The most anticipated new films of 2024

The dual Hollywood strikes — writers’ and actors’ — threw a wrench into the 2023 movie schedule. Many of the biggest and most-anticipated films were delayed, postponed or had their releases pushed to 2024. But the wait is nearly over. The film famine of 2023 is set to give way to a feast for cinema fans, with a year jam-packed with blockbusters and hotly-anticipated art house dramas.

Here are some of the biggest, and best, films to watch out for in the coming year.

Dune: Part 2
The second half of Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic was one of the biggest movies to get pushed into 2024 (it was originally scheduled for a holiday season release this year).

The wait has only increased expectations for the sequel, which will see Timothee Chalamet return as Paul Atreides, the messianic leader of the rebellious desert-dwelling Fremen, as he seeks revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. He’s joined by Zendaya as Fremen warrior Chani and an all-star cast that includes Florence Pugh, Lea Seydoux, Austin Butler and Christopher Walken.

Mickey 17

Bong Joon-ho’s English-language follow-up to his Oscar-winning Parasite is a sci-fi movie adapted from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7 and stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.

The book follows the story of an “expendable,” a disposable employee sent on a human expedition whose mission is to colonize an ice world. If one cloned version of the employee dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact.

Bob Marley: One Love
British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who wowed as Malcolm X in Regina King’s 2020 directorial debut One Night in Miami (and played one of the Kens in Barbie this year), is set for a star-making performance as reggae legend Bob Marley in this musical biopic from King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green.

Challengers

Originally set to open the 2023 Venice Film Festival, Challengers is another movie whose premiere was delayed by the actors’ strike. The romantic drama from Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino stars Zendaya as Tashi, a one-time tennis star whose career was ended by a freak accident, and who remains bound by ties professional and romantic to her twin teen romances: husband and international tennis ace Art (Mike Faist) and comeback hopeful Patrick (Josh O’Connor).

A whole lot of sequels

Hollywood is going back to the well in 2024, with an almost unprecedented number of sequels, spinoffs, prequels and reboots of established franchises.

Kraven the Hunter / Madame Web / Venom 3

Sony’s ever-expanding Spider-verse (that is, Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man) will see at least three new editions. Aaron Taylor-Johnson jumps into the skin of one of the comic book’s favorite villains, playing Kraven the Hunter in an origin-story movie from Triple Frontier director J.C. Chandor.

Dakota Johnson will suit up as Madame Web, a clairvoyant mutant who teams up with Spider-Woman (played by Euphoria and The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney) in a new feature by British TV director S.J. Clarkson (Succession, Jessica Jones).

And Tom Hardy reprises his role as schleppy reporter Eddie Brock, unwilling host to man-eating alien Venom, in Venom 3, the latest in the surprisingly successful comedy-horror Spidey spinoffs. Fans of the Oscar-winning animated Spider-Verse features may have to wait a while longer. Sony has not confirmed whether the third entry in the franchise, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will come next year or in 2025.

Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips’ hugely successful R-rated take on the iconic Batman villain won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2019 and earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar for best actor. The sequel will see Lady Gaga join the party as Joker’s equally manic love interest, Harley Quinn. Oh, and the new movie will be a musical. Yes, really.

Deadpool 3

After testing the audience’s appetite for Marvel movies — the latest, Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels disappointed at the box office — Disney is dialing back its superhero output, with just one big lycra-suited outing this year: Deadpool 3. The R-rated meta-movie will see the return of Ryan Reynolds as the motormouth mercenary famed for breaking the fourth wall and taking directly to the audience. He’s joined by Hugh Jackman, who reprises his role as X-Men hero Wolverine, unsheathing the claws for (one expects) a final time.

Beetlejuice 2 / Gladiator 2

Two extremely long-in-coming sequels are set to hit theaters next year, as Tim Burton teams up once again with Michael Keaton to revive the pasty-faced prankster spirit Beetlejuice, the eponymous hero of 1988 cult comedy hit. Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are also both on board to reprise their characters, Lydia and Delia Deetz.

Russell Crowe, who will be seen playing a nasty dad in Kraven the Hunter, will not reenter the Colosseum for Gladiator 2, but director Ridley Scott is returning to ancient Rome with a much-anticipated sequel to the 2000 epic. Aftersun actor Paul Mescal stars in the feature set a quarter century after the original film.

Furiosa

George Miller hasn’t waited quite as long as Ridley Scott, but Mad Max fans have been jonesing for this fifth installment in his iconic post-apocalyptic franchise since its triumphant return with Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. The new film is a prequel to Fury Road, starring The Queen’s Gambit actress Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of Imperator Furiosa, the war rig-driving, mechanical-limbed bodyguard played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson co-star. Just as Max Max: Fury Road opened the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Furiosa is also expected to premiere in Cannes this year.

Ballerina

Action fans bid a sad goodbye to Keanu Reeves’ John Wick this year with the fourth, and final, entry in Chad Stahelski’s shoot-em-up franchise. But Blonde star Ana de Armas is looking to expand the John Wick universe with this spinoff tale, playing a female assassin in a story set between chapters 3 and 4 of the original movies (meaning Reeves’ iconic character will return for a cameo).

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Warner Bros. is returning to the Lord of the Rings universe with this animated prequel film, exploring the backstory of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary king of a rider folk called the Rohan, with Succession star Brian Cox voicing Helm.

Mean Girls

A sequel of a very different sort is this update on the 2004 cult high-school comedy, which sees Tina Fey (who also wrote the original movie) adapt the stage musical version of the film, as well as reprising her role as world-weary calculus teacher Ms. Norbury. Angourie Rice plays new girl Cady Heron, while Renee Rapp takes on the role of head Mean Girl Regina George.

Independent hopefuls

These art house and independent features are among those generating the most buzz in 2024.

Nosferatu

Gothic moviemaker Robert Eggers, director of The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman, turns his dark lens on the original Dracula tale with this new adaptation of the creepy classic, first filmed by F.W. Murnau in 1922. Eggers’ version will star Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin and Nicholas Hoult.

The Outrun

German director Nora Fingscheidt (System Breaker, Netflix’s The Unforgivable) teams up with Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan for this adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir about a recovering alcoholic who returns to her home in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, where she must confront her troubled past.

Back to Black

After exploring the teen years of Beatle-to-be John Lennon in 2009’s Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor-Johnson takes on another British pop music legend with this story of soul-singing star Amy Winehouse, whose tragic death in 2011 shocked the world. Marisa Abela plays Winehouse in a film that is sure to stoke controversy but, for fans of music biopics, will be the must-see of 2024.

The Nickel Boys

Oscar-nominated documentarian RaMell Ross (Hale County This Morning, This Evening) makes his feature debut with this adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The film tells the story of two boys unjustly incarcerated in a violently cruel reform school in 1960s Florida, and is closely based on revelations about Florida’s historic Dozier reform school. Produced by Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B, makers of Moonlight and 12 Years a Slave, The Nickel Boys is already a prime candidate for the 2025 Oscar race.

Family-friendly fare

All-ages entertainment is also set to pack the multiplexes in 2024.

Despicable Me 4

The fourth entry in the hit animated franchise returns the focus to Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), the one-time super-villain turned hero and super-dad. Plot details are still under wraps but expect plenty of gadgets, sight gags and Minions mania nonsense.

Elio

Pixar’s 28th feature film is a science fiction adventure following the eponymous 11-year-old Elio who is inadvertently beamed up into space and mistaken by aliens to be Earth’s ambassador. After the mixed reception of Elemental, Pixar’s last feature, the animated studio is looking to get back on top with this original tale from Adrian Molina, who co-directed 2017 Pixar hit Coco.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021 revived the 1980s sci-fi comedy franchise (after a less successful female-driven reboot in 2016), setting the stage for this sequel. Afterlife stars Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd, joined by Kumail Nanjiani, and Patton Oswalt. Several actors from the original movies return, including Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Bill Murray. The plot sees the Afterlife team return to where it all began, at the iconic New York City firehouse from the original Ghostbusters.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Moonlight director Barry Jenkins takes on this lifelike computer-generated prequel to Disney’s 1994 animated classic, which will explore the backstory of Simba’s father, Mufasa, voiced by Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad).

Inside Out 2

Eight years after the original Inside Out, Pixar goes back inside the mind of young Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias), now a teenager heading off to college whose internal emotions are made up not just of fear, joy, anger, disgust and sadness, but also the newfound sense of anxiety.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Video game adaptations used to be considered box office poison, but the big-screen versions of Sega’s legendary run-and-jump franchise continue to speed right along. This third installment sees the return of Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, and Idris Elba as Knuckles. It’s set for a holiday 2024 release.

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