3 times sci-fi movies successfully predicted the future

Futuristic sci-fi is fun because it allows writers and filmmakers to come up with all manner of as yet uninvented devices and concepts without have to worry about functionality. However, there have been a number of cases where life had eventually imitated art and sci-fi movies have managed to successfully predict the future. Here are a few times sci-fi movies got the future right.

The tablet computer in 2001

In Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Arthur C Clarke novel 2001, we see a device which bears a striking resemblance to a tablet computer. The Apple iPad first made an appearance in 2010, so Kubrick wasn’t too wide of the mark, and other manufacturers have followed suit. Now tablet computers are as ubiquitous as mobile phones and have, in many cases, replaced books and newspapers.

VR headgear in Back to The Future 2

Ok, so by the time 2015 rolled around – the year Marty McFly travels to in Back to the Future 2 – we hadn’t quite mastered the hoverboard or shoes that tie themselves. However, Marty’s future family can be seen using virtual reality headgear to communicate with. The Oculus Rift – one of the leading VR headsets on the market – was released in 2016.

Touch screen technology in Minority Report

The movie set in a future in which crimes can be predicted raises many ethical and moral debates, but the tech on show is also something to marvel. Tom Cruise’s character uses touch screen and gesture-operated technology to swipe through information on certain cases. Nowadays, even many smartphones use similar technology, such as touchscreen, fingerprint and faces recognition and the beginnings of gesture-based functions.

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Futuristic sci-fi: Where the boundaries of reality are bent out of shape

The definition of reality is something which is constantly being challenged and with constant advancements in technology, the lines are being blurred between what is real and what isn’t. Here are three futuristic sci-fi novels which bend the bounds of reality.

The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein

In the mid 22nd century and teleportation, as well as countless other advancements in technology, is commonplace. The book’s protagonist Joel Byram is a typical guy living a typical life until he finds himself duplicated accidentally during a routine teleportation. This sets in motion a series of thrilling and suspenseful events as Joel must deal with the shadowy organization which runs the teleportation service while stay a step ahead of the fundamentalists who are railing against it. All he wants to do is get back to his wife, but with an extra Joel on the loose and a host of pursuers, he has his work cut out.

Altered carbon by Richard K Morgan

In a 25th century world in which death is no longer the end, a person’s brain can be uploaded to a new body whenever their old one is no longer serviceable. Humans have managed to colonize most of the galaxy and UN-style organization oversees it all. When a former high-ranking official is killed, he is tasked with investigating his own murder, but must do so from the remote world he has been banished to.

For the Win by Cory Doctorow

If you liked Ready Player One this will be right up your street. It features the same premise of an online virtual gaming community, but with the added layer of class warfare and so-called developing countries striking back at the rich and powerful who exploit them. A band of brilliant and young gamers must outwit the powerful forces stacked against them.

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Sci-fi novels set for the silver screen

Consistent box office performance means the sci-fi films continue to be popular with studios and movie fans alike. Film-makers are constantly on the lookout for new material when it comes to next sci-fi blockbusters and there is a rich treasure trove out there of sci-fi novels which are set to be made into movies in the near future (unlike some of the stories themselves which are set way in the future). Here are a few sci-fi novels which are set for the big screen soon:

Armada by Ernest Cline

Cline’s previous book Ready Player One was already a hit novel before Steven Spielberg’s film version caused a huge box office splash last year. On the back of that success, studios were lining up to get the movie rights to Cline’s next book before he had even finished writing it.

Armada also draws heavily on video game references and its central character gets drawn into a simulated world which had real-life consequences.

The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch

A futuristic reimagining of the centuries’ old story of Joan of Arc, Yuknatich’s novel tells the story of a young woman in a post-apocalyptic world who leads a rebelling against the draconian police state which has formed. Hailed as modern feminist tale, production is scheduled to start soon on the movie version.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel has already had the big screen treatment in 1984 and there was also a TV series loosely based on the original book. Production is underway on the latest version which stars Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson.

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Great Time Travel Books

Time travel has always held a fascination for writers and scientists alike and is rife with dramatic and narrative potential. Out of the many great examples of the genre, this list contains our personal favorites. Whilst for some time travel is about settings, whether that’s a fish out of water tale of the past, or a look into a far-flung future. For us it’s about character, as these works demonstrate, time travel stories work best when they're used to examine the toll of things like love, grief, and personal history can take.

Elan Mastai by All Our Wrong Todays

This is not only a fantastic, and heart-breaking example of character-driven time travel fiction but also one with an ingeniously clever conceit. In a reversal of sorts of the butterfly effect, a character from an almost utopian setting goes back in time to change his own history, only to screw up the future so badly it ends up with the world we have today! Beyond that, this is a tale of love and fate that is well written, and devastating.

Marge Piercy by Woman On The Edge Of Time

Now considered one of the classic works of feminist science fiction, this 1976 is also a brilliant work of science fiction that pairs elegant simplicity alongside depth and ambiguity. The tale of a woman who must choose between two possible timelines, it is the ultimate ‘what if’ tale.

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