What the world will look like after the apocalypse (according to cinema)

When the world as you know it no longer exists

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

The apocalypse comes in many forms, but cinema never tires of imagining it with creativity. Soulless deserts? Cities full of drones? War-fashion and hunger with style? This gallery explores how 12 films see the world after the collapse... and how we continue to pay for it with popcorn.

'Mad Max'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

Here the end of the world is basically a parade of killer cars in the Sahara Desert, styled like a rave. Gasoline is the most precious commodity, and life is cheap.

'The Hunger Games'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

Panem is the dystopia where the rich live on an Alexander McQueen runway and the poor feed on coal. At least in District 12. Each district is a thematic prison.

'Children of Men'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

Infertility has turned the world into a collapsed geriatric ward. The society is a ruin monitored by cameras and bored soldiers. The United Kingdom turns into the last bastion of civilized repression.

Photo: Universal Pictures

'I Am Legend'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

New York without humans seems peaceful, until you realize the only neighbors are light-allergic mutants. The apocalypse has its charm... if you like solitude with loft style.

'The Road'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

The Earth is a living dead. No colors, no animals, no hope. Just ash, the cold, and humans who have forgotten how to spell the word empathy. There is nothing left here.

Photo: Dimension Films

'Wall·E'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

A planet saturated with trash, where corporations have swallowed the government and humans are so lazy they spend their days sitting in a wheeled chair. The apocalypse looks pretty, with music from 'Hello, Dolly!' and toxic air.

Photo: Disney/Pixar

'The Book of Eli'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

A solarized western where everyone seems to be from a Mad Max Lite runway. There are books, machetes, and a lot of walking. Knowledge is power, but with sunglasses.

Photo: Warner Bros

'12 Monkeys'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

The future is underground and full of tubes, as if Ikea had made a bunker. Above, the Earth is a jungle with no humans because a lethal virus has made the planet uninhabitable.

Photo: Universal Studios

'Planet of the Apes'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

The future has no humans, but trees, lianas, and monkeys organized like unions. The skyscrapers are covered with moss and power shifts species. Maybe the world does better with them than with us.

'The Platform'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

An infinite vertical tower where space and the menu dictate your status. Here the future is concrete, recycled food, and a raw social abuse chain. If you're at the top, you eat what you want but if you're at the bottom... maybe you'll have to eat your roommate.

Photo: Netflix

'Train to Busan'

When the world as you know it no longer exists, 'Mad Max', 'The Hunger Games', 'Children of Men', 'I Am Legend', 'The Road', 'Wall·E', 'The Book of Eli', '12 Monkeys', 'Planet of the Apes', 'The Platform', 'Train to Busan'

The world does not collapse in silence: it does so at full speed. In South Korea, trains still operate, but with zombies in every car. Apocalypse on a fixed schedule and spectacular views.

Photo: Next Entertainment World

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