How close are we to how the 1927 film Metropolis imagined what 2026 would look like

The 1927 film Metropolis, a movie that’s nearly 100 years old, is going viral because it was set in what we now call ‘present day’ – the year 2026.

Technically, this is a German-language movie, but that really doesn’t matter because it’s a silent movie.

But what matters is that now, 100 years later, we find ourselves in the surreal position of being able to watch this movie and compare what they thought 2026 would look like to what it actually looks like.

While the creators managed to nail several aspects of our modern social structure and technology, they also fell into the same trap as every other visionary in history, predicting two things that still aren’t here.

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Metropolis nailed at least two or three things about today’s world

The 1927 film Metropolis was probably what we’d call a ‘box office bomb’.

It cost the equivalent of $24.5 million to film and only made back $1 million.

It wasn’t even particularly popular with critics, who apparently accused its story of being ‘naive’.

Today, 100 years later and with tons of hindsight, the first thing we can say about this movie is that there are a couple of aspects of modern society it absolutely nailed.

Among other things, Metropolis predicted the rise of video calling.

One of the film’s most famous scenes features one of the main characters using a wall-mounted screen to video call his subordinates.

It also predicted deepfakes, which is incredible if you think about it, because predicting deepfakes in 1927 must’ve required an incredible combination of brainwork and creativity.

Last but certainly not least, it predicted the general idea of workers becoming invisible drones doing the heavy lifting for the rich.

That’s pretty accurate, too.

The two things the movie got wrong

Nearly every single movie set in this century but filmed decades ago predicted two things: flying cars and robots.

And for the most part, they all got it wrong, including the 1927 film Metropolis.

In 2026, flying cars exist, but they’re still far from mainstream.

In fact, they’re not even in ‘beta phase’ – you only have a few pilot programs in a handful of cities like Dubai in the UAE and Shenzhen, China, and even then, they’re restricted to pre-approved flight corridors.

The same goes for robots – or androids, to be accurate.

While companies like Tesla show off prototypes like Optimus, they are essentially just high-end marketing ploys for now.

Indeed, some companies are already employing these androids, but they’re only doing so in closed environments for repetitive tasks.

The idea that you can just go out there and buy an android that drives you to work and then gets back home to do house chores is still years, if not decades, away.