In just a few weeks, Matt Damonwill headline what is shaping up to be the biggest movie of his career, Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey. Damon is among the rare stars of his stature to have (mostly) stayed away from superhero franchises, although he has headlined four movies in the Jason Bourne series. In the last decade or so, Damon has played memorable supporting roles in Nolan’s epic blockbustersInterstellar and Oppenheimer. The Odyssey is his first movie as a lead for the legendary filmmaker. Damon has also managed to deliver blockbuster standalone hits such as The Martian and Ford v Ferrari. One of his most overlooked original movies was recently added to Tubi, where audiences can judge for themselves whether its own director’s criticisms were justified.
The movie in question was released theatrically in 2013, just a couple of years after Damon headlined three vastly different movies that quietly emerged as hits — the sci-fi film The Adjustment Bureau, the medical thriller Contagion, and the feel-good fable We Bought a Zoo. Damon’s 2013 movie was a dystopian sci-fi thriller directed by a young filmmaker earmarked for greatness. The filmmaker’s debut feature, District 9, was a runaway hit that received a Best Picture nod at the Oscars. However, his attempt at leveling up didn’t exactly pan out. The 2013 sci-fi film grossed around $285 million worldwide against a reported budget of $115 million — not shabby at all, but not quite as massive as the worldwide haul of The Martian.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Watch Matt Damon’s Divisive Sci-Fi Movie at Home
We’re talking, of course, about Elysium, directed by Neill Blomkamp. The movie also features Jodie Foster, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna, Alice Braga, and Sharlto Copley. Elysium received mixed reviews and is now sitting at a 64% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “After the heady sci-fi thrills of District 9, Elysium is a bit of a comedown for director Neill Blomkamp, but on its own terms, it delivers just often enough to satisfy.” Blomkamp later expressed disappointment with certain aspects of the movie and told Uproxx, “I just didn’t make a good enough film… the script just wasn’t there; the story wasn’t fully there.” He next directed another original sci-fi film, Chappie, and then spent years developing an Alien sequel that never materialized. He made a return to feature filmmaking a few years ago with Gran Turismo, which underperformed at the box office. You can watch Elysium on Tubi, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
