I know we’re already well into February, but aside from Scream — which I loved, by the way — the first couple months of the year have been quiet in terms of new releases. With The Batman opening the first weekend in March, the sparks will start flying and we’ll be in business. But what all is there to look forward to? So much more than you know, which is why I’ve cranked out another list of my most anticipated releases so you can start marking your calendar.
10. The Fabelmans
West Side Story’s underwhelming box office — though one could argue that underperforming at the box office is effectively the norm at this point in the pandemic — has led more than a few people to question whether Steven Spielberg still has the same drawing power he once did. I can’t speak for everyone else, but the Spielberg name is still enough for me. He is one of the greatest directors of all time, after all. I’m especially intrigued by the fact that he is co-writing his next film with Tony Kushner, marking Spielberg’s first screenwriting credit in two decades. The Fabelmans is reportedly semi-autobiographical, inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood. The film’s cast includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle, with the latter serving as a stand-in for a young Spielberg. Rogen will play a character modeled after Spielberg’s favorite uncle when he was growing up. (Nov. 23)
9. Babylon
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since we were last graced with a film from director Damien Chazelle. After bursting onto the scene with the critically-acclaimed Whiplash, Chazelle earned a Best Director Oscar two years later for La La Land, becoming the youngest person to ever win the award. His third film, First Man, didn’t make quite the same splash as his previous two works, but it was another impressive entry in his growing filmography. Now Chazelle is turning back the clock with Babylon, a period drama set in 1920s Hollywood as the industry shifted from silent films to “talkies.” Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood co-stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie have been tapped to lead an ensemble cast that includes Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Katherine Waterston, and Tobey Maguire. (Dec. 25)
8. Men
I know next to nothing about Men, but I know enough. I know it’s writer-director Alex Garland’s third turn behind the camera after Ex Machina and Annihilation and his first project since his brilliant limited series Devs aired on FX on Hulu (RIP) in 2020. With 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd among his screenwriting credits, Garland has made a name for himself in the science fiction genre crafting cerebral genre films that are as entertaining as they are thought-provoking. Men, which is being financed and distributed by A24, stars Jessie Buckley as a woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband, only to find that someone (or something) is stalking her. The teaser trailer offers little more than a chilling glimpse of what is to come, but Men’s cinematographer Rob Hardy, making his fourth collaboration with Garland after Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Devs, assures us that we can anticipate “something truly extraordinary, and reassuringly weird.” (May 20)
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
It’s Martin Scorsese’s next film. What more do you need to know? Based on the non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon — which digs into a series of murders committed against the indigenous Osage people in Osage County, Oklahoma during the 1920s — Scorsese first became attached to this film adaptation in 2017. It’s road to the screen has been rocky to say the least, from production being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to budget concerns from Paramount that forced Scorsese to strike a deal with Apple TV+ to co-finance and co-distribute the film. It reunites Scorsese with both Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, the two leading men who have combined to star in a combined 14 of Scorsese’s films. (TBA)
6. The Batman
Of course I’m excited for The Batman. I grew up watching Batman: The Animated Series, I remember going to the drive-in to see Batman & Robin when I was six years old (though I remember the experience more fondly than I do the movie, obviously), and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy was as formative for me as the original Star Wars trilogy was for that generation. I will admit I never much cared for Zack Snyder’s version of Batman, though I was a fan of his decision to cast Ben Affleck in the role. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m much more in tune with director Matt Reeves’ vision for the Caped Crusader. The cast is first rate, from the inspired choice of Robert Pattinson to don the cape and cowl to the brilliant casting of Paul Dano as a Zodiac-inspired incarnation of The Riddler. Reeves also seems intent on returning Batman to his roots as the World’s Greatest Detective, forcing Bruce Wayne to unravel a mystery that will expose secrets about his family and lay bare Gotham City’s history of rampant corruption. (Mar. 4)
5. Disappointment Blvd
The combination of A24 and writer-director Ari Aster has yet to disappoint. Aster first burst onto the scene with his feature directorial debut Hereditary, which debuted to rave reviews at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival before becoming one of A24’s highest-grossing films. Reactions to his follow-up, the folk horror film Midsommar, were more polarized, but it can’t be denied that film generated enough buzz to help raise the profile of star Florence Pugh. Hereditary was No. 3 in my Top 10 Movies of 2018 and Midsommar checked in at No. 9 in my Top 15 Movies of 2019, so clearly I was a fan of both. Though he has made a name for himself in the horror genre, Aster seems to be trying something different in his third collaboration with A24. Disappointment Blvd, which stars Joaquin Phoenix, has been described as “an intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.” I can’t say for sure exactly what Aster has in store for us, but he has more than earned my faith. (TBA)
4. Knives Out 2
Considering how much Agatha Christie’s novels influenced Knives Out and how much affection writer-director Rian Johnson has for iconic Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, Christie’s most famous creation, the best possible outcome from the critical and commercial success of Knives Out was that it would spark a long-running partnership between Johnson and Daniel Craig’s gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc. That’s exactly what we’re getting now that Netflix has shelled out $469 million for the rights to a pair of sequels. None of the original cast will return, with the exception of Craig and his “Foghorn Leghorn drawl” as Blanc, who will presumably find himself at the center of another whodunit in need of unraveling. The first sequel was filmed in Greece and features an all-star cast: Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, and Jessica Henwick. (Fall 2022)
3. Everything Everywhere All At Once
If you haven’t seen Swiss Army Man, the feature directorial debut of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (a.k.a “Daniels”), do yourself a favor and seek it out. I can guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a film that denies categorization. I’ll offer a fair warning that your mileage is going to vary with a film that explores the fantastical relationship between an island castaway and a farting corpse that washes ashore, but I think it’s healthy to introduce a little weirdness into your moviegoing every once in a while. That’s at least part of why I’m so excited for Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniels’ sophomore effort that casts Michelle Yeoh as an exhausted Chinese American woman tasked with saving the multiverse. Not only have the filmmaking duo cast a 59-year-old Malaysian actress as the heroine of their offbeat sci-fi actioner, but they’ve also enlisted a pair of genre icons in Ke Huy Guan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) and James Hong (Big Trouble In Little China, among many other credits). (Mar. 25)
Watch the trailer here.
2. Poor Things
The last time director Yorgos Lanthimos, screenwriter Tony McNamara, and actress Emma Stone collaborated, we were blessed with The Favourite, which you’ll recall was my favorite movie of 2018. All three are back for Poor Things, an adaptation of a 1992 novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray that has been described as a postmodern version of Frankenstein. The plot concerns a pregnant 19th-century woman (Stone) who drowns herself to escape her abusive husband (Ramy Youssef), only to be brought back to life when her surgeon father (Willem Dafoe) resuscitates her by inserting the brain of her unborn fetus into her skull. Yes, you read that correctly. Gray’s novel is a black comedy that satirizes Victorian era morals, which is precisely Lanthimos’ wheelhouse. One need look no further than The Favourite, The Lobster, and Dogtooth for his wicked sense of humor and deft hand for satire. (TBA)
1. Nope
Every Jordan Peele movie is a must-see at this point. Get Out was that good. His follow-up, Us, was never going to reach the same heights as his debut feature, but was nevertheless a critical and commercial success. Three years later, Peele is back with Nope. The first trailer dropped on Super Bowl Sunday, introducing us to a remote California town where the proprietors of a Hollywood horse-training ranch are besieged by what appears to be extraterrestrial phenomena. The trailer offers glimpses of Daniel Kaluuya on horseback outrunning the looming shadow of a UFO, a “lasso experience” hosted by Steven Yeun, and Keke Palmer being lifted into the sky. I’ll save you a seat on opening night. (Jul. 22)
The best of the rest: X (Mar. 18), Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (May 6), The Black Phone (Jun. 24), Thor: Love And Thunder (Jul. 8), Black Adam (Jul. 29), Salem’s Lot (Sep. 9), Don’t Worry Darling (Sep. 23), Spider-Man: Across The SpiderVerse – Part One (Oct. 7), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Nov. 11), She Said (Nov. 18), Creed III (Nov. 23), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 16), Clerks III (TBA) Crimes of the Future (TBA), Evil Dead Rise (TBA), Hellraiser (TBA), Infinity Pool (TBA), The Killer (TBA), Showing Up (TBA), and White Noise (TBA)