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The Future - on the Screen

Updated on January 8, 2015
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)

A Timeline of the Future in Sci-fi Cinema.

Robocop (1987)
Robocop (1987)


The Year 2015 - Detroit

Robocop (1987) Directed by Paul Verhoeven.

The Old Man: Old Detroit has a cancer. That cancer is crime.

Peter Weller stars as Detroit cop Alex Murphy, shot to pieces by the bad guys he is resurrected as a cyborg cop by OCP (Omni Consumer Products). Also starring Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, Dan O'Herlihy and Kurtwood Smith.

Followed by two sequels, a TV series and a 2014 reboot.

Tagline - Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man (1987)
Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man (1987)

The Year 2017 - Los Angeles

The Running Man (1987) Directed by Paul Michael Glaser.

Arnold Schwarzenneger stars as LA cop Ben Richards, falsely convicted of shooting civilians he is forced to participate in a game show where convicted criminals fight to the death on Live TV, Also starring Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown and Richard Dawson.

Ben Richards: Killian! I'll be back!
Damon Killian: Only in a rerun.

Tagline - It is the year 2017. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But..... Schwarzenegger has yet to play.

Surrogates (2009) poster
Surrogates (2009) poster

The Year 2017

Surrogates (2009) Directed by Jonathan Mostow.

Based on the comic book series created by Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele

The future and people use remotely controlled androids called Surrogates to live out their lives outside the safety of their homes, the Surrogates are usually younger and better looking than their host. After two people are killed when their Surrogates are destroyed at a club, Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) investigates. Also starring Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, James Cromwell and Ving Rhames.

Female Counsel: Agent Greer, we're not doctors.
Tom Greer: Honey, I don't know what you are. I mean, for all I know, you could be some big fat dude sitting in his stim chair with his dick hanging out.

Tagline - Human perfection. What could go wrong?

James Caan in Rollerball (1975)
James Caan in Rollerball (1975)

The Year 2018 - Houston, Texas

Rollerball (1975) Directed by Norman Jewison.

James Caan stars as Houston Rollerball champion Jonathan E, the greatest player in the world. When the Corporate heads decide it's time for him to retire, he refuses. The rules for the final game against New York are changed, no penatlies, no substitution and no time limit in the hope Jonathan E would be killed during the game. Also starring John Houseman,Maude Adams and John Beck

NYC Coach: I don't want another man on that track. Houston, what are you trying to do? Nobody's gonna win this game.
Team Executive: Game? This wasn't meant to be a game. NEVER.

A remake flopped into theaters in 2002.

Tagline - In the not-too-distant future, wars will no longer exist. But there will be... Rollerball

Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)

The Year 2019 - Los Angeles

Blade Runner (1982) Directed by Ridley Scott.

Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

LA cop Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is given the task of hunting down and terminating 4 Replicants (androids) who have arrived on Earth after a mutiny on an Offworld Colony. Also starring Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah and M. Emmet Walsh.

Batty: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... time to die.

Tagline - A chilling, bold, mesmerizing, futuristic detective thriller.

Akira (1988)
Akira (1988)
Akira (1988)
Akira (1988)

The Year 2019 - Neo-Tokyo

Akira (1988) Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo

A landmark animated movie adapted from Otomo's long-running manga series.

Kaneda and his biker gang are racing a rival gang, the Clowns, through the streets of Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda’s friend Tetsuo almost crashes into a strange child who looks like an old man. The military arrive in helicopters and take Tetsuo away.

Tetsuo is taken to a military hospital where he is studied and experimented on, he begins to exhibit psychic powers and discovers that he is one of many experimental subjects in a secret government program to replicate 'Akira', the human bio-weapon that destroyed Tokyo in 1988.

Tagline - Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.

Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in The Island (2005)
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in The Island (2005)

The Year 2019 - Los Angeles

The Island (2005) Directed by Michael Bay.

Residents at an isolated compound are unaware they are the clones of rich clients, the clones are killed when their organs are needed by the sponsors of the facility. Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johannson) discover the truth and go on the run, escaping the compound pursued by security forces. Also starring Sean Bean and Djimon Hounsou.

McCord: You're not real. You're copies of people out here in the world.

Tagline - Plan Your Escape.

Daybreakers (2009) poster
Daybreakers (2009) poster

The Year 2019

Daybreakers (2009) Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig.

Most of the population of the Earth have turned into vampires following a plague, but one ex-vampire has the cure to save the human race. Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill.

Bromley: Do you like being a vampire?
Dalton: Yes, sir.
Bromley: Why?
Dalton: I'm good at this. I was never very good at being human.

Tagline - In 2019, the most precious natural resource... is us.

Gattaca (1997) poster
Gattaca (1997) poster

The Year 2020

Gattaca (1997) Directed by Andrew Niccol.

Vincent (Ethan Hawke), naturally born in a genetically enhanced sterile world, dreams of becoming an astronaut but is hampered by various health problems including a heart condition. Jerome (Jude Law), a crippled swimming star with a perfect genetic profile, offers to help Vincent realise his dream of flying into space. Also starring Uma Thurman and Gore Vidal.

Vincent: I'll never understand what possessed my mother to put her faith in God's hands, rather than her local geneticist.

Tagline - There Is No Gene For The Human Spirit.

Connie Nielsen,  Jerry O' Connell and Gary Sinise in Mission to Mars (2000)
Connie Nielsen, Jerry O' Connell and Gary Sinise in Mission to Mars (2000)
Mission to Mars (2000)
Mission to Mars (2000)

The Year 2020 - Mars

Mission to Mars (2000) Directed by Brian De Palma.

Spacecraft Mars II sets out for the planet Mars to discover what happened to the last mission that landed there. They find one astronaut still alive and perhaps the answer to one of mankinds oldest questions. Starring Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen.and Jerry O' Connell.

Jim: There's pressure in here.
Terri: Above Mars atmospheric? That's impossible.
Jim: We're millions of miles from Earth inside a giant white face. What's impossible?

Tagline - For centuries, we've searched for the origin of life on Earth...We've been looking on the wrong planet.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) poster
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) poster

The Year 2021

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) Directed by Robert Longo.

Based on a short story by William Gibson.

Keanu Reeves stars as Johnny Mnemonic, a data courier who stores the valuable and sensitive data in his brain (after undergoing cybernetic surgery). After being hired by the Pharmacom Corporation to carry crucial data to a place of safety he is pursued by the Yakuza and an insane cyborg, Also starring Dina Meyer, Ice-T and Dolph Lundgren.

Johnny Mnemonic: You can't shoot me.
Takahashi: Not in the head.

Tagline - The danger is all in his head.

Soylent Green (1973) poster
Soylent Green (1973) poster

The Year 2022 - New York

Soylent Green (1973) Directed by Richard Fleischer.

Based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison.

Charlton Heston plays Thorn, a cop working in an over-populated New York whose 40 million inhabitants depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation.

During a murder investigation Thorn discovers the terrible truth about Soylent Green (advertised as high-energy plankton), the synthetic food which keeps the country from starving. Also starring Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors and Joseph Cotten.

Announcer: ...Soylent red and Soylent yellow, high energy vegetable concentrates, and new, delicious, Soylent green. The miracle food of high-energy plankton gathered from the oceans of the world.

Tagline - What is the secret of Soylent Green?

Repo Men (2010) poster
Repo Men (2010) poster

The Year 2025

Repo Men (2010) Directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

In the future 'The Union' provides expensive bio-mechanical organs to customers with good credit, but if they fail to pay up by a designated time the organs are retrieved by Repo Men even if it means killing the customer. Starring Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Alice Braga and Liev Schreiber.

Remy: Almost every job I do ends the exact same way. Some whimper. Some cry. Some even laugh. But in the end, they all do the same horizontal mambo, twitching and thrusting their way into the great beyond.

Tagline - For a price, any organ in your body can be replaced. But it can also be repossessed.

Metropolis (1927)
Metropolis (1927)

The Year 2027

Metropolis (1927) Directed by Fritz Lang.

In the city of Metropolis mad scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) creates an evil robot duplicate of Maria (Brigitte Helm), a beautiful young woman who wants to help the plight of the workers of Metropolis. The robot Maria causes chaos in the city by enticing the men to riot and kill.

The first great science fiction movie, Metropolis was restored and remastered after 25 minutes of missing footage long thought lost was discovered in Argentina in 2008.

Tagline - There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men (2006)

The Year 2027

Children of Men (2006) Directed by Alfonso Cuaron.

Based on the novel The Children of Men by P.D. James

A dystopian future where humankind faces extinction after 18 years of female infertility, but hope rises when a pregnant woman is discovered. A desperate journey is taken to deliver her to safety. Starring Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore and Danny Huston.

Jasper: Your baby is the miracle the whole world has been waiting for.

Tagline - No children. No future. No hope.

The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator (1984)

The Year 2029 - Los Angeles

The Terminator (1984) Directed by James Cameron.

In the year 2029 mankind is fighting for survival against artifically intelligent machines built by Skynet. A cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to kill the mother of the resistance leader John Connor. The resistance sends soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) back in time to stop the Terminator from succeeding in it's mission. Also starring Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield and Lance Henriksen.

Kyle Reese: Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Three sequels - Terminator 2 Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines (2003) and Terminator Salvation (2009).

Tagline - In the Year of Darkness, 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by changing the Past. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created 'THE TERMINATOR'

Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man (1993)
Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man (1993)

The Year 2032 - San Angeles

Demolition Man (1993) Directed by Marco Brambilla.

Los Angeles cop John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) cryogenically frozen in 1996 is defrosted in 2032 to help recapture an old enemy, the criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who has gone on a rampage in 'San Angeles'. Also starring Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt and Nigel Hawthorne.

John Spartan: Bad aim, Blondie!
Simon Phoenix: Spartan? John Spartan? Aw sh!t, they let anybody into this century! What the hell you doing here?

Tagline - The 21st Century's most dangerous cop. The 21st Century's most ruthless criminal.

Gamer (2009) poster
Gamer (2009) poster

The Year 2034 - New York

Gamer (2009) Directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor.

Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) has revolutionised the gaming industry by coming up with games using advanced nanite technology, real people are controlled by the gamer in a multi-player virtual reality environment. Starring Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta and Logan Lerman.

Kable: Kid's gonna get me killed.
Simon: Dude, I'm right here man. I can hear you.
Kable: Listen to me. I don't know who's behind it or why, but I was supposed to die tonight. Lucky for us, I can beat them, but not with you controlling me.
Simon: What the hell are you talking about?
Kable: Turn me loose, kid. You want to win? Turn me loose!

Tagline - In the near future, you don't live to play... you'll play to live.

The Audi RSQ in I Robot (2004)
The Audi RSQ in I Robot (2004)
I Robot (2004) poster
I Robot (2004) poster

The Year 2035 - Chicago

I, Robot (2004) Directed by Alex Proyas.

Loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short story collection I, Robot.

2035 and robots have become the servants of mankind. Each robot has the Three Laws of Robotics integrated into their system -

1 - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2 - A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3 - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

When the co-founder of U.S. Robotics (USR) is found murdered the main suspect turns out to be Sonny, a robot belonging to the dead scientist. But how can a robot violate the First Law? Starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood.

Spooner: I think you murdered him because he was teaching you to simulate emotions and things got out of control.
Sonny: I did not murder him.
Spooner: But emotions don't seem like a very useful simulation for a robot.
Sonny: I did not murder him.
Spooner: Hell, I don't want my toaster or my vacuum cleaner appearing emotional...
Sonny: I DID NOT MURDER HIM!

Tagline - One man saw it coming.

12 Monkeys (1995) poster
12 Monkeys (1995) poster

The Year 2035 - Baltimore

12 Monkeys (1995) Directed by Terry Gilliam.

In a post-apocalyptic future a deadly virus has destroyed most of mankind, only 1% of the population has survived and lives underground. Convicted criminal James Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to locate a pure source of the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. The virus is thought to have been released by a mysterious revolutionist group calling themselves "The Army of the 12 Monkeys". Also starring Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and Christopher Plummer.

James Cole: I'm here about some monkeys.
Jeffrey Goines: Monkeys?
James Cole: Monkeys. Yes. Twelve of them

Tagline - The Future is History.

Things to Come (1936)
Things to Come (1936)

The Year 2036

Things to Come (1936) Directed by William Cameron Menzies.

Classic sci-fi based on H.G. Wells The Shape of Things to Come.

The film is divided into three sections, beginning in 1940 in the English city of Everytown during a world war. It than shifts to the 1970s where a new society is forming in the shattered remains of the cities left over from the decades-long war.

The story then moves forward to the year 2036, where an elitist utopian state has formed on the ruins of the old world, and the technological upper class makes all the important decisions. In this gleaming white city of the future an attempt is being made to send people into space using a "space gun" a venture opposed by those still maintaining that "there are some things Man is not meant to know".

Starring Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke and Edward Chapman.

Cabal: All the universe? Or nothingness? Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

Tagline - What will the next hundred years bring to mankind?

V for Vendetta (2006) poster
V for Vendetta (2006) poster

The Year 2038 - London

V for Vendetta (2006) Directed by James McTeigue.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November,
the gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
why the gun powder treason
should ever be forgot."

Based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore.

Britain has become a fascist state ruled by a totalitarian government. A young woman (Natalie Portman) joins a masked vigilante known as "V" (Hugo Weaving) in his efforts to bring down the government.

Also starring Stephen Rhea, Stephen Fry and John Hurt.

Evey: Who are you?
V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Tagline - People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

Event Horizon (1997) poster
Event Horizon (1997) poster

The Year 2047

Event Horizon (1997) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

The starship Event Horizon disappeared on it's maiden voyage to Proxima Centauri, seven years later a rescue ship, the Lewis & Clark, is sent out to investigate after a distress signal is received from the missing starship. Starring Lawrence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson and Jason Isaacs.

Weir: Did you really think you could destroy this ship? She's defied space and time. She's been to a place you couldn't possibly imagine. And now... it is time to go back.
Miller: I know. To hell.
Weir: Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse.

Tagline - Infinite Space - Infinite Terror

Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002)
Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002)
Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002)
Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002)

The Year 2054 - Washington D.C.

Minority Report (2002) Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Based on the short story The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick.

The year is 2054 and John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is a PreCrime cop who arrests people before they commit a crime thanks to the PreCogs, mutants with precognitive abilities. When the PreCogs name Anderton as the next person to commit a murder he goes on the run. Also starring Colin Farrell, Max Von Sydow and Samantha Morton.

John Anderton: You said so yourself. There is no minority report, I don't have an alternate future. I am going to kill this man.

The PreCogs are named after the mystery authors Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Tagline - Everybody Runs!

Red Planet (2000) poster
Red Planet (2000) poster

The Year 2056 - Mars

Red Planet (2000) Directed by Anthony Hoffman.

Earth is dying, colonising Mars may be mankind's only hope. A group of astronauts land on the red planet, their military robot AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion) malfunctions and goes on the rampage, as if that wasn't bad enough the astronauts also discover Mars isn't as lifeless as they once thought. Starring Val Kilmer, Carrie Ann-Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt and Terence Stamp.

Burchenal: Whoa! You sure do get some high arc in this low gravity.
Gallagher: You watching this, AMEE? We're taking the first piss on Mars.

Tagline - Not A Sound. Not A Warning. Not A Chance. Not Alone.

Sunshine (2007) poster
Sunshine (2007) poster

The Year 2057

Sunshine (2007) Directed by Danny Boyle.

The sun is dying and a team of scientists on the spacecraft Icarus II are on a mission to re-ignite the Sun using a massive stellar bomb. On their trip they encounter a survivor of a previous attempt to save our sun, he is determined to sabotage their mission. Starring Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne and Cliff Curtis.

Cassie: Are you scared?
Capa: When a Stellar Bomb is triggered, very little will happen at first -and then a spark, will pop into existence, and it will hang for an instant, hovering in space and then, it will split into two, and those will split again, and again, and again... detonation beyond all imaging - the big bang on a small scale. - a new star born out of a dying one. I think it will be beautiful. No, i'm not scared
Cassie: I am.

Tagline - If it dies, so do we.

Lost in Space (1998)
Lost in Space (1998)

The Year 2058

Lost in Space (1998) Directed by Stephen Hopkins.

Based on the 1960s TV series created by Irwin Allen.

Dr. Smith: Never fear, Smith is here.

The Robinson family prepare for deep space mission to the distant planet Alpha Prime, a planet known to be habitable. The mission will take 10 years and the Robinsons will be in suspended hibernation for most of the trip. Dr. Zachary Smith (Gary Oldman) is given orders by Global Sedition to sabotage the mission.

Also starring William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Matt LeBlanc, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson and Jared Harris.

Tagline - Get Lost!

Final Fantasy The Spirits Within (2001)
Final Fantasy The Spirits Within (2001)

The Year 2065 - New York

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi & Akio Sakai.

The world is infested with lethal alien phantoms carried to Earth by a meteor. Aki Ross, a brilliant young scientist, and her mentor Dr. Sid are determined to find the phantoms secrets and save the world.

Starring the voices of Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin and James Woods.

Aki: What's happening?
Gray Edwards: Dr. Sid is implanting the Seventh Spirit directly into your body.
Aki: Then you must be my spiritual support. Gray, how sweet.

Tagline - Unleash a new reality.

Equilibrium (2002)
Equilibrium (2002)

The Year 2072

Equlibrium (2002) Directed by Kurt Wimmer.

Set in the dystopian city-state of Libria, ruled by a totalitarian and fascist society under the leadership of 'Father', all citizens are required to take the emotion-suppressing drug Prozium. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton Cleric, a law enforcement officer trained in the martial art of Gun Kata.

One day he misses his dose of the drug and starts to experience emotions, he decides to stop taking Prozium and begins to sympathise with a rebel faction fighting against the inhumane laws of the Librian government. Also starring Emily Watson, Taye Diggs, Angus Macfadyen and Sean Bean.

DuPont: In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new arm of the law: The Grammaton Cleric, whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man - his ability to feel.

Tagline - In a future where freedom is outlawed outlaws will become heroes.

Ultraviolet (2006) poster
Ultraviolet (2006) poster

The Year 2076

Ultraviolet (2006) Directed by Kurt Wimmer.

A global epidemic has created a subculture of humans, hemophages, with vampire-like symptoms and enhanced physical abilites. Resistance fighter Violet (Milla Jovovich) saves a young boy who is seen as a threat to all hemophages and discovers that his blood could be used as an antidote for the disease. Also starring Nick Chinlund, William Fichtner and Cameron Bright.

Violet: Haven't you been paying attention? Killing is what I do. It's what I'm good at. I am a titan. A monolith. Nothing can stop me.

Tagline - The Blood War is On.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone in Total Recall (1990)
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone in Total Recall (1990)

The Year 2084

Total Recall (1990) Directed by Paul Verhoeven.

Based on Philip K. Dick's short story We Can Remember it for you Wholesale.

Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) keeps dreaming of Mars, one day he visits Recall Inc so he can have memories of a vacation to Mars as a secret agent implanted into his mind but things go badly wrong. Returning home his wife tries to kill him and hitmen from Mars are out to get him too. Also starring Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox.

Lori: Sorry, Quaid. Your whole life is just a dream.

Tagline - They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

A remake directed by Len Wiseman and starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston was released in 2012.

Prometheus (2012) poster
Prometheus (2012) poster

The Year 2093

Prometheus (2012) Directed by Ridley Scott.

The science vessel Prometheus journeys to a distant planet thought to harbour secrets to the origins of life on Earth. They land the ship near an alien structure, inside the crew discover a statue of a large humanoid head, strange cylinders and a seemingly dead alien. Starring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba.

Charlie Holloway: These are images of archaeological digs all over the Earth: ancient civilizations that shared no contact. And yet, the same pictogram on every last one of them.
Fifield: A star map?
Elizabeth Shaw: No, an invitation.
Fifield: From whom?

Tagline - The search for our beginning could lead to our end

Alien (1979)
Alien (1979)

The Year 2122

Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott.

Commercial towing vehicle Nostromo with a crew of seven intercepts a transmission of unknown origin. The crew are woken from hypersleep by the ship's computer and they head towards the source of the signal.

Landing on an unknown planet they discover a derelict alien spaceship and its dead occupant with its chest ripped open. It eventually becomes clear that the alien signal was a warning not an S.O.S

Dallas: Alien life form. Looks like it's been dead a long time. Fossilized. Looks like it's growing out of the chair. Bones are bent outward, like he exploded from inside.

Starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto.

Three sequels - Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien Resurrection (1997)

Two spin-offs - Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)

One prequel - Prometheus (2012)

Tagline - In Space No One Can Hear You Scream.

Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd (1995)
Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd (1995)

The Year 2139 - Mega-City One

Judge Dredd (1995) Directed by Danny Cannon.

Judge Dredd first appeared in the British comic 2000 AD in 1977 and also stars in his own "Judge Dredd Megazine".

"In the third millennium, the world changed. Climate, nations, all were in upheaval. The Earth transformed into a poisonous, scorched desert, known as "The Cursed Earth". Millions of people crowded into a few Megacities, where roving bands of street savages created violence the justice system could not control. Law, as we know it, collapsed.

From the decay rose a new order, a society ruled by a new, elite force. A force with the power to dispense both justice and punishment. They were the police, jury and executioner all in one. They were the Judges."

Judge Dredd: I am the law!

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Max Von Sydow and Armande Assante.

A new movie based on the comic was released in 2012, Dredd was directed by Pete Travis and stars Karl Urban as Judge Dredd

Tagline - In the future, one man is the law.

Avatar (2009)
Avatar (2009)
Avatar (2009) poster
Avatar (2009) poster

The Year 2154 - Pandora

Avatar (2009) Directed by James Cameron.

A mining colony on the distant planet of Pandora threatens the lives of the N'avi, a blue-skinned humanoid race native to the planet. Paraplegic Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in the guise of a genetically engineered N'avi body is given the task of convincing the natives to move their homes to another location because they currently reside on top of a rich source of the precious mineral Unobtanium. Jake bonds with the N'avi and falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) the chiefs daughter. Also starring Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang.

Quaritch: You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a Hell, you might wanna go there for some R & R after a tour on Pandora.

Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time with a worldwide box office gross of $2,782,275,000. James Cameron also holds the number 2 spot with his previous film, Titanic (1997).

Tagline - Enter the World.

Carrie-Ann Moss in The Matrix (1999)
Carrie-Ann Moss in The Matrix (1999)
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix (1999)
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix (1999)

The Year 2199

The Matrix (1999) Directed by Andy and Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski.

The future and mankind has lost the battle with sentient robot machines. The Earth has been devasted by war and machines which were once servants of man now use living people as batteries to power their cities, their minds imprisoned in an alternate reality known as the Matrix.

Thomas Anderson aka Neo (Keanu Reeves) is awakened into the real world by taking the red pill offered to him by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Also starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving.

Spoon boy: Do not try to bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.

Two sequels - The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Tagline - The fight for the future begins.

Forbidden Planet (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956) poster
Forbidden Planet (1956) poster

The Year 2220

Forbidden Planet (1956) Directed by Fred M. Wilcox

The 23rd Century and Commander Adams and the crew of United Planets Cruiser C-57D are on a mission to the distant planet Altair-IV, to discover the fate of the Bellerophon which had landed there 20 years earlier.

Upon arriving at Altair-IV, the crew find two survivors, Dr. Edward Morbius and his beautiful daughter, Altaira. They also discover an invisible force on the planet had killed the Bellerophon crew and is now killing again. Starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen.

Ostrow: Morbius was too close to the problem. The Krell had completed their project. Big machine. No instrumentalities. True creation.
Adams: Come on, Doc, let's have it.
Ostrow: But the Krell forgot one thing.
Adams: Yes, what?
Ostrow: Monsters, John. Monsters from the Id.

Tagline - It's out of this world!

The Fifth Element (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)

The Year 2263 - New York

The Fifth Element (1997) Directed by Luc Besson.

The 23rd Century and a 'Great Evil' is heading towards Earth threatening it with destruction. In the remains of an alien ship the Fifth Element is recovered, which along with the stones of the 4 elements, are the only hope for mankind.

The Fifth Element takes the form of a young woman, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) "the perfect being", frightened she goes on the run and is aided by cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis). Meanwhile industrialist Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) is in contact with the Great Evil and is determined to dispose of the 4 element stones. Also starring Ian Holm and Chris Tucker.

Korben Dallas: What's your name?
Leeloo: Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat.
Korben Dallas: Good. That... that whole thing's your name, huh? Do you have a shorter name?
Leeloo: Leeloo.

Tagline - It must be found!

Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)

The Year 2271

Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979) Directed by Robert Wise.

Starfleet monitoring station, Epsilon IX, has detected an alien entity of unimaginable size on a direct heading for Earth, the only Starship in interception range is the Enterprise, under the command of Admiral James T. Kirk.

Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Mark Lenard, Stephen Collins and Persis Khambatta.

Decker: V'ger... expects an answer.
Kirk: An answer? I don't know the question.

Five sequels - Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V The Final Frontier (1989) and Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (1991).

Four Spin-offs - Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek First Contact (1996), Star Trek Insurrection (2008) and Star Trek Nemesis (2002).

One reboot - Star Trek (2009)

And a sequel to the reboot - Star Trek - Into Darkness (2013)

Tagline - The human adventure is just beginning.

Jenny Agutter and Michael York in Logan's Run (1976)
Jenny Agutter and Michael York in Logan's Run (1976)

The Year 2274

Logan's Run (1976) Directed by Michael Anderson.

Based on the novel by William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson.

In the future young people are required to commit ritual suicide at the age of 30 with the belief that they will be 'renewed', if they refuse they are gunned down by 'Sandmen' who maintain peace and order.

Logan 5 (Michael York), a renegade Sandman and his girlfriend Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter) escape their domed city in search of the mythical 'Sanctuary'. They are pursued by Sandman Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) Logan’s former friend and now arch enemy. Also starring Peter Ustinov.

Jessica: A friend of mine went on carousel. Now he's gone.
Logan: Yes, well, I'm sure he was renewed.
Jessica: He was killed.
Logan: Killed? Why do you use that word?
Jessica: Isn't that what you do? Kill?
Logan: I've never killed anyone in my life. Sandman terminate runners.

Tagline - Welcome to the 23rd Century: A perfect world of total pleasure. There's just one catch...

Zardoz (1974) poster
Zardoz (1974) poster


The Year 2293

Zardoz (1974) Directed by John Boorman.

A post-apocalyptic Earth and the Eternals rule mankind. Sean Connery is Zed, an Exterminator-class brutal who worships Zardoz, a flying stone head. One day he discovers an old library where a mysterious stranger teaches him how to read. He finds a copy of a well known book and sets out to learn the secret of the god he worships, disrupting life in the vortex. Also starring Charlotte Rampling.

Zardoz: Go forth and kill! Zardoz has spoken!

Tagline - Beyond 1984, Beyond 2001, Beyond Love, Beyond Death

Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux (2005)
Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux (2005)

The Year 2415 - Bregna

Aeon Flux (2005) Directed by Karyn Kusama.

Adapted from the animated series created by Peter Chung.

A virus has decimated most of the Earth's population, five million survivors live in the walled city of Bregna. Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is a member of an underground rebel organization who communicate through ESP technology.

When Aeon is sent on a mission to kill the government's leader, Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas), she discovers a shocking secret, everyone in Bregna are clones. Constantly reborn into new individuals but still bearing partial memory of their past lives. Aeon begins to remember that before they were cloned she and Goodchild were once married. Also starring Jonny Lee Miller and Frances McDormand.

Aeon Flux: I had a family once, I had a life. Now all I have is a mission.

Tagline - The future is flux.

Waterworld (1995) poster
Waterworld (1995) poster

The Year 2500

Waterworld (1995) Directed by Kevin Reynolds.

After centuries of global warming the Earth's ice caps have melted and the world is engulfed in water. People live in isolated communities built on artificial islands floating on the sea. The Mariner (Kevin Costner) is a mutant, born with gills and webbed feet, when he is sentenced to death he is rescued by Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and her adopted daughter Enola (Tina Majorino) in return he helps them look for the mythical place known as Dryland. Also starring Dennis Hopper.

Helen: There are things on your boat that no one has ever seen. These shells, the music box and the reflecting glass. Well, if not from dry land, then where? Where?
Mariner: You wanna see dry land? You really wanna see it? I'll take you there.

Tagline - Beyond the horizon lies the secret to a new beginning.

Serenity (2005) poster
Serenity (2005) poster

The Year 2517

Serenity (2005) Directed by Joss Whedon.

Based on the short-lived TV series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.

Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) is captain of the "Firefly-class" spaceship Serenity. The captain and his crew are veterans of the Unification War, fighting on the losing side. Now working as mercenaries and smugglers their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbors a deadly secret.

Also starring Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The Operative: Do you know what your sin is Mal?
Mal: Ah Hell... I'm a fan of all seven. But right now... I'm gonna have to go with wrath.

Tagline - The future is worth fighting for.

Vin Diesel as Riddick in Pitch Black (2000)
Vin Diesel as Riddick in Pitch Black (2000)

The Year 2578

Pitch Black (2000) Directed by David Twohy

The stricken spaceship Hunter-Gratzner is forced to make a crash landing on an unknown planet after passing through the tail of a comet. There are 12 survivors on board including the dangerous criminal Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) who was being transported to a prison cell by bounty hunter Johns (Cole Hauser).

Exploring the desolate planet they are attacked by flesh-eating bat-like creatures, they also discover the planet is about to enter a total eclipse of it's three suns and that the month long darkness is the time when the hellish flying creatures emerge from their caves in their thousands looking for food. Also starring Radha Mitchell and Keith David.

Riddick: All you people are so scared of me. Most days I'd take that as a compliment. But it ain't me you gotta worry about now.

Sequels - The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), and Riddick (2013)..

Tagline - Fight Evil with Evil.

Barry Pepper, John Travolta and Forest Whitaker in Battlefield Earth (2000)
Barry Pepper, John Travolta and Forest Whitaker in Battlefield Earth (2000)

The Year 3000

Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000) Directed by Roger Christian.

Based on L. Ron Hubbard's bestselling novel published in 1982.

The Earth has been under the rule of an alien race known as the Psychlos for a thousand years. A humanoid race taller than a man and with a giant head, dreadlocks and bad teeth. The Psychlo security chief is Terl (John Travolta) who is using humans to mine for gold so he can beam up back to his planet a rich Psychlo.

After learning the Psychlo language Johnny Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper) decides to form a rebellion against the alien invaders. He and his followers discover an abandoned US military base full of weapons, aircraft, fuel and nuclear missiles. Also starring Forest Whitaker and Kim Coates.

Terl: Attention. This is Terl, your chief of security. Exterminate all man-animals at will, and happy hunting!

Battlefield Earth is the winner of a special "Worst Movie of the Decade" Golden Raspberry Award and has won 8 other 'Razzies" including Worst Actor (John Travolta).

Tagline - Prepare for Battle.

Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison in Planet of the Apes (1968)
Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison in Planet of the Apes (1968)

The Year 3978

Planet of the Apes (1968) Directed by Franklin Schaffner.

Based on the novel Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle.

Dr. Zaius: The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Your breed made a desert of it, ages ago.

Taylor: Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

An American spacecraft launched in 1972 and carrying four astronauts in deep hibernation crash lands on an unknown planet in the year 3978. The only female astronaut dies during the journey, the surviving three discover a world ruled by intelligent apes. Starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans.

One sequel - Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

Three prequels - Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

One remake - Planet of the Apes (2001)

One reboot - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).

And a sequel to the reboot - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Tagline - Man... hunted... caged... forced to mate by civilised apes!

Barbarella (1968)
Barbarella (1968)

The Year 4000

Barbarella (1968) Directed by Roger Vadim.

The President of Earth sends Barbarella on a mission to find missing scientist, Durand Durand. On her quest she encounters killer dolls, feral children, an angel named Pygar, the lesbian Queen, smokes Essence of Man from a giant hookah and is subjected to the sexual torture device known as the Excessive Machine which then blows a fuse.

The Great Tyrant: I shall share my delights with you. You shall make love to me.
Pygar: An angel doesn't make love. An angel IS love.
The Great Tyrant: Then you're a dead duck. Guards! To the Mathmos with this winged fruitcake.

Based on the French comic by Jean-Claude Forest and starring Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg and Milo O' Shea.

Tagline - Who seduces an angel? Who strips in space? Who conveys love by hand? Who gives up the pill? Who takes sex to outer space? Who's the girl of the 21st century? Who nearly dies of pleasure?

Dune (1984)
Dune (1984)
Dune (1984) poster
Dune (1984) poster

The Year 10,191

Dune (1984) Directed by David Lynch.

Based on the best selling novel by Frank Herbert

In the distant future two rival families the Atreides and the Harkonnens fight for control of Arrakis, a desert planet containing the most precious substance in the universe, the spice Melange. The natives of Arrakis, the mysterious Fremen, have long prophesied the arrival of a Messiah who will lead them to freedom.

Starring Kyle Maclachlan, Francesca Annis, Jurgen Prochnow, Max Von Sydow, Sean Young, Everett McGill, Patrick Stewart, Freddie Jones, Dean Stockwell, Richard Jordan, Jose Ferrer, Virginia Madsen and Kenneth McMillan.

Baron Harkonnen: He who controls the Spice controls the universe!

Paul: Stilgar, do we have wormsign?
Stilgar: Usul, we have wormsign the likes of which even God has never seen.

Tagline - A world beyond your experience, beyond your imagination.

Rod Taylor in The Time Machine (1960)
Rod Taylor in The Time Machine (1960)
Yvette Mimieux in The Time Machine (1960)
Yvette Mimieux in The Time Machine (1960)

The Year 802,701 - London

The Time Machine (1960) Directed by George Pal.

Based on H.G. Wells classic novel.

London 1900. George Wells (Rod Taylor) has built a time machine, he travels to the far future where he encounters the peaceful race of the Eloi and their masters the Morlocks.

George falls for the beautiful Weena (Yvette Mimieux) and is horrified to discover that the Morlocks are cannibals, feeding on the Eloi. George decides to help the Eloi build a better future without the Morlocks.

George: David, I've got to tell it now. While I still remember it!
David Filby: Relax, try to relax. You've all the time in the world.
George: You're right David, that's exactly what I have. All the time in the world.

Also starring Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot, Tom Helmore and Whit Bissell.

Remake - The Time Machine (2002)

Tagline - You Will Orbit into the Fantastic Future!

The Fifth Element (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)
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