The year that saw the release of monumental sci-fi movies such as Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar and Tom Cruise‘s instant classic Edge of Tomorrow also witnessed the quiet success of a movie that has grown equally in stature in the decade since. The movie cost a fraction of the budgets of Interstellar and Edge of Tomorrow, both of which carried reported budgets of around $160 million, and it marked the beginning of a particularly exciting studio-filmmaker collaboration. Both the studio and the director continue to work together to this day, with their latest project having recently entered production in England. Their first movie — the one from 2014 – is currently streaming on HBO Max, but not for too long.
It remains startlingly relevant even today. In fact, with its potent themes of artificial intelligence and technocrats ruling the world, it is perhaps more relevant now than it was back in 2014. The movie follows a programmer who is invited by a reclusive CEO to test a humanoid robot powered by AI. The film starred Oscar Isaac as the CEO, Domhnall Gleeson as the audience surrogate programmer, and Alicia Vikander as the robot.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Here’s How Long You Have Left To Watch the Sci-Fi Gem on HBO Max
We’re talking, of course, about the sci-fi masterpiece Ex Machina, directed by Alex Garland. The filmmaker had previously made a name for himself as a writer on Danny Boyle‘s 28 Days Later and Sunshine, as well as the underrated sci-fi movie Never Let Me Go. Ex Machina was his directorial debut and was distributed domestically by A24. It grossed $37 million worldwide against a reported budget of $15 million, and went on to receive an Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effects category. The movie now holds a “Certified Fresh” 92% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Ex Machina leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it’s still a visually polished piece of work — and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature.” Garland went on to direct a string of genre movies for A24 – the divisive horror film Men, the dystopian thriller Civil War, the anti-war thriller Warfare, and the upcoming video game adaptation of Elden Ring. Ex Machina will be removed from HBO Max domestically on May 1. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
