Netflix has leaned heavily into sci-fi this year, with one of the streamer’s biggest new releases being War Machine. Alan Ritchson, star of Prime Video’s Reacher series, leads Netflix’s ambitious sci-fi thriller, which even cracked the streamer’s all-time top 10 watchlist after picking up over 135 million views. Netflix has confirmed that a sequel to War Machine is officially in the works, and while plot details about the film are being kept under wraps for now, it’s officially titled War Machines, taking a page from James Cameron’s book. Netflix also unleashed its new Stranger Things replacement show, The Boroughs, which was produced by Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of Stranger Things. Despite solid viewership, the show was canceled after only one season while it was still sitting in the global top 10.
Not only does Netflix consistently release fresh original movies and TV shows, the streamer has an unmatched arsenal of older classics from various generations. One underrated sci-fi show that’s been streaming on Netflix for years now is Black Lightning, the DC superhero series that originally aired on the CW starring Cress Williams, James Remar, Christine Adams, Marvin Jones III, and Nafessa Williams. Unfortunately for Black Lightning fans, Netflix has announced that all four seasons of the sci-fi show are leaving the platform at the end of this month. The last day to watch Black Lightning on Netflix will be on August 31, and a new streaming home for the show has not yet been announced. The show was written and created for TV by Salim Akil, who has also worked on The Game and Being Mary Jane.
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.
What Is ‘Black Lightning’ About?
The official synopsis for Black Lightning, which holds a 92% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes across four seasons, reads as follows: “Retired superhero Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is forced back into the fight when violence overtakes his hometown of Freeland. Balancing life as a respected high school principal with his secret identity as Black Lightning, Jefferson must protect his family and community from the ruthless gang The One Hundred while his daughters discover their own extraordinary powers.” Fans have asked questions for years about a potential Black Lightning revival, but now that James Gunn is the new head of DCU, most CW shows have officially reached the end of an era.
Check out all four seasons of Black Lightning before it’s removed from Netflix at the end of August and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of all the hottest projects on streaming.
