With Ryan Gosling’s megahit crowd-pleaser, Project Hail Mary, flying high in theaters right now, it’s given Harry Styles‘ 2017 debut solo hit “Sign of the Times” new life. The song, performed in a moving karaoke scene in the film by Sandra Hüller’s character, Eva Stratt, is now going viral again and re-charting following its peak at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2017.
American Songwriter seemingly picked up on the trend, as they just published a list of songs that “accidentally became humanity’s theme song thanks to classic space movies.” They have the 1998 anthem “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith from Armageddon and the 1972 yacht rock classic “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass fromGuardians of the Galaxy. But at the top?
David Bowie’s 1972 cosmic calling card, “Starman,” is the ultimate theme song for humanity. A message about hope for future generations, the song was the lead single from Bowie’s fifth studio album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, and launched into a new orbit with Ridley Scott’s 2015 sci-fi epic, The Martian, starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and so many more familiar faces.
“Perhaps it’s an obvious song choice for a movie about a man trapped in space, but David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ has never sounded more at home than it did in the 2015 film, The Martian,” American Songwriter says. “As Matt Damon’s character starts to get a grip on his marooned trip to Mars, this song gets a needle drop, giving viewers a dose of classic rock magic.”
The film, which follows the action-, comedy-, and emotion-packed mission of getting an astronaut abandoned on Mars back home to Earth, was a monster success, raking in $630,621,406 worldwide and seven Oscar nominations. The track, from the 2012 remaster of Bowie’s album, plays during a montage of NASA hatching their plan to bring Damon’s Mark Watney home.
“Not only does this song have major cultural appeal, but it’s a classic for a reason,” AS writes. “Even without the space imagery this film provides, ‘Starman’ became a universal favorite. Hearing this song in this setting feels like opening a capsule sent from humanity to some unknown, attempting to encapsulate what we’re all about.”
Listen to Starman above. The Martian is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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