From budding teen romances to epic love sagas that cross light-years and even alien species, the pairing of science fiction movie couples has kept us enthralled, nauseous, captivated, and eye-rollingly amused for decades now. Some take centre stage, while others bubble away in the background. The best are for the ages; the worst can suck even the most promising premise into a syrupy black hole. I give you 40 of the best-known sci-fi movie couples.
See if you can guess which films they’re from (clues/actors included in comments below):
- Virgil “Bud” Brigman + Lindsey Brigman
- Dave Randall + Joyce Hendron
- Lincoln Six Echo + Jordan Two Delta
- Ellie Arroway + Palmer Joss
- Prof. Clayton Forrester + Sylvia Van Buren
- Logan + Jessica
- H.G. Wells + Amy Robbins
- Neytiri + Jake Sully
- George + Weena
- Clara Clayton + Emmett Brown
- David Lightman + Jennifer Mack
- Altaira Morbius + Commander J.J. Adams
- Will Salas + Sylvia Weis
- Ellie Sattler + Alan Grant
- Joe Lamb + Alice Dainard
- Doug Quaid + Melina
- Sam Flynn + Quorra
- Carmen Ibanez + Johnny Rico
- Sarah Connor + Kyle Reese
- Rick Deckard + Rachael
- Jack Bonner + Kitty
- Grace Stamper + A.J. Frost
- Cale Tucker + Akima
- Carla Goteborg + Prof. Oliver Lindenbrook
- Lenina Huxley + John Spartan
- Chris Kelvin + Rheya
- Chani + Paul Atreides
- Dr. Miles J. Bennell + Becky Driscoll
- Claire Kuchever + Doug Carlin
- George Taylor + Nova
- Leeloo + Korben Dallas
- Seth Brundle + Veronica Quaife
- Gwen DeMarco + Jason Nesmeth
- Capt. Steven Hiller + Jasmine Dubrow
- Thomas “Neo” Anderson + Trinity
- Vincent Freeman + Irene Cassini
- Lydia Maxwell + Tuck Pendleton
- Han Solo + Leia Organa
- Will Decker + Ilia
- Zoe Washburne + Hoban “Wash” Washburne
Answers included in the comments below. So how many did you get?
Scorecard:
36-40 – Supreme Being
31-35 – Jedi Master
26-30 – Browncoat
21-25 – Na’avi
16-20 – Nexus-6 Replicant
11-15 – Venusville Mutant
0-10 – Numb-tongue Jar-Jar Binks
Contact – Infinite Futures 
Clues/ actors (only look here in direst need):
1. Ed Harris + Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
2. Richard Derr + Barbara Rush
3. Ewan McGregor + Scarlett Johansson
4. Jodie Foster + Matthew McConaughey
5. Gene Barry + Ann Robinson
6. Michael York + Jenny Agutter
7. Malcolm McDowell + Mary Steenburgen
8. Sam Worthington + Zoe Saldana
9. Rod Taylor + Yvette Mimieux
10. Christopher Lloyd + Mary Steenburgen
11. Matthew Broderick + Ally Sheedy
12. Leslie Nielsen + Anne Francis
13. Justin Timberlake + Amanda Seyfried
14. Sam Neill + Laura Dern
15. Joel Courtney + Elle Fanning
16. Arnold Schwarzenegger + Rachel Ticotin
17. Garrett Hedlund + Olivia Wilde
18. Casper Van Dien + Denise Richards
19. Linda Hamilton + Michael Biehn
20. Harrison Ford + Sean Young
21. Steve Guttenberg + Tahnee Welch
22. Ben Affleck + Liv Tyler
23. Matt Damon (voice) + Drew Barrymore (voice)
24. James Mason + Arlene Dahl
25. Sylvester Stallone + Sandra Bullock
26. George Clooney + Natascha McElhone
27. Kyle McClachlan + Sean Young
28. Kevin McCarthy + Dana Wynter
29. Denzel Washington + Paula Patton
30. Charlton Heston + Linda Harrison
31. Bruce Willis + Milla Jovovich
32. Jeff Goldblum + Geena Davis
33. Tim Allen + Sigourney Weaver
34. Will Smith + Vivica Fox
35. Keanu Reeves + Carrie-Ann Moss
36. Ethan Hawke + Uma Thurman
37. Dennis Quaid + Meg Ryan
38. Harrison Ford + Carrie Fisher
39. Stephen Collins + Persis Khambatta
40. Gina Torres + Alan Tudyk
And finally, here are the answers to Sci-Fi Quiz: Movie Couples…
(For all those who cheated, a T-1000 has been despatched through time to terminate your unworthy ass).
1. The Abyss
2. When Worlds Collide
3. The Island
4. Contact
5. War of the Worlds (1953)
6. Logan’s Run
7. Time After Time
8. Avatar
9. The Time Machine (1960)
10. Back to the Future Part 3
11. WarGames
12. Forbidden Planet
13. In Time
14. Jurassic Park
15. Super 8
16. Total Recall
17. Tron: Legacy
18. Starship Troopers
19. The Terminator
20. Blade Runner
21. Cocoon
22. Armageddon
23. Titan A.E.
24. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
25. Demolition Man
26. Solaris
27. Dune
28. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
29. Deja Vu
30. Planet of the Apes (1968)
31. The Fifth Element
32. The Fly
33. Galaxy Quest
34. Independence Day
35. The Matrix
36. Gattaca
37. Innerspace
38. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
39. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
40. Serenity
Don’t forget to rank your score on the scorecard above. Thanks for playing!
Aw, man. I only got 15. I’m a Venusville Mutant! Well, no surprises there.
You mutation, you. It is a tricky type of quiz–if you saw pictures, you’d score a lot higher, I bet.
So much fun, Robert! Unfortunately I’m a Nexus-6 Replicant with 18! So many that sounded familiar but I couldn’t place.
Hehe! So many famous ones, but I’ll admit even I had to look up some of these names–despite having watched the films countless times.