Movies like L5 (2012)
The best movies like L5 (2012) are Timescape (1992), Stowaway (2021) and Alien: Alone (2019). If L5 hooked you with its science fiction, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedProject Hail Mary (2026)8.6/10 from 8,803 votes
- NewestProject Hail Mary (2026)Released 2026
Timescape (1992)
Before they can complete renovations on their new country inn, a widowed father and his young daughter are visited by a strange group of tourists. He soon makes a chilling discovery: they are disaster junkies from the future who visit the past to witness history's greatest catastrophes—and his small town is their next stop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (2021)
A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien: Alone (2019)
An abandoned crew member aboard a derelict chemical hauler is trying to keep her ship and herself alive. After discovering hidden cargo, she risks it all to power up the broken ship in search of human life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZygote (2017)
The two remaining crew members of a mining operation in the Arctic Circle fight to survive against an alien creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien: Containment (2019)
Aboard a small escape pod, four survivors try to discover what caused the destruction of their spaceship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCosmos (2019)
Three astronomers accidentally intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (2002)
After being punished for retreat from combat, Ranger David Martel is given command of the Liandra, a haunted 20-year old Minbari fighting ship. He's escorting ambassadors to a secret archaeological site, the oldest city on record and a clue to a dangerous ancient race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.R.E.D.I. (2018)
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and create a bond in which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSphere (1998)
A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMargaux (2022)
As a group of seniors celebrate their final college days at a smart house, the house's highly advanced AI system, Margaux, begins to take on a deadly presence of her own. A carefree weekend of partying turns into a dystopian nightmare as they realize Margaux's plans to eliminate her tenants one way or another. Time begins to run out as the group desperately tries to survive and outsmart the smart home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisContagion of Fear (2023)
A catastrophic train derailment sends the city spiraling into chaos. But the derailment is just the beginning. A biological gas attack sees crash survivors collapsing and dying within minutes. And the sickness is rapidly spreading.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsters of Man (2020)
A robotics company vying to win a lucrative military contract team up with a corrupt CIA agent to conduct an illegal live field test. They deploy four weaponized prototype robots into a suspected drug manufacturing camp in the Golden Triangle, assuming they'd be killing drug runners that no one would miss. Six doctors on a humanitarian mission witness the brutal slaughter and become prime targets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpace/Time (2025)
After a fatal test shuts down their project, a disgraced team of scientists enters the criminal underworld to rebuild a forbidden space-bending engine that could rescue humanity or annihilate it entirely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisProject Hail Mary (2026)
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDark Star (1974)
A group of scientists are sent on a mission to destroy unstable planets. Twenty years into their mission, they have to battle their alien mascot as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLong Distance (2024)
After crash-landing on an alien planet, an asteroid miner must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeostorm (2017)
After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999)
Allies of the Shadows seek revenge against humanity. This movie sets up the series, "Crusade," the sequel to "Babylon 5."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like L5 and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like L5?
The closest matches to L5 are Timescape (1992), Stowaway (2021) and Alien: Alone (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after L5?
Start with Timescape (1992), the closest match to L5.
What is the highest-rated movie like L5?
Project Hail Mary (2026), rated 8.6/10 by 8,803 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like L5?
Project Hail Mary (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like L5?
Yes: Timescape (1992), Stowaway (2021) and Alien: Alone (2019).
How are movies similar to L5 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside L5, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.