12 Movies Like The Last Ship You Need to Watch
Craving tense survival, sci-fi, and war-driven stories? Explore 12 gripping picks with action, drama, and thriller energy inspired by The Last Ship.
If you want movies like The Last Ship, you’re probably after tense survival stories, military stakes, and sci-fi disasters that keep the pressure high. This list pulls together a smart mix of action, drama, thriller, and war-adjacent picks, including The Last Ship (2014), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and The Anomaly (2014). You’ll also find outbreak-driven chaos in Z Nation (2014) and Helix (2014), plus war-torn future worlds like Falling Skies (2011) and Jeremiah (2002). For viewers who enjoy a darker, more tactical edge, Terra Formars (2014) adds brutal sci-fi combat, while the full page gives you 12 carefully chosen titles with a similar sense of urgency and survival.
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01
Z Nation
action · comedy · drama · horror · romance · sci-fi
Three years after the zombie virus has gutted the country, a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood.
Directed by Abram Cox, Dan Merchant, John Hyams, Alexander Yellen, Jodi BinstockCast Russell Hodgkinson, Nat Zang, Keith Allan, Kellita Smith, Anastasia BaranovaPeacock PremiumAMC+ -
02
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
action · adventure · sci-fi · thriller
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe RussoCast Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian StanDisney Plus -
03
Terra Formars
animation · action · horror · sci-fi
Twenty years ago, Shokichi Komachi was part of the Bugs 2 mission to Mars that discovered Terra Formars, human-cockroach hybrids that resulted from a terraforming accident. Shokichi was one of only two survivors. Now, the AE virus that came from Mars is raging wildly on earth. Shokichi boards the spacecraft Annex 1 to go back to Mars to find a sample in order to create a vaccine. They will face an unanticipated accident, a multinational conspiracy, and even more advanced Terra Formars.
Directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, Michio FukudaCast Erica Lindbeck, Max Mittelman, Ben Diskin, Kirk Thornton, Stephanie ShehHuluFreevee -
04
Falling Skies
action · adventure · drama · sci-fi · thriller
Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.
Directed by Greg Beeman, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Adam Kane, Jonathan FrakesCast Noah Wyle, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Will Patton, Sarah CarterNetflix -
05
Helix
drama · horror · mystery · sci-fi · thriller
Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation...or total annihilation.
Directed by Steven A. Adelson, Jeremiah S. Chechik, Brad Turner, Duane Clark, Mike RohlCast Billy Campbell, Kyra Zagorsky, Mark Ghanimé, Jordan Hayes, Neil NapierHulu -
06
The Anomaly
action · mystery · sci-fi · thriller
A former soldier is taken captive and awakens in the back of a van where he learns that he only has less than 10 minutes to figure out how he got there.
Directed by Noel ClarkeCast Noel Clarke, Ian Somerhalder, Brian Cox, Alexis Knapp, Luke HemsworthStarz -
07
Jeremiah
action · drama · sci-fi
In a post-apocalyptic future, a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity. The only ones who survived, were those who hadn't yet reached puberty.
Directed by Michael Vejar, Martin Wood, Neill Fearnley, Peter DeLuise, James HeadCast Luke Perry, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Peter Stebbings, Ingrid Kavelaars, Byron LawsonAmazon Prime Video -
08
Automata
action · drama · sci-fi · thriller
Jacq Vaucan, an insurance agent of ROC robotics corporation, routinely investigates the case of manipulating a robot. What he discovers will have profound consequences for the future of humanity.
Directed by Gabe IbáñezCast Antonio Banderas, Dylan McDermott, Melanie Griffith, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Robert ForsterAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
09
The Refugees
drama · sci-fi · thriller
Mankind is suffering the biggest exodus in history. Three billion people from the future have traveled to the present to escape from an imminent global disaster. All the refugees must obey to rules: they must not talk about the future and they must not contact their families. The arrival of the refugees take everyone by surprise, including the Cruz family. The series centers on their story, the story of Samuel, Emma, and little Ani. The shift in their existence after the arrival of the mysterious refugee, Alex, who has an incredible mission that will change their lives, and in order to accomplish his mission, he will not hesitate to do whatever there is to be done--including breaking the rules.
Directed by David Pinillos, Elías León SiminianiCast Natalia Tena, David Leon, Dafne Keen, Ken Appledorn, Jonathan D. MellorFreevee -
10
Colony
action · adventure · drama · sci-fi
In the near future a family must make difficult decisions as they balance staying together with trying to survive. They live in Los Angeles, which has been occupied by a force of outside intruders. While some people have chosen to collaborate with the authorities and benefit from the new order, others have rebelled — and suffer the consequences.
Directed by Juan José Campanella, Tim Southam, Nelson McCormick, Peter Leto, Roxann DawsonCast Josh Holloway, Sarah Wayne Callies, Peter Jacobson, Tory Kittles, Isabella CrovettiAmazon Prime Video -
11
Alien Outpost
action · sci-fi · thriller
A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion.
Directed by Jabbar RaisaniCast Adrian Paul, Reiley McClendon, Rick Ravanello, Brandon Auret, Joe ReeganAMC+ -
12
Delete
action · drama · sci-fi · thriller
Delete imagines a disaster in our all-too-fragile digital world where all computers could become dangerously self-aware with one systematic purpose–to destroy mankind. Faced with possible extinction, there is only one way out–create a second artificial intelligence, just as alive, just as intelligent and just as dangerous.
Directed by Steve BarronCast Keir Gilchrist, Erin Karpluk, Ryan Robbins, Gil Bellows, Seth GreenFreevee
Wrapping Up
Whether you came for naval warfare, post-apocalyptic survival, or high-stakes sci-fi tension, these picks give you plenty of strong follow-ups. The mix of film and TV options makes it easy to match your mood, whether you want something more grounded or more wildly inventive. Bookmark this page and come back when you need another sharp, genre-based recommendation. It’s updated regularly, so you’ll always have fresh options to explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes these movies similar to The Last Ship?
These picks were matched by tone, themes, and story style using a similarity model trained on plot synopses, genres, and cast — not just shared genre tags — so the connection runs deeper than a simple category match.
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Last updated: September 4, 2026