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In Pictures: Cinema's Changing Visions of the Future
Over the past decades, one of the foremost ways we’ve visualised the future has been through the medium of cinema. In the following gallery, we take a look at the way that visualisation has shifted over the years
Over the years, the vision of what the future may be like has radically changed, particularly regarding expected timelines of some of the predicted innovations. As perhaps the foremost visual medium for these visions, cinema has remained one of the forerunners for telling us just what we should expect, or hope for, tomorrow's world.
We’re still yet to meet some of the targets set by these films, robotics have come a long way yet we’re still pretty far off some of the incredibly optimistic schedules predicted (seemingly particularly in the ‘80s), but in other ways we’ve far surpassed the expectations of our cinematic predecessors (we haven’t yet been extinguished in nuclear fire so yay us!). In the following images we take a look at some of the more iconic imaginings of what’s to come, and how they’ve changed with the years.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Released: 1977
Set: 0 BBY/0 ABY
OK, I know. Technically, Star Wars isn’t in the future but instead “a long time ago”, and appears to be in the future only because it’s in “a galaxy far, far away”. But let’s just accept that their past looks like our future and go forward on the premise that it looks like a good future to aim for. Not so much the totalitarian empire of evil, but y’know, X-wings would be pretty cool.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Mad Max
Released: 1979
Set: “a few years from now”
It seems somewhat bizarre to look back on now, but the original Mad Max film was actually pre-apocalyptic. It’s a civilisation in decline for sure, with rogue motor gangs roaming, but a far cry from the wastelands of the later films. In some ways this makes it the most believable, especially as it is supposedly just a “few years from now” (although admittedly that was in 1979).
Image courtesy of Village Roadshow/American International Pictures
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Released: 1979
Set: 2273
Classic Star Trek may not be known for being the prettiest of series, but the concept was always rooted more in ideas than imagery. From the notable Rodenberry decision for crew members to have no interpersonal conflict to TV’s first interracial kiss, the franchise, in all its forms, shows off a remarkably progressive future.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Blade Runner
Released: 1982
Set: 2019
Gritty, grimy and rain-soaked: the Los Angeles of Blade Runner was populated by humans huddled beneath glowing neon and replicants who’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. We may yet be more than two years off convincingly human androids, but perhaps more unbelievable is the idea of Los Angeles getting that much rain.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros
The Fifth Element
Released: 1997
Set: 2263
Taking services like Deliveroo to the next level, The Fifth Element imagined a flying boat that delivered noodles to your window. I was never quite clear on whether or not Mr Kim had to be called for service or he just had a set route, but rolling over to your window for a fresh noodle delivery sounds like a hell of future to me, never mind the multipasses or flying cars.
Image courtesy of Gaumont/Columbia
Star Trek
Released: 2009
Set: Approx. 2243
So this gets a little confusing. Due to the timeline reboot, the newer Treks are actually set before the originals. While they may have all the shininess and traditional lens flare that JJ Abrams could throw at them, it possibly explains why the Enterprise doesn’t actually look so radically different.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Mad Max: Fury Road
Released: 2015
Set: 50 years after the apocalypse
Fitting far closer to what I assumed every Mad Max had always been, an almost Mandela Effect situation, Fury Road not only resurrected the franchise but gave us a far bleaker vision of the future. Now set 50 years post-apocalypse, the insane approach to vehicles remains, but the landscape is now starkly bleached and consisting mostly of dust and desert.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Released: 2015
Set: 34 ABY
Admittedly one concerning thing about the “future” presented by Star Wars is that they seem to have a remarkable attachment to repetition. You can’t just keep building the same thing but bigger guys! Say what you want about the prequels but they seemed to have at least some sort of technological progression going on.
Image courtesy of Disney
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Released: 2017
Set: 28th Century
Not an actual franchise return, but director Luc Besson carries a lot of the spirit of The Fifth Element across into Valerian. An eye for aesthetics means that Besson’s futures always seem to be incredibly pretty, if a little gaudy, and the inhabitants are nothing if not eye-catching. This is a sci-fi world with a heart of fantasy.
Image courtesy of EuropaCorp/Lionsgate
Blade Runner 2049
Released: 2017
Set: 2049
Far more appropriate an image of California and its persistent drought problems, Blade Runner 2049 brings a return to Philip K Dick’s world of electric sheep. 30 years on from the original, the City of Angels appears far more smoggy and barren though nonetheless beautiful. Technology timelines are still somewhat dubious, but far more acceptable than the original.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros
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