What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedPassengers
Morten Tyldum · Film · 2016
If you loved Passengers, start with Travelers (Brad Wright, 2016) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 3 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Passengers across media.
What hooked you in Passengers was the way the immense, cold void of space forces a deeply intimate and desperate human struggle.
Books on the same thread
The Passenger
Cormac McCarthy · Book · 2022
Explores: Grief, Conspiracy, Existentialism.
Like the existential isolation in Passengers, this novel explores the crushing weight of grief and the moral complexities that arise when characters are pushed to their absolute psychological limits.
The Machine Stops
E. M. Forster · Book · 2011
Explores: Technology Dependence, Social Isolation, Loss of Individuality.
If the technological dependence in Passengers unsettled you, this story offers a haunting look at humanity trapped by the very systems meant to sustain them, mirroring that same claustrophobic atmosphere.
The Martian
Andy Weir · Book · 2015
Shares a thread with Passengers: Isolation.
The ingenuity required to survive in Passengers finds its ultimate expression here, as a lone astronaut relies on pure scientific problem-solving to overcome the insurmountable odds of cosmic isolation.
Arrival
Ted Chiang · Book · 2016
Explores: Alien Contact, Linguistics, Time Perception.
Just as Passengers uses a sci-fi premise to examine a personal relationship, this collection weaves complex linguistic concepts with the profound, intimate reality of navigating loss and human connection.
Series on the same thread
Travelers
Brad Wright · Series · 2016
Explores: Saving the future, Time paradoxes, Moral dilemmas.
The moral dilemmas that define the central conflict in Passengers are echoed here, as characters grapple with the heavy personal consequences of their choices while navigating a high-stakes future.
The Expanse
Mark Fergus · Series · 2015
Explores: Interplanetary Conflict, Corporate Conspiracy, Social Stratification.
The sense of scale and conspiracy found in the backdrop of Passengers is expanded here, offering a sprawling narrative that maintains the tension of being caught in space.
Farscape
Rockne S. O'Bannon · Series · 1999
Explores: Fish-out-of-water, Stranded in space, Unlikely alliances.
This series captures the same disorienting feeling of being stranded in the vast unknown that drives the protagonists of Passengers, forcing them to forge alliances in hostile territory.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
If you enjoyed the themes of survival and emotional connection in Passengers, this audio drama provides a similarly immersive look at how individuals find meaning while cast away in space.
Passenger List
Passenger List and Radiotopia · Podcast · 2025
The mystery surrounding the fate of those aboard in Passengers is mirrored here, as a determined search for truth unfolds following the disappearance of a large passenger flight.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Passengers a movie about a space colony?
Yes, Passengers is a 2016 film directed by Morten Tyldum that focuses on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet. The plot revolves around a malfunction in the ship's sleep chambers that wakes two passengers ninety years before they reach their destination.
How long are the passengers asleep in Passengers?
In the film Passengers, the spacecraft is transporting thousands of people to a distant colony planet. Due to a malfunction in the sleep chambers, two passengers are awakened ninety years before the ship reaches its final destination.
What causes the plot of Passengers?
The plot of Passengers is triggered by a malfunction in the spacecraft's sleep chambers. This mechanical failure causes two of the thousands of people being transported to a distant colony planet to wake up ninety years earlier than intended.
Does Passengers feature a large number of people on the ship?
Yes, the spacecraft in Passengers is transporting thousands of people to a distant colony planet. While many remain in their sleep chambers, the film centers on two specific passengers who are awakened ninety years early due to a malfunction.