If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s talking about itself, making things about itself, telling everyone how important Hollywood is. And that’s perfectly valid, because for over a century it’s been the home of over-the-top. But few have been quite as extravagant, excessive, and deliberately exhausting as Damien Chazelle’s (La La Land) film about the history of Hollywood, as he attempted to lead a super cast through the chaos of the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Now, audiences are getting the chance to experience it all over again.
After becoming one of the most notorious box-office disappointments of the last decade, Babylonhas officially returned to streaming, giving Chazelle’s divisive epic — and make no mistake, it is an epic — another opportunity to find an audience at home. Babylon follows an ambitious cast of characters – the silent film superstar (Brad Pitt), the young starlet (Margot Robbie), the production executive, the musical sensation, and the alluring powerhouse performer – who are striving to stay on top of the raucous 1920s Hollywood scene and maintain their relevance at a time when the industry is moving on to the next best thing.
Alongside Pitt and Robbie, the film stars Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico) as Manny Torres, with Jean Smart (Hacks) as Elinor St. John, Jovan Adepo (3 Body Problem) as Sidney Palmer, Li Jun Li (Quantico) as Lady Fay Zhu, Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) as James McKay, and Flea (Back to the Future Part II) as Bob Levine.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Was ‘Babylon’ a Success?
Babylon divided critics upon release, but its reputation has steadily improved in the years since. The movie earned three Academy Award nominations, including recognition for Justin Hurwitz’s score, its production design, and costume design. Financially, though, it was nothing short of a catastrophe. It was made for a reported $110 million, and that’s before marketing or advertising was taken into account, but it earned only $63 million worldwide. However, its spectacular theatrical failure has increasingly become part of the movie’s mythology, particularly as the film has developed a more enthusiastic following after leaving theaters.
