Did a 1936 science fiction film predict the Blitz and the space age?

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: H.G. Wells wrote the screenplay for Things to Come, a landmark 1936 film that envisioned a century of global war, a dark age, and eventual technological utopia. Its eerily accurate depiction of aerial bombardment and space travel influenced both wartime leaders and the future of cinematic science fiction.

Produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies, Things to Come was a massive undertaking that aimed to map humanity's trajectory toward a stable world government. Wells, who exercised significant control over the production, drew from his own theories on history and economics to craft a narrative spanning from 1940 to 2036. The film depicts a world devastated by a decades-long war and a zombie-like plague, eventually rescued by a technocratic organization called Wings Over the World that rebuilds civilization through scientific progress.

The film's production was as ambitious as its scope, featuring lavish sets and a score by Arthur Bliss that was so central to the design that the film was edited to fit the music. Despite its artistic acclaim, the film faced immense production challenges, including a difficult screenplay process and a budget that reached up to £300,000. Its legacy is complex; while some critics at the time found the dialogue smug, it was later hailed by historians as a masterpiece that anticipated the post-apocalyptic genre and influenced the aesthetic of future science fiction cinema.

The film's impact extended beyond the screen, with reports suggesting that Adolf Hitler viewed it as inspiration for the Luftwaffe, while others argued it fueled the appeasement policies of Neville Chamberlain. Its technical foresight was equally notable, featuring early depictions of helicopters and space travel. Today, the film remains a subject of intense study, with various versions and restorations—most notably the 97-minute print released in 2007—allowing modern audiences to engage with Wells' grand, if controversial, vision of humanity's destiny among the stars.

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