Skip to content
Curated playlist

Films set in the future

  • Aliens (film)Aliens opens with a woman who has been asleep for 57 years. James Cameron's 1986 film sends Ellen Ripley back to danger.
  • Alien (film)In the 1979 film Alien, the chestburster scene was shot in one take.
  • Blade RunnerBlade Runner exists in seven versions, but Ridley Scott controls only one.
  • 2001: A Space OdysseyAt the New York premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey, 250 people walked out. The poster later said "the ultimate trip."
  • The TerminatorThe Terminator began as a fever dream in Rome. Director James Cameron, ill, dreamed of a metal torso crawling from fire.
  • RoboCopRoboCop's leading actor was fired partway through filming. The 1987 film's suit was too bulky for him to move in.
  • Mission: Impossible – The Final ReckoningAt the New York premiere of Mission: Impossible , The Final Reckoning in May 2025, Tom Cruise left no room for doubt about the title. "It's the final! It's not called 'final' for nothing," he said, confirming that this would be his last…
  • A Clockwork Orange (film)Warner Bros. pulled the film A Clockwork Orange from British cinemas in 1973. Kubrick himself requested it.
  • Avatar (franchise)The Avatar franchise, created by James Cameron, announced its sequels before the first film had even reached a cinema. On the 11th of December 2009, 20th Century Fox revealed plans for a sequel series. The original film opened one week…
  • The Matrix (franchise)The Matrix franchise began in 1999 with a film that cost $63 million to make and earned over $460 million worldwide. That success grew into four feature films, plus animation, video games and comics set in the same universe. Joel Silver…
  • Dune (2021 film)Dune, the 2021 film directed by Denis Villeneuve, began with a filmmaker who doubted he would ever get to make it. In September 2016 the Canadian director said, "a longstanding dream of mine is to adapt Dune, but it's a long process to get…
  • Interstellar (film)Interstellar, the 2014 science fiction epic directed by Christopher Nolan, was filmed under a decoy name: Flora's Letter. Flora is one of Nolan's four children with producer Emma Thomas. Nolan is famous for guarding his productions, and…
  • Mad Max (film)The 1979 Australian film Mad Max cost roughly A$400,000 and earned more than US$100 million worldwide.
  • Akira (1988 film)Akira opened in Japan on the same date its story says Tokyo was destroyed. Otomo chose that symmetry on purpose.

Queue