When Does "Forbidden Planet" (1956) Take Place?
"Forbidden Planet" is a science fiction film written by Cyril Hume with Irving Block and Allen Adler that released March 3rd, 1956. So when is "Forbidden Planet" set?
It takes place in the year:
We know this because the opening omniscient narration declares, "By 2200 AD, they had reached the other planets of our solar system." ("they" here referring to all of humanity) and then Captain Adams announces to his crew that "20 years ago the spacecraft Bellerophon landed here". So we know it is later than 2220 AD at the absolute earliest and an adaptation offers a specific option.
2372 AD
We know this because the opening omniscient narration declares, "By 2200 AD, they had reached the other planets of our solar system." ("they" here referring to all of humanity) and then Captain Adams announces to his crew that "20 years ago the spacecraft Bellerophon landed here". So we know it is later than 2220 AD at the absolute earliest and an adaptation offers a specific option.
2,200 + 20 = 2,220.
Early in the film, Doctor Ostrow says, "We young men have been shut up in hyperspace for well over a year, now." strongly implying that the trip from Earth has taken something under 2 years. Also, the opening omniscient narration tells us, "United Planets cruiser C-57-D, now more than a year out from Earth base" clearly stating that it’s been over 1 year since their voyage began.
More specifically, the prose novel adaptation (novelization) of the film DOES state that "The first of these (Aboard the Space Ship Bellerophon) was launched, from Earth via the Moon, on the seventh of Sextor, 2351. The second (on the United Planets Cruiser C-57-D) was launched twenty years later almost to the minute..."
2,351 + 20 = 2,371
and
2,371 + 1 = 2,372.
Assuming a close adaptation, this is the best year we can ascertain for the story.
It was adapted to prose in early 1956 and as an audio-drama in 1959.
