10 Films I Can’t Wait For

I realised there are a lot of movies which are either coming soon, being made or have been recently announced which have got me really excited. So here are my top ten that I’m really looking forward to seeing over the next couple of years.

All the release dates shown are for the UK, and are subject to change.

1: Guardians Of The Galaxy

Out: 31.7.14

Why: I’m getting more and more into the Marvel Universe at the moment – mainly through the Avengers-verse movies, but also by checking out various graphic novel collections and recently watching the X-Men and Iron Man cartoons on Netflix.

I’m honestly not really familiar with the Guardians at all but they just radiate awesomeness, don’t they? The trailers out so far promise action, fun and comedy but with an added dose of not-giving-a-fuck badassery. Throw in a cast mixing great all-round actors – Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana and John C. Reilly – with a couple of my favourite funny guys – Chris Pratt and Peter Serafinowicz – and I’m in. Also excited to see how it ties in with the Avengers, and what could possibly be next!

Guardians Of The Galaxy

(Picture: marvel.com)

2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Out: 17.10.14

Why: I grew up watching and loving the cartoon and the trilogy of live-action movies. I had so many toys, games and books – I loved the Turtles. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Michael Bay fan but he can certainly entertain, and I’m intrigued to see what he does with this, as producer.

Trailers seem to suggest a gritty, Dark Knight vibe but let’s face it, it’s a film about anthropomorphised, pizza-loving, wise-cracking reptiles – it needs some comedy too. Let’s hope it’s balanced well.

3: Interstellar

Out: 7.11.14

Why: Very simply, because it’s the next Christopher Nolan film. Everything he’s done I’ve loved and he’s in my top three directors along with Wes Anderson and Darren Aronofsky.

I’m sure we can expect innovative, mind-blowing and thought-provoking and/or head-scratching film-making as usual, but what’s exciting this time is that this is Nolan’s first real sci-fi. Interstellar‘s lead Matthew McConaughey is also riding the crest of a wave of late with some great performances (The Wolf Of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective) so all-in-all this should be awesome.

4: Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Out: 24.4.15

Why: As I’ve said, I’m totally revelling in becoming more and more of a Marvel, and superhero, geek – so this is an obvious choice. The first Avengers was enormously entertaining and just generally enormous, and we’ve had several movies’ worth of development for each of our heroes since then (except Hulk). Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World were very good but I was particularly impressed with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which should hopefully lead to Cap going into AOU with a bit more complexity to him and his character arc.

We’ve also got lots of cool new additions to look forward to, in the form of some classic characters from the comics: Ultron obviously, potentially Thanos, and definitely Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. (By the way, after X-Men: Days Of Future Past Joss Whedon has quite a bit to live up to in terms of an action set-piece for Quicksilver.)

Avengers Assemble

(Picture: marvel.com)

5: Tomorrowland

Out: 22.5.15

Why: There seems to still be a certain air of mystery and confusion around this Disney project and it’s actual plot, but the involvement of Brad Bird and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof is the draw for me.

It seems like it’s going to be something very original and maybe pretty meta, with a decent if eclectic cast (George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Judy Greer) and huge potential for something quite unique to be created.

6: Jurassic World

Out: 12.6.15

Why: It’s easy to be cynical about another sequel to Jurassic Park, but actually there is so much scope to do something different with that world and that formula, plus it’s been quite a few years since the conclusion of the sort-of trilogy.

Hopefully this should benefit from a group of new people taking it on (director Colin Trevorrow, star Chris Pratt) but will retain links to the over-arching story.

7: Star Wars: Episode VII

Out: 18.12.15

Why: This is the daddy of anticipated movies. I’ve been a huge Star Wars nerd since the age of about 11 or 12 (and liking it before that too), plus I’m a huge JJ Abrams nerd, so…

There are almost too many reasons for why I’m so pumped to see this to fit into a couple of paragraphs, because it’s pretty much everything. The return of so many of the original cast, some cool and interesting new casting choices, the decision to largely go for technical effects over CGI and no George Lucas dialogue!

Yes there’s already a lot of post-Episode VI story that this will basically rip up and re-write, but it seems to be in the best possible hands. My wish for this: a mixture of fan-pleasing old-school Star Wars references and style, with some truly original things we haven’t seen before too.

Star Wars: Episode VII

(Picture: starwars.com)

8: Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Out: 25.3.16

Why: This is the film on this list I will approach with the most trepidation. The reasons for that are because Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy and Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman were so good that such an immediate reboot seems foolish and unneccesary; I really don’t like Ben Affleck at all as an actor; and Man Of Steel was so disappointing.

All of that said though, I will be going to see this straight away with a huge amount of anticipation. There’s undoubtedly the opportunity for this to be spectacular – done right, we could have some epic smackdowns as the two superheroes face-off (just please can we have less MOS-style throwing through buildings? Yawn). Also, the title is surely a nod to the fact that Batty and Supes will make nice at the end, leading on to a long-awaited Justice League movie…

9: X-Men: Apocalypse

Out: 19.5.16

Why: This was announced before I’d seen Days Of Future Past and I was excited then. After watching the fantastic DOFP, I’m looking forward even more.

The X-Men films have always been strongest under Bryan Singer’s control so it’s encouraging to know he’s taking on this one too. Apocalypse is one hell of a bad dude in the comics and cartoon so this is sure to have huge-scale destruction. Can this also be the film where Wolverine gets to properly, properly let out the berserker rage?

10: Warcraft

Out: 30.5.16

Why: Again it’s mainly the director (Duncan Jones of Moon) which makes me want to see this. I’m not at all a fan of the World Of Warcraft game on which this is based, and honestly don’t even know much about the game.

I am very interested to see how Jones takes such an expansive, sprawling world – which so many people are either very devoted to or very sceptical of – and hone in on a particular plot and set of characters.

 

So there we have it. Frankly, it’s got me buzzing just writing about all these big movie events.

What films can’t you wait for? Do you agree with my choices, and reasons for them? Let me know what you reckon by commenting below, or tweeting me @jamesandrews10.