50 Movies Like Ghost in the Shell (2017) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View Ghost in the Shell details →Rupert Sanders's 2017 science-fiction film, set in the near future, follows Major, a human saved from a devastating crash and then cyber-enhanced into a supposedly perfect soldier tasked with stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. Built around sleek, neon-soaked visuals and questions of memory, identity and what remains human inside a manufactured body, it favours moody spectacle and existential musing over relentless action. It suits viewers drawn to cyberpunk atmosphere and philosophical genre fare, especially those curious about a live-action take on this material. Expect a stylish, contemplative future-noir where the biggest battles are fought over who the protagonist really is beneath the enhancements.
If you loved Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Rupert Sanders, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Blade Runner 2049, Snowpiercer, The 6th Day. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to Ghost in the Shell
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with Ghost in the Shell in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Blade Runner 2049
2017 · Denis Villeneuve
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery lea
In common: Drama · Science Fiction
Snowpiercer
2013 · Bong Joon Ho
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engi
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
The 6th Day
2000 · Roger Spottiswoode
A world of the very near future in which cattle, fish, and even the family pet can be cloned. But cloning humans is illegal - that is until family man Adam Gibson comes home from work one day to find
In common: Action · Drama
The Matrix Resurrections
2021 · Lana Wachowski
Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Total Recall
1990 · Paul Verhoeven
Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory imp
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Matrix
1999 · Lana Wachowski
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Minority Report
2002 · Steven Spielberg
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a
In common: Action · Science Fiction
RoboCop
1987 · Paul Verhoeven
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the com
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Judge Dredd
1995 · Danny Cannon
In a dystopian future, Dredd, the most famous judge (a cop with instant field judiciary powers) is convicted for a crime he did not commit while his murderous counterpart escapes.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Elysium
2013 · Neill Blomkamp
In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014 · Matt Reeves
A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011 · Rupert Wyatt
A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
2023 · Francis Lawrence
64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Dredd
2012 · Pete Travis
In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Creator
2023 · Gareth Edwards
Amid a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Cr
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Cloud Atlas
2012 · Lilly Wachowski
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another t
In common: Drama · Science Fiction
Babylon A.D.
2008 · Mathieu Kassovitz
A veteran-turned-mercenary is hired to take a young woman with a secret from post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe to New York City.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Giver
2014 · Phillip Noyce
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
In common: Drama · Science Fiction
The Fifth Element
1997 · Luc Besson
In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Invasion
2020 · Fyodor Bondarchuk
Two years after the fall of the alien ship, the life of a young woman from Moscow has been changed forever. Her growing powers are now at the focus of both human and celestial investigation: an alien
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Deep Impact
1998 · Mimi Leder
A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Godzilla
2014 · Gareth Edwards
Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating cris
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
The Wandering Earth
2019 · Frant Gwo
When the Sun begins to expand in such a way that it will inevitably engulf and destroy the Earth in a hundred years, united mankind finds a way to avoid extinction by propelling the planet out of the
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Akira
1988 · Katsuhiro Otomo
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Ghost in the Shell
1995 · Mamoru Oshii
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker k
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Blade Runner
1982 · Ridley Scott
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way t
In common: Drama · Science Fiction
Logan
2017 · James Mangold
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant arrives
In common: Action · Drama · Science Fiction
Planet of the Apes
1968 · Franklin J. Schaffner
Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a
In common: Action · Drama
Upgrade
2018 · Leigh Whannell
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhan
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
2021 · Kazuya Tsurumaki
In the aftermath of the Fourth Impact, stranded without their Evangelions, Shinji, Asuka and Rei find refuge in one of the rare pockets of humanity that still exist on the ruined planet Earth. There,
In common: Action · Drama
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
2007 · Kazuya Tsurumaki
After the Second Impact, Tokyo-3 is being attacked by giant monsters called Angels that seek to eradicate humankind. The child Shinji’s objective is to fight the Angels by piloting one of the mysterio
In common: Action · Drama
Demolition Man
1993 · Marco Brambilla
In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 ye
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Escape from New York
1981 · John Carpenter
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Æon Flux
2005 · Karyn Kusama
400 years into the future, disease has wiped out the majority of the world's population, except one walled city, Bregna, ruled by a congress of scientists. When Æon Flux, the top operative in the unde
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Alita: Battle Angel
2019 · Robert Rodriguez
When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is t
In common: Action · Science Fiction
TRON: Legacy
2010 · Joseph Kosinski
Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evi
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
1985 · George Miller
Mad Max becomes a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society, and when exiled, becomes the deliverer of a colony of children.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Tron
1982 · Steven Lisberger
When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Repo Men
2010 · Miguel Sapochnik
In the future, medical technology has advanced to the point where people can buy artificial organs to extend their lives. But if they default on payments, an organization known as the Union sends agen
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024 · Wes Ball
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his emp
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Ready Player One
2018 · Steven Spielberg
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
2013 · Francis Lawrence
After surviving the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta struggle with the consequences of their victory as unrest spreads across Panem. Forced back into the spotlight, they become symbols of hope and resi
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Divergent
2014 · Neil Burger
In a world divided into factions based on personality types, Tris learns that she's been classified as Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysteri
In common: Action · Science Fiction
I, Robot
2004 · Alex Proyas
In 2035, where robots are commonplace and abide by the three laws of robotics, a technophobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that a robot may be responsible for the death, his invest
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015 · Francis Lawrence
As the war between the Capitol and the districts reaches its peak, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a perilous mission to liberate Panem and confront President Snow. Joined by a team of trusted allies, she
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Terminator Salvation
2009 · McG
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses th
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Island
2005 · Michael Bay
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The I
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Mad Max
1979 · George Miller
In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on st
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Mad Max 2
1981 · George Miller
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants
In common: Action · Science Fiction
The Running Man
1987 · Paul Michael Glaser
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of gam
In common: Action · Science Fiction
Popular series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
