Denis Villeneuve's Dune is just the latest sci-fi movie to take fans on an epic adventure into the future. Science-fiction has always been fascinated with looking decades ahead and imagining how the world would change. The future setting also allows stories to be told with concepts that would be impossible in the modern world.
It is interesting to see sci-fi classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner that are now set in the past. However, there are certain sci-fi movies that have looked so far into the distant future that it is hard to even imagine what the world would be like.
Alien: Resurrection (1997) - 2379 A.D.
The Alien movie series is one of the longest-running sci-fi franchises of all time. Though the first Alien movie remains a masterpiece of the genre, Alien: Resurrection is not regarded nearly as highly. However, to date, the fourth movie remains chronologically at the end of the series.
Set two hundred years after Ellen Ripley's death, the movie picks up as the hero is cloned and finds herself on a military ship housing xenomorphs to use as weapons. When the aliens inevitably escape, Ripley teams with a band of space mercenaries to escape.
Waterworld (1995) - 2500 A.D.
The issue of climate change is now a very common feature in Hollywood movies. But Waterworld may have been ahead of its time as it imagines a future in which the polar ice caps have melted submerging all the land.
The premise sets up a movie that is quite goofy at times but also feels like Mad Max on water. The action movie is big and wild with Kevin Costner as the heroic Mariner who battles a warlord and his floating kingdom.
Idiocracy (2006) - 2505 A.D.
It's very rare for a comedy to take such a long look into the future, but Idiocracy told an ambitious and hilarious satire about what society might look like hundreds of years from now. Luke Wilson stars as an ordinary guy who is accidentally frozen in time and wakes up in the future in which he is the smartest man in the country.
Idiocracy received a small and overlooked release initially yet gained a cult following over the years. It also came back into popularity in recent years for its eerie predictions of some aspects of the future that fans feel have become reality.
Serenity (2005) - 2517 A.D.
Following the disappointing cancellation of the sci-fi series Firefly, the show's cult following was strong enough to allow the story to continue in movie form. Serenity follows the band of space pirates who find themselves in the middle of an intergalactic conspiracy.
The movie does an interesting job of transporting the aesthetic of the American Old West into a space adventure. With its own complex mythology of the last of humanity and the space government, it is an entertaining ride.
Battlefield Earth (2000) - 3000 A.D.
Though it was presented as the next big sci-fi franchise, Battlefield Earth ended up being one of the most notorious flops in Hollywood history. The movie is set in a future in which Earth has been conquered by a race of aliens known as Psychlos as the remaining humans plan a rebellion.
From overacting to cheesy dialogue to lackluster special effects, the movie's disastrous reputation is far more famous than the movie itself. Though some have enjoyed the movie in a so-bad-it's-good way.
Titan A.E. (2000) - 3044 A.D.
Despite featuring a voice cast with the likes of Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore, the animated adventure Titan A.E. has been largely overlooked. The "A.E." in the title refers to "After Earth" as the story takes place years after the destruction of planet as a group of heroes go on a mission to establish a new home for humanity.
Though it is an overlooked animated movie, Titan A.E. is a fairly enjoyable space action movie that is surprisingly violent and perhaps not suitable for younger audiences. It is a reminder that the sci-fi genre lends itself well to the animated format.
Planet Of The Apes (1968) – 3978 A.D.
The fact that Planet of the Apes is set in the distant future is actually part of the movie’s twist. However, it is a twist that is more famous than the movie at this point.
It follows a group of astronauts on a deep space mission who crash on a planet ruled by talking apes. However, the ending reveals the planet is actually Earth and the astronauts have traveled through time to a future where apes have enslaved humans. Though well known, it is still a great twist.
Barbarella (1968) - 4000 A.D.
It is fun to look back on the sci-fi movies of decades past and see what they were able to accomplish without CGI. Barbarella is a grand space tale that pre-dates Star Wars yet has its own wild sci-fi adventure.
The movie stars Jane Fonda as an astronaut in the 41st century who travels to a strange planet to stop an evil scientist. The movie is filled with all sorts of outrageous concepts that would likely have been shocking at the time. It results in a silly bit of sci-fi that was, appropriately, ahead of its time.
Dune (2021) - 10,191 A.D
Though the first attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s epic novel to the big screen with David Lynch’s 1982 version, Denis Villeneuve decided to give the material another shot. Dune follows a young son of a royal family who becomes the center of a dangerous conflict on a new planet.
The rich mythology of the movie makes it feel like a fantasy story similar to Star Wars. However, it is in fact a futuristic story that builds a massive scope and sets the stage to explore even more of this universe in Dune's rumored sequel.
Mortal Engines (2018) - 13,950 A.D.
Mortal Engines is yet another big-budget sci-fi story that didn’t connect with audiences despite its unique vision of the future. Based on the popular novels, it is set thousands of years after a world-altering conflict. In the aftermath, humanity lives in mobile cities with the strongest ones conquering those in their path.
The epic premise perhaps works better as a novel as there is a lot of world-building at play that the movie struggled with. But it is still a compelling dystopian world.