Some years I just list releases, some years I try to write a bit more. This is one of those 'write a bit more' years. It went long.
TL;DR: IMDb Release Calendar: https://www.imdb.com/calendar/?ref_=nv_mv_cal
Awards Season
The year starts, as ever, with a bunch of films that are hoping releasing in this period will give them a better chance in awards ceremonies, particularly the Oscars, in the hopes of some recency bias. Till (January) is the story of Emmett Till’s mother’s efforts to make the racist murder of her young son provide change for black people in America. Empire of Light (January) from Sam Mendes with a strong cast tells a story of human connection via cinema and music. Tar (January) is a fictional story about a conductor that has potential to help Cate Blanchett to another Oscar. Babylon (January) is the latest film from Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land). It’s a story of excess and decadence during early Hollywood. We are finally getting The Fablemans (January) a lightly fictionalised biography of Stephen Spielberg that was released in the US in 2022.
I suspect there were hopes that the inclusion of Tom Hanks would make A Man Called Otto (January) an Oscar contender, but it seems to be being slipped out rather than released with any sort of fanfare. Feels quite tough to accept Hanks as a cranky old man.
Brendan Fraser has been getting a lot of buzz for his ‘comeback’ (I’ve been enjoying him in Doom Patrol over the last few years), he is highly tipped for an Oscar for his role in The Whale (February) as a massively overweight man trying to reconnect with his daughter. Rounding out some of the films in award contention are Women Talking (February) about abuse in a religious community, The Son (February) sees a man and his new partner’s life interrupted by his ex and their teenage son. I’m personally really looking forward to Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (February) a live-action/animated movie following a cute little shell who tries to find his long-lost family.
Comic Books
Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania (February) phase five starts with a first movie appearance of Kang, the supposed big bad of the next run of Avengers movies. Bill Murray will also be joining the MCU in this movie, but it’s not entirely clear who he will be playing. This is followed by Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3 (May). James Gunn’s final Guardians movie, he has teased not all the characters will survive. The final full MCU movie in 2023 will be The Marvels (July). It is a sequel to Captain Marvel, and the Ms. Marvel Disney+ show, which teased a switch between CM’s space travelling Carol Danvers and MM’s Jersey high school student Kamala Khan.
Still Marvel, but from the Sony we’re due to see the highly anticipated sequel to the surprise animated hit, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June). The original was a major cinematic release that introduced the multiverse concept to cinema goers and was perhaps the proof that the cinema audiences unfamiliar with comics can handle the multiverse concept. Expect more variations of Spider-man. On the less anticipated side is the next in Sony’s attempt to create their own live-action spider-verse, following on from Venom and Mobius, is Kraven: The Hunter (October). Another film focusing on a spider-man villain, casting of Aaron Taylor-Johnson has dampened any excitement the film had (mainly based on his look rather than acting ability).
On the DC side, we have a few of the old DCEU movies to come over 2023/24 while James Gunn and Peter Safran are working on restarting the DC movie universe. Personally, I hope having a storyteller building the universe will work out better than a studio businessman, especially a storyteller who knows comic books, but we’re unlikely to see that until 2024/25. First up from DC is Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March). The first shazam movie was generally well received, a lighter tone than the previous DCEU movies, and this seems to follow on in the same way. Controversially, The Flash (June) is still on the books, while a practically finished Batgirl has been shelved (despite featuring the Oscar-tipped Brendan Fraser). If Ezra Miller can stop getting into legal troubles, it may even get released. Rumour before Gunn and Safran took over DC movies was that this would be used to reset the DCEU. It’ll be interesting to see if that still happens. Some sections of the comic fan base have been waiting a while to see Blue Beetle (August). Not sure it will have a big non-comic fan audience, and with the turmoil behind the scenes with DC movie, people might want to wait for a reboot of the character. DC will also have the final comic book movie of 2023 with the delayed release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December). The first one got decent, though not effervescent reviews.
Family Movies
The first notable family film this year is probably the ‘wait, they’re still making movies in that franchise?’ option of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (February). I don’t know why, when they’ve already perfected it, but this year sees another attempt to make a movie of the video game with The Super Mario Bros Movie (March). This one is animated and looks like it will try to resemble the game. Albeit, controversially, without the Italian accent as Chris Pratt voices Mario.
90s kids may be excited to see a live action version of the Saturday morning standard Dungeons & Dragons (April). They may also be excited by the latest Disney live action remake of an animated classic with The Little Mermaid (May) assuming they’re not one of those racist trolls on the internet struggling with a non-white mermaid.
Pixar’s contribution is Elemental (June) early images made them look a lot like the emotions in Inside Out, but this focus on elements (water, fire, etc). More Computer animation in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August), I think this fits in family movies. Little is known, but some word suggests there might be elements of the more mature original comic book, but also some of the more family friendly TV shows but seems to be a new start for the franchise.
For the younger family, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (October) and Trolls Band Together (October), and Disney's latest is Wish (also October) hopefully that will be better than Strange Worlds was.
Back to live-action family movies, the latest in the franchise comes to screens with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June). We’re also getting another attempt to turn a Disney theme park ride into a movie with Haunted Mansion (August). Timothèe Chalomet is a current darling of Hollywood, meaning he was picked to play a younger version of the chocolate factory owner in a prequel of sorts Wonka (December). It’s not yet clear is this is intended to link to either of the previous Wonka movies (Burton’s version or the good one).
Horror
2022 was a good year for horror movies. It looks like that might continue into 2023. M3gan (January) sees a robot created to provide support and comfort for a young orphan starts to take things a little too far. Unwelcome (January) gives us a fix for fairytale horror which sees a newlywed couple move into a new home they inherited and one day they forget to leave a tribute to the goblins that live in the woods on the edge of their property.
M Night Shyamalan continues his up and down career, releasing a promising looking Knock at the Cabin (February). A gay couple and their daughter are staying in a cabin when a small group of menacing people arrive claiming they are tasked with saving the universe and need the family to make a choice…
Ti West has been building a library of well-regarded horror movies with last year’s X being the most mainstream, in which Mia Goth played both the young ‘final girl’ and the main old lady villain. Pearl (March) focuses on the origins of the old lady from X giving us her backstory. There is a third in the franchise, Maxxxine, following the final girl from X, but that isn’t listed in the releases for 2023.
A teaser trailer recently showed Scream 6 (March) takes the action to New York following the survivors of the “Requel” Scream (the fifth in the series released 2022 with the same title as the first acting as a reboot and a sequel). It will be the first without both Sydney (Neve Campbell did not agree to return) and Dewey (He, well… spoilers!).
Wouldn’t be a Film thread without the excitement of a quirky Nic Cage film. This year he will be in a film focused on Dracula’s henchman, Renfield (April)
This year has two possession-based movies: The Pope’s Exorcist (April) and a remake of a classic The Exorcist (October).
Horror is a haven for sequels. Another attempt to resurrect the franchise sees Evil Dead Rise (April) taking the action out of the woods and into the city. Insidious 5 (July) arrives this year, and Saw X (October) sees the return of John Kramer to the franchise. Several films after he was killed off and his story supposedly fully told.
Other Sequels
But, horror is not the only genre that loves to rely on recognisable IP. Magic Mike’s Last Dance (February) sees Mike travel to London to choreograph a new show. Creed III (March) sees Michael B Jordan take over directorial duties in a story that sees Creed take on a childhood friend who is the ‘what could have been’ in his life.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (March) sees Keanu Reeves return to another of his iconic roles to give us some great action movies. Vin Deisel and the rest of the ever-increasing ensemble cast are still chasing the high of the 5th movie, as we see what should be the last in the fast and furious franchise with Fast X (May).
The relative success of Bumblebee has led to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June) as we meet the animal-shaped transformers.
What started as a franchise where each instalment had a different director, giving a different flavour of action, evolved into a franchise where the same director builds a film around a particular stunt. The latest Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One (July) will see Tom Cruise ride a bike off a mountain into free fall parachute jump. Check out the rehearsals:
(the tweet contains a 9min behind the scenes video of Tom Cruise preparing, practicing and executing the stunt)
Jason Statham is back in the follow up to his surprise hit with The Meg 2: The Trench (August). Denzel returns in The Equalizer 3 (September). An ensemble of returns in The Expendables 4 (September). More Timothèe Chalomet in Dune Part Two (November).
Perhaps somewhat unexpected is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (November). A prequel story following a late teenage version of the old ruler from the original Hunger Games stories (played by Donald Sutherland in those movies).
There is an as yet Untitled Ghostbusters Afterlife Sequel due to be released in December. May just be a placeholder in the IMDb release diary.
Other Movies
The crazy true story of a bear getting high on some discarded cocaine has had some fictionalisation and resulted in the new movie Cocaine Bear (February).
65 (March) sees Adam Driver play a humanoid alien who crash lands on pre-historic earth and have to face dinosaurs.
Chris Nolan appears to be returning to more straightforward narrative with the biographical Oppenheimer (July). As a Nolan fan, I’m looking forward to this.
Barbie (July) has had a bit of a troubled production. Originally due to star Amy Schumer, it will now star Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, directed by Greta Gerwig based on her own script. Little is known of the story details, but the teaser trailer was a very good riff on 2001.
www.youtube.com
Taika Waititi seems to be losing some of his lustre as people seemingly are starting to tire of his humour. But I’m still looking forward to his next movie Next Goal Wins (September) about the American Samoa team and their 31-0 loss.
As Christmas approaches, we will get the musical film based on a stage show based on a non-musical film based on a book; The Colour Purple (December). I’ve not seen the musical, but it did get some awards.
Finally, January will see the release of the movie that I discovered in this tweet:
TL;DR: IMDb Release Calendar: https://www.imdb.com/calendar/?ref_=nv_mv_cal
Awards Season
The year starts, as ever, with a bunch of films that are hoping releasing in this period will give them a better chance in awards ceremonies, particularly the Oscars, in the hopes of some recency bias. Till (January) is the story of Emmett Till’s mother’s efforts to make the racist murder of her young son provide change for black people in America. Empire of Light (January) from Sam Mendes with a strong cast tells a story of human connection via cinema and music. Tar (January) is a fictional story about a conductor that has potential to help Cate Blanchett to another Oscar. Babylon (January) is the latest film from Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land). It’s a story of excess and decadence during early Hollywood. We are finally getting The Fablemans (January) a lightly fictionalised biography of Stephen Spielberg that was released in the US in 2022.
I suspect there were hopes that the inclusion of Tom Hanks would make A Man Called Otto (January) an Oscar contender, but it seems to be being slipped out rather than released with any sort of fanfare. Feels quite tough to accept Hanks as a cranky old man.
Brendan Fraser has been getting a lot of buzz for his ‘comeback’ (I’ve been enjoying him in Doom Patrol over the last few years), he is highly tipped for an Oscar for his role in The Whale (February) as a massively overweight man trying to reconnect with his daughter. Rounding out some of the films in award contention are Women Talking (February) about abuse in a religious community, The Son (February) sees a man and his new partner’s life interrupted by his ex and their teenage son. I’m personally really looking forward to Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (February) a live-action/animated movie following a cute little shell who tries to find his long-lost family.
Comic Books
Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania (February) phase five starts with a first movie appearance of Kang, the supposed big bad of the next run of Avengers movies. Bill Murray will also be joining the MCU in this movie, but it’s not entirely clear who he will be playing. This is followed by Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3 (May). James Gunn’s final Guardians movie, he has teased not all the characters will survive. The final full MCU movie in 2023 will be The Marvels (July). It is a sequel to Captain Marvel, and the Ms. Marvel Disney+ show, which teased a switch between CM’s space travelling Carol Danvers and MM’s Jersey high school student Kamala Khan.
Still Marvel, but from the Sony we’re due to see the highly anticipated sequel to the surprise animated hit, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June). The original was a major cinematic release that introduced the multiverse concept to cinema goers and was perhaps the proof that the cinema audiences unfamiliar with comics can handle the multiverse concept. Expect more variations of Spider-man. On the less anticipated side is the next in Sony’s attempt to create their own live-action spider-verse, following on from Venom and Mobius, is Kraven: The Hunter (October). Another film focusing on a spider-man villain, casting of Aaron Taylor-Johnson has dampened any excitement the film had (mainly based on his look rather than acting ability).
On the DC side, we have a few of the old DCEU movies to come over 2023/24 while James Gunn and Peter Safran are working on restarting the DC movie universe. Personally, I hope having a storyteller building the universe will work out better than a studio businessman, especially a storyteller who knows comic books, but we’re unlikely to see that until 2024/25. First up from DC is Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March). The first shazam movie was generally well received, a lighter tone than the previous DCEU movies, and this seems to follow on in the same way. Controversially, The Flash (June) is still on the books, while a practically finished Batgirl has been shelved (despite featuring the Oscar-tipped Brendan Fraser). If Ezra Miller can stop getting into legal troubles, it may even get released. Rumour before Gunn and Safran took over DC movies was that this would be used to reset the DCEU. It’ll be interesting to see if that still happens. Some sections of the comic fan base have been waiting a while to see Blue Beetle (August). Not sure it will have a big non-comic fan audience, and with the turmoil behind the scenes with DC movie, people might want to wait for a reboot of the character. DC will also have the final comic book movie of 2023 with the delayed release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December). The first one got decent, though not effervescent reviews.
Family Movies
The first notable family film this year is probably the ‘wait, they’re still making movies in that franchise?’ option of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (February). I don’t know why, when they’ve already perfected it, but this year sees another attempt to make a movie of the video game with The Super Mario Bros Movie (March). This one is animated and looks like it will try to resemble the game. Albeit, controversially, without the Italian accent as Chris Pratt voices Mario.
90s kids may be excited to see a live action version of the Saturday morning standard Dungeons & Dragons (April). They may also be excited by the latest Disney live action remake of an animated classic with The Little Mermaid (May) assuming they’re not one of those racist trolls on the internet struggling with a non-white mermaid.
Pixar’s contribution is Elemental (June) early images made them look a lot like the emotions in Inside Out, but this focus on elements (water, fire, etc). More Computer animation in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August), I think this fits in family movies. Little is known, but some word suggests there might be elements of the more mature original comic book, but also some of the more family friendly TV shows but seems to be a new start for the franchise.
For the younger family, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (October) and Trolls Band Together (October), and Disney's latest is Wish (also October) hopefully that will be better than Strange Worlds was.
Back to live-action family movies, the latest in the franchise comes to screens with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June). We’re also getting another attempt to turn a Disney theme park ride into a movie with Haunted Mansion (August). Timothèe Chalomet is a current darling of Hollywood, meaning he was picked to play a younger version of the chocolate factory owner in a prequel of sorts Wonka (December). It’s not yet clear is this is intended to link to either of the previous Wonka movies (Burton’s version or the good one).
Horror
2022 was a good year for horror movies. It looks like that might continue into 2023. M3gan (January) sees a robot created to provide support and comfort for a young orphan starts to take things a little too far. Unwelcome (January) gives us a fix for fairytale horror which sees a newlywed couple move into a new home they inherited and one day they forget to leave a tribute to the goblins that live in the woods on the edge of their property.
M Night Shyamalan continues his up and down career, releasing a promising looking Knock at the Cabin (February). A gay couple and their daughter are staying in a cabin when a small group of menacing people arrive claiming they are tasked with saving the universe and need the family to make a choice…
Ti West has been building a library of well-regarded horror movies with last year’s X being the most mainstream, in which Mia Goth played both the young ‘final girl’ and the main old lady villain. Pearl (March) focuses on the origins of the old lady from X giving us her backstory. There is a third in the franchise, Maxxxine, following the final girl from X, but that isn’t listed in the releases for 2023.
A teaser trailer recently showed Scream 6 (March) takes the action to New York following the survivors of the “Requel” Scream (the fifth in the series released 2022 with the same title as the first acting as a reboot and a sequel). It will be the first without both Sydney (Neve Campbell did not agree to return) and Dewey (He, well… spoilers!).
Wouldn’t be a Film thread without the excitement of a quirky Nic Cage film. This year he will be in a film focused on Dracula’s henchman, Renfield (April)
This year has two possession-based movies: The Pope’s Exorcist (April) and a remake of a classic The Exorcist (October).
Horror is a haven for sequels. Another attempt to resurrect the franchise sees Evil Dead Rise (April) taking the action out of the woods and into the city. Insidious 5 (July) arrives this year, and Saw X (October) sees the return of John Kramer to the franchise. Several films after he was killed off and his story supposedly fully told.
Other Sequels
But, horror is not the only genre that loves to rely on recognisable IP. Magic Mike’s Last Dance (February) sees Mike travel to London to choreograph a new show. Creed III (March) sees Michael B Jordan take over directorial duties in a story that sees Creed take on a childhood friend who is the ‘what could have been’ in his life.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (March) sees Keanu Reeves return to another of his iconic roles to give us some great action movies. Vin Deisel and the rest of the ever-increasing ensemble cast are still chasing the high of the 5th movie, as we see what should be the last in the fast and furious franchise with Fast X (May).
The relative success of Bumblebee has led to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June) as we meet the animal-shaped transformers.
What started as a franchise where each instalment had a different director, giving a different flavour of action, evolved into a franchise where the same director builds a film around a particular stunt. The latest Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One (July) will see Tom Cruise ride a bike off a mountain into free fall parachute jump. Check out the rehearsals:
(the tweet contains a 9min behind the scenes video of Tom Cruise preparing, practicing and executing the stunt)
Jason Statham is back in the follow up to his surprise hit with The Meg 2: The Trench (August). Denzel returns in The Equalizer 3 (September). An ensemble of returns in The Expendables 4 (September). More Timothèe Chalomet in Dune Part Two (November).
Perhaps somewhat unexpected is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (November). A prequel story following a late teenage version of the old ruler from the original Hunger Games stories (played by Donald Sutherland in those movies).
There is an as yet Untitled Ghostbusters Afterlife Sequel due to be released in December. May just be a placeholder in the IMDb release diary.
Other Movies
The crazy true story of a bear getting high on some discarded cocaine has had some fictionalisation and resulted in the new movie Cocaine Bear (February).
65 (March) sees Adam Driver play a humanoid alien who crash lands on pre-historic earth and have to face dinosaurs.
Chris Nolan appears to be returning to more straightforward narrative with the biographical Oppenheimer (July). As a Nolan fan, I’m looking forward to this.
Barbie (July) has had a bit of a troubled production. Originally due to star Amy Schumer, it will now star Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, directed by Greta Gerwig based on her own script. Little is known of the story details, but the teaser trailer was a very good riff on 2001.
Barbie | Teaser Trailer
#BarbieTheMovie, from director Greta Gerwig, only in theatres Summer 2023
www.youtube.com
Taika Waititi seems to be losing some of his lustre as people seemingly are starting to tire of his humour. But I’m still looking forward to his next movie Next Goal Wins (September) about the American Samoa team and their 31-0 loss.
As Christmas approaches, we will get the musical film based on a stage show based on a non-musical film based on a book; The Colour Purple (December). I’ve not seen the musical, but it did get some awards.
Finally, January will see the release of the movie that I discovered in this tweet:
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