7 movies and series about black holes that are full of ideas

The fascination of the world of cinema for the cosmic comes from its origins starting with Trip to the Moon , that mythical black and white film directed by the magician Georges Melies in 1902, which revolutionized cinema.

Well, for decades, filmmakers have also imagined what a black hole would look like, and have usually come up with a similar image: a round, dark center surrounded by glowing matter around it.

The representations of the cosmic phenomenon rarely deviate significantly from the others, especially since this is how Albert Einstein described black holes. However, recently and thanks to an international team of scientists, an image of a real black hole was revealed, and it turns out that Einstein was quite close to reality.

All those secrets hidden in the immense space have been and are the object of study and cinematographic representation also due to its spectacularity. It’s not exactly easy to study black holes, but that doesn’t stop filmmakers from imagining them in their own sci -fi depictions of whatever craziness about black holes.

That is why we leave you with some movies and series that deal with this issue of black holes, some with more or less success, but all spectacular.

Star Trek (2009)

Science fiction television shows, such as the latest versions of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, have made black holes a mainstay of their narrative . But the Star Trek film series hasn’t seen much use for them, with the notable exception of JJ Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the franchise. 

Nero (Eric Bana), the film’s Romulan villain, uses the principles of black holes for evil purposes, creating an artificial “red matter” black hole to destroy the planet Vulcan. 

But then an actual black hole creates a time warp that sends Mr. Spock back in time to help Captain Kirk and his own younger self try to stop Nero.

Doctor Who (2006)

Doctor Who tells the adventures of an eccentric scientist who travels through time from the remote planet Gallifrey, home of the Time Lords.

He traveled in his unique ship, the TARDIS, an acronym for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. With an interior larger than its exterior, it could take various forms to blend in with its surroundings, although the ship was often parked on Earth in the shape of a blue police box. 

Both in England and in the far reaches of space, the Doctor and his companions will face off against a multitude of evils, including robots, monsters, and a twisted villain. 

This mythical series already has 14 seasons and its main protagonist (men and women) has been changing every so often, although perhaps the most mythical has been David Tennant (the one in the photo). Note that Doctor Who is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running science fiction television series in the world.

Interstellar (2014)

This sci-fi adventure by Christopher Nolan, inspired by Kubrick, bases its plot on black holes: the crew, deep in space, led by former NASA pilot Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) , is sent to explore a hole worm leading to potentially habitable planets. 

But its proximity to a black hole causes a gravitational time dilation; In the brief time that Cooper and another crew member (Anne Hathaway) spend exploring one of the planets, 23 years of Earth time elapse, causing angst for scientists and head-exploding for us.

Nolan, known for his meticulousness, worked to try to prove the science of the film, and his portrayal of the black hole was considered by many to be the most realistic yet in a fictional film.

Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

Based on Chris Van Allsburg’s 2002 novel Jumanji, Zathura presents a board game that transports its players to another dimension, where the characters must avoid meteor showers, black holes and space monsters.

The film follows a pair of brothers, Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and his little brother Danny (Jonah Bobo). Along with their older teenage sister, Lisa (Krusten Stewart), the siblings are staying at their father’s (Tim Robbins) new house, a big house with a dusty board game hidden in the basement.

When a bored but curious Danny finds Zathura and starts playing, he launches the house into space , making the brothers (and even their frozen sister) work together to survive the game.

Dark (2017)

The first German production for the world’s leading Internet TV network is set in a modern-day German town, Winden (originally called Winden im Elztal), where the disappearance of two young children exposes double lives and broken relationships. of four families.

And it is that, this international series seems obsessed with the science of the cave, the nuclear power plant and the black hole that everyone is talking about. It should be noted that its own creators even read Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein to prepare.

This mystery-drama series features a complicated and twisting puzzle full of twists and turns that includes a web of curious characters, all of whom have a connection to the town’s troubled history.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

An Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as a young Stephen Hawking and an Oscar nominee Felicity Jones as his future wife, Jane, will star in this beautiful story worth seeing at least once in a lifetime.

And it is that, while they fight to overcome a motor neuron disorder that confined Hawking to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he develops his initial theories about the visibility of black holes, although there is not much time to go into scientific details and it is almost appreciated if you are not interested in delving into the subject too much.

He begins to formulate ideas about how black holes can be visible, but, of course, he has little time to be able to give 100% of himself.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Following the events of Spider-Man No Way Home, Doctor Strange unintentionally casts a forbidden spell that accidentally opens the multiverse . With the help of Wong and Scarlet Witch (although there are some problems with her at first), Strange will face several versions of himself.

In addition, you will team up with the young America Chavez as she travels through various realities and works to restore reality as she knows it. 

Before long, hideous creatures working for evil forces will unleash chaos, merging parallel universes into one dangerous reality. You can and should see it on Disney+.