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This is a follow up to this question

Logan takes place in 2029 in Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and other wilderness locations.

Besides the obviously sci-fi elements (cybernetic mutants and their weapons, medical technology, etc, for example, which in the X-Men universe are not necessarily futuristic) what else is there in the appearance of film that would indicate that this is 12 years into the future?

This is a question about production design -- the appearance of things, people, and settings, indepedent of the story elements. I.e. we agree it takes place in the future; the question is about what visual elements there are that were influenced by that story element -- and, for the purpose of this question, that are different than present day real-world things.

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  • The setting could be considered indicative of the time passage. It is set in a somewhat dystopian U.S. future.
    – user47739
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 22:57
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    @user30031, Yes, but that's not the question. The question is about choices made in the design of elements depicted in the movie.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 23:00
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    Look at any movie from twelve years ago and, apart from cell phones, you would be hard-pressed to find details that date it compared to the present day. Near-future movies shouldn't be laden with jarring sets and props that constantly remind you that you are in the near future, it strains credulity.
    – J Doe
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 0:25
  • If it's only set 12 years in the future, what sort of design choices could indicate that?
    – Blackwood
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 3:52
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    @Blackwood, well, extreme cases would be Idiocracy and BTTF2 where basically everything is based on today, but altered. The other end of the spectrum is Logan, where almost nothing is changed, except for the items I pointed out. Honestly, you should just read the answer.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 3:57

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There are relatively few elements in Logan which are indicative of the future relative to today (dystopian future plot points aside).

However:

- Logan's limousine is styled unlike any present day vehicle, both on the outside and in its dashboard display design.
- The trucking industry has been replaced with self-driving trucks which appear to lack even a cab compartment for a driver
- large robotic corn harvesting machines
- The app on Logan's phone indicating his next job is futuristically styled.

It is outside the scope of the question, but for completeness

It is a plot point that no mutants have been born for 25 years because of interference by a Big Pharma/Military. And there is a mention on the radio to orient the audience along the lines of "It's 2029, why are we still talking about mutants?!"

I would note that the following elements which are depicted do not appear to have been modified from present day technology

- All the games in a casino
- Phones
- Television (even in a high-end modern hotel)
- Quad-copter drone technology for surveillance (certainly custom designed for the movie, but nothing unusual you wouldn't expect to see in a movie set in 2017).
- There don't appear to have been other elements modified or added only to set the time in the future, such as modified company logos, shots of calendar, references to politicians or sports teams, etc.

Overall, it appears the production design takes a very limited minimalist approach to the near future, likely as an intentional design decision to maintain gritty realism.

(Side note in case the other question is marked as duplicate... the elements noted here didn't appear in the trailers.)

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