Movies like The Right Stuff (1983)
The best movies like The Right Stuff (1983) are First Man (2018), Apollo 13 (1995) and The Spacewalker (2017). If The Right Stuff hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInterstellar (2014)8.5/10 from 41,821 votes
- NewestTenzing (2026)Released 2026
First Man (2018)
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApollo 13 (1995)
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spacewalker (2017)
March 1965. In the heat of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR are competing for supremacy in space. What both superpowers aim for in this race, is to be the first to have a man walk in outer space. To accomplish that, no price is too high and no risk is too great. Now it’s up to the unlikely duo of a seasoned war veteran and a hot-headed test-pilot to fulfill this mission. Two men in a tiny spaceship, without proper testing, facing the complete unknown. They were supposed to do what no man has done before—and no man imagined what would happen next.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace Cowboys (2000)
Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daedalus, the US Air Force's test program for space travel, but their hopes were dashed in 1958 with the formation of NASA and the use of trained chimps. They blackmail their way into orbit when Russia's mysterious ‘Ikon’ communications satellite's orbit begins to degrade and threatens to crash to Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOctober Sky (1999)
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirteen Days (2000)
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApollo 11 (2019)
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Million Miles Away (2023)
The life of engineer and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to go to space.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarooned (1969)
After spending several months in an orbiting lab, three astronauts prepare to return to Earth only to find their de-orbit thrusters won't activate. After initially thinking they might have to abandon them in orbit, NASA decides to launch a daring rescue. Their plans are complicated by a hurricane headed towards the launch site—and a shrinking air supply in the astronauts' capsule.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCapsule (2016)
1959: Guy is an experienced British fighter pilot who is in command of Britain's first manned mission to space. He has trained for this for three years at the height of the Cold War and now he is alone in space, suffering Hypoxia, with a malfunctioning capsule. He has limited contact with the UK, some unusual communication with the US and some unorthodox communication with Tyuratam deep in Soviet Russia. Can he get home? Who will help him? Will he make the right choice?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisSully (2016)
On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTenzing (2026)
A determined man embarks on a high-stakes quest—and defies seemingly impossible odds—to fulfill his dream of being the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Martian (2015)
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Challenger Disaster (2013)
When the space shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, it was the most shocking event in the history of American spaceflight. The deaths of seven astronauts, including the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, were watched live on television by millions of viewers. But what was more shocking was that the cause of the disaster might never be uncovered. The Challenger is the story of how Richard Feynman, one of America's most famous scientists, helped to discover the cause of a tragedy that stunned America.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHidden Figures (2016)
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisK-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFord v Ferrari (2019)
American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCapricorn One (1977)
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe World's Fastest Indian (2005)
The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Walk (2015)
The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInterstellar (2014)
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMission to Mars (2000)
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend (2022)
Follow the launch of Lamborghini’s career as a manufacturer of tractors, a creator of military vehicles during World War II, and the designer of Lamborghini cars, which he launched in 1963 as the high-end sports car company Automobili Lamborghini.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmelia (2009)
A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Challenger Disaster (2019)
On the eve of the Challenger explosion in 1986 one engineer goes to the extreme to stop the launch. This hot-headed engineer makes a desperate race against the clock to call off the billion dollar multi-delayed Challenger launch, convinced the O-ring seals will fail and kill everyone on board. The Company, Marshall Space Flight and NASA made a business decision. He made a human decision.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
The Aeronauts (2019)
In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1945. Engineer Preston Tucker dreams of designing the car of future, but his innovative envision will be repeatedly sabotaged by his own unrealistic expectations and the Detroit automobile industry tycoons.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAstronaut (2019)
A lonely widower battles his family, ill health and time to win a competition for a golden ticket to space.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Like The Right Stuff and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Right Stuff?
The closest matches to The Right Stuff are First Man (2018), Apollo 13 (1995) and The Spacewalker (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Right Stuff?
People who watched The Right Stuff most often go on to First Man (2018), Apollo 13 (1995) and The Spacewalker (2017).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Right Stuff?
Interstellar (2014), rated 8.5/10 by 41,821 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Right Stuff?
Tenzing (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Right Stuff?
Yes: First Man (2018), Apollo 13 (1995) and Space Cowboys (2000).
How are movies similar to The Right Stuff chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Right Stuff, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.