Steven Spielberg Talks ROBOPOCALYPSE; Film Will Be Set 15-20 Years in the Future

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By Matt Goldberg

Published Jan 12, 2012

Steven Spielberg says his adaptation of Robopocalypse will be set 15-20 years in the future and when "technology becomes smarter than we are."

Steven Spielberg delivered a double-whammy to audiences last month with the release of The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. Neither film hit me like I had hoped, but I was in the minority. The legendary director is now at work on his Abraham Lincoln movie, Lincoln, and then he'll move on to an adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson's novel Robopocalypse. Spielberg spoke about the movie with his War Horse star Tom Hiddleston. He tells Hiddleston that Robopocalypse takes place about 15-20 years in the future because "it's a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would."

Hit the jump for more. Robopocalypse is slated to open July 3, 2013.

Speaking to Hiddleston for Time Out Film [via The Playlist], Spielberg implies that Robopocalypse will bring him back to the darker themes he explored in his 2000s sci-fi:

‘It’s a movie about a global war between man and machine,’ the director tells me. ‘I had a great time creating the future on “Minority Report”, and it’s a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would. “Robopocalypse” takes place in 15 or 20 years, so it’ll be another future we can relate to. It’s about the consequences of creating technologies which make our lives easier, and what happens when that technology becomes smarter than we are. It’s not the newest theme, it’s been done throughout science fiction, but it’s a theme that becomes more relevant every year.’

Spielberg is smart enough to find a new angle on the theme and still make it entertaining. At the very least, audiences will be going into a big budget action film and perhaps when they come out they'll be afraid of their cell phones. The only strike against Spielberg's recent sci-fi is how dark it goes and then pulls back to a happy ending in a contrived, dishonest fashion. I'm not sure why he feels the need to leave the audience feeling uplifted when they watch his dramas (with the exception of Munich), but hopefully Spielberg will leave that behind for Robopocalypse if it's inappropriate to the overall tone of the picture.