The 10 Greatest Planetary Romance Movies of All Time, Ranked

Published Sep 18, 2026, 7:36 AM EDT

Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts! 
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK. 
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

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When it comes to space and science fiction flicks, our fascination with the genre stems from the action that occurs beyond our own planet. Sometimes, the best stories in space occur on other singular, alien surfaces, falling under the umbrella of planetary romances. And no, that doesn’t mean it’s primarily a love story, but romance plays a key role in the story.

The subgenre usually takes place on a singular exotic alien planet as the story focuses on the geography, cultures, monsters, and political conflicts. They tend to include personal heroics rather than high-tech space battles. The term “romance” leans more toward adventurous, faraway quests, and daring exploits. We are here to celebrate ten of the greatest planetary romances in movie history. From epic entries in long-running franchises to iconic pop culture staples, these films represent a brilliant cross-section of the genre and its history.

'The Space Between Us' (2017)

Image via STXfilms

Directed by Peter Chelsom, The Space Between Us tells the tale of Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield), the first human born on Mars. Raised in secret by a team of scientists, he forms a close online friendship and romance with a smart, cynical Colorado high school foster kid named Tulsa (Britt Robertson). Desperate to meet and learn of his anonymous father, Gardner travels to Earth, embarking on a cross-country road trip.

With love at the center of the tale, The Space Between Us subverts the surface for a fish-out-of-water wonder. The film does a wondrous job of showcasing our home planet beautifully, shown through the wide-eyed wonder of Gardner and his exploration. The cross-planetary connection between Gardner and Tulsa provides a classic young adult romance of two outsiders searching for common ground to be together, but the journey to get there is no easy feat. The Space Between Us is a deeply personal human story, as the cross-world quest for belonging is a universal theme that resonates with all viewers.

'John Carter' (2012)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

In 2012, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ brilliant work was brought to the big screen in John Carter. Directed by Andrew Stanton, the story centers on weary ex-Confederate veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) who is mysteriously transported to Mars, known locally as Barsoom. As an Earth-born individual, he has superhuman abilities that become crucial in an epic planetary conflict. Reluctant to fight in another way, Carter must make the choice to help Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and save Barsoom from total collapse at the hands of warlord Sab Than (Dominic West) and Matai Shang (Mark Strong), the leader of the Therns, a powerful and ancient immortal race.

John Carter offers immersive worldbuilding, spectacular visuals, and a brilliant blueprint to pull from. The movie takes the strange cultures of the exotic planet seriously, allowing it to explore why the dying red planet is war-torn. John Carter is a massive movie. Stanton employs big arena set pieces, sweeping desert wars, and giant motion-captured alien characters to give the film an epic essence and make it the ultimate sword-and-planet adventure of the era.

'Aelita' (1924)

Image via Public Domain

One of the very first influential planetary romance movies in cinema history is Aelita. The daring silent film directed by Yakov Protazanov follows Soviet engineer Los (Nikolai Tsereteli) who dreams of building a rocket to Mars, where he imagines leading an uprising with Queen Aelita (Yuliya Solntseva). Though the epic adventure and rebellion turn out to be an elaborate dream, Los uses his imagination as a tool to save his own planet.

A truly historic film, Aelita inspired generations of planetary romances through its bold storytelling, groundbreaking avant-garde art design, and its ability to process such profound themes and ideas of the time. Lifted from Alexei Tolstoy’s novel, Aelita blends science fiction, melodrama, and sweeping adventure on a single alien world. Driven by romantic passion, jealousy, and obsession, the space thriller is rooted in forbidden love that examines our adoration for Earth. Aelita captures the hopes, utopian dreams, and anxieties of 1920s society, specifically Soviet Russia.

'Upside Down' (2012)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

A truly delightful, under-appreciated planetary romance is Juan Diego Solanas’ 2012 film, Upside Down. The sci-fi romance follows two star-crossed lovers living on twin, adjacent planets with opposing gravitational pulls, where the rich live on the upper world and the poor on the lower. The laws of the class divide find intercourse between the worlds is strictly forbidden. Any foreign object brought over will spontaneously burn up after a few hours unless counteracted by "inverse matter.” After a secret romance, Adam (Jim Sturgess), from Down Below, and Eden (Kirsten Dunst), from Up Top, fight to find each other as the gravitational pull rips them apart.

Through breathtaking cinematography, vibrant worldbuilding, and a whimsical spectacle like no other story, Upside Down is a new twist on a classic narrative. With its unique premise of two worlds pulled apart, Solanas creates a visual vocabulary through a stunning mirror-image effect between the impoverished lower world and the wealthy upper world. The core obstacle isn't just distance, but an unusual dual-gravity planetary condition where the worlds pull in opposite directions. By going beyond their means to cross boundaries and defy natural laws, it proves that love knows no limits.

'Barbarella' (1968)

Image via Paramount Pictures

There are very few iconic pop culture films quite like Barbarella. Directed by Roger Vadim, based on the French comic series by Jean-Claude Forest, the 1968 sci-fi cult classic sends space adventurer Barbarella (Jane Fonda) into the Tau Ceti system to find a rogue scientist, Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea), who has invented the positronic ray, a weapon capable of destroying humanity. Barbarella crash-lands on the frozen, surreal planet Lythion where she faces off against killer robotic dolls, meets a blind angel named Pygar (John Phillip Law), and discovers "old-fashioned" physical love.

With a fascinating mix of psychedelic 1960s pop-art style, campy satire, and a unique, lighthearted celebration of peace and pleasure, Barbarella became bigger than just a film. It blends space travel with pulp adventure, chivalric romance, and fantasy, focusing on survival and pure camp decadence. The production design replaces sterile metallic spaceships with psychedelic 1960s nightclub visuals, and spaceships with wall-to-wall shag carpeting and fur-lined interiors. Barbarella walks a fine line between poking fun at its own utopian dreams and indulging in them completely.

'Flash Gordon' (1980)

Image via Universal Pictures

For this entry, we are going to discuss the 1980 film adaptation of Flash Gordon. While the influential 1936 serial film is brilliant and influential, the Mike Hodges version is a pop culture masterpiece. The story centers on American football star Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones) as he travels to the alien planet Mongo to stop an evil dictator from destroying Earth. Joined by travel agent Dale Arden (Melody Anderson) and eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol), they must stop Emperor Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow), the ruler of the planet Mongo.

A joyful high-camp film with dazzling aesthetics, Flash Gordon is a memorable movie that celebrates stylized action and the tropes common to the genre with panache. It’s an ordinary Earthling against a ruthless villain that is rooted in high-stakes action. Flash Gordon relies on non-stop danger, dangerous monsters, epic arena battles, and daring escapes, using bright primary colors to build a comic book aesthetic in its unique world. Production designer Danilo Donati used vibrant, theatrical sets to create Planet Mongo and extravagant costumes that evoked the 1930s comic strip.

'Avatar' (2009)

Image via 20th Century Studios

James Cameron has proven his willingness to take massive risks on screen, like Avatar. In the franchise-launching 2009 science fiction film, it follows paralyzed ex-Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) who joins an alien colonization program on the lush moon of Pandora. Via his avatar, he meets and falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), defies his original orders, and leads the indigenous tribe known as the Na’vi in a battle for survival.

Avatar delivered a groundbreaking, immersive visual spectacle and an emotional, universally accessible story about nature and connection in blockbuster fashion. Though the primary storyline is reminiscent of other narratives, the move to drop the action on the fascinating locale of Pandora established a newfound approach to how we view conservation on our own planet. The immersive worldbuilding dropped you directly onto the planet and into the action, and the way the world was built felt extraordinarily tangible. The romance between Jake and Neytiri serves as the emotional core of the film, evolving into something profound in the subsequent films.

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017)

Image via Marvel Studios

Representing the trilogy as a whole comes a film about underdogs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In the second film directed by James Gunn, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his ragtag misfit team as they rock the cosmos, trying to keep their newfound family together as Peter discovers the truth about his biological father, Ego (Kurt Russell).

A brilliant story about love, friendship, and sacrifice, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 prioritizes deep emotional character arcs through the guise of found family while maintaining a high-voltage, action-packed adventure. A standout, top-tier MCU entry, it captures the classic sci-fi subgenre by making a living, god-like planet the central canvas to explore. Through retro-futuristic and imaginative planetary design, the literal living planet is richly realized. The slow-burning “unspoken thing” between Quill and Gamorra provides an emotional core as they embark on their mission. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 proves that staying put on a single planet is equally brilliant as navigating the cosmos. ​​​​​​​

Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap

Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?

🕷️Spider-Man

😈Daredevil

🤖Iron Man

💀Punisher

⚡Thor

🛡️Cap

FIND YOUR HERO →

01

What drives you to do what's right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.

AWith great power comes great responsibility — I protect those who can't protect themselves. BMy faith and my conscience — I believe justice must be served, even in the dark. CLegacy and ego, honestly — but I've learned that others depend on me now. DThe system failed. Someone has to make sure the guilty actually pay. EDuty to the innocent and honour to my name — I was born to protect realms. FThe values I was raised with — freedom, decency, and never backing down from a bully.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

It's 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you'd think.

ASwinging between skyscrapers, keeping an eye on the neighbourhood. BRunning rooftops in Hell's Kitchen, listening for trouble. CIn my lab, upgrading my suit with a cold cup of coffee nearby. DStaking out a target I've been tracking for three weeks. ESomewhere between the stars, or at a feast that got out of hand. FOn a morning run — I was up at 4, actually. Couldn't sleep.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What's yours?

AWeb them up and leave them for the police — again. BBuild an airtight case and dismantle their entire operation from the inside. CDeploy a containment system I designed specifically for them. Tech wins. DMake sure they don't escape a third time. Permanently. EChallenge them to single combat. Honour demands a decisive end. FRally allies, adapt the plan, and bring them in — by the book, even if it's hard.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.

AEssential — my loved ones would be in danger if anyone found out who I am. BCritical — the mask protects my mission as much as my face. COverrated — I announced myself to the world and I'd do it again. DI'm a ghost. The less people know about me, the better. EMy name is known across the Nine Realms. There's no hiding it. FI don't hide — but I understand why some need to. Transparency builds trust.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

You've lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.

AWith guilt that never fully goes away — it pushes me to do better, every single day. BI channel it into purpose — their memory is the reason I keep fighting. CI buried myself in work for years. I'm only recently learning to face it. DIt transformed me completely. I'm not the same person I was before. EWith warrior's grief — I honour them by fighting with everything I have. FI keep moving forward. Stopping means letting the loss win.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

What's your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.

AThe enthusiastic wildcard who somehow makes it work — and keeps the mood up. BThe strategist who works best alone but shows up when it matters most. CThe one who funds it, equips it, and occasionally takes over the whole operation. DI don't do teams. I'm more effective operating solo, on my terms. EThe heavy hitter — I crash in, draw fire, and turn the tide of battle. FThe leader — I earn trust, build the plan, and make sure no one gets left behind.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.

AClearly — I don't kill, and I wrestle with that line constantly. BI try to hold the line, but I've come terrifyingly close to crossing it. CPractically — I do what's necessary to protect people, including hard calls. DI crossed that line long ago. What I do is justice — the system just won't admit it. EIn battle, victory is justice. Mercy is earned — not automatic. FFirmly. The moment we abandon our principles, we become what we fight against.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

When you're not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.

ATrying to juggle school, a part-time job, and not failing my friends. BWorking as a lawyer by day, fighting for justice in court and on the streets. CRunning a global company, attending galas, and pretending I'm sleeping enough. DQuiet. Isolated. Surviving with a clear mission and no distractions. ENavigating a bizarre and fascinating mortal world — coffee is extraordinary. FAdapting to a world decades ahead of everything I knew. Quietly, stubbornly.

NEXT QUESTION →

09

What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThe people I couldn't save — and the ones I might not reach in time tomorrow. BWhether the monster I fight every night is starting to live inside me too. CThe threats I can see coming and whether my tech is actually good enough. DNothing. Silence is the only peace I get. I've made my choices. EWhether I'm truly worthy — of the hammer, of the throne, of the people I protect. FA world where no one stands up anymore. Where good people do nothing.

NEXT QUESTION →

10

The battle is lost. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.

ACrack a joke to buy a second, then find the one web shot that changes everything. BBlock out everything except the sound of the next threat — and keep going. CActivate the emergency protocol I built for exactly this scenario. Always have a plan. DI don't accept that it's lost. I keep fighting until I physically cannot anymore. ECall the lightning. All of it. The storm answers to me. FPick up the shield. Stand up. Because as long as I can stand, it's not over.

REVEAL MY HERO →

Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…

Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.

🕷️ Spider-Man

You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.

• You do the right thing not because it's easy, but because no one else will.
• You understand that responsibility isn't a burden you choose — it's one that finds you.
• Whether it's a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
• Peter Parker's lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn't a slogan to you. It's the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.

😈 Daredevil

You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.

• You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
• You've looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
• Matt Murdock's duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
• Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.

🤖 Iron Man

Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.

• You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
• You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
• Tony Stark's arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
• You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you're willing to give everything. Because in the end, you're Iron Man.

💀 The Punisher

You've been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What's left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.

• You don't ask for forgiveness, and you don't expect gratitude.
• You see a corrupt, broken world and you've decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
• Frank Castle's war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
• Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.

⚡ Thor

Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.

• You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
• You're larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
• Thor's story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
• You bring the storm when it's needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.

🛡️ Captain America

You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.

• You don't bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
• Steve Rogers didn't become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
• Your strength isn't in your fists; it's in your refusal to compromise what's right, no matter the cost.
• In a world full of people taking the easy road, you're the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

'Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)

Image via Lucasfilm

The original Star Wars is excellent, but The Empire Strikes Back is exquisite. It may be thanks to the inclusion of the celebrated "Queen of Space Opera" Leigh Brackett, one of the film's screenwriters. The Empire Strikes Back centers on the Rebel Alliance running from the evil Galactic Empire after their base is destroyed. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) goes to a swamp planet called Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz) to learn to use the Force to take on Darth Vader (James Earl Jones).

With one of the greatest twists in cinema history, The Empire Strikes Back explores exotic alien planets as it pairs futuristic blasters and starships with mystical knightly orders, ancient philosophies, and feudal-style galactic conflicts. It rejects the typical Hollywood ending for a reminder that villains can be victorious too. The heroes fail, get hurt, and face real hardships instead of winning easily. This vulnerability makes the characters relatable and the romance more powerful. With the physical action moving to Luke, it opened up the narrative for Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia's (Carrie Fisher) love story, which masterfully grows through quiet moments of tension.

'Dune: Part Two' (2024)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

The premiere iteration of Frank Herbert’s epic novel Dune is most certainly Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece. To represent the franchise for this list, we will focus on Dune: Part Two. The film follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. As he experiences terrifying premonitions of a massive holy war in his name, Paul learns desert survival and rides a giant sandworm before confronting the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and the Harkonnens on Arrakis.

Dune: Part Two subverts the hero myth while establishing the epic conclusion. It pairs a vast, desert-world adventure with a grounded, tragic love story that buckles under the weight of destiny. The entire narrative, action, and cultural conflict are anchored to the harsh, singular alien ecosystem of the planet Arrakis. The desert environment, water scarcity, giant sandworms, and the extraction of the spice mélange dictate every single choice the characters make. It highlights tribal warfare, personal combat, and an arena battle like no other.

Dune: Part Two

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