A City of 2026 Imagined in the Sci-Fi Classic “Metropolis” (1927), Directed by Fritz Lang

In Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece Metropolis, the year 2026 was not just a random date, but a symbolic “one hundred years in the future.” Lang’s vision of the 2026 skyline was a radical fusion of industrial power, social hierarchy, and Art Deco grandeur that continues to influence how we imagine cities today.

In Lang’s Metropolis, architecture is the physical manifestation of class. The height of a building directly corresponds to the social status of its inhabitants. A shimmering playground of white stone and light. Skyscrapers here house “Pleasure Gardens,” stadiums, and lecture halls for the elite. Below the skyscrapers lie the machine halls, and even further down is the “Worker’s City.” The skyscrapers literally sit on the backs of the laboring class. To Lang, verticality wasn’t an urban solution, it was a form of control. The “Head” (the elite) lives at the top, while the “Hands” (the workers) toil at the bottom.

It is a colossal, tiered, zig-zagging structure that dwarfs every other building. The design was heavily influenced by Lang’s 1924 trip to New York City, where he was mesmerized by the “vertical sails” of the skyline at night. It serves as the “brain” of the city, where every flow of data and energy is monitored.

Lang’s 2026 skyscrapers weren’t isolated towers; they were part of a massive, interconnected machine. Multi-level skyways and bridges crisscross between buildings, carrying a constant stream of black motorcars. Biplanes and small aircraft buzz between the towers, suggesting a future where the sky is as congested as the ground. The buildings are designed to be “bathed in an ecstasy of brightness,” using neon signs and floodlights to turn the city into a sparkling, hypnotic landscape after dark.

The look of the 2026 skyline is a blend of several movements:

• Art Deco: Clean lines, geometric shapes, and a sense of “monumental modernism.”
• Italian Futurism: Inspired by Antonio Sant’Elia’s “La Città Nuova,” the buildings emphasize speed, mechanical energy, and industrial scale.
• Gothic Elements: Despite the futurism, the city contains a “haunted” quality, with sharp, expressionistic shadows and even a medieval cathedral tucked between the high-rises.

Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 67th in Sight and Sound’s 2022 critics’ poll, and receiving general critical acclaim. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register, the first film thus distinguished.