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James Franco ’s filmography as a director fascinates me. He uses his weight as a power player to get projects to the big screen that clearly interest him, often giving off the impression that he read a book he liked and just called up some friends to make a movie of it. There’s something admirable about that kind of passionate, instinctual way of making movies, and it has led to adaptations of work by Cormac McCarthy , John Steinbeck , and William Faulkner . And this kind of DIY passion made him the perfect fit for “ The Disaster Artist ,” his most successful directorial effort to date, and a film that's essentially about a DIY filmmaker who became an icon. This approach to filmmaking also leads to a number of misfires because one can often sense that initial passion dissolving on the screen. That’s certainly what happens early in his latest co-directorial credit, the abominable “Future World.” One can imagine Franco and his buddies seeing “ The Bad Batch ” or watching “ Mad Max: Fury Road ,” renting some motor bikes and dirtying some clothes, and then realizing they forgot to write an actual movie.

To say that “Future World” borrows liberally from George Miller ’s milieu would be an understatement. He may want to look into royalty checks (although that implies this will make money, which seems unlikely). This ticks SO many of the “Fury Road” boxes, from extended sequences of masked men on motor bikes to the story of a kept woman who becomes empowered to a mythical place in this barren landscape that promises a better future called Paradise Beach. That’s where our hero Prince ( Jeffrey Wahlberg ) wants to get, believing that he will find there the medicine to save to his dying mother ( Lucy Liu ).

Prince’s journey takes him to a place called Love Town, run by futuristic pimp Love Lord, played by, of course, Snoop Dogg (casting is the most creative thing about “Future World”). In one of the film’s very few brief glimpses of creativity, the dancers and prostitutes of Love Town are literally controlled by clients and the Love Lord through the use of what looks like shock collars around their necks. And yet Franco and co-director Bruce Thierry Cheung don’t have much to say about controlling women in this future vision. It’s just an interesting concept/visual for them, and then they move on. Everything in “Future World” is skin-deep, shallow versions of deeper material from other films.

This is certainly the case with Ash ( Suki Waterhouse ), an android first awoken by the evil Warlord (James Franco) but who eventually escapes with Prince. Why? Because the movie says so. She has an awakening and revolts against her captor and those who would use her for sex or violence and she takes off with Prince to the find the medicine. Along the way, they run into mostly bad guys, including a scene-stealing turn from Milla Jovovich , who looks like she came from a more interesting movie but shows up way too late into this one to save it.

Most of “Future World” is incoherent and boring. A typical “action sequence” consists of men riding motor bikes over hills or a poorly choreographed fight. There’s a non-stop obtrusive, “futuristic” score to try and keep you awake but even that starts to become numbing. Among many problems, perhaps the biggest is that Ash and Prince are deadly dull as leading characters. There’s a scene after they take off together in which they talk about whether or not she has a soul during which I swear I felt mine leaving my body.

Despite the number of times I’ve been burned by James Franco’s directorial efforts (check out my review of “ The Institute ,” a movie stolen by Franco’s mustache, for another example), I’m still eager to see what he does next. He often takes risks that other directors wouldn’t and I’m always interested in filmmakers who seem to be making what they want to make regardless of concern about the bottom line. The problem here is that while Franco probably wanted to make his own “Mad Max” at one point, by the time the initial buzz of the project faded and he got to the desert, you can tell that even he just wanted to go home. 

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Future World (2018)

• James Franco

Suki Waterhouse as Ash

Milla Jovovich

Lucy Liu as The Queen

Jeffrey Wahlberg as Prince

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Review: ‘Future World,’ With James Franco, Is Present-Tense Wretchedness

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By Glenn Kenny

• May 25, 2018

The previous film directed by and starring James Franco, “The Disaster Artist” last year, was sufficiently disarming to garner awards buzz; Mr. Franco won the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy. Accusations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Franco grew more prominent in the wake of that victory, and his Oscar hopes were derailed. (The actor denied the allegations but said he supported the right of women to speak out.)

You might infer this is the reason Mr. Franco’s new “Future World,” which he stars in and directed with Bruce Thierry Cheung, avoided screening for critics. Perhaps not.

“Future World” is a miserable, idiotic sci-fi trifle, threadbare in both the imaginative and production value categories. I’d say it looked like what Corky St. Clair of “Waiting for Guffman” would come up with if he had a mind to make a “Mad Max: Fury Road” knockoff, but that would be insulting to Corky St. Clair.

Mr. Franco plays Warlord, a postapocalyptic villain he essays with relish that sometimes seems untoward, particularly in his hostile interactions with female characters. Warlord is trying to rule a female robot, Ash (Suki Waterhouse), who may find her “soul” courtesy of Jeffrey Wahlberg’s Prince. He in turn has left his Oasis to find medicine to cure his mom from the Red Fever.

The script purports to be by Mr. Cheung, Jeremy Craig Cheung and Jay Davis, but as the plot description should indicate, there’s a good chance the three of them took turns copying it from a fifth grader’s composition booklet.

This is a movie in which one character says, “I wish I could see a tree” while trees are actually visible in the shot. Yes, they’re out of focus, but come now. What’s most remarkable is that it took two directors to yield a work this turgid and inept.

Rated R. Violence, nudity, drug use, language, turgidity. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

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‘future world’: film review.

James Franco co-directs and stars in 'Future World,' a postapocalyptic sci-fi thriller also featuring Milla Jovovich, Snoop Dogg and Lucy Liu.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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In his film The Disaster Artist , James Franco uncannily channeled the physical and vocal mannerisms of the legendarily egregious filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. For his newest effort, which he co-directed and stars in, Franco has apparently decided to channel Wiseau’s complete lack of talent as well. A low-rent, postapocalyptic sci-fi tale that doesn’t succeed as either homage or parody of such obvious inspirations as the Mad Max series, Future World proves as original as its title. The film certainly represents a stylistic departure for Franco, who has previously shown a penchant for ambitious literary adaptations (Faulkner, Steinbeck, etc.) rather than the sort of B-movies normally seen on late-night cable.

Although top-billed, Franco actually has more of a supporting role in the film co-directed with frequent collaborator Bruce Thierry Cheung. Sporting rotting-out teeth, the actor plays Warlord, the sort of villainous psycho who activates a beautiful female android, Ash (Suki Waterhouse), for the purpose of making her his personal assassin and sex slave. The main character is actually Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg, Mark’s nephew, demonstrating that the apple can fall very far from the tree), who teams up with Ash to journey through the desert in the hope of procuring a miracle drug that will save his dying mother, Queen (Lucy Liu). Said drug is apparently located in a place called Paradise Beach, run by a woman known as Drug Lord (Milla Jovovich). Apparently, names are taken very literally in the future.

Release date: May 25, 2018

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Along the way they’re pursued by the vicious Warlord, his henchman Tattooed Face (Cliff “Method Man” Smith) and a gang of dirt bike-riding toughs who look like they’ve attended too many George Miller film retrospectives. Despite their travails, Prince and his robot companion find the time to talk about philosophical issues, including the definition of a soul. He also wonders why she’s working against Warlord, who programmed her.

“Why aren’t you listening to him?” Prince asks. “Maybe I’m malfunctioning,” Ash replies. You have to give the screenplay credit for conciseness. That pretty much sums up the whole first season of HBO’s Westworld in one line.

Angela Bassett on Working With Ryan Murphy, Taking on '911' and Starring in 'Black Panther'

The endless chases and fight sequences quickly prove as monotonous as the electronic music score by Toydrum which sounds like it was composed on one. The target male audience will be relieved to learn, at least, that strip clubs are still around in the postapocalypse. The film features one such establishment named Love Town, whose proprietor, naturally going by the name Love Lord, is played by Snoop Dogg. Because you really don’t want a future without Snoop Dogg. The rapper delivers the film’s most entertaining performance, but, then again, he faced minimal competition. The strippers and prostitutes are controlled by electronic shocks delivered by collars around their necks, making one hope that Franco completed this film before he faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Production companies: AMBI Group, Black Sparrow Films, Dark Rabbit Productions, Premiere Pictures Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere Cast: James Franco, Suki Waterhouse, Jeffrey Wahlberg, Margarita Levieva, Snoop Dogg, George Lewis Jr., Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Lucy Liu, Milla Jovovich Directors: James Franco, Bruce Thierry Cheung Screenwriters: Bruce Thierry Cheung, Jeremy Craig Cheung, Jay Davis Producers: Scott Reed, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Vince Jolivette, Jay Davis Executive producers: Julien Favre, Jason Garrett, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Martin Guigui, Robert Jones, Jean-Alexandre Luciani, Luca Matrundola Director of photography: Peter Zeitlinger Production designer: Eve McCarney Editors: Alex Freitas, William Paley Composer: Toydrum Costume designer: David Page, Jonny Pray Casting: Cynthia Huffman

Rated R, 90 minutes

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Future world, common sense media reviewers.

Language, violence, nudity in postapocalyptic bore.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

It's a stretch, but you could say that the rob

The characters are representative, rather than dee

Guns are scarce, so while there are a few shooting

Female characters are shown partially nude (breast

Swearing is colorful, if not constant; words inclu

Characters drink whiskey and more in a strip club;

Parents need to know that Future World is a disappointing postapocalyptic sci-fi tale about a killer female robot (Suki Waterhouse) who's forced to do bad things by bad guys (led by James Franco). Viewers can expect Mad Max -style violence, including tons of stabbings, neck breaking, beatdowns,…

Positive Messages

It's a stretch, but you could say that the robotic heroine finds love and then is true to herself.

Positive Role Models

The characters are representative, rather than deep; you could say the robotic heroine is like a slave breaking free, as is her eventual love, but that's also a stretch.

Violence & Scariness

Guns are scarce, so while there are a few shootings (including a couple point-blank to the head), stabbing is the more typical murder method. There's also some brutal punching and kicking in a cage-fight-style death match in an empty pool. Necks are broken; other cruelty. Chases, crashes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Female characters are shown partially nude (breasts and full backside), including at a strip joint. Women are utterly exploited and objectified -- literally, in the case of the robotic heroine. There's a robotic repair scene that's obviously meant to be suggestive (the beautiful female mechanic reaches inside the beautiful robot; they both grunt and groan, etc.); it's followed by a fairly chaste love scene.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Swearing is colorful, if not constant; words include "f--k," "s--t," "d--k," etc. Women are frequently referred to as "bitches."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters drink whiskey and more in a strip club; opiates are smoked, and characters shoot up in a drug den. A character is forced to do both of those.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Future World is a disappointing postapocalyptic sci-fi tale about a killer female robot ( Suki Waterhouse ) who's forced to do bad things by bad guys (led by James Franco ). Viewers can expect Mad Max -style violence, including tons of stabbings, neck breaking, beatdowns, and a couple of point-blank shootings. There's lots of blood and cruelty. Women are also blatantly exploited and objectified: All of the movie's nudity (breasts, full backside) involves female characters, and there are some other suggestive scenes. Drug use is shown, including forced shooting up and opiate smoking. Language isn't constant but is pretty salty, including "f--k," "s--t," and more. Jeffrey Wahlberg and Lucy Liu co-star. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (2)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Boring and unoriginal

Very disappointing movie, what's the story.

In FUTURE WORLD, a robot named Ash ( Suki Waterhouse ) is commandeered by a warlord named Warlord ( James Franco ) in a postapocalyptic wasteland. He intends for her to be his bride, but he also uses her to kill people. When they cross paths with a prince named Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg) who's seeking medicine for his ailing mother, Queen ( Lucy Liu ), Ash resists her programming; she and Prince go on the run. They encounter Drug Lord ( Milla Jovovich ) and a nice mechanic ( Margarita Levieva ) -- not named "Mechanic" but rather "Lei"; fights, sex, and blood ensue.

Is It Any Good?

This movie's energy is as low as its apparent budget, and it's barely written. The film takes place in a post-pocalyptic future world, so of course it's called Future World . If the title and character names (Warlord, Drug Lord, Prince, Queen) weren't enough of a hint, it has aspirations to the metaphorical and mythic. But its dual painfully obvious "hero's journey" narratives don't rise above the film's bargain-basement Mad Max trappings. The characters are all precisely what the exposition tells us they are, with no depth, exploration, or believable interactions. There are no stakes because there are no rules. This society can't manufacture bullets, but it can power a strip joint with neon signs and maintain motorcycles that withstand BMX-style chases (with apparently endless supplies of gasoline). Ash is prized as a killer, but she isn't very good at it when the story needs her to be weak. The sex and violence aren't organic but feel stapled on for effect. The film unabashedly objectifies women, scrambling to make up for it at the end with a "bad guys get theirs, good gals go free" ending. There are no new ideas, and the dialogue couldn't be flatter.

Franco co-directed with Bruce Thierry Cheung, the cinematographer/director who helmed the acclaimed Don't Come Back from the Moon , which starred Franco and Wahlberg. Future World does include some appealing images, some of which actually match the score by Tindrum. It's somewhat surprising that the production landed Liu and Jovovich. At least Jovovich seems to be having fun, and her fight with Franco is amusing. But Levieva deserves bigger roles in better movies. Future World may be intended as an art film masquerading as an action movie -- or vice versa -- but it succeeds as neither.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Future World 's sexuality and use of nudity. The story seems set up to decry the enslavement of women, but the movie objectifies its female characters. What message does that send?

What role does violence play in the story? Is it imaginative, and does it make you feel something? Do you think it was all necessary?

The movie establishes that the technology to make bullets no longer exists. Yet a strip club has electric lights, and no one ever runs out of gas. Do seemingly contradictory circumstances like these bother you? What effect do they have on the story?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 25, 2018
• On DVD or streaming : July 10, 2018
• Cast : James Franco , Milla Jovovich , Lucy Liu
• Directors : James Franco , Bruce Thierry Chung
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : Lionsgate Premiere
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 90 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violence, sexual content/nudity, language and drug use
• Last updated : April 2, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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After the success of The Disaster Artist , I was wondering what would be next for actor/director James Franco . In his first release since the critically-acclaimed film, there was a lot to live up to, but unfortunately,  Future World did not do that. In fact, I don’t even know if many people knew of its existence. Lionsgate Premiere released Future World quietly on streaming services with little promotion, no premiere event, and no press. I don’t even recall any of the stars trying to promote this film and there are quite a few ( James Franco , Milla Jovovich , Suki Waterhouse , Lucy Liu , Snoop Dogg , and more).

Once I noticed that two days prior to the release there were no reviews from any of the major entertainment outlets, I figured I might be in for some trouble. After the viewing of the film, the completion of this review was definitely a task. Unlike a film that’s gloriously awful, I didn’t feel anything while watching this movie, or even after it.

Mad Max Again…But Filled with Misogyny and Bad Writing

Future World,  even down to the name, is a generic sci-fi flick inspired by the likes of Mad Max  and similar eighties films. It’s set against a post-apocalyptic desert with motorcycle-riding, leather-clad bad guys, beautiful women, and a baby-faced protagonist. The characters’ names are even generic, as if the script wasn’t even finished. In James Franco ‘s latest collaboration with director Bruce Thierry Chung , Franco departs from ambitious literary adaptations.

Future World ‘s plot is a convoluted mess of characters. However, it revolves around Prince ( Jeffrey Wahlberg ) a young man who embarks on a mission to find the cure for his mother’s ( Lucy Liu ) illness. The cure for his mother’s illness is a drug that can be found in Paradise Beach, a place where a ruthless drug lord resides.

The plot is basic. The cinematography is OK. The writing isn’t much either. It reeks of teenage boy fantasy, rife with female objectification, meaningless action, and a lack of substance. There was so much potential in this film, but it simply didn’t deliver. It should be a crime to waste action royalty like Milla Jovovich and Lucy Liu . Well, everyone involved was wasted. Newcomer Jeffrey Wahlberg has promise, but he could have been utilized better in another project. And for Suki Waterhouse –  she deserves so much better. The issue here is not the lack of acting ability, but a poorly written script.

Final thoughts on Future World

Despite its name, Future World is meant to become a film that’s a part of the past. Nothing about it is memorable even though it has an interesting premise and a high-caliber cast. With the amount of resources available couldn’t the filmmakers come up with something better, and not have wasted so many great talents? There is a strange purgatory for films that aren’t God awful but not great (or even good). While some truly terrible films can achieve immortality, films that are simply mundane fare a much worse fate: fading into obscurity.

Will you still be watching Future World? What do you think of James Franco’s latest film? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Future World is currently streaming on YouTube, Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.

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Future World Movie

Who's Involved:

James Franco, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Margarita Levieva, Andrea Iervolino, Jay Davis, Bruce Thierry Cheung, Jeremy Cheung, George Lewis Jr

Release Date:

Friday, May 25, 2018 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

In a post-apocalyptic world, where water and gasoline have long since dried-up, a prince from the oasis (one of the last known safe-havens) must venture out to find medicine for the ailing queen (Lucy Liu), but along the way he gets mixed up with the warlord (James Franco) and his robot Ash (Suki Waterhouse), which leads to a daring journey through the desolate wastelands.

official plot version from lionsgate.com

3.33 / 5 stars ( 9 users)

Poll: Will you see Future World?

Who stars in Future World: Cast List

James Franco

Saturday Night, Goat  

Milla Jovovich

The Fourth Kind, The Expendables 3  

Margarita Levieva

The Acolyte (series), Adventureland  

George Lewis Jr ... Ratcatcher

Shaft, How I Learned to Fly  

Red One, Presence  

Piece by Piece, Starsky & Hutch  

Who's making Future World: Crew List

A look at the Future World behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director James Franco last directed Pretenders and The Disaster Artist . The film's writer Bruce Thierry Cheung last wrote Don't Come Back From The Moon .

James Franco Bruce Thierry Cheung

Screenwriters

Bruce Thierry Cheung Jay Davis Jeremy Cheung

Lionsgate Premiere

Production Companies

Watch future world trailers & videos.

Theatrical Trailer

Production: what we know about future world, filming timeline.

• 2018 - April : The film was set to Completed  status.
• 2016 - June : The film was set to Production  status.

Future World Release Date: When was the film released?

Future World was a Limited release in 2018 on Friday, May 25, 2018 . There were 6 other movies released on the same date, including Solo: A Star Wars Story , Mary Shelley and Who We Are Now . As a Limited release, Future World will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

Future World VOD & Digital: When was the film released digitally?

Future World was released across all major streaming and cable platforms on Friday, May 25 , 2018 . Digital rental or purchase allows you to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on your favorite devices. Available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Apple, Vudu and others.

Q&A Asked about Future World

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Follow the Updates

• Sun., Apr. 29, 2018 from Lionsgate
• added photos to the gallery
• added a running time of 90 minutes
• added Andrea Iervolino as producer to credits
• added Jay Davis as producer to credits
• added James Franco as producer to credits
• set the MPAA rating to R for violence, sexual content/nudity, language and drug use
• added a poster to the gallery
• added a synopsis
• added Theatrical Trailer to trailers & videos
• added the US VOD release date of May 25, 2018

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Futureworld Reviews

• 46   Metascore
• 1 hr 47 mins
• Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

A pair of investigative reporters uncovers a plot by the man who runs an amusement park full of robots to take over the world by replacing major leaders with his very human-looking creations

In this sequel to 1973's WESTWORLD, it is three years later, and investigative reporters Fonda and Danner are looking over the revamped futuristic theme park Delos. They meet Hill, the director of Futureworld, and stumble onto his plot to replace all world leaders with look-alike robots. Brynner has a small cameo, reprising his role from the first film. Although not so clever or original as its predecessor, FUTUREWORLD is effective. Some location shooting at NASA facilities is used particularly well. Both Fonda and Danner give strong performances.

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Book Review: ‘The Future Was Now’ is a brilliant look back at the groundbreaking movie summer of ’82

This cover image released by Flatiron shows “The Future Was Now: Madmen, Maverick, and the Summer Sci-Fi Abducted Hollywood” by Chris Nashawaty. (Flatiron Books via AP)

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The moments are seared into the pop culture pantheon. And our collective consciousness.

A friendly alien taking Henry Thomas’ character Elliott on an airborne bike ride with the full moon as a backdrop in “E.T.” Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) in “Poltergeist,” getting out of bed, staring into a pulsating TV screen, turning to her family and warning: “They’re here.” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular hero Conan the Barbarian succinctly listing for his compatriots what is best in life: “To crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And hear the lamentation of their women.”

Former Entertainment Weekly film critic Chris Nashawaty walks readers through the significance (and making) of each of the films, as well as five other science fiction/fantasy classics — “Blade Runner,” “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior,” “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “The Thing” and “Tron” — that, incredibly, were released within two months of each other in the summer of 1982.

In the ultra-entertaining and informative “The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982,” Nashawaty makes the case that the octet of flicks altered the trajectory, not only of the auteurs at the helm, but of Hollywood filmmaking.

“The summer of 1982 was the moment when sci-fi, fantasy, and splashy blockbusters ripped from the pages of comic books would grow up,” Nashawaty writes. “These films could no longer be nonchalantly dismissed as kids’ stuff.

“They became the harbingers of a new era and eventually the most dominant force in popular entertainment.”

His thesis is solid, sure. But it’s not what makes “The Future Was Now” a great read. The behind-the-scenes intrigue does that.

Nashawaty digs deep into the history of how these groundbreaking films got — and were — made. Perhaps most fascinating is the tale of burgeoning cinema maestro Steven Spielberg leading his young charges through the filming of the now-classic “E.T.” and more or less taking over the production of “Poltergeist,” a much different kind of film that now is considered to be a landmark in the horror genre.

Add in the complex origins of the “Star Trek” and “Mad Max” sequels, plus Ridley Scott’s odyssey in transforming a Philip K. Dick novel into the big-screen cult classic “Blade Runner,” and you’ve got a must-read for any cinephile.

The summer of ’82 paved “the way for our current all-blockbusters-all-the-time era,” Nashawaty writes.

But the real treat is having a front-row seat as the author’s painstaking research and expert recounting bring to life how these silver-screen gems came to be.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

32 Movies Set In The Future That Are Now In The Past

Just how close did these movies come to getting the future correct?

From comedies to sci-fi (especially sci-fi) Hollywood has been churning out movies set in the far distant future. A future, it turns out, that has come and gone here in our actual Earth timeline. Here's a list where we explore when those movies were made, what year they were set in, and how they look today. 

Back To The Future Part II

This might be the most notorious movie on this list. Back to the Future Part II was released in 1989 and when Marty, Doc, and Jennifer go to the future, it's all the way to 2015. Well, 2015 came and went a long time ago and we still don't have flying cars, hoverboards, or self-tying shoes. Jaws 19 still hasn't been released either. It didn't get everything wrong though, some of the tech in the McFly home, like voice-activated TV controls and video phones exist. We still have a lot of questions about this movie though. 

1992's Freejack is a time capsule...into 1992. It's certainly not one into "the future" it presents. When Alex (Emilio Estevez) is transported into the future, he is taken to a crazy, dystopian New York City of 2009. There is really nothing worth talking about what they got correct here because very little of what it shows was reality in 2009. New York City was safer and cleaner than in 1991, not the other way around. 

Not to be confused with the HBO show Westworld , 1973's Westworld , written and directed by Michael Crichton was released in 1973. It's set in 1983 (as revealed in the sequel, Futureworld ), which, looking back, was a big mistake. Why not set it in 2083? There is very little about the tech in Westworld that existed in 1983, or 2023 for that matter. They did a decent job with the computers that run the park though, those are somewhat realistic for 1983.  

The Terminator Series

So, truth be told, the timeline in the Terminator series is a convoluted mess. So we're going to stick just to the first couple of movies in the series, the first released in 1984, and the second, Terminator 2: Judgement Day in 1991. Both set the day that the machines took over as August 29th, 1997. Luckily for all of us, this never happened. 

Johnny Mnemonic

It's easy to make fun of 1995's Johnny Mnemonic for being set in 2021 and missing the mark in a lot of ways. The present is clearly not nearly as diabolically dystopian as the movie promises, but there's a lot they got close to correct, or at least not way, way off. The way the internet is used, for example, is not, like, totally different. Sure, we don't have neural implants...yet, but nothing is in there that we would laugh at today, technology-wise. 

Blade Runner

Another of the most notorious on the list is the sci-fi classic Blade Runner . Released in 1982 and set in 2019, there is more that they got wrong than they got right. Of course, none of that matters, since it'll always be a stone-cold classic.

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Author Cormac McCarthy's 2006 dystopian future novel The Road was made into a movie in 2009 starring Viggo Mortensen as a father making his way through a destroyed world with his son. Though it's never explicitly said when it takes place, it is "several years" after whatever unnamed event caused the destruction, which would set it somewhere around ten years in the future, or 2019. 

Escape from New York

The year is 1997. The island of Manhattan is a prison colony and the President has just crashed there. That's the premise of 1981's Escape from New York , but that's obviously not the fate of New York City. At least not year. It also doesn't make it less awesome of a movie. 

1994's Timecop starring Jean-Claude Van Damme is pretty silly, so it feels a little silly to criticize it too harshly here, but come on. It's setting up a "future" in 2004 that includes the actual ability to travel through time. Obviously, that's not available to us, but again, it's not it'll ever be actually possible, so how mad can we be here? 

The Running Man

The Running Man, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger , might be the least "Stephen King movie" of all of the movies based on books by the prolific author. Released in 1987, the cult classic is set in 2017. The actual world of 2017 looked nothing like the one in the movie, but, there are some things it did kind of get right. Reality TV, for example, is essentially what "The Running Man" TV show in the movie is. Plus, it also has voice-activated lights and TVs, which existed in 2017. So not terrible. 

1975's Rollerball, starring James Caan , is a wild movie that is totally a product of its time. It's become a cult classic for good reason. What it isn't, though, is accurate for the year it was set in, 2018. Roller derby isn't even popular anymore! Corporations don't govern the country either. At least not yet. 

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

The whole Mad Max series takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, like a lot of movies set in the future. The future? Sometime in the mid-2000s for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome . It's safe to say the movie was just a little off. 

Soylent Green

Soylent Green has one of the best twists in film history , but that doesn't make it accurate. Released in 1973 and set in 2022, the movie is wrong about a whole lot of things. We're certainly not eating people... or are we?

1988's Akira is one of the most beloved Anime movies of all time, but it sure missed the mark in predicting what 2019 will look like. Once again the makers of a dystopian future movie didn't nail it when it comes to a cataclysmic event. Maybe if a live-action remake comes along , it'll set too far in the future for us to call it out. 

Going back to the earliest days of film, Metropolis , the silent movie classic made in 1927, gets the future very wrong. Though the movie is set in 2027, we're confident in predicting that the world won't be a dystopian factory nightmare in three years. 

2013's The Purge is a perfect example of why, if you're making a movie about a dystopian future, make sure it's far enough into the future that people won't be around to see how wrong you were. Set in 2022, The Purge shows a world where people are so angry that the only way to solve things is to allow them to kill each other on one day a year. Actually, maybe it's not as far off as it seems...

2001: A Space Odyssey

Talk about a movie that really telegraphs how wrong it's going to be, 2001: A Space Odyssey tells us what year it takes place right in the title. The 1968 release is set, well, in 2001, and we didn't even have Pan Am flights to space. We didn't have Pan Am at all, as a matter of fact. 

The Postman

1997's post-apocalyptic western The Postman is set in the "near future" of 2013. Of course, the world of 2013 had not experienced an apocalyptic event, nor was a new world capital set up in Minnesota. 

In 1994, Ray Liotta starred in a kind of off-brand Escape From New York called No Escape . It's not the best movie, but it's fun. It also takes place in a world where corporations run the prisons in America in 2022. Which, frightfully, isn't that hard to imagine being possible. 

Highlander II: The Quickening

A lot of people would rather that Highlander II: The Quickening wasn't made . If anything we wouldn't have to call it out for getting pretty much every after 1999 correct, especially 2024, which is the latest year that occurs in the movie. 

V for Vendetta

It's a little difficult to pinpoint exactly when V for Vendetta takes place. Made in 2006, it appears that it takes place in the mid-to-late 2020s. Either way, it's safe to say that we won't be living in a world quite like the dystopian London in the movie. While there are some themes that could work, it's still off. 

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth in the original Planet of the Apes series but it's the only that fits on this list. While most of the movies take place centuries in the future, the "planet's" origin story is set in the 1980s and '90s. The movie was made in 1972, so it's really more of a horror story for viewers at the time. 

Death Race 2000

Death Race 2000 , released in 1975 was set only 25 years in the future, as the name of the movie implies. While it is one heck of a b-movie, starring Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine, it gets everything about the totalitarian future it predicts at the turn of the century. The idea of a road race across the country as TV entertainment isn't that far off though. 

A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange was released in 1971 and puts forth the idea of a dystopian future where gangs of oddly dressed teenagers commit unthinkable acts of violence. The year is never directly revealed in the movie, but it seems like some alternate timeline of the 1960s by the style of decor. The movie is based on a book of the same name by Anthony Burgess. In Burgess' diary, he revealed that it was intended to be set in 1980 . 

George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has twice been made into a film. The first, on BBC, in 1954 and the second in 1984. Ignoring the one in '84, the future predicted by Orwell and the '53 film got everything wrong. Sure, there are elements that we worry about today, and "Big Brother" has become part of the modern lexicon, but there was no nuclear war in the 1960s and the world is not divided into only three countries. 

A Scanner Darkly

This one is a little tricky to nail down when in the future it takes place, but hear us out. The original story on which the movie was based, was published in 1977 and set in 1994. The animated movie, A Scanner Darkly , directed by Richard Linklater, was released in 2006. By doing the same math, we arrive at 2023 and either way, both stories are way off. 

In 2006, Michael Bay directed The Island with Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor. It's not a well reviewed film, nor was it a hit, nor did it get the future of 2019 correct either. Like many on this list, it's set in a dystopian future that just didn't come to pass. At some point, writers and directors are just going to have to give up on predicting the downfall of human civilization, right?

Alien Intruder

1993's Alien Intruder, starring Billy Dee Williams, is a crude, terrible movie that frankly, we're glad it got 2022 wrong. Not just because a future like that looks terrifying and we're glad it didn't happen, but because no movie this bad deserves to be right. One thing we will say is that it did almost get the virtual reality stuff correct...at least what it will be used for, which we'd rather not talk about. 

Escape From LA

15 years after John Carpenter and Kurt Russell made Escape From New York , they returned for Escape From LA in 1996. In the movie, an earthquake in 2000 cut off Los Angeles from the mainland, and a prison was set up on the new island. In 2006, Snake Plissken (Russell) basically did what he did in New York. Last we checked, LA was just fine in 2006. 

Demolition Man

1993's Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock technically takes place in 2032, so we've got some time to see how close it is to reality (hint: not close), but it's on this list because the two main characters played by Stallone and Wesley Snipes were cryogenically frozen in 1996. To date, we still don't have that kind of technology. 

Mission to Mars

In 2000 Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, and Gary Sinise starred in Mission to Mars , about the first manned mission to Mars. The film is set in 2020, which may have made it plausible in 2000, but it sure did miss the mark as we are not much closer today than we were then with that prospect. Maybe by 2035, when Matt Damon's The Martian is set, we'll get there. 

Okay Okay, we admit, it's unfair to pick a movie like Barb Wire , starring Pamela Anderson, for its accuracy, but still, here we go. Set in 2017, this 1996 movie plays on the premise that a second Civil War is underway. Who would ever believe that by 2017 the political climate would be such that a civil war could even be the faintest bit possible? Certainly, the makers of the film would know that by 2017 everyone would be living in peace and harmony in the US and the political division would...wait a minute...just how wrong is this one? Yikes. 

The main takeaway from this list of movies set in the future but now in the past? Filmmakers need to choose dates way into the future. Buck Rogers isn't on this list because it's 500 years in the future! That's the way to do it. 

Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.

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Book Review: 'The Future Was Now' is a brilliant look back at the groundbreaking movie summer of '82

In “The Future Was Now,” former Entertainment Weekly film critic Chris Nashawaty explores the significance of the summer of 1982, which featured the release of eight groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy films

The moments are seared into the pop culture pantheon. And our collective consciousness.

A friendly alien taking Henry Thomas' character Elliott on an airborne bike ride with the full moon as a backdrop in “E.T.” Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) in “Poltergeist,” getting out of bed, staring into a pulsating TV screen, turning to her family and warning: “They're here.” Arnold Schwarzenegger's titular hero Conan the Barbarian succinctly listing for his compatriots what is best in life: “To crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And hear the lamentation of their women.”

Former Entertainment Weekly film critic Chris Nashawaty walks readers through the significance (and making) of each of the films, as well as five other science fiction/fantasy classics — “Blade Runner,” “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior,” “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “The Thing” and “Tron” — that, incredibly, were released within two months of each other in the summer of 1982.

In the ultra-entertaining and informative “The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982,” Nashawaty makes the case that the octet of flicks altered the trajectory, not only of the auteurs at the helm, but of Hollywood filmmaking.

“The summer of 1982 was the moment when sci-fi, fantasy, and splashy blockbusters ripped from the pages of comic books would grow up,” Nashawaty writes. "These films could no longer be nonchalantly dismissed as kids' stuff.

“They became the harbingers of a new era and eventually the most dominant force in popular entertainment.”

His thesis is solid, sure. But it's not what makes “The Future Was Now” a great read. The behind-the-scenes intrigue does that.

Nashawaty digs deep into the history of how these groundbreaking films got — and were — made. Perhaps most fascinating is the tale of burgeoning cinema maestro Steven Spielberg leading his young charges through the filming of the now-classic “E.T.” and more or less taking over the production of “Poltergeist,” a much different kind of film that now is considered to be a landmark in the horror genre.

Add in the complex origins of the “Star Trek” and “Mad Max” sequels, plus Ridley Scott's odyssey in transforming a Philip K. Dick novel into the big-screen cult classic “Blade Runner,” and you've got a must-read for any cinephile.

The summer of '82 paved “the way for our current all-blockbusters-all-the-time era,” Nashawaty writes.

But the real treat is having a front-row seat as the author's painstaking research and expert recounting bring to life how these silver-screen gems came to be.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

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Everything Announced at the Marvel Studios San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Panel

Marvel studios took over hall h with avengers-level reveals..

That’s a wrap on the Marvel Studios’ SDCC 2024 panel! It was a jam-packed, hour-long presentation that gave us more insight into things like The Fantastic Four while revealing major news about the next two Avengers movies.

While past SDCC Marvel panels have introduced massive stars into the MCU, this year’s presentation came with the announcement that Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., is coming back to play Doctor Doom. Other highlights include first-look footage for future MCU movies like Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World. It was a lot to cover, but we managed to nab every major reveal and share it here. You can see everything Marvel Studios had to announce at SDCC 2024 below.

Captain America: Brave New World footage reveals plan to rebuild The Avengers and Giancarlo Esposito’s MCU role

After opening with a Deadpool & Wolverine dance number , we got to see a first-look footage of next year’s Captain America movie, Brave New World. It highlights major players like Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross a.k.a. Red Hulk, who is looking to Sam Wilson to help him rebuild The Avengers. We also learned more about how the MCU plans to introduce Adamantium, one of Marvel's most precious materials.

Additionally, the cast of the film revealed that Giancarlo Esposito will be playing King of the Serpent Society, Seth Voelker a.k.a. Sidewinder . Captain America: Brave New World comes to theaters February 14, 2025.

Harrison Ford is Thaddeus Ross. #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld #SDCC pic.twitter.com/vRBCkUDLlu — Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

Marvel reveals first Thunderbolts* footage ahead of 2025 premiere

Thunderbolts* is smashing its way into the MCU with a rag-tag team that includes Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and more. Some early footage of the film shows Yelena facing off against Ghost and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) while dealing with some personal demons. Whether or not Alexei ( David Harbour ) can help her remains to be seen. Thunderbolts* premieres May 5, 2025.

The Fantastic Four gets an updated title and retro-future ‘60s setting confirmation

Just announced in Hall H: Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps begins production on Tuesday. Only in theaters July 25, 2025. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/iPAlXlajnr — Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

The Fantastic Four, now officially titled The Fantastic Four: First Steps, might be the biggest MCU movie of the last few years. It's all set to introduce Marvel's most flexible family, and during SDCC, we learned that it will be set in a retro-future version of the ‘60s. Marvel also showed off some early footage , revealing Mr. Fantastic leading an old-school science program and The Thing taking part in a dating show, ahead of its production start date this Tuesday. See Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, and Vanessa Kirby star as the Fantastic Four when it premieres July 25, 2025.

"I think we’re all collectively gunna bring an essence that is a family rather than thinking about what we individually are gonna bring," Quinn said of the film. "It’s a team sport."

Robert Downey Jr. is the MCU’s Doctor Doom

“New mask, same task.” Robert Downey Jr. surprises Hall H to announce his return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. pic.twitter.com/j1SEjzse3p — Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

WHAT?! Robert Downey Jr., the man who kickstarted the MCU and hung up his Iron Man suit in 2019, will play one of Marvel’s most infamous villains: Doctor Doom . The Marvel legend shared a few words about the casting announcement: “New mask, same task. What can I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters.” It's unclear how many films Victor Von Doom will appear in, but we know that he's at least set to play a part in Avengers 5.

Joe and Anthony Russo are directing Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars

Robert Downey Jr. isn’t the only MCU veteran putting back on the cape. Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are teaming back up with Marvel to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars . Details on the latter are light, but Marvel says we can expect it out in May 2027. Doomsday, meanwhile, seems to be the new title for the movie that was previously known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. It’s a movie that’s also shrouded in mystery, but we at least know that it’ll bring back Downey Jr. in a big way. Expect it out in May 2026.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

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Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World Reviews

This boilerplate biopic covers all bases required, including the spectacular home-shopping success of the Foreman Grill and a truly amazing comeback to the ring in his mid-forties.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 8, 2023

The George Foreman biopic is more willing to make a one-off joke about the grills he would sponsor than confront the difficult truths of his life.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Aug 31, 2023

The movie plays like his Wikipedia entry, covering all the bases without the intimacy of character it needs to inspire our emotional investment...

Full Review | Aug 28, 2023

Painfully staid and emotionally manipulative, the film is little more than a macho Hallmark film with a religious bent so trite and amateurish that it seems almost unreal.

Full Review | Original Score: 15/100 | Jun 3, 2023

There’s something about it that just feels minor, like it’s not as ambitious as it probably should have been

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 19, 2023

Big George Foreman is not only a bad faith-based film, but it doubles as a terrible boxing movie that does a grave disservice to divinity, the sport and audiences who are duped into seeing it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | May 18, 2023

The film is just as clunky as its ungainly title would suggest, striking a generic one-two punch that will leave viewers knocked out from sheer boredom.

Full Review | May 17, 2023

It's a little saccharine at times... But it's really a beautiful story, and you're with it every step of the way.

The films presents a sweeping view of the of life of the oldest boxer to win a heavyweight title. Unfortunately, it tries to do too much and ends up bouncing through Foreman's life with too little depth.

Full Review | May 12, 2023

I loved this movie! Khris Davis was amazing as Foreman and the whole movie played to my admiration emotions from beginning to end.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 9, 2023

With respectable production values and an iconic hero, it’s the kind of faith-based film that could find favor with a wider audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 6, 2023

'Big George Foreman' is an inspiring story of a Black man rising out of poverty to make his dreams come true – and it should. However, it takes the most “don’t rock the boat” way and aligns with many films of its ilk before it.

Full Review | May 3, 2023

Indeed, Foreman's story is definitely worth telling, and at least this film recounts it in an accessible, entertaining way. But it leaves us wondering about the deeper truth that's left off-screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 2, 2023

Even after the film careens from one event to another for over two hours, as the credits rolled, audience members have merely visited George Foreman but have never really gotten to know him.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | May 2, 2023

... The script gives us the dullest kind of life-story movie: a simplified, unvarying trudge through a checklist of events.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 1, 2023

An excellent movie about a beloved figure who indeed seems ageless and whose story includes the kind of comebacks usually reserved for fiction.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | May 1, 2023

Tillman and Davis’s approach should be commended for putting aside other boxing movie clichés, even when the movie veers on getting a bit too corny.

Full Review | May 1, 2023

This traditional biographical and faith-based drama benefits from Davis and Sullivan Jones' stand-out performances as Foreman and Ali.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 30, 2023

It’s solidly and safely directed by George Tillman Jr, but will likely appeal more to the Christian cinema crowd than to the sports movie audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 30, 2023

George’s rise to gold medals, heavyweight belts and best-selling grills has indeed been extraordinary. It deserves better than the ordinary treatment that comes from Big George Foreman.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 30, 2023