of other great sci-fi movies with beautiful scenery, deep ideas, and gripping stories. If you want more great sci-fi movies, these will definitely meet your needs. They have epic space adventures, thoughtful stories, and intense action.

Also Read:Best 6 Movies Like Shawshank Redemption for Fans of Drama