Five standout sci-fi movie quotes from the 2020s so far, from the bleak humour of Mickey 17 to the hopeful spirit of Project Hail Mary.
The 2020s still have years to run, but science fiction cinema has already delivered an impressive selection of big ideas, memorable characters and sharply written dialogue. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films have been a major highlight, bringing the immense scale of Frank Herbert’s 1960s novels to the screen.
The decade has been less dominant for superhero science fiction than the 2010s, particularly for Marvel Studios, although films including Deadpool & Wolverine, Superman and three Spider-Man movies have made a strong impression. Original science fiction has also had its successes, including Project Hail Mary.
With so many strong scripts to consider, this list focuses on five lines that capture each film’s central idea, emotional outlook or distinctive sense of humour. The ranking is subjective, and later 2020s releases may eventually displace some of these choices.
5. Mickey 17: comedy in repeated death
Written and directed by Bong Joon Ho, the 2025 film Mickey 17 imagines a grim version of 2050. Humanity’s most dangerous and unpleasant work is assigned to “expendables”: people who agree to be cloned whenever they die on a mission.
After an expendable dies, another body is printed at the same age and receives the latest backup of the previous clone’s memories. Robert Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes and his successive versions, with the story concentrating on his seventeenth iteration.
The film’s darkest joke arrives in Mickey’s narration:
“Even on my 17th go-around, I hate dying.”
It is an inherently ridiculous complaint, but Pattinson delivers it with such restraint that Mickey sounds as though he is grumbling about an everyday inconvenience. That dry contrast is one of the film’s clearest strengths.
4. 28 Years Later: honouring the dead
Twenty-three years after 28 Days Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland returned with 28 Years Later. Rather than simply repeat familiar zombie-film ideas, the pair introduced the striking character of Dr Ian Kelson, played by Ralph Fiennes.
Kelson was a general practitioner before society collapsed. Nearly three decades later, he lives alone and studies people infected by the rage virus. He has also created the Bone Temple, a haunting monument formed from thousands of skulls.
When Kelson explains the monument to Spike, the young protagonist played by Alfie Williams, his words give the scene an almost Shakespearean weight:
“There were so many dead, infected and non-infected alike. Because they are alike. Every skull is a set of thoughts. These sockets saw and these jaws spoke and swallowed. This is a monument to them, a temple.”
The passage transforms a macabre setting into an act of remembrance, insisting that the infected and uninfected were once equally human.
3. Superman: choosing to be human
James Gunn’s 2025 Superman brought renewed optimism to the Man of Steel. Gunn wrote and directed the film, while David Corenswet gave Superman a humility and vulnerability that made the immensely powerful character easier to relate to.
That quality is clearest late in the film, during Superman’s confrontation with Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult. After Luthor dismisses him as merely an alien, Superman answers with a statement about fear, fallibility and moral choice.
“That is where you’ve always been wrong about me, Lex. I am as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human, and that’s my greatest strength. And someday, I hope, for the sake of the world, you understand that it’s yours too.”
As a monologue rather than a short one-liner, it stretches the brief. Its value is in how directly it expresses the film’s belief that humanity is defined not by perfection, but by continuing to make the effort.
2. Dune: resisting fear
The words “I must not fear” originated in Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, where they appear as part of the Litany Against Fear. Denis Villeneuve and co-writers Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth also used the line effectively in the 2021 film.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.”
The Litany is a mantra used by members of House Atreides, the noble family at the centre of the fight for Arrakis. The desert planet contains spice, the most valuable resource in the universe, and its dangers make the words especially appropriate.
Characters repeat the mantra to strengthen their resolve when facing seemingly impossible circumstances. Despite being written decades earlier, its message remains powerful in the 2020s—and fits naturally alongside the kind of focus demanded by a challenging arcade gaming challenge.
1. Project Hail Mary: finding courage for someone else
Project Hail Mary stands out for its hopeful tone. The story follows scientist Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, as he travels to a distant star to investigate a solar virus that threatens Earth’s survival.
Early in the film, Grace doubts whether he has the courage or ability required for a mission of such consequence. In a conversation with mission commander Yao Li-Jie, played by Ken Leung, Grace says, “I don’t have the bravery gene that you all have.”
Yao’s response is simple:
“It’s not a gene. You just need someone to be brave for.”
Grace initially treats the idea as little more than a comforting platitude. As the story develops, however, the line becomes its emotional foundation: courage is not necessarily an inborn trait, but something a person can find when others depend on them.
For more stories about the machines, games and hardware that bring sci-fi adventures into the games room, explore RETROCADE’s arcade videos, browse the arcade machines, or use the arcade machine buying guide when planning a home setup.
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