5 Sci-Fi Movie Franchises That Began In The '70s

Flicking through the 1970s, you'd be hard-pressed to find an absolute banger that might already be in your movie collection, as well as some that have earned their place as some of the greatest movie franchises ever made. "The Godfather," "Rocky," "Halloween," and "The Exorcist" were just some of the gems that came stumbling out of the era, introducing us to talents that would change cinema forever. But while crime and horror were thriving, one genre was getting a lot of attention and changing the industry for the better: science fiction.

Thanks to one film in particular (rightfully on this list), sci-fi took off during this era, leading to some of the most groundbreaking, game-changing space-based and futuristic tales. Some already had certified fan bases guaranteed to show up, while others were massive movie gambles that won bigger than studios ever expected. In the end, they all earned their place in making lasting legacies of their own that aged brilliantly. With that in mind, we've found five big franchises that started way back when and teed up bright futures for themselves in the best way possible. To begin, there really is only one franchise that set the bar, and it did so with a freshly fired-up lightsaber and Mark Hamill looking hopefully out at a mind-blowing dual sunset.

To consider science fiction franchises from the 1970s, you have to factor in the one that got the ball rolling. Except it was no ball, but a giant space station and one farm boy's mission to save a princess held captive in it. George Lucas' "Star Wars" took us to another time and space and, with it, sent Hollywood scrambling for anything remotely like it. At the time, nothing could compete with the adventure of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who was whisked off on a rescue mission that led to space-based dogfights, taking lessons from a Gandalf-like fella with a laser sword, and introducing us to a rogue smuggler who would become one of the biggest movie stars in history.

Since then, "Star Wars" has remained one of the most successful franchises in history, with a lifespan of almost 50 years. Besides prequels, sequels, and spin-offs, the galaxy has stretched to television with a mix of animated and live-action shows. The franchise also spans books, video games, and comic books. Sure, there have been the occasional slip-ups, but for the most part, "Star Wars" has remained the monster movie entity that outshines any Rancor. With more "Star Wars" projects in the pipeline, including Ryan Gosling's "Star Wars: Starfighter," there's no sign of it slowing down. Why would it? The Force is still strong with this one.

David Corenswet might be the new Man of Steel, but for millions, imagining Superman in movie form means seeing Christopher Reeve swoop around the Earth and smile at the camera. That's what we got in 1978, when director Richard Donner took the helm of "Superman: The Movie," which promised in its tagline that we'd believe a man could fly. That's exactly what we got with Reeve filling the role effortlessly as one of the most revered superheroes ever created, along with his disguise as a bumbling news reporter, Clark Kent.

Facing off against Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor and leaving Margot Kidder's Lois Lane to swoon over Clark Kent's cape-wearing alter ego, the 1978 adaptation set a mold that many tried to replicate, but few could truly match. This was then followed up with what many deem the superior "Superman II," pitting Kal-El against Terence Stamp's equally revered General Zod. It's perhaps there where the franchise should've ended, given the not-so-great "Superman III" and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace." Even with those lead-laced misfires, though, the Kryptonian-born franchise that began in the '70s still kept its reputation intact thanks to Donner's first two films. Not only did they set the standard for Superman films going forward, but they also earned their spot as some of the greatest superhero movies ever made, and now, decades later, it's clear they'll always stay that way, too.

In an interview with Letterboxd, Ridley Scott recalled seeing "Star Wars" right before he was set to adapt "Tristan and Isolde." The introduction to George Lucas' story sent the director into what he described as a "depression for three months." The film that got him out of that slump was a sci-fi adventure of his own, only with fewer smiles and more of Sigourney Weaver screaming while looking for her cat. "Alien" arrived in 1979, quite literally bursting onto screens in a way audiences never anticipated, and brought with it a franchise that is only two years short of the one from a galaxy far, far away.

After Scott's groundbreaking scarefest, other directors dove into the world of facehuggers and Xenomorphs, leading to occasional hit-or-miss results. James Cameron, David Fincher, and most recently Fede Alvarez all helped flesh out this world through alien variants and androids with hidden agendas. Unlike other groundbreakers on this list, the "Alien" saga went on to cross paths with the "Predator" franchise and, most recently, made its way to television with "Alien: Earth," now set for a second season. With that kind of reach and acid-laced legacy that it's left behind, there's no doubt that there's always life out there for "Alien," and there's no sign of a "game over" any time soon.

Sometimes you just need a composer of chaos behind the camera to land a hit, and in 1979 that's exactly what we got when George Miller gave us our first introduction to "Mad Max." A seminal point in the era of Ozploitation (grindhouse films that originated from Australia), the movie dropped us into one of the bleakest sci-fi universes of all time, where the world was in the process of ending. It introduced a new hero in the form of Max Rockatansky (then Mel Gibson), who goes on a mission of vengeance after a gang of bikers kills his family.

Laced with low-budget stunts that should have come with a real-life death count, Miller's post-apocalyptic picture did enough to spark a franchise, leading to "The Road Warrior" in 1981 and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" in 1985. Then, for 30 years, the Road Warrior was off duty until he returned in arguably one of the greatest action movies ever made — "Mad Max: Fury Road." Splitting the focus between Max and Charlize Theron's Furiosa, Miller created his indisputable masterpiece of a road movie and tried his best to replicate it with the spin-off prequel, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," in 2024, proving there was still some gas in the tank for this franchise. While it might not have been as big a hit as "Fury Road," Miller has promised that he still has more stories to tell in the Wasteland, and we can't wait to see more of them.

We know the Enterprise first entered our airspace in 1966 after its television series, but had it not been for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," we might not have ventured back into the live-action version of the final frontier at all. Robert Wise was tasked with taking Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew onto the silver screen and facing off against the tried-and-tested foe of a giant space cloud. Despite mixed critical reception, the film did well at the box office, earning $139 million against a $44 million budget. Any doubters of "Star Trek's" success in cinemas would eventually be silenced three years later in a follow-up film that surpassed the original and was a great movie-television sequel — "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

This outing with the Enterprise remains the best "Star Trek" film, assuring Paramount movie theaters would always be a safe space for the "Star Trek" franchise. Up until now, we've had 13 movies, comprising three totally different crews, the occasional tragedy, and a great use of "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys if you're in the Kelvin timeline. Like other franchises on this list, there have been the occasional misfires, and given the "Star Wars" dominance in theaters, there's not much room for the heroes of Starfleet to dock for now. Perhaps though, with the long-rumored reports of another "Star Trek" movie in development, we might get a new Captain at the helm in the not-too-distant future.