The Best Sci-Fi Movies On Netflix With Female Leads

Best Netflix Sci-Fi Movies with Female Leads

It was way back in 1979 when director Ridley Scott introduced the world to heroine Ellen Ripley in the sci-fi horror film, Alien. Played by a young Sigourney Weaver, Ripley started off as just another one of the crew on the spaceship Nostromo, but the badass alien fighter she turned into became a movie legend. It also showed that female leads in sci-fi movies were to be reckoned with.

Since that time, female-led sci-fi movies have flexed their muscle. They have provided endless entertainment while showing the guys that they can hold their own when it comes to sci-fi action adventure. Here are some of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix with female leads.

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation is a sci-fi film led by Natalie Portman. She plays Lena, a cellular biology professor, and former U.S. Army soldier who wants to get to the bottom of what happened to her husband. He vanished while exploring a strange zone called The Shimmer, which came from a meteor that landed in Florida.

When Lena’s husband’s condition worsens, another group is prepared to be sent into The Shimmer. Lena joins three other women on the expedition. As the women enter The Shimmer, they quickly realize that it is nothing like they expected, and danger lurks around every corner.

Along with Portman, the film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac.

Watch Annihilation on Netflix.

Anon

Amanda Seyfried stars in Anon, a Netflix original sci-fi film that also stars Clive Owen. Anon is set in a futuristic society where privacy no longer exists. In this society, everyone has been given an ocular implant so the government can record everything they see. Owen is Sal Friedland, a detective whose life intersects with a young woman who causes a glitch in Sal’s implant. Their interaction does not record. Now, Sal must investigate this woman to determine why she cannot be recorded. Andrew Niccol wrote and directed Anon.

Watch Anon on Netflix.

Stowaway

Stowaway is a tense Netflix original film starring Anna Kendrick as a medical researcher/doctor on a three-person, two-year mission to Mars. Trouble for the astronauts arises when they find an accidental stowaway on board. Making things even more troublesome is when this fourth person is found, he accidentally destroys the device that removes carbon dioxide so the astronauts will have clean air to breathe.

Without this device, there is only enough oxygen for three people to make it to Mars. They then find out that the algae that was helping create the oxygen was half destroyed, leaving just enough oxygen for two astronauts. Decisions are going to have to be made. Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, and Toni Collette star with Kendrick as the crew.

Watch Stowaway on Netflix.

I Am Mother

I Am Mother is a Netflix original that tells the story of a young girl being raised in a bunker by a robot in a post-apocalyptic world. The bunker was set up to start repopulating the world after an extinction event. Daughter, as she is known, is curious about the outside world and wishes to explore it, but Mother will not allow her out.

While Daughter explores the airlock in the bunker, she hears a woman on the outside. Opening the airlock, she discovers the woman in a hazmat suit, injured. Daughter’s curiosity grows even more when the injured woman tells her there is no contamination on the outside of the bunker. I Am Mother stars Clara Rugaard as Daughter, Rose Byrne provides the voice of Mother, and Hilary Swank is the Woman.

Watch I Am Mother on Netflix.

What Happened to Monday

What Happened to Monday is another Netflix sci-fi film, this one led by Noomi Rapace. The story is set in a dystopic future where overpopulation has caused a strict one-child policy. When septuplets are born, they are given the names of each day of the week. But because of this policy, they all must remain in hiding, only coming out when they pretend to be one person. When Monday goes missing, the remaining sisters begin to investigate, putting themselves in more danger than they hoped. What Happened to Monday also stars Glenn Close and Willem Dafoe.

Watch What Happened to Monday on Netflix.

Starship Troopers

There isn’t just one female lead in the Paul Verhoeven sci-fi classic, Starship Troopers, but two. Dina Meyer and Denise Richards lead an ensemble cast that also includes Casper Van Dien, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jake Busey as soldiers who are fighting an alien invasion. Meyer is the tough mobile infantry fighter, Dizzy Flores, while Richards is a starship pilot trainee, Carmen Ibanez.

The film is based on the 1959 Robert A. Heinlein novel of the same name and features a ton of blood and guts and great science fiction action. It is a classic in all regards.