40 20th Century Science-Fiction Scripts to Download and Study
5AM StoryTalk has curated a tour through five decades of great sci-fi films for you to learn from
Depending on how you define science-fiction and fantasy, films that fall into these oft-blurred genres currently comprise either seven or eight of the most successful films of all time at the box office. The number one film on that list is Avatar, co-written and directed by James Cameron, which is a hard-core sci-fi epic about how fossil fuel corporations are basically soulless environment-destroying forces. The number three film on the list is its sequel, again from Cameron. In fact, the majority of the top 100 films on it are either sci-fi, fantasy, or some combination of these. What’s even more astounding is how often these genres are still disrespected in artsy circles or by film/TV producers and book editors, but that’s a conversation I’ve already covered recently (you can read about it here). The short of it is this:
Sci-fi/fantasy not only sells, it sells big. That’s because audiences around the world love stories that fit into these categories. But writing them typically takes different instincts and even skills than writing a straight drama. For example, it requires — amongst other things — an understanding of how to world-build, express complicated and even elaborate ideas in accessible ways, and somehow stay emotionally grounded despite the conceptual enormity of what’s happening around your characters. More than all this, it takes respecting the genres and the audience.
But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered — I’ve scheduled four different personally curated sci-fi/fantasy screenplay collections to publish over the next six months.
Today, I’m going to begin by sharing with you 40 science-fiction scripts from the 20th century. I had a blast putting this together and whittling it down into what I think is an incredibly tight and educational line-up of titles that span five decades, “soft” to “hard” sci-fi, and low to big budgets — from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes (both 1968), to Gattaca (1997) and The Matrix (1999).
All of these screenplays tend to vanish, as all things do on the Internet. Download ASAP for your personal study. And if you want more resources like this one, be sure to check out my other articles:
“Read the 10 Feature Screenplays the WGA Thinks Are the Best of 2023”
“10 Screenplays by the Great Walter Hill to Download and Study”
“15 Disaster Film/TV Scripts to Download and Study”
“15 Iconic '90s Pilot Scripts to Download and Study”
“20 Christmas Movie Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
"25 Biopic Scripts to Download and Study”
“25 Time-Bending Scripts to Download and Study”
“30 Brilliant BBC Drama Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
"35 Coming-of-Age Scripts to Download and Study”
“40 Great Action Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Essential 21st-Century One-Hour Pilot Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by Women to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by People of Color to Download and Study for Free”
“60 Great Comedy Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“60 Screenplays About Love and Heartbreak to Download and Study for Free”
“100 Horror Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
Enjoy the reads!
12 MONKEYS (1995)
by David Peoples and Janet Peoples
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke
THE ABYSS (1989)
by James Cameron
ALIEN (1979)
by Dan O'Bannon; story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
You can read my thoughts on the culturally transformative role of this film here: “A Tale of Two (Unlikely) Heroes: 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'Alien'”.
ALIENS (1985)
by James Cameron
ALTERED STATES (1980)
by Paddy Chayefsky
ARMAGEDDON (1998)
by Jonathan Hensleigh, J. J. Abrams, Tony Gilroy, and Shane Salerno; story by Robert Roy Pool and Jonathan Hensleigh
You can read my thoughts on the problematic populism at the heart of this film here: “'Armageddon': The Most American Film Ever Made From the Most American Director Ever?”
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis
You can read my detailed breakdown of this film’s obsession with sexual assault here: “Marty McFly's Adventures in Casual Sex-Criming”.
