As we all search for things to do while stuck in our homes, know that Disney Plus has many, many hours of content for space nerds to enjoy.
Whether you’re a science fiction fan, a science geek or somebody who wants to learn more about the “Star Wars” universe, here is a list of movies, documentaries and television shows you can enjoy.
Related: The best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix
Star Wars
Now is a perfect time to catch up on any “Star Wars” series or movies that you might have missed. Note that the list below has most of the content, although it does not separate out various “Star Wars” shorts based on several series. The viewing order is up to you; most people begin with watching the main Hollywood movies (roughly a dozen films) before branching into the TV series.
The Mandalorian
This new series by Jon Favreau follows the adventures of a bounty hunter, five years after “Return of the Jedi” and 25 years before “The Force Awakens.” Seasons 1 and 2 aired in 2019 and 2020, respectively, and Season 3 is in the works!
Related: Who is Baby Yoda? The Mandalorian’s breakout character explained
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
This animated series explores the timeline between “Episode II” and “Episode III.” It began in 2008 and Season 7 — the final season — was released in 2020.
Star Wars Resistance
This two-season series ended just a couple of months ago, airing between 2018 and 2020. Here we look at the adventures of Kazuda Xiono, a pilot of the New Republic who is spying on the First Order before and during the sequel trilogy (Episodes VII through IX).
Star Wars Episodes I–VIII
Follow the adventures of the Skywalker family through several generations. Note that the latest movie from 2019, “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” is not available yet.
Related: How to watch the ‘Star Wars’ movies in order
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
This 2016 Hollywood film follows a small group of rebels trying to steal the plans for the Death Star, just before the events of “Episode IV: A New Hope.”
Review: Rogue One, maybe the best ‘Star Wars Story’ ever (no spoilers)
Solo: A Star Wars Story
This 2018 Hollywood film explores the backstory of Han Solo, about 10 years before the events of “Episode IV: A New Hope.”
Star Wars Rebels
This four-season animated series from 2012 to 2016, once again set before the events of “Episode IV: A New Hope,” shows the adventures of rebels spying on the Galactic Empire.
Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles
This is a very short two-season series from 2013 to 2014 that stars, you guessed it, Jedi master Yoda back when he was sparring against Darth Sidious.
Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales
“Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales” is an animated mini-series from 2015 set just after “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.” It follows the memories of the famous droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, as they recount their exploits from the Clone Wars and previous adventures.
Lego Star Wars: The Resistance Rises
This comedic 2016 film is set just before the events of “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” This series has fun meetups between characters of the original series (Episodes IV through VI) and the newest series (Episodes VII through IX).
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
This 2016-2017 animated series is set between “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” and “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.” You’ll follow a family of three siblings who salvage and sell ship parts, with the assistance of a battle droid, R0-GR.
Lego Star Wars: All-Stars
This fun mini-series from 2018 pairs classic “Star Wars” characters from the original series, with newer characters. It’s good to watch after you’re familiar with at least the prequel (Episodes I through III) and original (Episodes IV through VI) series.
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
This cute crossover episode from 2014 isn’t part of the “Star Wars” canon, but it does give an amusing retelling of “Episode IV: A New Hope” with Phineas and Ferb speaking with the “Star Wars” characters.
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
“Star Wars: Forces of Destiny” is an alternative take on the “Star Wars” universe, featuring female characters from several eras of the universe. It aired in 2017 and 2018.
Empire of Dreams
The 2004 documentary “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy” talks about the making of the original “Star Wars” trilogy (Episodes IV through VI) and how these movies affected popular culture.
Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ and more
Marvel has a lot of properties that touch on space, but the most famous ones are “Fantastic Four” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” “Guardians” is part of the universe of “The Avengers”. That universe is vast and complicated, so much so that you’ll probably want to dig into the adventures of other Avengers. But if you want to focus on the space-y movies, here’s a short list.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A young man named Peter Quill confronts his past as an Earthling while helping several alien criminals with stealing an alien artifact. You can watch this movie before watching any of the other “Avengers” films.
Related: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Groot and Rocket inspire space station science contest
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
We won’t dive too deeply into the plot, as it follows immediately after the events of the original “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie. Just know that again, you can watch it without seeing any other “Avengers” films.
Review: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ goes a little backward, but keeps MCU winning streak alive
Avengers: Infinity War
You’ll likely want to check out the main “Avengers” storyline of movies — at the very least — before watching this film. (So that would mean, “The Avengers” from 2012 and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” from 2015.). This is part one of an epic battle between the forces of good and evil, with the Guardians of the Galaxy swooping in after they receive a distress call from Thor’s Asgardian ship.
Review: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Avengers: Endgame
This movie follows immediately after the events of “Avengers: Infinity War,” so we’ll just leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
Review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is epic, surprising, satisfying … and impossible to review
Guardians of the Galaxy (animated series)
You can safely watch this entire, animated 77-episode series without crashing into any spoilers in the main movies, as this is set entirely separate from the Hollywood series. But you’ll recognize many of the same characters and the series starts with about the same premise, with Quill uniting with other characters to wreak universal havoc. Disney also has some shorts from the series, listed separately in Disney Plus.
Rocket & Groot
A cute animated mini-series following the adventures of two popular non-human characters, Rocket and Groot, who know each other well even before the adventures portrayed in “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Silver Surfer
This series is a departure from the Avengers plot line and actually takes place decades before the recent Hollywood movies. It explores the adventures of the Silver Surfer, who is charged to protect Earth from evil forces. It also does not really discuss the “Fantastic Four” universe of which Silver Surfer is a part.
Fantastic Four (animated series)
This animated series shows four people transformed into superheroes in space through a cosmic accident, and must decide what to do with these new powers.
“Fantastic Four” (film)
In this 2005 film, four superheroes must overcome a disaster in space and figure out how to reconcile their differences to defeat Dr. Doom.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” is a sequel to the 2005 film. It features the Silver Surfer coming to Earth.
Fant4stic
This is a reboot of the series, showing four superheroes uniting and putting their powers together to save Earth.
Disney space movies
These movies would be great to share with young kids, if you have any in the house.
The Black Hole
In 1979, Disney released an icon of science fiction with the film “The Black Hole.” In this space opera (which greatly influenced Space.com’s editor-in-chief Tariq Malik), the crew of the research ship USS Palamino is returning to Earth when they discover the USS Cygnus, a massive ship thought lost, near a black hole. Adventure and robots follow. The film stars Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, Maximilian Schell and Ernest Borgnine among others. Roddy McDowell voices the robot V.I.N.C.E.N.T. with Slim Pickens as the robot Old B.O.B. It’s a classic!
The Cat From Outer Space
Cat lovers will enjoy this 1978 film, which features themes such as aliens and how cats are able to repair broken space equipment. Meow!
Space Buddies
In one of the cutest space movies ever, a group of dogs hitch a ride into space because they do not want to be separated from their loved ones.
Miles from Tomorrowland
This series follows the adventures of the Castillo family, who work for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in the 2500s. Miles and his family regularly visit planets in the series, just like in old episodes of “Star Trek”.
Related: ‘Miles From Tomorrowland’ fuses Space science and fun
Tomorrowland
This science-fiction film has some light references to NASA and an alternate universe known as “Tomorrowland.” Notably, characters doing things in Tomorrowland find the effects of their actions resonating in their own universe.
Related: ‘Tomorrowland’ draws inspiration from NASA’s past and future
Documentaries from Nat Geo (and more)
Most of the documentaries below come from National Geographic, except for “Aliens of the Deep” (which originally aired in IMAX.)
Aliens of the Deep
Filmmaker James Cameron joins NASA scientists and marine biologists to look at hydrothermal vents in the ocean. Some scientists think these vents are similar to life-friendly environments on other worlds.
Expedition Mars: Spirit and Opportunity
Tag along with two famous NASA rovers that made it to the Red Planet and showed investigators how water flowed on Mars in the ancient past.
Mars Inside Space (2018)
This documentary follows the adventures of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which for decades has been reaching for the Red Planet while building reusable rockets.
One Strange Rock (2018)
Featuring the voices of several astronauts — such as NASA’s Mae Jemison and Canada’s Chris Hadfield — the documentary talks about what makes our planet so unique.
Related: Earth stars in Nat Geo Channel’s ‘One Strange Rock’ (astronauts, too!)
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