2019 movie preview: Our 50 most anticipated films
To say 2019 is going to be a blockbuster year at the movies would be an understatement. We’ll see the culmination of the Avengers series and the third Star Wars trilogy. Live-action versions of Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King. New sequels to animated favorites Toy Story and Frozen. And the MCU’s first female-lead superhero movie, Captain Marvel.
And that, incredibly, is just Disney’s slate. (Looks like the Mouse House’s acquisitions of Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar is starting to pay off, huh?)
Beyond those future box-office behemoths comes Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited mobster reunion with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino teaming with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Jordan Peele’s hotly anticipated horror follow-up to Get Out (Us), biopics about Mister Rogers (Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Elton John (Taron Egerton in Rocketman) and Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger in Judy), exciting forays back into the DCEU- (Shazam!), X-Men- (Dark Phoenix), and Spider-verses (Spider-Man: Homecoming), big-screen takes on the Broadway musical Cats and the acclaimed television series Downton Abbey, and much, much (much) more.
Here are the 50 movies we’re most looking forward to in 2019. Happy New Year! — By Ethan Alter, Kevin Polowy and Gwynne Watkins
50. Godzilla: King of Monsters
Release date: May 31
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Ziyi Zhang
Directed by: Michael Dougherty
The buzz: The knock on Gareth Edwards’s Godzilla reboot is that it featured too little of the titular monster. So Michael Dougherty’s sequel will make up for that by featuring all of the monsters, from Mothra to King Ghidorah. If there have to be humans in this story, at least those humans are played by Eleven, Norma Bates and Coach Taylor.
49. The Kitchen
Release date: Sept. 20
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss
Directed by: Andrea Berloff
The buzz: Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is undoubtedly the most anticipated gangster flick of 2019 (more on that below), but how could you not be excited about this story that pairs funnywoman Tiffany Haddish with dramedy-awards contender Melissa McCarthy and Emmy-winning dramatist Elisabeth Moss as New York wives who take over their imprisoned spouses’ business activities? We’re picturing Widows, but with more humor.
48. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Release date: March 22
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig
Directed by: Richard Linklater
The buzz: This adaptation of Maria Semple’s book-club-favorite novel is in good hands with Boyhood and Before Sunrise trilogy director Richard Linklater. Cate Blanchett plays an eccentric mother who vanishes before a family vacation in Antarctica, leaving her husband and teenage daughter (not to mention the gossipy mothers in her upscale neighborhood) baffled.
47. The Secret Life of Pets 2
Release date: June 7
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Harrison Ford
Directed by: Chris Renaud
The buzz: Unfortunately for the makers of the sure-to-be-cute sequel to the super-cute 2016 furry-friend hit, the elephant joining the room is the dismissal of lead voice star Louis C.K. in the wake of the comedian’s sexual misconduct scandal. Universal, however, found a solid pick to replace him as main pup Max: Ratatouille alum Patton Oswalt. Hopefully the kids won’t even notice. Adults, however, will definitely notice the voice of Han Solo/Indiana Jones in his first animated role.
46. What Men Want
Release date: Feb. 8
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge
Directed by: Adam Shankman
The buzz: The romantic comedy What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson as a chauvinist who develops the power to read women’s thoughts, was a monster hit in 2000. But the premise and leading man don’t look great in retrospect. Enter this gender-swapped remake, starring Taraji P. Henson as a sports agent whose new psychic abilities may give her an edge in a man’s world.
45. Hellboy
Release date: April 12
Starring: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Daniel Dae Kim
Directed by: Neil Marshall
The buzz: Fifteen years after Hellboy’s big-screen debut, the crown of fire has officially been passed from Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman to Neil Marshall and David Harbour (Stranger Things). This franchise reboot pits the big red demon hunter and his B.R.P.D. sidekicks, Alice (Sasha Lane) and Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), against Jovovich’s bloody-minded sorceress. The first trailer was underwhelming, but with The Descent and two excellent Game of Thrones episodes on his résumé, we’re hoping Marshall does Del Toro proud.
44. Gemini Man
Release date: Oct. 4
Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen
Directed by: Ang Lee
The buzz: Will Smith looks to rebound from a string of three straight duds (Suicide Squad, Collateral Beauty, Bright) by doing what he does best: Playing an aging hitman who attempts to shoot a younger cloned version of himself in the face. OK, maybe we went too specific there. Still, Smith has a great shot with two-time Oscar winner Ang Lee (Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain) at the helm.
43. Flarsky
Release date: June 7
Starring: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., June Diane Raphael
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
The buzz: The third collaboration between Levine and Rogen after 50/50 and The Night Before follows loser journalist Fred Flarsky as he tries to win the heart of his onetime babysitter turned business mogul Charlotte Field (Theron). That thumbnail description may not sound particularly hilarious, but Flarsky has reportedly been reducing test audiences to tears … of laughter. So much so that the studio moved the release date to June so it could be a summer smash in the vein of past Rogen hits like Knocked Up and Superbad.
42. The King
Release date: Fall TBD
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Robert Pattinson
Directed by: David Mich?d
The buzz: Timothée Chalamet has grown one of the most passionate, vocal fan armies we’ve seen in Hollywood since … Robert Pattinson, his new co-star in this period piece co-written by Joel Edgerton and David Mich?d. The Call Me by Your Name Oscar nominee plays a young Henry V, while Twilight star turned impressive arthouse thespian R.Patz plays the Dauphin (the heir to the French throne). Can the world handle all this heartthrob in one movie?
41. The Woman in the Window
Release date: Oct. 4
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Wyatt Russell, Bryan Tyree Henry
Directed by: Joe Wright
The buzz: Based on A.J. Finn’s novel that’s said to be a “nod” to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (and adapted for the screen by Tracey Letts), this thriller follows a child psychologist with severe agoraphobia (Amy Adams) who witnesses a horrific crime from her apartment window. We have no doubt Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour) will bring some special sauce to the lensing.
40. Ad Astra
Release date: May 24
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
Directed by: James Gray
The buzz: After exploring The Lost City of Z, James Gray gets cosmic with his latest feature, which stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut traversing the outer limits of our solar system in search of his long-missing father (Tommy Lee Jones). Any Interstellar vibes will be enhanced by the presence of Christopher Nolan’s regular cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema, behind the camera. Any chance of a(nother) secret Matt Damon cameo?
39. Missing Link
Release date: April 12
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, Zach Galifianakis
Directed by: Chris Butler
The buzz: The latest animated confection from the stop-motion geniuses at Laika Studios (Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings) stars Hugh Jackman as a hunter of fantastic beasts who knows where to find them. His latest prey is Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis), the fabled “missing link” between animalkind and mankind. Director Chris Butler previously helmed Laika’s high-spirited tribute to ’80s-era supernatural kids’ movies ParaNorman, so we’re certain that Missing Link won’t be missing the studio’s signature handcrafted touch.
38. Greyhound
Release date: March 22
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham
Directed by: Aaron Schneider
The buzz: It’s a big year for Hanx. In addition to starring getting his red sweater out to play Mister Rogers, he also not only stars but also wrote the screenplay for this war drama about a career officer who assumes command of the titular Navy destroyer during the early days of World War II. In other words, he is the captain now.
37. John Wick 3: Chapter 3
Release date: May 17
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
The buzz: In the wake of violating the assassins’ creed and killing a sanctuary-seeking fellow killer, Keanu Reeves’s dog-loving hitman has to run a gauntlet of new would-be executioners, most notably Halle Berry’s Sofia. And if you thought the second chapter took the series in a weird direction, just you wait: Chapter 3 (also known as Parabellum) is going to do an even deeper dive into Wick-ian mythology, which will presumably be heavily featured in the announced TV spinoff as well.
36. Ford vs. Ferrari
Release date: June 28
Starring: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal
Directed by: James Mangold
The buzz: Christian Bale will shift from presidential races in Vice to sports-car races with this drama about the accelerating rivalry between the Ford GT40 and the Ferrari 330 P3. Racing fans know the outcome, but we won’t spoil it here. We do know the story has good hands at the wheel with James Mangold, who should find the perfect balance between biography (see his work in Walk the Line) and grit (Logan).
35. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
Release date: May 10
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe
Directed by: Rob Letterman
The buzz: You’d expect the first live-action Pokémon film to tell the story of the franchise’s original hero, trainer Ash Ketchum. Instead, Detective Pikachu takes a cue from the video game of the same name, throwing its lovable yellow title character into a noir mystery film. In addition to boasting photo-realistic versions of classic Pokémon, the film gives Pikachu a chance to actually speak (in the voice of Ryan Reynolds, no less).
34. The New Mutants
Release date: Aug. 2
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Alice Braga, Antonio Banderas
Directed by: Josh Boone
The buzz: The story behind this horror-laced X-Men spinoff about five teenage mutants trapped in a government facility sounds scarier than the film itself. Originally filmed in 2017, The New Mutants has reportedly undergone numerous reshoots and re-edits that delayed its release for over a year. Also unclear at this point is whether the movie still ties into existing X-Men continuity or represents something entirely … well, new.
33. Judy
Release date: Sept. 27
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Rufus Sewell, Finn Wittrock
Directed by: Rupert Goold
The buzz: The first big-screen biopic of Judy Garland, Judy stars Zellweger as the troubled Wizard of Oz star in her later years. A first PR photo showed the Chicago actress looking uncannily like the original Star Is Born star — but can she sing like her too? If Zellweger pulls it off, a 2020 Oscar nomination can’t be far behind.
32. Untitled Jumanji Sequel
Release date: Dec. 13
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
The buzz: 2017’s Welcome to the Jungle was not only way better than anticipated, it was a monster hit at the box office, racking up a massive $400 million in the U.S. and almost a billion dollars worldwide. So obviously the Rock and company are returning for another spin inside the high-stakes game. Hopefully it will find our four avatars having to mimic four new young archetypes, as much as we’d like to see Jack Black playing a snotty teenage girl again.
31. The Goldfinch
Release date: Oct. 11
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort, Jeffrey Wright, Sarah Paulson
Directed by: John Crowley
The buzz: John Crowley directed the underappreciated 2015 drama Brooklyn, which had the kind of epic storytelling and emotional resonance that an adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel requires. Ansel Elgort stars as Theo Decker, an orphaned Manhattan boy who follows the painting of the title into a series of strange adventures.
30. Glass
Release date: Jan. 18
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
The buzz: Fans of M. Night Shyamalan’s 2000 cult classic Unbreakable know that it was intended to be the beginning of a superhero trilogy. At last, Glass will pit Bruce Willis’s indestructible hero David Dunn against fragile genius Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) and the multiple personalities of Split villain Kevin Wendell Crumb (McAvoy) in a movie that promises to be starkly different than the usual Marvel and DC fare.
29. Hobbs and Shaw
Release date: Aug. 2
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Eiza González
Directed by: David Leitch
The buzz: Vin Diesel has dominated the Fast and Furious franchise since 2001 (with a little hiatus between films 1 and 4), so a spinoff featuring the non-Dom characters is a welcome shakeup. Former DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) put their differences aside to fight an international terrorist (Idris Elba) in a film that Statham has described as “funnier than we intended for it to be.”
28. Downton Abbey
Release date: Sept. 20
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith, Jim Carter
Directed by: Michael Engler
The buzz: They’re baaaack! The esteemed Crawley clan and their devoted servants return for the big-screen spinoff of the beloved TV series. Details about the plot or even the time period are being kept tightly under wraps. All we know is that they’d better not mess with Lady Edith’s happy ending.
27. Charlie’s Angels
Release date: Nov. 1
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska
Directed by: Elizabeth Banks
The buzz: First it was a ’70s action show with a sex-symbol cast. Then it was a ’90s film franchise with a girl-power spin. Now Charlie’s Angels is being directed and produced by a woman for the first time. (Banks, who also appears in the film, previously directed Pitch Perfect 2.) As one of the three crime-fighting “Angels,” Stewart will take on her first lead role in a studio film since The Twilight Saga.
26. The Laundromat
Release date: Fall TBD
Starring: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, David Schwimmer, Will Forte
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
The buzz: It’s All the President’s Men for the present day, as Soderbergh dramatizes the all-too-true story of how a team of journalists discovered the secret ways in which the world’s wealthiest tycoons protect their money. While he’s rarely one to recycle himself, we’re thrilled that the director took a cue from his terrific 2009 film, The Informant!, by casting comic actors like Will Forte, Chris Parnell and Larry Wilmore in presumably dramatic roles.
25. Alita: Battle Angel
Release date: Feb. 14
Starring: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Eiza González, Mahershala Ali, Lana Condor
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
The buzz: With producers James Cameron and Jon Landau at his back, Robert Rodriguez has been hard at work crafting this stylistic cyberpunk thriller about a young cyborg heroine battling her way through postapocalyptic landscapes for years, doing the bulk of shooting at a massive set built in his hometown of Austin, Texas. But not as long as Cameron, who first announced the manga adaptation in 2003. Good things come to those who wait?
24. Zombieland 2
Release date: Oct. 11
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Zoey Deutch
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
The buzz: Latter-day sequels to hit comedies tend to be a dicey proposition: Anchorman 2 or Zoolander 2 anyone? Still, we’re hoping that getting the original Zombieland band — including newly minted Oscar winner, Emma Stone — back together will result in more zom-com hysterics. One question: Now that Bill Murray is “dead,” will Tom Hardy be the next celebrity cameo? He owes Fleisher a solid for tolerating his lobster-tank antics in Venom.
23. Men in Black: International
Release date: June 14
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
The buzz: Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were a fun pair, but there’s a whole new level of excitement for MCU/Thor chums to extend their partnership into another type of intergalactic crimefighting. The action moves overseas in the fourth installment, where a London team most trot the glob to snuff out a mole in the organization. For bonus points, Kumail Nanjiani voices an alien named Pawny.
22. Dark Phoenix
Release date: June 7
Starring: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain
Directed by: Simon Kinberg
The buzz: With Disney set to swallow up 20th Century Fox, Dark Phoenix could very well be the last entry in the X-Men franchise we’ve been following for the past two decades. Based on the early trailer, the movie does seem in part designed to bridge the gap between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, telling the story of Jean Grey’s (Sophie Turner) first experience doing dark, and how that turns the world against the X-Men … and, more consequentially, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) against Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).
21. Dumbo
Release date: March 29
Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green
Directed by: Tim Burton
The buzz: Tim Burton has been hit (Big Eyes, Frankenweenie) and miss (Miss Peregrine, Dark Shadows) in recent years, but the thought of the deliciously weird auteur getting a crack at everyone’s favorite flying elephant — plus a promising trailer — has us thinking the scale on this one will be tipped toward the former. And how great is it that the movie marks a reunion between the filmmaker and his Batman Returns co-stars Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito?
20. Joker
Release date: Oct. 4
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Francis Conroy
Directed by: Todd Phillips
The buzz: Stepping outside of the larger DC Extended Universe, this one-shot Joker origin story reveals who the Clown Prince of Crime is and how he came to be. Against the backdrop of early-’80s Gotham, struggling comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) channels his personal and personal frustrations into a lucrative criminal career. There’s no Batman around to stop him, but the shadow of the Dark Knight will be represented by his biological father and surrogate father: Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) and Alfred Pennyworth (Douglas Hodge).
19. Cats
Release date: Dec. 20
Starring: Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, James Corden
Directed by: Tom Hooper
The buzz: Cat — and musical — lovers rejoice! Andrew Lloyd Webber’s seminal Broadway hit makes the leap to the big screen under the direction of Les Misérables helmer Tom Hooper. All eyes will be on Taylor Swift making her feature-film debut as flirty feline Bombalurina, but all ears will be listening for Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the show’s signature tune, “Memory.” After all, the last time Hudson belted out a movie musical’s showpiece number, she won a dang Oscar.
18. Queen and Slim
Release date: Nov. 29
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith
Directed by: Melina Matsoukas
The buzz: Some people you just get the feeling are going to keep rising and rising in Hollywood, and Lena Waithe is one of those people. The Master of None breakout wrote this drama about a fateful run-in between a black couple (Get Out Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya and Nightfliers star Jodie Turner-Smith) and the law, while Melina Matsoukas (Insecure, Beyoncé’s “Formation” video) handles helming duties.
17. It: Chapter Two
Release date: Sept. 6
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Bill Skarsg?rd
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
The buzz: It‘s blockbuster first chapter made movie theaters safe for scary clowns and Stephen King adaptations. Expect equally strong grosses — not to mention even scarier gross-outs — now that the grown-up members of the Losers Club have to take on the all-powerful Pennywise in a to-the-death rematch. Here’s hoping that the final monster isn’t another goofy-looking giant spider.
16. Rocketman
Release date: May 31
Starring: Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
The buzz: Does Kingsman star Taron Egerton have what it takes to pull off a convincing young Sir Elton John in this rare summer biopic? He sure sounded the part when he sang “I’m Still Standing” — albeit as an animated gorilla — in the family hit Sing. And Rocketman will actually mark his third Elton-related project after John appeared in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.) Nailing down the rest of John won’t be a space expedition for an actor of Egerton’s caliber. Plan on him landing it.
15. Aladdin
Release date: May 24
Starring: Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Will Smith, Marwen Kenzari
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
The buzz: The Disney remake just had one of the shortest-lived controversies we’ve seen in a while when fans, upset that a first look at the film revealed Will Smith’s Genie to be non-blue, were placated by clarifications from the actor and creative team that he would, in fact, be the same shade as his animated predecessor when presented in CGI. Breathe easy, people! At least one of our wishes this year would be for these live-action remixes to be as good as the hand-drawn originals.
14. Little Women
Release date: Dec. 25
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep
Directed by: Greta Gerwig
The buzz: Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated follow-up to her Oscar-nominated Lady Bird, the latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel will jump backward and forward in time, allowing Gerwig to focus more on the March sisters’ adult lives. The all-star cast includes Meryl Streep in the small-but-crucial role of elderly Aunt March.
13. Spider-Man: Far From Home
Release date: July 5
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei
Directed by: Jon Watts
The buzz: Never thought we’d be saying this, but can Spidey’s next live-action adventure possibly top the animated stand-out Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, one of the very best movies of 2018? Luckily for the latest Marvel-Sony collabo, this one has the ever-charming Tom Holland still headlining, plus a fresh villain in Jake Gyllenhaal, who finally returns to mega-budgeted filmmaking nine years after the whoopsie that was The Prince of Persia.
12. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Release date: Feb. 8
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Tiffany Haddish, Alison Brie
Directed by: Mike Mitchell
The buzz: Picking up where 2014’s surprise blockbuster The Lego Movie left off, The Second Part returns to Bricksburg after a catastrophic invasion of preschool Duplo blocks. When an alien queen (Tiffany Haddish) kidnaps master shapeshifter Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), semi-oblivious hero Emmet (Chris Pratt) is once again tasked with saving the Legoverse.
11. The Lion King
Release date: July 19
Starring: Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Beyoncé
Directed by: Jon Favreau
The buzz: Can you feel the love tonight? And can you deal with the emotional pain of watching Mufasa (once again voiced by James Earl Jones, hooray!) perish again? At least we’re confident that, after The Jungle Book, there was no better filmmaker to resurrect Simba and friends for a gritty live-action safari. And with a supporting cast that also includes Billy Eichner, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, Eric André, John Oliver and Amy Sedaris, this film might have the coolest cast of any movie this year.
10. Shazam!
Release date: April 5
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Mark Strong
Directed by: David F. Sandberg
The buzz: The first trailer for Shazam! won Comic-Con with its lighthearted comic tone and “Big but with superheroes” premise. Color us hopeful that DC’s recent upswing continues and the full feature is everything those two minutes promised. If this one succeeds, Dwayne Johnson will finally have to stop stalling and suit up as Black Adam.
9. Frozen 2
Release date: Nov. 22
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood
Directed by: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
The buzz: The follow-up to Disney’s 2013 cultural juggernaut is shrouded in secrecy, but writer-director Jennifer Lee has promised it will be “bigger, more epic” than Frozen, taking royal sisters Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) “far out of Arendelle.” That’s about all we know — but with the original cast and creative team back on board, Frozen 2 promises not to be another half-baked (or in this case, half-frozen) sequel.
8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Release date: Oct. 18
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper
Directed by: Marielle Heller
The buzz: More Mr. Rogers? Don’t mind if we do! The ideally cast Tom Hanks will play Fred Rogers in the dramatized true story of a reporter who has a life-changing encounter with the beloved children’s television show host. Marielle Heller (director of 2018’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?) has promised that her film is not a biopic, meaning it will work nicely as a companion piece to last year’s winning documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor.
7. Captain Marvel
Release date: March 8
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law
Directed by: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
The buzz: For the first time in a long time, Marvel is playing catch-up to DC, launching its first female-led feature two years after Wonder Woman slayed at the box office. The good news is that we expect Captain Marvel to be worth the wait. The early trailers have effectively teased Brie Larson’s limitless power (and multiple superhero suits), as well as the larger Kree-Skrull War that will presumably have ramifications on the … um, “endgame” of a certain Infinity War.
6. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Release date: July 26
Starring: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Luke Perry, Al Pacino
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
The buzz: Sure, there may be some diminishing returns, but even Quentin Tarantino’s worst movies (The Hateful Eight, if you’re in that camp?) are 10 times better than the majority of major studio movie releases. In other words, his films will continue to be “event” films — especially when they team folks like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, here for a dabble in seedy 1969 Los Angeles as the Charles Manson murders shocked the city.
5. Toy Story 4
Release date: June 21
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Tony Hale, Patricia Arquette, Jordan Peele
Directed by: Josh Cooley
The buzz: So far, every Toy Story sequel has been better (and more cry-inducing) than the last. The fourth installment is a long time coming and will send all of Andy’s old toys — including Woody (Tom Hanks), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) — on a road trip they’ll never forget. The teaser trailer is offbeat and funny, but the ending made both Hanks and Allen burst into tears in the recording booth, so get those tissues ready.
4. Us
Release date: March 15
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss
Directed by: Jordan Peele
The buzz: How will Jordan Peele follow his jaw-dropping directorial debut Get Out? We’ll soon find out. Another psychological horror film layered with social commentary, Us tells the story of a couple (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and her Black Panther co-star/breakout Winston Duke) whose home is invaded by a family who looks exactly like them. The trailer alone is enough to scare the living daylights out of you.
3. Avengers: Endgame
Release date: April 26
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, too many others to list
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
The buzz: It’s the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it, and we feel … stoked. But don’t take our word about how excited everyone is for Endgame: The first trailer set a new viewing record and theories about how the surviving Avengers undo Thanos’s Snapture are all over the Internet. This isn’t just a movie; it’s a series finale to a decade-long event that the entire world has been following. So, you know, no pressure guys.
2. The Irishman
Release date: Fall TDB
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
The buzz: Believe it or not, it’s been almost a quarter-century since the last Scorsese-De Niro joint — 1995’s Casino — and that reunion alone makes The Irishman a must-see proposition. But as a bonus, the duo are bringing old friends like Al Pacino and Joe Pesci along for their $140 million Netflix film, which is based on the true story of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), who may or may not have been involved in the still-unsolved disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Even if it’s not the best Scorsese-De Niro movie, The Irishman is guaranteed to be the biggest Scorsese/De Niro movie.
1. Star Wars: Episode IX
Release date: Dec. 20
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
The buzz: J.J. Abrams’s The Force Awakens reinvigorated the Star Wars saga. Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi took the familiar story in thrilling new directions. Now Abrams is back to wrap up the trilogy, and where it ends is anyone’s guess. Will Rey (Daisy Ridley) lead the Resistance to victory against the First Order? Will Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) find a way to make peace with the family he betrayed? Will General Leia (the late Carrie Fisher) appear onscreen? Is Luke (Mark Hamill) coming back as a Force Ghost? Will anybody kiss? We’re only asking the important questions, folks. This one can’t come soon enough — but we’re happy to wait, if only because we don’t want Rey’s journey to end.
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