Movies like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism (2023)
The best movies like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism (2023) are The Captains (2011), Chaos on the Bridge (2014) and The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026). If THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism hooked you with its documentary and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedZero Days (2016)7.4/10 from 272 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
The Captains (2011)
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChaos on the Bridge (2014)
Canadian acting legend William Shatner takes viewers inside the creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the bold attempt in 1986 to recreate the success of the original television series, in which Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrwell: 2+2=5 (2025)
George Orwell was one of the most visionary authors of the 20th century, whose novels 1984 and Animal Farm foretold a chilling, authoritarian future. Acclaimed director Raoul Peck interweaves clips, readings from Orwell's diary, cinematic references, and modern-day footage to craft not only a portrait of the writer, but a fresh take on how prophetic his work has become.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018)
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNational Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe (2008)
In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett (2021)
A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Age of Stupid (2009)
Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Skywalker Legacy (2020)
The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Secret (2006)
Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtremis (2016)
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)
A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Days (2016)
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
The year is 2087, the setting is the moon. Pluto Nash, the high-flying successful owner of the hottest nightclub in the universe, finds himself in trouble when he refuses to sell his club to lunar gangster Mogan, who just happens to be helping the mysterious Rex Crater mastermind a plan to take over the entire moon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisCasshern (2004)
Fifty years of war between the Great Eastern Federation and Europa - now merged as Eurasia - have taken their toll on planet Earth. As a result of the use of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, much of Earth has become uninhabitable and people have become prey to new diseases. Professor Azuma's "neo-cell" project, which is supposed to be the answer to mankind's hardships, becomes a nightmare come true when mutants spawned from the experiment escape and declare war on the human race. Azuma's son Tetsuya, who was killed during the previous war, is reborn into the cyborg Casshern as mankind's last hope against the new mutant threat. This live-action sci-fi movie based on a 1973 Japanese animé of the same name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSleeper (1973)
Miles Monroe, a clarinet-playing health food store proprietor, is revived out of cryostasis 200 years into a future world in order to help rebels fight an oppressive government regime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAppleseed (2004)
In a utopian society created at the end of World War III, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCritters 4 (1992)
A super strain of genetically engineered mutants are designed to take over the universe, hungry to conquer the galaxy, with an appetite for mankind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisRottweiler (2004)
Dante travels across a desolate, futuristic Spain in search of his girlfriend, Ula. He is pursued by a bloodthirsty, cybernetic Rottweiler.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last City on Earth (2009)
Hundreds of years into the future, endless wars have isolated and besieged the last pocket of civilization on this planet, thanks to the Mayor of the City the enemy is kept outside, and production levels are at an all time high. Then a spy plane arrives, but is it really a spy?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Teenage Caveman (2002)
In a post-apocalyptic future mankind is lives in a prehistoric manner. After killing his father for sexually assaulting his girlfriend, the son of a tribal leader runs away with a group of his teenage friends. They are taken in by Neil and Judith who introduce them to the vices outlawed by their tribes namely sex and drugs. Neil and Judith, however, are genetically altered indestructible mutants who have their own plans for the future of the human race.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisFortress (1992)
In the future, the inmates of a private underground prison are computer-controlled with cameras, dream readers, and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife Karen are locked inside "The Fortress" but are determined to escape before the birth of their baby.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism?
The closest matches to THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism are The Captains (2011), Chaos on the Bridge (2014) and The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism?
Start with The Captains (2011), the closest match to THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism.
What is the highest-rated movie like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism?
Zero Days (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 272 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism?
Yes: The Captains (2011), Chaos on the Bridge (2014) and The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026).
How are movies similar to THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.