When you think about movies set in the future, you might think about Star Trek, Dune, Alien, The Fifth Element, or a plethora of other films which take hundreds, if not thousands of years from now. But what about those near-future movies from the past. For many of them, we have officially passed the year they were set in and, not surprisingly, a lot of them got the future wrong. Remember when Back to the Future II was partially set in 2015, and then we hit 2015 and were all angry flying cars still weren't an easily-obtainable form of transportation?
There are plenty of movies that fit into this category: future movies with technology that was either unachievable (so far) or simply far off from any sort of reality. While we have amazing technology--including supercomputers in our pockets and endless high speed internet--movies were more focused on things like virtual reality and sentient robots. We have amazing technology like the computing power of cell phones and the internet, but so many future movies put a lot of stock into virtual reality, which we primarily use to play video games. Additionally, so many movies thought sentient robots were the future--or our past--and we're not really there yet, sorry sci-fi flicks.
So we decided to look into mostly well-known movies that took place in our past but the movie's future to see what technology these films got so wrong. It's time to get disappointed by some of our favorite sci-fi movies--also a few sci-fi movies we almost forgot existed.
Because we're talking about futures that have already happened, nothing on this list will take place past the year 2024. Sorry Futuresport, but you take place in 2025 and cannot be considered for this piece. We'll see you next year.
1. Back to the Future II (1989)
Set in 2015
The movie follows Marty McFly, who has to travel forward in time in order to stop his future-self from doing something that ruins his life. Back to the Future II predicted many things we use in current life: voice activated lights and other tech, the Cubs winning the world series, video calls, and more. But it also got a lot wrong.
Rehydrator Pizza
While personal dehydrator machines are a thing you can buy, there is no machine that does the opposite, probably because you could just add water for the same effect.
In one scene, the future McFly family brings a Pizza Hut pizza to the house that's been dehydrated and pops it into a machine, and a full, hot pizza comes out. This was a magical item we all wish existed, but only as 10 year olds because Pizza Hut isn't great.
Dual Ties
Fashion is an ever-evolving art. Each year, new fashionable items are released and people glom onto them: like deep v t-shirts and ankle socks. Back to the Future predicted plenty of different types of fashion tech, none of which would have ever existed if the movie never came out and passionate fans/companies didn't make said products.
One of the fashion pieces to come out of these movies was dual ties. One tie means you're professional. Two ties means you're super-professional. Marty McFly is seen wearing one of these ties during his video call, and while he can't play guitar anymore, he certainly does look like a double-businessman.
Other Future Tech
Back to the Future II is filled with other technology that never saw the light of day. There's the flying car--or services that convert your current car into a flying car. That's what many people take away from the movie. "Where's my flying car?" You also may be wondering the same about a jacket that is self-drying, but let's be honest. How many times are you jumping into the water with your jacket? And why should self-lacing shoes exist when you can just lace your shoes loosely and just slip in and out of them?
Where to watch: Netflix
2. The 6th Day (2000)
Set in 2015
The 6th Day deals with cloning humans. Yes, there's a lot of future tech that's far-fetched involved in the cloning process that's pretty weird. But cloning is something that has already been done. Remember Dolly, the sheep?
SimPals
However, one of the weirdest pieces of tech in the movie was the SimPal. Named Cindy, the robot is purchased for Adam Gibson's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) daughter. Gibson calls the robot "so realistic," not realizing it has a terror-inducing aesthetic. Cindy is like M3gan, minus the intelligence, learning, and murder-dancing. There's nothing about this piece of tech anyone would want, especially when M3gan already exists.
The XFL Being Popular/Still Existing
The XFL has gone through a few reboots throughout the years, after first debuting in 2001. The initial season failed, and it was dead and buried. It was revived in 2020 and canceled because of COVID-19. It came back in 2023, and then merged with the USFL to become the UFL. The XFL is completely dead.
Where to rent/buy: Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
3. Akira (1988)
Set in 2019
Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on Otomo's manga of the same name, Akira takes place in a futuristic, cyberpunk world, which isn't as far-off as far as tech goes. It mainly seems like the '80s kept going and technology slowly advanced. However, there are a couple things Akira missed out on.
Giant Slow-Moving Elevator Platforms
Have you played any beat-em-up game? Then you're familiar with the giant elevator platforms traveling diagonally down long tunnels where you have to beat people up. There is one moment we see this happen in Akira, and we all wondered, "Why doesn't our future have this, leading to giant, underground bunkers?"
Super-scanners
There have been huge advancements in technology when it comes to scanning the human body to see how we biologically operate. However, it's nothing like what we see in Akira. Not only can it scan your body, it can see your potential superpowers and make a 3D hologram right in front of you.
Where to watch: Hulu, Crunchyroll
4. Bicentennial Man (1999)
Set between 2005-2205
Robin Williams is the voice--and eventually face--of Andrew, an AI robot who serves a family. In 2024, we're in the early stages of AI, and we mainly use it for lifeless art, refusing to write personal emails, and having it search for recipes online. All told, Andrew existed for over 200 years and his programming had the ability to learn creativity. For the purpose of being on this list, we'll only cover the beginning of the film.
Personified Androids
We've all seen a nightmare-inducing video of a kind of human-looking robot with the most robotic voice in the world talking to people. Typically, the body doesn't move. We've also seen robotics that move freely, and most of them are robotic dog-looking things. The movie starts six years after it was released, and already, there are AI androids capable of learning. AI, as we currently know it, is still in its early stages, and there's no way we can have it implemented into an android that is really into woodworking. It's very disappointing.
Where to rent/buy: Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
5. Double Dragon (1994)
Set in 2007
The bad movie based on the very good video game takes place in a future where an earthquake destroyed southern California, and the punk movement of the '70s and '80s never ended, so lots of people have mohawks. There's also these two martial artists who have to stop a powerful bad guy named Kogu Shuko who has a magical amulet. There is not a lot of advanced tech in this movie. There are still some truly puzzling future predictions, though.
Cars that run on Cheez Whiz
Billy and Jimmy are on the run in their post-apocalyptic station wagon, and they have to use something in the car to toss into their center console in order to get away from some bad guys. They toss Cheez Whiz into the center console to achieve this. Yep, Cheez Whiz is NOS in 2007.
Chairs that turn you into a monster
When Bo Adobo was defeated by Jimmy and Billy, Shuko put Adobo into a chair that turned him into a super-powerful mutant that was exceptionally strong and looked very wet. Is this a technology we need? Of course not. Is this a technology Double Dragon promised us? Yes.
Where to watch: Prime Video
6. Rollerball (1975)
Set in 2018
The film follows a famous rollerball athlete who is being asked to retire. The game of Rollerball is a little bit of Roller Derby, American Gladiators, and murder, all rolled into one "sport." The tech in the film revolves primarily around computers, which Rollerball got very, very wrong.
Supercomputers you can talk to
A chunk of this movie revolved around supercomputers. And computers that take up the entirety of a large space still exist, but there's one of these devices Rollerball got completely wrong. One of the supercomputers hidden away in the movie is called "Zero." It's essentially an Amazon Alexa that you can ask questions to and get answers. There's a lot of water involved, it's pretty big, and it gives pretty simplistic responses to questions. Once again, there is a much better and smaller technology that exists and is much smaller, Amazon Alexa (or Siri, or Okay Google). Rollerball was been pretty far off with its approximation of the technology. Ultimately, though, it sort of came true in a very roundabout--and much smaller--way.
Where to watch: FuboTV, MGM+
7. Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)
Set in 2020
A retelling of the movie Planeta Bur, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet follows a group of men who land on Venus and find that it's filled with dinosaurs. We have spaceships, but in 2024, we have not been able to travel to other planets. Just the moon.
Moon colonization
Humans first landed on the moon in 1969. The last time a person set foot on the moon was 1972. Sure, there's been a few times people have flown by the moon, but at no point have humans been close to colonizing the moon. Forget dinosaurs on Venus, what humans really need is moon-living.
Where to watch: FuboTV, MGM+, Indieflix
8. Mission to Mars (1999)
Set in 2020
Mission to Mars is about a group of astronauts headed to Mars. The name of the movie describes the entire plot, minus the reveal that there are Martians, and humans are descendants of Martians who fled their home planet due to an asteroid striking the planet. The movie features futuristic tech like spaceships that can travel long distances, which we have--they just don't carry people yet.
Landing on Mars
This isn't something we've done yet, outside of the Mars Rover checking out the surface to learn more about the planet. This movie gave us the hope and dreams of not only living on Mars but also being able to live in a greenhouse on the planet. The Martian also did that, but it completely ignored the magic of humans being the descendants of Martians. Oddly enough, we are slowly learning more about Mars, though. Recently it was discovered that there is a massive underground reservoir on the red planet.
Where to watch: FuboTV
9. Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Set in 2021
Johnny Mnemonic takes place in a world of the virtual internet, in which people have brain implants to deliver sensitive information. There are also many different types of immersive virtual reality. And like other ideas on this list, AI exists, but we're not as far-advanced as this movie thought it would be. There is also the idea of mega corporations taking over the world, and sadly, that reality doesn't feel so far-fetched in the near future.
Storage couriers
This is a strange idea. Brain implants are an existing tech, but it is not a technology used to deliver data. These brain implants allow a certain amount of data to exist in your brain, but it takes away some of your memories. If you have too much data stored, your brain will fail. This was already a wild concept since e-mail existed. Nowadays, we have encrypted emails and chats, so what's the purpose of a physical person delivering information--unless it's a singing telegram.
Where to watch: Prime Video
10. The Running Man (1987)
Set in 2017
A police officer tries to save people's lives during a food riot, but he's framed for the rioters being murdered. He goes to prison, escapes prison, gets caught, and put on a TV show where he has to battle various gladiators to the death. One thing about the future the film got right is reality TV being the most popular form of in-home entertainment--at least during the '00s-'10s. It also got another thing correct: The dissemination of heavily-edited videos in order to spread misinformation. Here's one of the items we didn't get though.
Jetpacks
There has been some form of a jetpack someone has been trying to invent and testing it throughout the decades, but they don't seem like something obtainable or a piece of equipment anyone uses. In The Running Man, the stalker Fireball carries a flame-thrower and uses a jetpack. As you can probably guess, he catches on fire and dies.
Where to watch: FuboTV, Paramount+
11. Real Steel (2011)
Set in 2020
In the world of Real Steel, humans no longer box, and the athletes have been replaced by robots--which humans have to control. A former boxer gets custody of his child and the two fix up an old robot to become a robot boxing champion.
Robot boxers
We're years past when this movie was set and we do not have humanoid robots that can punch each other in the ring. It's not like the technology isn't there. BattleBots is a TV show that still exists, and there have been numerous innovations in robotics, like robots that can do parkour--thanks Boston Dynamics. It feels a little insulting that the two previous examples haven't been combined yet. Who wouldn't watch giant Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots?
Where to watch: Hulu
12. Escape from LA (1996)
Set in 2013
The US government has created a weapon called the Sword of Damocles, which can use satellites to cause a localized EMP, rendering all technology in the area useless. The remote for this doomsday weapon was stolen and taken to the prison island of LA--because there was an earthquake that separated it from California. Anyway, if you've seen Escape from New York, it's pretty much the same plot with 100% more EMPs and surfing in the sewer.
World-ending EMP
Electromagnetic pulses are something we've known about since the first record of one in 1859. But at no point--at least to a private citizen's knowledge--have we set up an array of satellites in order to control an EMP that has the power to destroy the world. Do we want that? No. However, that's one very specific future-tech Escape from LA offered up--that and sewer surfing.
Where to watch: AMC+
