Movies like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie (1978)
The best movies like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie (1978) are Message from Space (1978), Code 8 Part II (2024) and Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (2002). If Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie hooked you with its action and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHalo: Nightfall (2014)6.8/10 from 210 votes
- NewestAfterburn (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseMessage from Space (1978)Also in Japanese
Message from Space (1978)
The peaceful planet of Jillucia has been nearly wiped out by the Gavanas, whose leader takes orders from his mother rather than the Emperor. King Kaiba sends out eight Liabe holy seeds, each to be received by a chosen one to defend the Gavanas. Each recipient, ranging from hardened General Garuda to Gavana Prince Hans to young Terrans Meia, Kido, and Aaron all have different reactions to being chosen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode 8 Part II (2024)
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
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 & action
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 action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: Item 47 (2012)
Benny and Claire, a down-on-their-luck couple, find a discarded Chitauri weapon referred to as 'Item 47'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalo: Nightfall (2014)
Set between the events of Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians… Halo: Nightfall tells the dramatic story of legendary man hunter and Naval Intelligence Officer Jameson Locke and his team as they are caught in a horrific biological attack while investigating terrorist activity on the distant colony world of Sedra. As they unravel a plot that draws them to an ancient, hellish artifact, they will be forced to fight for their survival, question everything and ultimately choose between their loyalty and their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman vs. Two-Face (2017)
Former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, one side of his face scarred by acid, goes on a crime spree based on the number '2'. All of his actions are decided by the flip of a defaced, two-headed silver dollar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster Hunters (2020)
When an alien prison ship crash lands and unleashes creature after creature in the California desert, they make quick work of the army that tries to stop them. Now, the only hope of stopping the aliens rests with a secret branch of the government specializing in alien weaponry. But with the team untested in actual combat, the battle for Earth will be brutal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Accel (2011)
While settling into married life with Akiko, Ryu is brought into a case involving a woman named Katsuragi Aoi, a member of a pickpocketing ring with most of her teammates murdered from unknown masked vigilantes that Ryu fought as Accel. As the details of the case begin to unravel, Ryu is framed and Akiko believes that he may not be faithful to her. As the clock ticks down, Ryu must solve the case, clear his name, and save his marriage before everything comes to an explosive end!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: Thirdspace (1998)
Susan Ivanova discovers a derelict spaceship in hyperspace. They tow it back to Babylon 5, then strange things start happening. People are being telepathically taken over by aliens from another (third)space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016)
When brain-swapping aliens attack New York, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious masked superhero known only as the Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan? And what will be revealed when we see behind the mask?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBabylon 5: The Road Home (2023)
Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSolo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoldier (1998)
Sergeant Todd is a veteran soldier for an elite group of the armed forces. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence. The peace is broken as the new soldiers land on the planet to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Men (1987)
A womanizing CIA agent and an insecure insurance agent are paired together to make sure a deal goes through with aliens for the future of mankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerra Formars (2016)
With the space program attempting to travel to Mars, 21st century scientists were tasked with warming up the planet so that humans could survive on its surface. They came up with an efficient and cost effective plan of sending cockroaches and mold to the surface so that the mold would absorb the sunlight and the insect corpses would serve as a food source for the mold. It is now the year 2577 and the first manned ship to Mars has landed on the planet and the six crew members are ready for their mission. But what they find are giant mutated humanoid cockroaches with incredible physical strength. The crew members are easily wiped out, but not before sending a transmission back to Earth. Now, humanity will send elite warriors to exterminate the mutated bugs and claim back Mars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & 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 & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008)
In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpace Truckers (1996)
John Canyon is one of the last independent space transport entrepreneurs. Rough times force him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without questions being asked. During the flight the cargo turns out to be a multitude of unstoppable killer robots.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisOutlaw of Gor (1988)
An Earthman returns to the planet Gor, and fights against tyranny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Dune (1984)
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ice Pirates (1984)
In the not too distant future, where by far the most precious commodity in the galaxy is water. The last surviving water planet was somehow removed to the unreachable centre of the galaxy at the end of the galactic trade wars. The galaxy is ruled by an evil emperor presiding over a trade oligarchy that controls all mining and sale of ice from asteroids and comets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisGall Force 3: Stardust War (1988)
The remaining forces of the Solnoid and the Paranoid races now head toward Sigma Narse, a forgotten star system with a dying red giant for their final confrontation. The crew of five Solnoids who survived the battle at the ninth star system are sent to meet Capt. Nebulart, head of Intelligence, for what appears to be the last hope for both races.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: -A Wakening of the Trailblazer- (2010)
The year is 2314 AD, two years have passed since the defeat of the Innovades and the exposure of the A-Laws' crimes against humanity. The A-Laws have been abolished and their infrastructure integrated into the Earth Sphere Federation Army. However, the world's exposure to GN Particles has resulted in many people awakening as True Innovators. Celestial Being has returned to the shadows to rebuild and quietly observe the infantile peace. However, an abandoned probe from an expedition to Jupiter 130 years ago approaches Earth bringing a new crisis with it, one that threatens all of mankind. While Celestial Being begins their final mission to save humanity from an unimaginable threat, Gundam Meister Setsuna F. Seiei is about to discover the true purpose of his evolution as an Innovator. Aeolia Schenberg's plan has moved into its final stage...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Cosmic Sin (2021)
In the year 2524, four centuries after humans started colonizing the outer planets, retired General James Ford gets called back into service when a hostile alien fleet attacks soldiers on a remote planet. The threat against mankind soon escalates into an interstellar war as Ford and a team of elite soldiers try to stop the imminent attack before it's too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisRhea Gall Force (1989)
The last remaining human soldiers of a devastated Earth fight against the machines for one last chance for their species to escape and survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle (1999)
The hilarious story of a restless young farm-thumb, Loke Groundrunner, and his tasty companion, Princess Bunhead, who go on an quest to combat Black Helmet Man and the Evil Thumbpire. This is the first film of the hilarious 'Thumbs!' franchise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Planet (2008)
In the not-so-distant future, Captain Jordan Strider, a Special Forces Officer in the New World Alliance, is chosen for a top-secret mission. Sent to a desolate planet, Terra 219, to arrest possible traitors to the Alliance, Strider must survive with only a government issued experimental suit as protection. He quickly learns of a plan to end all humanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie?
The closest matches to Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie are Message from Space (1978), Code 8 Part II (2024) and Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie?
Start with Message from Space (1978), the closest match to Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie.
What is the highest-rated movie like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie?
Halo: Nightfall (2014), rated 6.8/10 by 210 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie?
Afterburn (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie?
Yes: Message from Space (1978), Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Accel (2011) and Terra Formars (2016).
How are movies similar to Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Message from Space: Galactic Wars The Movie, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.