flash-forward

[ flash-fawr-werd ]

noun

1. a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which a future event or scene is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.
2. an event or scene so inserted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flash-forward¹

1945–50; flash + forward, on the model of flashback

Example Sentences

Starting a TV series with a shocking flash-forward is a tiresome and overused narrative device, but once the plot spools back and the series finds its groove, it is superb.

From BBC

There’s also 12 years and 11 seasons of back story to keep in mind — and a ton of lore, including flash-forward child births and complex double-crosses.

From New York Times

From its playfully inventive opening to its flash-forward finale, Thomas Hardiman’s wild — and wildly impressive — first feature, set during a British regional hairdressing competition, is a proudly indelicate, painstakingly structured pleasure.

From New York Times

He's the only person she can really talk to, she says in the flash-forward when she's in her 20s and making major scientific breakthroughs.

From Salon

Before the opening credits in “The Forger,” a brief flash-forward scene shows a young man scampering into a lost and found office.

From New York Times