Audiences have long held a fascination with retro-futurism. The melding of the past and the future to build a new world outside of time has not only led to a stunning visual experience, but to stories that could only be told in the genre. Retro-futurism captures the optimism of the past and harnesses the imagination of the time to create a future where society is unchanged, but technology has advanced.
Retro-futurist films or series can range from dieselpunk, that take place around either world war, like The Rocketeer, to projects that utilize mid-century Popluxe futurism like the new Apple+ series Hello Tomorrow!. The style captures the optimism of the past and harnesses the imagination of the time to create a future where society is unchanged, but technology has advanced.
1 'Hello Tomorrow!' (2023 - )
The new Apple+ original series follows a team of salesmen, led by the charming Jack Billings (Billy Crudup), who travels the country selling timeshares to a utopian development on the moon. It's Jack's unshakable faith and his Don Draper-esque delivery that not only sells his customers, but also his staff in the promise of a better future.
Hello Tomorrow! takes place in an alternate 1950s where the shiny patina of mid-century ephemera coexists alongside hover cars and robots. The world reflects the squeaky-clean optimism of the era, but reveals a dark side of that optimism. The gullibility of Jack's customers allows him to spin a web of deception that envelops even himself.
2 'Tomorrowland' (2015)
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Based on the futuristic-themed land at Disney theme parks, Tomorrowland follows an optimistic young scientist (Britt Robertson) and cynical inventor (George Clooney) who team up to find entry to an alternate dimension where a futurist society has created a utopia (accompanied by a cool sci-fi city). Fictionalized versions of Walt Disney, Jules Verne, and Nikola Tesla are supposedly all founding members of the society dedicated to their scientific pursuits free from interference.
Walt Disney's vision of the future has been long cemented into the cultural zeitgeist. Tomorrowland was built in 1955 and meant to represent the year 1986, with a moonliner and a futuristic house of tomorrow. The film contains many references to the different incarnations of the theme park through the years but builds on the idea that Disney and his cohorts never stopped inventing.
3 'The Incredibles' (2004)
After the government bans superheroes, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) find themselves in hiding trying to assume a normal life with their family. After Mr. Incredible loses his low-level insurance job, he gets an opportunity to put his suit back on to battle an out-of-control robot, however, his family must come to his rescue when they realize the opportunity isn't what it seems.
The Incredibles is set in an alternate 1962, however when Mr. Incredible travels to Syndrome's (Jason Lee) island, he is met with a futuristic lair complete with a pod monorail system, hover crafts, and an Omnidroid robot. Syndrome utilizes rocket boots and a freeze ray straight out of a vintage sci-fi movie, when he takes his fight to Metro City, his futurist tech with the Googie-inspired backdrop makes it a great piece of retro-futurist cinema.
4 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow' (2004)
When giant robots attack New York City, Sky Captain (Jude Law) and reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) investigate the source of the attack and a string of scientists that have gone missing. Set in an alternate 1939, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is known for its pre-WWII dieselpunk style and sepia newsreel-like visuals.
Not only was the film a visual smorgasbord, but it was a technological feat, being one of the first major films to be completely shot on a digital backlot blending live-action actors into a CG world. The film draws a lot of its inspiration from the 1939 World's Fair in New York and incorporates robotics, holograms, and rockets into its world-building.
5 'The Rocketeer' (1991)
The dieselpunk adventure film The Rocketeer is set in 1938 Los Angeles where stunt actor, Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) finds a jetpack and helmet that transform him into a local hero. When Nazis catch wind of the technology, he must use his talents to save the girl he loves and stop his jetpack from getting into the wrong hands.
Rather than being set in a vastly different reality, The Rocketeer utilizes and recognizes the jetpack as a very advanced piece of technology for the time. The film is based on the comic book of the same name that drew inspiration from 1940s serial comic books like King of the Robot Men and Commander Cody.
6 'Loki' (2021 - )
The Disney+ original series takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, where an alternate Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from 2012 steals the Space Stone to escape his timeline but is promptly captured by the Time Variance Authority. The TVA, as it's known, is an organization created to keep the multiverse consistent with a single timeline and exists outside of time.
The design of the TVA mixes mid-century blue-collar design with futuristic technology from millions of advanced timelines. Its cartoon mascot, Miss Minutes, the smiling face of the organization, invokes PSAs of the 50s while doling out existential dread. Loki is a prime example of using retro-futurism to build a world where anything is possible but is stuck in a dogmatic and bureaucratic past.
7 'Space Station 76' (2014)
The ambient space comedy, Space Station 76, is a parody of series like Space:1999 and 1978's Battlestar Galactica. Set in an alternate version of the 70s, Omega 76 is a remote space station where the seemingly idyllic crew led by Captain Glenn (Patrick Wilson) and first mate Jessica (Liv Tyler), all hide secrets from one another.
The 70s aesthetic, Astrovan-inspired spaceships, and clunky robots set this piece of retro-futurism apart. Filmed using mostly improvisation, the setting and time period becomes a character altogether.
8 'Legion' (2017 - 2019)
Legion follows David Haller (Dan Stevens), a mutant and son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier, who is trapped in a psychiatric facility and unable to trust his own mind. He soon discovers his brain is host to a parasitic mutant that seeks his growing power, the series follows him and fellow mutants as David attempts to uncover what is real.
The series blends the visuals of the 60s with the tech of an uncanny X-Men comic. The aesthetic is not meant to represent any given time, but to be a reflection of David's psyche, which is an amalgamation of memory and his current reality.
9 'The Umbrella Academy' (2019 - )
In an alternate 1989, an eccentric billionaire adopts seven super-powered babies. He raises them and forms The Umbrella Academy, a league of child crime fighters. Years later, the siblings reunite after the death of their father and try to prevent a coming apocalypse while being pursued by an organization known as the Temps Commission, which is responsible for managing the space-time continuum.
The Temps Commission, introduced in the show's first season, is headquartered in the year 1955 and run by a woman known as The Handler (Kate Walsh). The design of the commission fits the mid-century era, complete with an "infinite switchboard" that manages the main timeline and time-traveling briefcases.
10 'Astro Boy' (2009)
Loosely based on the manga series of the same name, Astro Boy is about a scientist who creates a robot in the likeness of his late son. Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) – who has super-strength, jetpack feet, and x-ray vision – is coveted by the powerful mayor of Metro City, but the protagonist only seeks to find his place in the world.
The film's retro-futuristic design is inspired by the manga that ran from 1952 to 1968 and the anime series that ran in 1963. Metro City is a beacon of advanced technology, with shiny curved carbon-fiber skyscrapers that float over the surface of the Earth and robots for every menial task. This is in contrast to the Earth's surface, which is full of trash and discarded mechanical robots.