It seems that, with each generation, people continue to be obsessed with preserving their youth. However, I cannot say that I submit to that mentality because I have watched my fair share of movies and TV shows that deal with eternal life, and it really does not sound like all it’s cracked up to be.
That being said, the mere idea of having a life without end and being able to experience multiple eras in history firsthand has always fascinated me, which is why I do tend to enjoy these kinds of stories. We could spend an eternity discussing all the best tales of immortality from the big and small screen, but here are some of the essentials.
Death Becomes Her (1992)
In Robert Zemeckis‘ darkly comic, classic ’90s movieDeath Becomes Her, actor Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) discovers that the secret to her longtime rival, author Helen Sharp’s (Goldie Hawn), sudden success and “glow-up” is a potion that grants eternal youth. However, it also makes maintaining that youthful glow more challenging, especially after Madeline and Helen suffer insane accidents, which Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega parodied in the “Taste” music video.
Peter Pan (1953)
I remember looking forward to the freedoms of adulthood when I was younger, but now that I am a grown-up, I think Peter Pan and his Lost Boys had the right idea about staying in Neverland, where they could stay children forever. Steven Spielberg would even use J.M. Barrie’s classic fantasy tale as the catalyst of a story exploring the loss of one’s inner child in 1991’s Hook, which stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan.
Deadpool (2016)
Many of the funniest and most gruesome moments from star Ryan Reynolds‘ adaptation of Marvel’s Deadpool comics revolve around the eponymous anti-hero’s incredible healing abilities, which also prevent him from aging. Quick-witted mercenary Wade Wilson gained this blessing, or curse, after participating in an experimental program to cure his cancer, which also left him with a grotesque skin condition, inspiring him to wear a costume covering him head to toe.
Doctor Who (1963-Present)
A sci-fi TV show that has managed to get away with featuring the same character in the lead for its entire decades-long run is the British cult favorite phenomenon, Doctor Who. The title character is the last of an alien race known as the Time Lords, meaning he can continue to live on infinitely by regenerating and changing his appearance, which explains why he is played by a different actor every few seasons or so.
The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1945)
One of the most influential stories involving immortality is The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which the title character suddenly ceases to age while his likeness in a recent portrait begins to grow more decrepit over time. One of the most widely praised adaptations of the 1890 novel from Oscar Wilde stars Hurd Hatfield in the title role.
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Writer and director Jaco Van Dormael’s Mr. Nobody is unlike any other film regarding the concept of eternal youth, because the main character is the only one who is not immortal, thanks to a cutting-edge surgical process. Academy Award winner Jared Leto stars in the moving, surreal sci-fi drama as the last mortal man in a utopian future, where he recounts the life (or lives) he has experienced up to this point to a confused journalist.
Interview With The Vampire (1994)
We cannot talk about eternal youth without talking about vampires, and there are few tales of the like that incorporate the theme of immortality as potently as Interview with the Vampire. Director Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel stars Brad Pitt as Louis, who tells a 20th-century journalist (played by Christian Slater) the story of his life as an ageless creature of the night, dating back to the late 1700s when he is bitten by Lestat (Tom Cruise).
Hancock (2008)
In Hancock, a superhero movie not inspired by a comic book, Will Smith plays the titular boozy, homeless man, who has been mysteriously blessed with extraordinary abilities, including indestructibility and agelessness. However, he comes close to losing those gifts due to a shocking secret about his forgotten past.
Highlander (1986)
It is said in Russell Mulcahy’s original cult favorite that there can only be one Highlander. However, the action-packed fantasy thriller, starring Christopher Lambert as a more-than-400-year-old Scottish warrior facing the battle of his life in modern New York City, spawned several sequels and a TV series.
True Blood (2008-2014)
One of the most popular vampire TV shows of all time is HBO’s True Blood. Based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris, the drama takes place in a world where humans and fanged creatures of the night are able to co-exist, thanks to the eponymous, synthetic substitute for blood.
Eternals (2021)
Created by legendary comic book writer and artist Jack Kirby, the Eternals are a group of superheroes given the gift of immortality, among other distinct abilities, by their creators, the Celestials. The Marvel Comic would inspire an MCU film from Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao and starring the likes of Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, and more.
The Sandman (2022-2025)
The Sandman is Netflix’s long-awaited series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s widely acclaimed fantasy comic book series of the same name, published under DC’s Vertigo imprint in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tom Sturridge’s title character, also known as Dream and plenty of other aliases for his purpose of manipulating the human subconscious, is one of several beings known as the Endless, who each personify a different abstract concept, such as Death and Desire.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
You can always count on a filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch to come through with a stunningly unique take on the horror genre, such as with his acclaimed vampire movie, Only Lovers Left Alive. The dramedy follows the reunion between a rock star (played by Tom Hiddleston) and his lover (played by Tilda Swinton), who have been in an on-and-off relationship for a very long time.
Torchwood (2006-2011)
The Doctor may be the last of the Time Lords, but he is not the only character from the Doctor Who universe who cannot die. The hit spinoff, Torchwood, following the adventures of a secret organization defending Earth from supernatural threats, stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, who was turned immortal when he was revived by the power of the Time Vortex after he was killed by a Dalek.
In Time (2011)
Widely regarded as a movie with a brilliant concept but a lackluster execution is the Justin Timberlake-led sci-fi thriller In Time, set in a futuristic society in which people stop aging at the age of 25. However, they can only live perpetually if they have enough time, which is also treated as currency. In other words, the wealthy are truly immortal, while the poor literally struggle to survive until the next day.
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
One of the funniest films about vampirism is the horror-comedy movie favorite, What We Do in the Shadows, which later inspired a hit FX series of the same name. The faux documentary follows what goes on in the lives of a group of centuries-old bloodsuckers (played by Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and Johnny Brugh) sharing a house in New Zealand.
Spring (2015)
Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead’s romantic horror movieSpring is a beautiful, Lovecraftian take on a Richard Linklater-style drama like Before Sunrise. It follows an American man (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) visiting Italy when he falls for a woman (played by Nadia Hilker), who is not only cursed with agelessness, but hides another transformative secret.
The Fountain (2006)
From Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain is a trippy thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz that is told in a nonlinear, anthology-style structure and takes place over the course of 1000 years. One segment, set in the 1500s, follows a quest for the Fountain of Youth, another centers on a modern-day surgeon and his terminally ill wife, and the last follows a man passionately tending to a tree while traveling through space in the deep future. The question the film leaves you with is whether or not Jackman’s roles are all the same person.
The Age Of Adaline (2015)
One film that effectively illustrates the challenging consequences of eternal youth is The Age of Adaline. Blake Lively stars in the title role of a mid-20th-century woman who suffers a freak accident that suddenly causes her to stop aging, forcing her to go on the run and live anonymously for decades.
Forever (2014-2015)
The short-lived crime procedural Forever stars Ioan Gruffudd as a man working as a medical examiner in New York City. However, the most perplexing mystery he struggles to solve is why he has not aged in more than two centuries.
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Known for being the final film starring Academy Award winner Heath Ledger, director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus stars Christopher Plummer in the title role, who was gifted eternal life by the Devil (Tom Waits) in exchange for the soul of his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), once she reaches her sixteenth birthday.
Altered Carbon (2018-2020)
While most stories about eternal life are considered fantasy, the concept is not entirely implausible. For instance, the Netflix series Altered Carbon imagines a dystopian future in which immortality is achieved by digitally preserving human consciousness and uploading it into a new body.
The Man From Earth (2007)
Writer Jerome Bixby was the legendary mastermind behind some of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, and his final produced work before his death, The Man from Earth, does feel like something that would have been right up Rod Serling’s alley. The film stars David Lee Smith as a professor who, during his impromptu retirement party, reveals to his colleagues the shocking revelation that he has inexplicably existed for thousands of years.
He Never Died (2015)
Without giving too much away, He Never Died is a bizarre thriller starring Henry Rollins as a man calling himself Jack, who has been on Earth longer than even he has been able to keep track of.
Cronos (1993)
The feature film debut of writer and director Guillermo del Toro, Cronos, is a chilling thriller about an ancient, highly coveted device shaped like a scarab that can grant people the gift of immortality.
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting stars Alexis Bledel as a 19th-century teen who falls in love with a “young” man (played by Jonathan Jackson) whose family has accidentally discovered the Fountain of Youth.
Blade Of The Immortal (2017)
Director Takashi Miike, the mastermind behind some of the shocking Japanese horror movies of all time, brings his signature style to this live-action adaptation of the graphic novel, Blade of the Immortal. The film stars Takuya Kimura as a samurai cursed with eternal life, who is enlisted by a young girl to help avenge her father’s death.
The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
Vin Diesel’s Dungeons & Dragons character served as the inspiration for his role in The Last Witch Hunter, in which he plays a man whose immortality has allowed him the time to become the most skilled asset in war against witchcraft.
Zardoz (1974)
Writer and director John Boorman’s Zardoz is better remembered for the ridiculous futuristic outfit that Sean Connery wears than the plot of the bizarre sci-fi adventure. The story is set in the 23rd Century, in which Connery’s deadly warrior, known as Zed, comes across a community where death has been rendered obsolete.
New Amsterdam (2008)
Not to be confused with a hit NBC medical drama that happens to bear the same name, New Amsterdam is a short-lived Fox crime drama starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a New York detective granted eternal youth by a Native American woman he saved 400 years earlier.
The Old Guard (2020)
Based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, the Netflix original film The Old Guard stars Charlize Theron as the leader of a group of ageless mercenaries. It would spawn a sequel that deepens its lore, which was released in 2025.
Immortality (1998)
Also released as The Wisdom of Crocodiles to reflect the novel that inspired it, the aptly named Immortality stars Jude Law as a vampire preying on women in hopes of finding the one who redeems him.
