6 Best Space Colonization and Off-World Settlement Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 8, 2026

Settling among the stars comes with moral costs. Interstellar has explorers searching for a new habitable planet, Passengers has a man waking decades early aboard a colony ship, and Elysium has a dying worker fighting to reach a wealthy orbital habitat. Ad Astra, Avatar and Silent Running round out the six.

Ad Astra (2019)

IMDb ★ 6.5 RT 83% Metacritic 80

An astronaut travels to the edge of the solar system to confront his long-missing father.

Directed by James Gray · 2h 03m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar11 wins & 75 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Passengers (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.0 RT 30% Metacritic 41

A man wakes ninety years too early on a generation ship and wakes a woman to keep him company.

Directed by Morten Tyldum · 1h 56m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 2 Oscars2 wins & 13 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Interstellar (2014)

IMDb ★ 8.7 RT 73% Metacritic 74

A pilot leaves his children behind on a dying Earth to search the stars for humanity's next home.

Directed by Christopher Nolan · 2h 49m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar45 wins & 148 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Elysium (2013)

TMDB ★ 6.5

A dying factory worker fights to reach an exclusive orbital habitat reserved for the wealthy elite.

Directed by Neill Blomkamp · 1h 49m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Avatar (2009)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A paraplegic marine embedded among an alien race on a distant moon has to choose between his mission and his new home.

Directed by James Cameron · 2h 42m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus, Hulu · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Silent Running (1972)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A lone botanist aboard a deep-space ark defies orders to destroy Earth's last surviving forests.

Directed by Douglas Trumbull · 1h 29m · Rated G

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Space Colonization and Off-World Settlement Movies

Ad Astra (2019)

Passengers (2016)

Interstellar (2014)

Elysium (2013)

Avatar (2009)

Silent Running (1972)

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