Ranking the Best Sci-Fi Movies & TV Shows Based on Books

From classic literary retellings like Dune and Blade Runner to thrilling cinematic masterpieces, we explore how these beloved stories transitioned from page to screen. 

Full survey results, including all the movies (and the wishlist of the best books that deserve to be on the screen)

No spoilers at all in this episode.

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord
• Or you can watch our episodes on YouTube if you prefer video 

Sponsor of the episode: Juris Ex Machina by John W. Maly, narrated by Marc Thompson. Audiobook releases October 22, 2026. Hear a sample here.

Movies/Shows/Books in this video: 

• Dune: Part 1 directed by Villeneuve based on Dune by Herbert 
• The Martian directed by Scott based on The Martian by Weir 
• Jurassic Park directed by Spielberg based on Jurassic Park by Crichton 
• Arrival directed by Villeneuve based on Stories of Your Life by Chiang 
• Blade Runner directed by Scott based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Dick 
• The Expanse directed by Varies based on The Expanse by Corey 
• 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Kubrick based on 2001: A Space Odyssey by Clarke 
• Dune: Part 2 directed by Villeneuve based on Dune by Herbert 
• Silo directed by Varies based on Silo by Howey 
• Murderbot directed by Varies based on All Systems Red by Wells 
• Contact directed by Zemeckis based on Contact by Sagan 
• Project Hail Mary directed by Miller based on Project Hail Mary by Weir 
• Foundation directed by Varies based on Foundation by Asimov 
• Edge of Tomorrow directed by Liman based on All You Need is Kill by Sakurazaka 
• Planet of the Apes directed by Schaffner based on Planet of the Apes by Boulle 
• The Hunger Games directed by Ross based on The Hunger Games by Collins 
• Children of Men directed by Cuaron based on Children of Men by James 
• Minority Report directed by Spielberg based on The Minority Report by Dick 
• The Thing directed by Carpenter based on Who Goes There? by Campbell 
• War of the Worlds directed by Spielberg based on The War of the Worlds by Wells 

If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for the episode:  

• 00:00 - Intro 
• 01:24 - #20 War of the Worlds 
• 04:05 - Sponsor: Juris Ex Machina by John W. Maly 
• 04:34 - #19 The Thing 
• 06:55 - #18 Minority Report 
• 07:52 - #17 Children of Men 
• 10:10 - #16 The Hunger Games 
• 13:02 - #15 Planet of the Apes 
• 15:05 - #14 Edge of Tomorrow 
• 17:20 - #13 Foundation 
• 20:06 - #12 Project Hail Mary 
• 20:18 - #11 Contact 
• 24:08 - Fun things on the survey 
• 28:46 - #10 Murderbot 
• 30:50 - #09 Silo 
• 33:02 - #08 Dune: Part 2 
• 35:44 - #07 2001: A Space Odyssey 
• 37:33 - #06 The Expanse 
• 39:13 - Our favorites 
• 41:38 - #05 Blade Runner 
• 43:47 - #04 Arrival 
• 46:55 - Sponsor: Juris Ex Machina by John W. Maly 
• 47:10 - #03 Jurassic Park 
• 48:38 - #02 The Martian 
• 49:43 - #01 Dune: Part 1