Ranking the best futuristic sports in sci-fi movies

Guest EditorialsBy Guest Aug 14, 2024Comments

This post was published by a guest. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scified.com.

Sci-fi movies have the potential to be limitless in the way that they are created. They are usually a figment of the director’s imagination, meaning they can often do whatever they want and usually get away with it if they can make it believable enough. For example, franchises such as Star Wars and Star Trek have become widely loved and have influenced popular culture, showing just how far the genre can go without being real.

While it’s usually possible to think of space, aliens, and everything that is thought to exist within the world that is beyond us on Earth, some movie directors have been able to create new takes on things that are enjoyed a little closer to home.

Sports are just as popular - if not more so - than movies with people, as many list at least one of them among their hobbies and things they enjoy doing. Some even like to use sports as a theme for their lives, incorporating it into many of their daily activities. Some game using sports as the basis of it; some watch their favorite events on TV, while others even engage in sport betting activities so they can further enhance their passion for the games that they are watching.

Movie directors know how popular sports are to people and have been able to use them to their advantage within their films and the stories that they have created. As there appear to be very few limits in Sci-fi, it’s perhaps no surprise that there are a few futuristic sports that have made an appearance that are awesome.

Podracing - Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace

In Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, we’re treated to scenes where motorsport has essentially been given a Sci-fi makeover. We see Anakin Skywalker racing in the pod as a child and competing against the very best in a sport that we’d all love to have the opportunity to try out, even if it looks a little dangerous. There is a video game available to play based on podracing, perhaps highlighting just how it is one of the best to have been created!

Tron: Legacy

Tron: Legacy brought us an iconic sport in the form of light racing. We’d see competitors compete on race light bikes that had an incredible design and would leave a trail of light behind them. The idea was to make your opponent crash onto the trails that were left behind, making it look like an awesome futuristic sport that most would want to try if it were made available.

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers was a film that wasn’t well received when released in 1997 by Paul Verhoeven. However, it did still feature a mixture of sports that helped the troopers in their quest to kill the giant spiders. Completing their training with a game of Jump Ball, it combined elements of basketball, football, and gymnastics all together. Unsurprisingly, it was very physical and one that would require a lot of intensity. If it were ever to be made real, you’d need to be very fit!