The popular sci-fi series The 100 is coming to an end soon, and fans are collectively lamenting the conclusion of the seven-season show. After a group of 100 teen delinquents are deposited on Earth about a century after a nuclear war caused the apocalypse, they find that the planet is livable— though also very hostile.
However, viewers can be happy that the series is ending on its own terms, and with the possibility of a prequel spin-off in the near future. The eighth episode of season 7, "Anaconda", served as a backdoor pilot, but news of a pickup is yet to be confirmed. While fans eagerly await updates on the future of the franchise, here are ten sci-fi movies that lovers of The 100 will enjoy.
Annihilation (2018)
Based on Jeff Vandermeer's novel of the same name, Annihilation is a 2018 film adaptation directed by Alex Garland. Starring Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac, the film takes a cosmic approach to sci-fi and horror.
A team of women is sent on an expedition to Area X, a strange, ever-expanding phenomenon that threatens to consume, well, everything. Like The 100, this movie is all about exploring new environments and all of the threats and wonders that come with it.
Arrival (2016)
The 100 may not technically feature any aliens (yet), but the characters do arrive on various planets and the 100 themselves are extraterrestrials of a sort.
In Arrival, Amy Adams stars as a linguistic expert who is tasked with interpreting the strange, circular language of the newly arrived creatures. These are not aliens as sci-fi fans know them— they are cerebral, all-knowing, omnipresent, ethereal beings.
Gravity (2013)
In Gravity, Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, left alone after her crew is wiped out by the impact of space debris on their ship. She must fight for her survival over the course of the epic film while finding motivation from within to carry on.
Like the characters of The 100, Dr. Stone rises to the occasion again and again while combating her encroaching hopelessness. Her survival instinct is strong, and even though she gives up a few times, something always pushes her to continue.
The Martian (2015)
Another space movie with a lone survivor, The Martian plays with some of the same psychological themes present in The 100. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is a biologist who is mistakenly left alone on Mars after his crew presumes he's dead.
The Martian tells the story of a single human's survival against all odds, and how so many people on Earth are rooting for him. It echoes the first season of The 100, when the kids are sent to Earth while their worried parents look on from the Ark.
Divergent (2014)
For fans of young adult or teen dramas, Divergent is an excellent choice. Also set in a post-apocalyptic future, society is largely changed and is divided into five factions, as in The 100 where the remaining survivors on Earth are also split into clans.
The main characters of Divergent are daring, sometimes selfish people who will do whatever it takes to survive and also protect those they love, just like in the CW series, while also betraying friends and finding unlikely allies along the way.
The 5th Wave (2016)
Based on Rick Yancey's book trilogy, The 5th Wave is admittedly a somewhat lackluster adaptation of his clever novels. Those who haven't read the books will definitely enjoy the film much more, as it proves to be a suspenseful, mysterious post-apocalyptic thriller when judged on its own merits.
Chloë Grace Moretz stars alongside Maika Monroe, Nick Robinson, Alex Roe, and Liev Schreiber in this epic action-adventure film where her character is willing to do anything to protect her brother and survive.
Into The Forest (2015)
In this post-apocalyptic thriller, two sisters— played by Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood— must learn to survive without gas, water, electricity, or any means of communication with the outside world.
A global blackout has caused widespread disaster, and the sisters are isolated in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The plot and setting are very similar to those explored in The 100's earlier seasons, as well as in the backdoor pilot for the potential spin-off series.
The Maze Runner (2014)
The Maze Runner is yet another apocalyptic teen drama book series that was adapted into a movie in the 2010s. Dylan O'Brien stars as Thomas, a teenager who wakes without his memories as he's being inserted into a maze filled with other boys who are in the same situation.
The group forms a bond so strong that they eventually band together and escape the maze, defying the governing body who sent them in there in the first place. This is reminiscent of The 100 in that Clarke and her friends learn to think for themselves as they come of age and learn the ropes of the new world they've been thrust into.
The Hunger Games (2012)
The Hunger Games' Katniss and The 100's Clarke have a lot in common. Beyond being strong female leads, they both prove to be naturally headstrong and opinionated along with their fair share of other internal complexities.
The Hunger Games series takes place after an apocalyptic war, just like The 100, only the Earth hasn't been completely destroyed. However, the world's understanding of civilization has been vastly altered. Similar to The 100's Grounder clans, Panem is divided into thirteen districts that represent the different classes of society.
Planet Of The Apes (1968)
The original Planet Of The Apes movie is pretty much an inverted version of The 100, only with apes instead of humans. In Apes, an astronaut named George Taylor crash lands his spaceship on an unknown planet and discovers that it is already inhabited by apes, who are much more advanced than the planet's human inhabitants.
The social commentary of Planet Of The Apes is very similar to The 100 and emphasizes many of the same points about social and class structures.