Stålenhag isn’t just saying ‘what if the world had advanced technology like artificial intelligence and fusion reactors?’ He’s saying, yeah the future’s happening – and we won’t like how it turns out. He’s saying: ‘the future is a mirror, and you won’t like what it shows you.’ His work calls us out for who we are – children of an army of defeated soldiers who focused on winning every battle, only to lose the war.
That doesn't translate well to Hollywood.