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When does the world end? An incomplete timeline of the many world-ending moments in apocalyptic movies & TV shows

Across the history of science fiction, there have been a lot of stories about how humanity might meet its fate

Beyond the Planet of the Apes
Image credit: 20th Century Fox
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Feature by Graeme McMillan Editor
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If there’s one subject that science fiction stories enjoy returning to, it’s the end of the world… or, at least, the near-end, allowing for all kinds of story possibilities as a result. Humanity has faced its fictional near-destruction for more than a century by this point in time, from all manner of sources — external (alien invasions), internal (climate change and nuclear annihilation), and… well, whatever the hell is happening in the various Planet of the Apes movies.

In fact, the end of the world has arrived so often in fictional terms that it’s difficult to keep track of just which end of the world happened when, and what it meant… which is exactly why we’ve created this handy-dandy timeline to the many multiple apocalypses of pop culture. Look below and see the many ways in which we’ve all met out end in chronological order — and marvel at the fact that, all things considered, we’re all still here to enjoy it.

It is, by its very nature, an incomplete timeline. There are almost certainly some big dystopian events that we’ve missed, whether by oversight or intent — we’re not including timelines that are undone or avoided as part of the story, otherwise 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow would fill up the list by itself; similarly, if the planet that’s being destroyed isn’t Earth, we’re not interested (sorry, Alderaan) — but if there’s a really big one that we’ve overlooked, leave us a comment and we’ll make the appropriate changes. For now… enjoy the many, many ways we keep getting killed, over and over again.

1905

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by alien invasion (The War of the Worlds, 1898)

1951

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by alien invasion (The Day of the Triffids, 1951)

1966

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by plague (Things to Come, 1936)

1976

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by nuclear war (I Am Legend, 1954)

1980

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by a genetically-engineered version of the flu (The Stand, 1978)

Undefined Early 1980s

  • Society collapses in the wake of an oil shortage resulting from war in the Persian Gulf (Mad Max, 1979)

1984

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by nuclear war (Threads, 1984)

1987

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by nuclear war (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, 1979)

1988

  • Humanity is almost wiped out after World War III begins following the destruction of Tokyo (Akira, 1988)

1990

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by a genetically-engineered version of the flu (The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition, 1990)

1991-2001

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by as a result of an ape uprising and subsequent nuclear war (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, 1971, 1972, 1973)

1992-1996

  • 37 million people are killed as a result of the Eugenics Wars (Star Trek, ‘Space Seed’ 1967)

1997

  • Machines become sentient and launch war on humanity, almost wiping them out (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)

2000

  • Population hits critical mass, threatening ecological collapse; as a result, legislation is created 16 years later that declares humans must be killed when they reach the age of 21 (Logan’s Run (novel), 1967)

2002

  • Humanity is almost wiped out after the rage virus is released in the UK (28 Days Later, 2002)
  • All mammals with a Y chromosome die, with the exception of one human and one monkey (Y: The Last Man, 2002-2008)

2003

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by Cordyceps virus (The Last of Us (TV), 2022)

2004

  • Machines become sentient and launch war on humanity, almost wiping them out (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, 2003)

2005

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by nuclear war (The Martian Chronicles, 1950)

2008

  • Humanity is wiped out by the Morticoccus virus (Countdown to Final Crisis, 2008)

2009

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by a zombie virus (Zombieland, 2009)

2010

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by a zombie virus (The Walking Dead (TV), 2010-2022)

2013

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by Cordyceps virus (The Last of Us (game), 2013-)

2016

  • Korea (and potentially other countries) is overrun by a zombie virus (Train to Busan, 2016)

2019

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by climate change (Snowpiercer (movie), 2013)
  • Humanity is almost wiped out by an unknown virus (The Last Man on Earth, 2015-2018)

2019-2021

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by the Simian Flu (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, War of the Planet of the Apes, 2011, 2014, 2017)

2020

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by a flu pandemic (Station Eleven (TV), 2021)

2015-2019

  • Scientists discover that ocean life is dying and cannot support requirements for human sustenance; as a result, a new foodstuff is created called Soylent Green, which is secretly made up of human remains, a fact that remains undiscovered for years (Soylent Green, 1973)

2026-2053

  • More than 30% of humanity is killed as the result of World War III (Star Trek, multiple episodes across multiple series, 1966-)

2073

  • Humanity is almost wiped out by nuclear war (Judge Dredd, ‘Origins’, 2006-2007)

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