The Tomorrow War (2021)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A soldier is sent into the future to fight a devastating alien swarm and save humanity from extinction.
The story
In December 2022, biology teacher and former Green Beret Dan Forester witnesses soldiers from the year 2051 arrive through a time portal. They warn that humanity is facing extinction due to an alien invasion by the White Spikes. In response, the world's military forces are sent to the future, but with a survival rate of less than 20%, a global draft is initiated. Dan is conscripted for a seven-day tour in the future, equipped with a tracking device. He joins a group of draftees who are deployed to a future Miami to confront the alien threat and attempt to secure the survival of the human race.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2022, Dan Forester, a former Green Beret, is drafted into a war in the year 2051 to fight the 'White Spikes,' an alien species that has decimated the future human population. During his mission, Dan reunites with his estranged daughter, Muri, who is a high-ranking officer in the future military. They discover that the aliens were actually bio-weapons from another species, trapped under ice and released by global warming. After a failed attempt to stop the swarm in the future, Dan is sent back to the past with a toxin. He eventually leads a team to the Arctic to find the original source of the infestation. They discover the alien ship and use the toxin to destroy the dormant creatures. By neutralizing the threat at its source in the past, they prevent the future war from ever occurring. The film ends with Dan returning home and introducing his daughter to his family.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 138
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris McKay
- Writers
- Zach Dean · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chris Pratt · Dan; Yvonne Strahovski · Muri; J. K. Simmons · James; Betty Gilpin · Emmy; Sam Richardson · Charlie; Edwin Hodge · Dorian; Jasmine Mathews · Hart; Ryan Kiera Armstrong · unknown
- Genres
- military science-fiction; action
- Themes
- Time Travel; Survival; Family Reconciliation; Climate Change
- Tone and mood
- Action; Sci-fi; Dramatic
- Setting
- A mix of 2022 and 2051, spanning locations including Miami Beach, Florida; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; and the Arctic.
- Premise and plot tags
- Time Travel; Alien Invasion; Military; Post-Apocalyptic
- Franchise connections
- The Tomorrow War
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the concept, action sequences, and performances, but criticism for its derivative execution.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 52% · scale: percentage · review count: 207; Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Ghost Draft.; The production budget was approximately $200 million.; The film was one of the most expensive films to debut on a streaming platform.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…