Planet of the Apes (1968) & Demolition Man (1993): Shocking Futures | EP04

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we continue our exploration of the time travel subgenre with two films where characters are unexpectedly propelled into the future.

Rather than using traditional time machines, both films rely on suspended time — characters leaving their own era and awakening centuries later in a completely different world.

First we discuss Planet of the Apes (1968), the iconic sci-fi classic about astronauts who crash-land on a strange planet ruled by intelligent apes. As the story unfolds, the astronauts discover they have actually travelled thousands of years into Earth’s future.

Then we explore Demolition Man (1993), the action-packed sci-fi film where a cop and a criminal are cryogenically frozen in the 1990s and reawakened decades later in a peaceful but highly controlled future society.

Together these films show how science fiction can explore the future not through machines, but through the disorienting experience of waking up in a world that has completely changed.

Because here on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we explore the history of science-fiction cinema one subgenre at a time.

Listen to the full episode below:

What We Discuss In This Episode

In this episode we talk about:

• The idea of time displacement in science fiction

• How Planet of the Apes uses future time travel as a narrative twist

• Cryogenic suspension and frozen-in-time storytelling

• The dystopian satire of Demolition Man

• Why stories about waking up in the future are so compelling

Planet of the Apes (1968) – Humanity’s Distant Future

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, Planet of the Apes follows a group of astronauts who travel through space and crash-land on a mysterious planet.

The survivors soon discover a society where apes have evolved into intelligent beings, while humans appear primitive and mute.

The film’s famous ending reveals that the astronauts have actually travelled thousands of years into Earth’s future, discovering a world where human civilisation has collapsed.

Blending adventure with social commentary, the film became one of the most influential sci-fi movies of the 1960s.

Demolition Man (1993) – A Cop Out of Time

Released twenty-five years later, Demolition Man takes a much more action-driven approach to the idea of time displacement.

After a disastrous hostage situation in the 1990s, police officer John Spartan and criminal Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to cryogenic imprisonment.

Decades later they are thawed out in a futuristic society where crime has almost disappeared — leaving Spartan struggling to adapt to a world that feels alien to him.

The film mixes sci-fi ideas with satire, imagining a future that is technologically advanced but socially restrictive.

Waking Up in the Future

Both Planet of the Apes and Demolition Man explore a powerful sci-fi idea: what happens when someone from the present suddenly finds themselves in the future.

These stories highlight the contrast between eras, allowing filmmakers to examine how society might evolve — and what humanity might become.

Sometimes the future is hopeful.

Sometimes it’s terrifying.

And sometimes it’s just very, very strange.

---

 Explore more Journey Through Sci-fi series

• Dystopia

• Mad Science

• Space Opera

---

 About Journey Through Sci-Fi

Journey Through Sci-Fi is a podcast exploring the strange, visionary and world-changing history of science-fiction cinema.

Each series focuses on a different sci-fi subgenre, examining the films and ideas that shaped the genre - from classic cinema to modern science-fiction storytelling