By Jonathan Klotz
| Published

Science fiction is experiencing a modern renaissance thanks to the rise of high-profile streaming sci-fi series like Silo, Three-body problemAnd Foundationbut one of the most popular and inventive subgenres has been left behind, with no major films or shows released in the last five years. Steampunk, the retrofuturistic and anachronistic genre of steam-powered inventions, historical fiction, and generally a touch of mystery and horror, has been tossed into the dustbin of history. Despite the lack of interest from Hollywood, fans continue to go to dedicated conventions and show off incredible outfits on social media, so what went wrong?
The Sudden Rise and Fall of Steampunk

Steampunk was invented after the rise of cyberpunk in the 1980s, but it has its roots in film adaptations of 1950s classics. science fiction novels, including 20,000 leagues under the sea, The time machineAnd Journey to the center of the Earth. Dr. Who's Daleks and Wild Wild West brought the genre to television, proving that Combining Victorian London with steam-based technology was a winning formula. It captured the imagination of science fiction fans who embraced large overcoats, tall hats, and abundance of goggles as a new wave of fashion for science fiction conventions.
Soon there were steampunk novels, like The difference engine by William Gibson, and even graphic novels, including hell boy And The League of Extraordinary Gentlemenwhile Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes films helped bring steampunk into the back half of the aughts. Even animated immersed himself in the genre, with Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress And Fullmetal Alchemist fully embracing the look, feel and even sound of steampunk. We didn't know it at the time, but it was all the best for the genre.
Why Hollywood Keeps Failing

In 2018, the big screen adaptation of Deadly Engines arrived in theaters, bringing to life the wild post-apocalyptic story of cities on wheels, but it didn't just flop; it lost so much money, about $190 million, that Hollywood hasn't touched steampunk since. The closest we've gotten since then is Poor thingsa twist on the classic tale of Frankensteinbut even that is more of a gothic horror. In literature, it's a similar story, with no steampunk novel breaking through in the last six years like World shaker Or The Curious Case of Spring-Heeled Jack did it at the end of the years.
The problem with steampunk is that it is a visually intense genre and it is difficult to create the feeling of a living, breathing world on a limited budget. It's easy in literature when talented writers can paint pictures using only words and weave a wildly inventive story without worrying about how much it would cost to depict a two-ton steam cannon in live action. Even in anime, like Kabaneri In shows, the most basic scenes become visually intense when there are countless moving gears and pipes filling the background.
Beyond the cost of bringing steampunk to life, there is the difficulty of explaining the complex settings in the space of a 2 hour film. Embracing alternate history and retrofuturistic technology may make the genre a hit with sci-fi fans, but it's generally too dense to be considered mindless entertainment and the typical plots can quickly become very confusing for the average moviegoing audience. Even films like the one from 2011 Three musketeerswhich superimposed steampunk trappings onto the classic story, is dragged on review sites for confusing plots.
The Future of Steampunk

If steampunk fails to appeal to Hollywood studios, it's no wonder that so many classic science fiction authors like EE Doc Smiththe father of space opera, have never been adapted. With complex visuals and complex plots, fans can't trust studios that struggle to bring even the most generic sci-fi to life and must look elsewhere for the future of the genre by going back to where it began: novels. Authors like Jennifer Haskin (The mechanical pen) and Dan Willis (Pound of flesh) are among many who keep the genre alive in a medium that still lets the imagination run wild, creativity can flourish, and characters can wear giant glasses and cool feather dusters while putting the finishing touches on an airship steam.
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