Entering into the great unknown of 2017 can be a little frightening - a time of seemingly endless, largely apocalyptic possibilities all sitting neatly on the horizon like a flock of carrion vultures.

If you're wanting to feel better about how these coming months will unfold, it may actually be best to look away from what cinema's predicted over the preceding decades; because the prognosis isn't particularly good.

On the bright side, 2017 marks the year a now-grown Harry Potter and friends sent off their magical spawn to begin adventures anew at Hogwarts; opening up the option of simply spending the year hanging around King's Cross in the hope of spotting a gaggle of wizards passing by.

However, every other film pretty much spells doom for mankind: from civil wars, post-apocalyptic wastelands, evil sentient technology, and gladiator-style arenas being broadcast on television.

Here's exactly what Hollywood thought 2017 would bring.

Barb Wire (1996)



In a move which may seem eerily prescient, the comic book adaptation pitched 2017 as the year of the Second American Civil War; in a widely-panned movie which re-jigged the plot of Casablanca to cast Pamela Anderson as the titular bounty hunter/club owner, whose joint is located in "the last free city" of America.

The place comes to harbour fugitive scientist Cora D, alongside freedom fighter (and Barb Wire's lost love) Axel Hood, as they attempt to flee to Canada so they can publicly unveil the plans for a bioweapon being developed by Cora D's superior.

Cherry 2000 (1987)



Even less optimistic a viewpoint on 2017 is this straight-to-video sci-fi starring Melanie Griffith, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland version of the US; in which an economic crisis has led to a decline in manufacturing, and a focus on recycling 20th century mechanical equipment.

Some civilised areas do still exist, though these have become increasingly bureaucratic and hypersexualised; sex between two humans has become so rare that a contract must be drawn beforehand, while advanced robotic technology has meanwhile offered androids to use as substitute wives.

One of these androids (or gynoids) is Cherry 2000, who leads her owner on a dangerous quest for repairs after she short-circuits during sex.

Films to get excited about in 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Films to get excited about in 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director: Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Lupita Nyong'o Plot: No details yet, but it will continue directly on from Rey coming face-to-face with Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Release Date: 15 December 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Director: Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo Plot: Story details are minimal as of now, but Thor's third return to screen has already been teased to feature a loose adaptation of the famous 'Planet Hulk' storyline. Release Date: 27 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 You Were Never Really Here Director: Lynne Ramsay Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola Plot: A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Annihilation Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A biologist's husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Wonderstruck (image from Far From Heaven) Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Amy Hargreaves Plot: The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Mother (image of Darren Aronofsky) Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Ed Harris Plot: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (image from The Lobster) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone Plot: A surgeon forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy, with disastrous results. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Director: Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto Plot: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Release Date: 6 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Lady Bird (image of director Greta Gerwig) Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges Plot: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (image of director Steven Spielberg and star Mark Rylance) Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Mark Rylance, Oscar Isaac Plot: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents' struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties Director: John Cameron Mitchell Cast: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman Plot: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Dark Tower Director: Nikolaj Arcel Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor Plot: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Release Date: 28 July 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Suburbicon Director: George Clooney Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal. Release Date: 24 November

Click (2006)



Though the majority of this Adam Sandler comedy takes place in the present day, his character's "universal TV remote" and its capabilities to control time and space do allow him to jump forward to 2017; though not intentionally, as a malfunctioning remote unveils a less-than-desirable future.

Though he may now be the CEO of his company and live in a futuristic pad controlled by fingerprint scanners, he wakes up alone; with his family now estranged and feeling the ill effects of his selfish decisions.

Elsewhere, 2017 apparently marks the year Britney Spears has her 23rd child with Kevin Federline and Michael Jackson sues his own clone; which is a great marker of how very 2006 this film really is.

Fortress (1992)



Yet another dystopian look at the United States, Fortress sees 2017 America enacting a strict one-child policy on its people; leading a couple to attempt to cross the US-Canada border for their second pregnancy.

Unfortunately, the husband Brennick (Highlander's Christopher Lambert) is caught and sentenced to 31 years at the Fortress, a private maximum security prison in which inmates are implanted with devices capable of inducing severe pain or death if the wearer steps too far out of line.

The underground prison also boasts cells made out of laser walls, which gives Brennick just that little extra challenge when does eventually attempt to escape the institution.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2



The Harry Potter cinematic franchise (so far) actually ends in 2017, when an adult Harry Potter arrives to King's Cross Station alongside Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Draco; all proudly watching their children carted off onto the Hogwarts Express to begin their own magical adventures.

The Running Man (1987)

The Running Man's own 2017 dystopia sees a totalitarian police state, with a strict ban on all cultural materials; meaning there's no more Marvel movies, no series 7 of Game of Thrones, and no more Dan Brown thrillers. RIP art.

All the brain-washed populace are instead allowed to indulge in are game shows which force convicted criminals to fight each other gladiator-style; with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Ben Richards first framed and then eventually tricked into participating in the deadly arena.

Terminator Genisys (2015)



The fifth instalment of the Terminator franchise only managed to confuse the timeline further, splitting events up between 2029, 1984, and 2017; ret-conning the moment Skynet becomes self aware by shifting the year from 1997 to 2017.