When it comes to top sci-fi content, Disney Plus has a wide-range of out-of-this-world content to keep you glued to your seat throughout July. This handy guide will walk you through the very best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Disney Plus.
July is a great month to bag yourself a Disney Plus subscription (opens in new tab) as the streaming platform has a host of great sci-fi content, like the recent “Obi-Wan-Kenobi” series. Disney Plus is also the home of all things “Star Wars” so as well as all the movies, there’s hit shows like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” for you to enjoy. If you want more than just action from a galaxy far, far away you will also be able to enjoy documentaries such as “Hubble’s Cosmic Journey” and “Mission Pluto” which have been recently added.
From Star Wars to “Futurama,” from Marvel to documentaries, Disney Plus (opens in new tab) has something for everyone — hundreds if not thousands of hours of galactic content for space nerds to enjoy.
So if you have a love of science, are a sci-fi geek or just want something totally awesome to watch this month, Disney Plus is definitely the streaming platform you want. If you want to do research on what other sci-fi content is out there, be sure to read our guides for the best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix and The best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Amazon Prime. Otherwise, if it’s the best sci-fi movies and TV shows on Disney Plus you want to check out, all you have to do is read on below.
Star Wars
1) ‘Star Wars’ original trilogy
Watch or watch not, there is no try. Disney Plus is home to one of if not the biggest franchise in cinematic history, “Star Wars.” Starting with “A New Hope” in 1977, the saga begins as a young Luke Skywalker meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, begins to learn the ways of the force, joins the Rebel Alliance and eventually blows up the Death Star. The start of a cinematic dynasty.
The story continues with what many consider the best film in the franchise’s history, “The Empire Strikes Back.” In this installment, Luke meets Master Yoda for the first time to enhance his Jedi training, The Empire fights the Rebel Alliance in the epic battle of Hoth and Darth Vader captures and holds Han Solo hostage before dropping one of the biggest bombshells in the history of cinema … But we’re not going to spoil that; you’ll have to watch it yourself.
Finally, in “Return of the Jedi,” this epic trilogy comes to its conclusion as the Emperor and Darth Vader try to coerce Luke over to the dark side while Han Solo, Princess Leia and the rest of the Rebel Alliance defeat the Empire in the battle of Endor, which results in the destruction of the second Death Star.
2) ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy
Disney Plus also houses the entire prequel trilogy, the story of how the galaxy fell into civil war. “The Phantom Menace” stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Samuel L Jackson, and the film is best known for the antagonist, Darth Maul and his double edged lightsaber, as well as the epic battle between the Sith and two Jedi knights featuring one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the franchise, “Duel of the Fates.”
The second installment, “Attack of the Clones,” gives viewers their first look at a grown up Anakin as a Jedi. It’s best known for its love story between Anakin and Padme Amidala and the battle of Geonosis, which sees a host of Jedi fighting side by side against a wave of droids.
This trilogy comes to a close with what many people consider the best of the three films, “Revenge of the Sith.” This film sees Chancellor Palpatine fully transition into the Emperor and Anakin transform into Darth Vader after killing Count Dooku and all the Jedi younglings. The film ends in an emotional battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin.
3) ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy
This trilogy includes some of the most recent “Star Wars” films and tells the epic tale of what happens after the events of the original trilogy. It relays how, despite the Empire’s defeat in the galactic civil war, The First Order rise to power and features the first female lead protagonist in the “Star Wars” movies.
“The Force Awakens” is the first film in this trilogy and the first since Disney bought Lucasfilms. It was a hit with most fans, who enjoyed seeing a whole host of new characters introduced to the franchise as well as the return of some old favorites including Han Solo, Princess Leia and a shock cameo in the final scene from Luke Skywalker.
Episodes VIII and IX continue the journeys of Rey Skywalker, Po Dameron, Finn and Kylo Ren as the Rebellion continues its struggle against the First Order and questions are answered around Supreme Leader Snoke. We also learn of Kylo Ren’s path to the dark side, Luke Skywalker’s involvement in it and a surprise return of the Emperor as the trilogy comes to a thrilling end.
4) ‘Star Wars’ anthology movies
“Star Wars: Rogue One” is the story of how the rebels obtained the Death Star plans in the first place and gives fans one of the most menacing impressions of Darth Vader since the original trilogy. An epic story ends as “A New Hope” begins, with Vader boarding a rebel ship while R2-D2 (opens in new tab) and C3PO escape with the plans.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is Han Solo’s origin story and we see how he meets characters like Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian for the first time.
5) ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
Ewan McGregor is reprising his role as the famous Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi in this TV series set between episodes III and IV. This series will tell the story of Obi-Wan watching over a young Luke Skywalker while evading the Empire’s Jedi hunters during his exile on Tatooine.
The series began streaming back in May and was initially due to be released on the anniversary of “A New Hope” but the launch was delayed. With the series finale being released at the back-end of June, you’ll be able to binge watch this series, meaning you’ll have your Disney Plus and Star Wars fix through the month.
6) ‘The Mandalorian’
The hit series is set five years after “Return of the Jedi” and tells the story of the Mandalorian, a bounty hunter and his sidekick Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). The Mandalorian, or Mando for short, works in the outer reaches of the galaxy, where he is far from the reaches of the newly formed Republic.
This TV series is a great way for fans to get their “Star Wars” kick, and it’s also a good introduction to the franchise as it features a lot of action and adventure, plenty of sci-fi and plenty of comedic moments. “The Mandalorian” has been very well received by fans and critics alike (opens in new tab) and currently has two series available to stream, with a third on its way.
7) ‘The Book of Boba Fett’
Released on December 29, The Book of Boba Fett is an exciting new addition to the Star Wars universe. A spinoff from “The Mandalorian” this new series sees Boba Fett navigate the underworld of the universe with “Fennec Shand” as they return to Tattooine to stake their claim on the territory formerly owned by Jabba the Hutt.
Episodes 6 and 7 are coming fresh for February with 7 being the series finale. This new series has proved a hit with fans and critics alike, and we think is reason enough to try Disney Plus if you haven’t yet.
8) ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’
Set in the time between “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” this animated series follows the wartime activities of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda. “The Clone Wars” is well known for adding both story content and new characters to “Star Wars” canon, including Anakin’s apprentice Ashoka Tano.
9) ‘Star Wars: Rebels’
“Star Wars: Rebels” is set between the events of “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope.” It tells the story of the Empire tightening its grip on the galaxy as it hunts down the last of the Jedi, but a rebellion in its infancy is taking shape.
10) ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” focuses on a clone special unit called “The Bad Batch” who make their way across the newly established Empire, trying to find out why all other clone troops opposed their Jedi generals.
11) Lego ‘Star Wars’
Disney Plus also has a collection of Lego “Star Wars” (opens in new tab) series and miniseries available to watch. These include “All Stars,” “The Freemaker Adventures,” “The Resistance Rises,” Droid Tales” and “The New Yoda Chronicles,” which take place all across the “Star Wars” timeline and tell stories in a family-friendly and humorous way.
Movies
1) Marvel’s “Avengers” 1-4
The first Marvel entry on this list, “The Avengers” films were all cinematic highlights of the 2010s, and each film is a coming together of all the best superheroes in the Marvel Comic Universe. The first film features Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Thor. The following three movies include the likes of Spiderman, Black Panther, Vision and more as they collectively bring the 11-year story to its conclusion.
These films are more than worthy of their place in this list, as aliens from outer space threaten the fate of Earth and it’s down to the Avengers to save the planet. Thanos, who is the main enemy through these films, is known as the destroyer of worlds, and the theme of space and exoplanets (opens in new tab) is explored greatly, especially in “Infinity War” and “Endgame.”
Marvel’s “Avengers” films all have a great blend of sci-fi, action and comedy, which mean they are great for viewing even if comic book heroes aren’t totally your thing.
2) ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Volumes 1 and 2
Starring Chris Pratt as “Star Lord,” these films have a great blend of space exploration, action, comedy and a good story to go with it. Each film has a soundtrack largely from the 1980s, the era in which the protagonist, Star Lord, grew up. “Guardians of the Galaxy (opens in new tab)” Vol. 1 is also a key film in the Marvel Comic Universe, as the story revolves around an “infinity stone” that Thanos needs to collect in order to wipe out half of the universe.
Vol. 2 picks up where Vol. 1 leaves off, with more great comedy, action sequences and the evolving love story between Gamora and Star Lord. In the second film, Star Lord — helped by Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket — finds out who his father is and discovers that he is half-celestial and half-human.
3) ‘Tron’
This brilliantly colorful 1980s sci-fi action/adventure film sees hacker and arcade owner Kevin Flynn abducted into a digital world. Once in the computerized world, Flynn interacts with programs and joins forces with “Tron” to outmanoeuvre the Master Control Program (which holds them captive) in what is essentially an ever-challenging, massive computer game. “Tron Legacy” is a sequel that was released in 2010. It’s Also on Disney Plus.
4) ‘Armageddon’
“Armageddon” is an epic 1998 sci-fi film that sees a giant civilization-destroying asteroid hurtling toward Earth. The only way to stop it is to drill into its core and detonate a nuclear bomb down there. (No, this is not how we’d actually tackle a killer asteroid (opens in new tab).) The star-studded line-up includes Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, who play members of an underfunded but resourceful team that are humanity’s last hope as hysteria grips the public around the world.
5) ‘Alita: Battle Angel’
“Alita: Battle Angel” is a 2019 story of a deactivated cyborg who gets reactivated but cannot remember who she is or anything from her past. Dr. Dyson Ido (played by Christoph Waltz) discovers Alita and sees her as the key to ending death and destruction. Ironically, the things she must do to fulfill her purpose are fight and kill.
6) ‘X-Men’ movies
This comic book-turned movie franchise is instantly recognizable and is enjoyed by many all over the world. The films tell the story of mutants with superpowers and their constant struggles against people who fear them. “X-Men” gave Hugh Jackman arguably his most recognized role (Wolverine), and the original trilogy features Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier and Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto, the character who originally devises an evil plan for war.
7) ‘Independence Day’
Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum star in this 1996 sci-fi disaster movie, in which an invading alien species destroys major cities around the world including New York, London and Moscow. Humanity discovered the plans of the invading aliens just days before their attack, and on the Fourth of July, we fight back, making it the world’s Independence Day.
8) ‘Aliens’
This 1986 film is the second installment in the “Alien” franchise (opens in new tab) and is a classic in its own right. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley following the events of the first film to help Marines fight a colony of Xenomorphs (opens in new tab) in this sci-fi horror action-adventure epic. After Ripley is awakened from a hyper-sleep 57 years after the events of 1979’s “Alien,” she must protect a young girl who is the sole survivor of the nearly wiped out colony in a fight-or-die environment.
9) ‘Avatar’
“Avatar (opens in new tab)” is a modern classic from director James Cameron. The movie tells the story of paraplegic Marine Jake Sully, who agrees to infiltrate a native alien species on the exomoon (opens in new tab) Pandora while going undercover as an avatar of one of the Na’vi species. While undercover, Sully falls in love with one of the natives and decides to fight back against his colonel’s efforts to drive out the Na’vi and mine the woodland for minerals and resources.
10) ‘Wall-E’
A family-film entry to this list, “Wall-E” is the story of an adorable robot whose primary job is to clear Earth of trash after humanity has left to settle on another planet. Set in the future, Wall-E (the name of the robot protagonist) is alone on Earth before meeting EVE, a reconnaissance robot sent to Earth to prove it is a habitable planet. The main draw of this film is the love story between the two robots.
11) ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Set just before the events of “Infinity War,” “Thor: Ragnarok” is a 2017 addition to the Marvel Comic Universe and is a great mix of comedy, science fiction and action. With multiple worlds featured in the film as well as an epic gladiator battle between the god of thunder and the Hulk, Thor must defeat the villain of the film, his half-sister Hela, while also stopping Surtur from destroying his homeland, Asgard.
12. ‘Free Guy’
Released on Disney Plus in February, Ryan Reynolds stars as ‘Guy,’ a bank teller with a fairly routine and normal life. That is until, he discovers he is a character in an open-world video game. After discovering this, Guy is determined to rewrite his own life in a world that has no limits, save his computerized world from being erased and perhaps find a little romance along the way.
13. Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight!
In this animated movie, the Marvel heroes come together to stop Loki and Ymir (a frost giant) from stealing Santa Claus’s powers, which they intend to use to rule the world.
TV Shows
1) 1 ‘Moon Knight’
Marvel’s latest TV show tells the story of gift shop employee, Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) who becomes plagued with blackouts and flashbacks of another life. Steven Later discovers he has had powers from an Egyptian Moon God thrust upon him. These powers mean Steven shares his body with a Mercenary named Marc Spector, as the powers become both a blessing and a curse. Steven and Marc explore their complex identities to investigate a deadly mystery among the Egyptian gods while their enemies converge on them.
2) ‘X-Men’ animated series
The “X-Men” animated series tells a continuing story of the problems mutants face at the hands of a human populace that resents their very existence and the evil of a select few mutants who want to make the world submit to their will. Charles Xavier’s school for gifted children is a sanctuary for mutants to learn to control their powers and to try and fit in, as well as being home to the X-Men.
3) ‘Phineas and Ferb’ ‘Star Wars’ crossover
Although this isn’t “Star Wars” canon, the popular children’s show “Phineas and Ferb” does offer a cute crossover where the title characters interact with “Star Wars” characters when telling the story of “A New Hope.”
4) ‘Futurama’
The hit animated series from Matt Groening set in the year 3000 is on Disney Plus! The long-running futuristic comedy focuses on the antics of Fry, a delivery boy who was accidentally cryogenically frozen for 1,000years and gets a job with Planet Express in the 31st century. Fry and his friends, including Bender (a robot) and Leela (a one-eyed mutant), get up to shenanigans all across the universe as well as in their resident city, New New York.
5) ‘Loki’
A spin-off series from Marvel Studios, “Loki” focuses on the title character and his role as the god of mischief. The series is set after the events of “Avengers: Endgame” and features lots of alien life (opens in new tab), cool special effects and different world settings. Acclaimed by critics and fans alike, “Loki” offers a great blend of science fiction, action and adventure with just the one series out at the minute.
Documentaries
1) ‘Among The Stars’
New for this year, “Among The Stars” is a docu-series that takes a behind-the-scenes look at NASA’s mission to repair a $2 billion science experiment (the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) which aims to reveal the origins of the universe.
2) ‘Hubble’s Cosmic Journey’
After launching in 1990, The Hubble Telescope has revolutionized what we know about the universe and has taken stunning pictures of space. Narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, this documentary tells the definitive story of one of the most successful scientific ventures ever.
3) ‘Mission Pluto’
This exciting documentary tells the story of New Horizons, a NASA spacecraft launched to explore the furthest parts of our solar system. The spacecraft will be used to intercept, give us a clearer picture of and better our understanding of the ninth planet or ‘dwarf planet’, Pluto.
4) ‘Welcome to Earth’
Released in December, Will Smith presents this docu-series that takes a look at the hidden worlds within ours. It shows extreme ends of the planets from active volcanos to deep ocean adventures and more.
5) ‘Aliens of the Deep’
Filmmaker James Cameron teams up with NASA scientists and marine biologists to try and explore some of Earth’s deepest, most extreme and unexplored environments. This documentary is the result of multiple expeditions to deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites (opens in new tab) and takes a look at some of the life forms that live there. The vents could be similar to environments on other worlds, so maybe the creatures that live there could be similar too.
6) ‘Expedition Mars: Spirit and Opportunity’
“Expedition Mars: Spirit and Opportunity” tells the story of the twin Mars (opens in new tab) rovers that helped save NASA’s Mars program and showed the world that water once flowed on the Red Planet.
7) “Mars Inside SpaceX”
This documentary goes behind the scenes of SpaceX (opens in new tab) and its plan to get humanity to Mars. “Mars Inside SpaceX” gives us an insight into SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk and his team of engineers as they experience triumphs and setbacks over the course of the three years during which this documentary was filmed.
8) ‘One Strange Rock’
This docu-series gives us an insight into our planet and what makes it so special, but from a unique perspective as astronauts tell the story of Earth.
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