From the perspective of film history, 2025 is a somewhat special year. Over the years, many movies have set their time and space backgrounds in 2025. After all, this time point means that the seemingly new 21st century is almost a quarter over. And this "quarter century" milestone concept has also made it the era background of many science fiction movies.
Endgame - Bronx lotta finale (1983)
This film was created by the famous Italian B-level film director Joe D'Amato, and follows the apocalyptic wasteland style of "Mad Max".
The film is set in New York in 2025. The deadly catastrophe brought to mankind is an atomic war that affected the entire world. This setting is somewhat influenced by the Cold War era. In the only remaining urban oasis, the Bronx, New York, the mutants who survived the radiation became the target of hunting.
Future Hunters (1986)
This 1986 science fiction action film has long been lost in the history of film. Even back then, it was only released on videotapes and never had the chance to hit the big screen. However, as time goes by, many fans of "Future Hunter" have appeared on the Internet, giving it a cult film flavor decades later.
The story of Future Hunter is inspired by the spear that pierced Jesus' side in Western legend. For thousands of years, it has been worshipped as a sacred object under the name of "Spear of Destiny". At the beginning of the story, the background is 2025, and the earth has become a wasteland after a nuclear disaster. Fortunately, the protagonist Matthew managed to find the spear before he died, and with its magical power, he traveled back to 1986. Here, he entrusted the spear to a young couple played by Linda Carol and Robert Patrick, begging them to complete his unfinished business - find the lost handle of the spear, use its full power, change history, and save the earth.
It is not difficult to see that this B-grade film was deeply influenced by the treasure hunting movies such as "Indiana Jones" which were popular in the 1980s; and the sci-fi setting of traveling through time and space, returning to the past, and changing the future came from "The Terminator" released in 1984. Interestingly, the leading actor of this film, Robert Patrick, joined the crew of "Terminator 2" a few years later and played the role of the famous robot T1000.
Futuresport 1998
This sports-themed film, which cost $9 million to make, actually stars many big names such as "TV Superman" Dean Cain, "Blade Runner" Wesley Snipes, and former Miss America Vanessa Williams. However, the film ultimately failed to enter theaters and could only find audiences on TV screens and videotapes.
The film is set in 2025. In order to reduce crime, the US government invented a "future sport" that combines basketball, baseball, hockey, skateboarding and roller skating, and then allows various gangs to participate in the competition.
"Negadon" (2005)
This 25-minute Japanese special effects short film is set in the so-called "Showa 100", that is, 2025. The film is retro-futuristic and was almost entirely produced by director Shun Awazu single-handedly, taking two years and four months.
In this story, the total population of the Earth in 2025 has exceeded 10 billion. The International Mars Development Organization (IMDO) can only try to turn Mars into a second Earth and solve the population crisis through immigration. One day in 2025, a space transport ship was returning to Earth from Mars when it suddenly crashed over Tokyo. The space monster Negadon that invaded the Earth with the transport ship brought a devastating blow to the Japanese capital, and also made the protagonist Narazaki Ryuichi determined to defend the Earth at the cost of his life.
Repo Men (2010)
In 2025, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and various artificial organs have been invented. Even people who are terminally ill can be transplanted with artificial replacement organs and regain their lives. Unfortunately, artificial organs are very valuable. Although they can be paid in installments, once the arrears are not paid on time, the company that sells artificial organs will send so-called "recyclers" to forcibly take back the transplanted organs from the customer's body.
The protagonist Remy, played by Jude Law, works as a recycler. He has been perfectly fulfilling his mission of hunting down those who delay repayment, but one day he becomes a recipient of an artificial heart and is hunted down by other recyclers for being unable to repay the money.
This sci-fi film, released in 2010, is both optimistic and pessimistic about the year 2025. The film did not do well at the box office that year, and the production cost of more than 30 million US dollars was not recovered from the box office, becoming one of Hollywood's money-losing films in 2010. To this day, the artificial organ sales business predicted in the film has not fully become a reality. However, the film's exaggerated satire of the medical system in capitalist society is not difficult to remind people of the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealth Group in the United States at the end of 2024.
Zebraman 2: Zebra City Counterattack (2010)
Released in 2004, Zebraman is set in 2010 and tells the story of an elementary school teacher named Ichikawa Shinichi (played by Sho Aikawa) who is unhappy with his life and transforms into a zebraman to foil aliens’ plan to invade the earth. After that, he becomes a national idol, but suddenly disappears mysteriously.
The time background of the second part "Zebra Man" has come to 2025, 15 years later. The newly appointed governor of Tokyo renamed Tokyo to Zebra City and established the so-called "Zebra Time", which is five minutes after 5 am and five minutes after 5 pm. During these ten minutes, all crimes will not be investigated. As a result, the crime situation has indeed improved greatly. Zebra City has become peaceful and has even become a global role model. Even several states in the United States are considering introducing "Zebra Time" to reduce crime. However, behind the scenes, this is actually just a big conspiracy of the rulers to implement dictatorship. At the critical moment, Ichikawa Shinichi, who once lost his memory, turned into a zebra man again and vowed to fight to the death with the evil forces.
Pacific Rim (2013)
The story of Pacific Rim, released in 2013, also begins in 2013. Because of a gap in the deep Pacific Ocean, alien colonists took advantage of it and humans created mecha warriors of the same size as the monsters to fight head-on, but unfortunately the result was not smooth. Later, the time came to 2025, and the protagonists played by Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi became the last guardians of the earth, and also brought an end to the monster war that spanned twelve years.
It is not difficult to see that compared to defining 2025 as the end of the world, Pacific Rim's attitude is much more optimistic.
Mountains May Depart (2015)
In this three-part film, the third background after 1999 and 2014 is Australia in 2025.
Zhang Daole, played by Dong Zijian, is taking Chinese lessons at a Chinese school and meets a Chinese teacher played by Sylvia Chang. Zhang Daole's father has lived in Australia for many years. According to him, "the law has just been changed to allow the purchase of guns, so I've bought a lot of guns." On the other hand, in the snowy Fenyang, Shanxi in 2025, Zhao Tao's mother dances in the wind again to the song "Go West."
Atlantis (2019)
This Ukrainian film, shot in Mariupol in early spring 2018, is set in 2025, one year after the war ended and peace returned. The film uses all non-professional actors to tell the story of the various difficulties veterans face when they return from the battlefield and face a new life.
In this film, which won the Best Film Award in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, Ukraine in 2025 is facing factory closures and a recession in all industries. Water sources are polluted in many places, and there are even unexploded mines in the ground. Perhaps only love can give people a glimmer of hope.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 2022
Thor 4 and Black Panther 2, both set to be released in 2022, are also set in 2025, just three years apart, which is not very "science fiction". This is exactly the same as Avengers 4, which was released in 2019 and set in 2023, just four years apart.
In the Marvel Universe, 2025 is destined to be an uneasy year. Thor, who has successfully lost weight, will fight the villain Gorr, who kills gods, for 300 rounds; at the same time, Wakanda, which has lost its king, will also fight against the prince of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis under the leadership of Princess Shuri.
