10 Recent Sci-Fi Movies That Might Predict the Future

Making future predictions is not necessarily new to cinema. From the earliest days of sci-fi, filmmakers have been in a continuous effort to try and imagine what lies ahead for humankind. But how far can these predictions’ accuracy go? Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, released in 1902, foresaw big tin cans being sent to the Moon, decades before it was even conceivable. On the other hand, the world still awaits Marty McFly’s flying skateboards from Back to the Future II.

The thing is, as the so-called future keeps getting closer, it gets harder to be predicted. With new state-of-the-art technological innovations popping daily, there are more and more possible tomorrows. However, some films have managed to introduce certain elements that make their depicted future seem convincingly palpable – for better or worse. Depending on when you are reading this, some of these possible sci-fi movie predictions may have already come true.

10 Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar

Release Date

November 5, 2014

Director

Christopher Nolan

Cast

Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Casey Affleck

Rating

PG-13

Genres

Sci-Fi, Adventure, Documentary

Christopher Nolan’s epic sci-fi film received numerous accolades and critical acclaim. The movie follows Cooper, a farmer and former military pilot on a decaying Earth, where a blight is making crops increasingly scarcer and society finds itself on the verge of a famine crisis. Cooper eventually stumbles into NASA’s headquarters and is recruited to a mission that involves flying into a wormhole in space, hoping to find a planet with conditions to support human life.

How It Might Predict the Future

Interstellar has been praised for its accurate approach to the scientific subjects it dwells with. The theories surrounding the wormholes, black holes, and gravity as a way of interdimensional interactivity have been deemed as faithful by many respected scientists, including the film’s consultant, Kip Thorne. Regarding the blight, although it’s unlikely that a plague this devastating takes such proportions, there are plenty of other reasons that could lead to an eventual food scarcity in the near future.

Stream it on Prime Video

9 Shaking Tokyo (Tokyo! Anthology) (2008)

tokyo!

Release Date

August 16, 2008

Director

Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax, Michel Gondry

Cast

Yû Aoi, YosiYosi Arakawa, Junya Asô, Jean-François Balmer, Andrée Damant, Don Don

Rating

NONE

Main Genre

Comedy

One segment of the three-part anthology Tokyo!, Shaking Tokyo was directed by three-time Academy Award-winner Bong Joon-ho. The story introduces a young man living in Japan’s sprawling capital as a hikikomori, completely secluded from society. His few “interactions” are with food delivery couriers. An earthquake forces a pizza delivery girl to fall into his apartment, and he falls deeply in love with her. The boy eventually finds out he was not the only hikikomori in the neighborhood. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

How It Might Predict the Future

Even though Shaking Tokyo addresses the subject in a more abstract, metaphorical fashion, the hikikomori behavior has seen a vertiginous rise in recent years, which was aggravated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, Japan and other Asian countries have been seeing thousands of young individuals choosing to remain socially withdrawn. A matter with cultural, economic, and health impacts, which is likely to see a rise in the next decades.

Stream it on Tubi

8 Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One

Release Date

March 28, 2018

Director

Steven Spielberg

Cast

Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg

Rating

PG-13

Genres

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Based on the novel by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One‘s film adaptation came by the hands of Steven Spielberg. In the year 2045, as the crumbling world turned into a reality too hard to cope with, society opted to migrate for the virtual reality environment OASIS. A challenge is launched across the network, and whoever wins, becomes OASIS rightful owner. Wade Watts, a Columbus lad with no friends or family, appears to have what it takes to win. But a lot of parties are also in for the prize, including a multi-billion-dollar company who seeks OASIS’ control for their own greedy purposes.

Related: Dystopian Movies Are Shockingly Bad at Predicting the Future

How It Might Predict the Future

Even though VR simulations are already a thing today, Ready Player One goes further by implying that, at one point, society may eventually face virtual reality as, simply, reality. The announcement of products such as the Metaverse or Apple’s Vision Pro goggles poured fuel in the fire for those daydreaming of mimicking Wade’s virtual deeds.

Stream it on Hulu

7 The Martian (2015)

The Martian

Release Date

September 30, 2015

Director

Ridley Scott

Cast

Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Sean Bean

Rating

PG-13

Genres

Sci-Fi, Adventure, Documentary, Drama

Ridley Scott directed this adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel of the same name. Set in 2035, the film tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, part of the expedition to explore Mars. A sandstorm forces the mission to end abruptly, with the crew leaving the planet believing Watney had died. He is alive, though, and without any support or way to contact Earth, he needs to use his knowledge as the crew’s botanist for one simple purpose: survive.

How It Might Predict the Future

In real life, the exploration of Mars has been showing significant evolution in recent years. With rovers mapping the planet’s surface, it is expected that human-operated expeditions to the Red Planet can happen within the next decade. The Martian also depicts a faithful idea of what it would be like to grow food on Mars, growing hydroponic plants in greenhouses and with the use of artificial lights.

Stream it on Fubo

6 Her (2013)

Her

Release Date

December 18, 2013

Director

Spike Jonze

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix, Lynn A. Freedman, Lisa Renee Pitts, Gabe Gomez, ​Chris Pratt2, Artt Butler

Rating

R

Genres

Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

Written and directed by Spike Jonze, Her follows the life of Theodore Twombly, an amiable but lonely man who purchases a last-generation AI virtual assistant programmed with learning and adaptability features. The assistant uses a female voice to interact with Theodore, and chooses to call itself Samantha. Theodore and Samantha gradually grow closer, and they develop a romantic relationship.

How It Might Predict the Future

Of course, interactive virtual assistants are not a future thing. Today, Samantha finds real-world parallels in many other virtual assistants, such as Alexa and Siri. But with the rampant technology developments witnessed throughout this century, it’s not difficult to assume that these systems might begin to emulate human emotions in a very convincing way. Convincing enough to make people correspond for those feelings.

Rent it on Apple TV

5 Limitless (2011)

Limitless

Release Date

March 8, 2011

Director

Neil Burger

Cast

Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth

Rating

PG-13

Genres

Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Who never wished for a little something that could help to give an extra motivation, untangling stuck projects, or simply get the best out of yourself? That is what Limitless looks to answer. In the story, failed writer Eddie Morra sees his life falling apart, until he comes across a drug called NZT-48, a Nootropic that enables Eddie to use 100% of his brain’s capabilities. The drug marks a turning point in Eddie’s life, who can suddenly do whatever he wants.

Related: 10 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies You’ve Probably Never Seen

How It Might Predict the Future

Although NZT-48 is a fictional drug, other substances with resembling effects already exist. “Smart drugs” like Modafinil or Adderall stimulate the brain to improve concentration and enhance multitasking skills. With the amount of information that people usually have to deal with today, it is expected that similar pharmaceuticals become available on a large scale soon.

Stream it on Max

4 Ad Astra (2019)

Ad Astra

Release Date

September 17, 2019

Director

James Gray

Cast

Brad Pitt, Kimmy Shields, Ruth Negga, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Greg Bryk

Rating

PG-13

Genres

Sci-Fi, Thriller

Directed by James Gray and starring Brad Pitt, Ad Astra narrates how, in the late 21st century, the occurrence of unexpected power surges presents an imminent danger to the planet. Major Roy McBride is an astronaut assigned to travel to a space station orbiting Neptune, which is the probable source of the surges. The station, part of the “Lima Project”, was established years earlier by Roy’s father, who was sent there on a quest to find intelligent extraterrestrial life.

How It Might Predict the Future

While the current technologies still do not supply what is required for large-scale manned expeditions, it is safe to assume that it’s just a matter of time. Space exploration might provide answers for some of humankind’s biggest questions, including whether we are or we are not alone in the universe. However, one more point highlighted by Ad Astra serves as an opportune retort: Is it worth exploring space if it somehow represents a threat to our planet?

Stream it on Fubo

3 Snowpiercer (2013)

snowpiercer

Release Date

August 1, 2013

Director

Bong Joon-ho

Cast

John Hurt, Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, Alison Pill

Rating

R

Genres

Action, Documentary, Drama, Sci-Fi

Snowpiercer is based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. In a near future, humanity tries one last desperate move to stop climate change by injecting aerosols into the planet’s stratosphere, provoking a cooling effect. The plan goes terribly wrong, creating a new ice age and killing nearly the entire world’s population. The survivors have to live in the Snowpiercer, a train that moves constantly around the globe. The passengers are segregated, as the few riches enjoy the Snowpiercer’s most comfortable, fancy carts, while the poor squeeze into battered wagons.

How It Might Predict the Future

On the not-so-awesome side of things, it is startling how any climate change catastrophe scenario is a possible outcome for the planet’s future. While it is uncertain if, at this point, global warming can still recede, the planet may eventually have no choice but to risk a solution analogous to the aerosol injections. Also, the film suggests that even such an event would not be enough to extinguish social inequalities, which also seems tragically credible.

Stream it in Prime Video

2 Ex-Machina (2014)

Ex Machina

Release Date

January 16, 2015

Director

Alex Garland

Cast

Domhnall Gleeson, Corey Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Claire Selby

Rating

R

Genres

Superhero, Documentary, Sci-Fi

One of the most recurring questions for future predictions could be, “what if technology evolves too much?” Ex Machina proposes to answer that. In the story, Caleb, a young programmer, is invited by Nathan, his company’s CEO, to spend a week at his house to interact with Ava, a “female” android programmed with cutting-edge AI. As Ava and Caleb get closer, she gradually persuades him into believing they could be happy together, but for that, she must be freed from Nathan’s clutches.

How It Might Predict the Future

In recent years, the advances in AI research have shown that, indeed, machines are capable of emulating human behavior in a very convincing way. The veil separating humans and machines could, in a few years, become so thin it would be virtually impossible to distinguish a flesh and blood speaker from a robotic one. For those fearful of a Terminator-like uprising, with machines destroying all humans, here’s a question: What if the machines simply convince humans to destroy themselves?

Stream it on Max

1 Don’t Look Up (2021)

Don’t Look Up

Release Date

December 24, 2021

Director

Adam McKay

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothee Chalamet, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Gina Gershon

Rating

R

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

Some things sound too absurd and impossible to happen, until they do. With that premise, Don’t Look Up imagines a story in a reality where a massive comet finds itself on a direct collision course towards Earth. When two astronomers figure that this could mean the end of humankind, they try to raise the public’s awareness in every possible way. What do they get? First, a strong denying effect. Then, a seemingly perfect solution, but only when it’s pretty close to Earth, so the comet’s potential resources can be properly used.

How It Might Predict the Future

Don’t Look Up dealt with some controversy, as the comparison between its plot and the COVID-19 pandemic was inevitable. The fact is that the movie makes a clear statement that resounds not just for the past and present, but also for the future. It does not really matter if a comet gets in collision course with the planet, or a new pandemic threatens to manifest, humankind’s reaction will not be without its share of bad ideas. Stupidity, more than anything, is predictable.

Stream it on Netflix