It’s baa–aack! Every January, the ScreenRex crew sits down and comes up with a list of our most anticipated movies for the rest of the year. Historically, some of these films end up a) never coming out or b) being terrible, but hey! They can’t all be winners. So let it be said: we’re cautiously optimistic for these 20 films, and here are each of our picks.
The Lodge
February 7th
Dir. Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
While I thought Fiala and Franz’s last horror effort was just okay, The Lodge seems to have struck a nerve with a lot of critics that got to see it during it’s festival run last year. It stars Riley Keough as the girlfriend who gets stuck babysitting her boyfriend’s two kids in an isolated cabin during a blizzard. Her dark past begins to come to light, revealing some kind of dealings with a cult. I think the twist is what turned me off of Goodnight Mommy, but the directing pair certainly know how to create a creepy atmosphere between mother and child, so this is pretty high up on my anticipated horror list for the year.
–Harper
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
February 7th
Dir. Cathy Yan
God dammit, I didn’t want to be excited about a DC comic book movie? Was Shazam! surprisingly delightful? Sure! But between Snyder’s dumbass antics and the *bed-shitting sounds* that was Joker, I don’t really feel a ton of good will towards the franchise. And yet, those fucking trailers. That fucking cast. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) just looks delightful. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been fooled by trailers plenty of times, and a February release date for a blockbuster is… questionable. But I’m going to try, just this once, to be optimistic. We live in hope. We might live to regret that hope, but for now, dammit, we’re trying.
–Calvin
Emma
February 21st
Dir. Autumn de Wilde
I’m a sucker for Jane Austen. If I had a podcast, it would almost certainly be dissecting in minute detail the dozens of different adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, one of my all-time favorite stories. And so, you know, I’m obligated on a certain level to be… intrigued by any upcoming Austen adaptation. But Emma is a charming story with a ton of potential, as seen in 1995’s Clueless. Austen’s work is still capable of being deeply funny, as we saw in 2016’s underappreciated Love & Friendship, and director Autumn de Wilde seems to be playing up the comedy. Add in a healthy dose of style and Anya Taylor-Joy in a leading role, and you know I’ll be there on Day 1.
–Calvin
First Cow
March 6th
Dir. Kelly Reichardt
Let me be frank: I have no idea what First Cow is about. I genuinely don’t care. I see that Kelly Reichardt has a new movie out, I’m going to see it. She made Wendy & Lucy. She made Meek’s Cutoff. We’re only a few years out from Certain Women. I don’t know what else you want me to say. Am I excited for another elegant, understated, emotional character piece about life in the American West? Absolutely! You should be too.
–Calvin
A Quiet Place Part II
March 20th
Dir. John Krasinski
2018’s A Quiet Place was a pleasant surprise: a smart, well-crafted horror story from one of TV’s leading comedic actors really landed with a lot of people, and was even picked by the Atlanta Film Critics Circle as the best film of the year. It tells a very clean, one-off kind of story, so I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of a fast-tracked sequel until the trailer came out. It looks to show both just before the cataclysmic event that wipes out most of humanity as well as what happens to the Abbott family after the events of the first film. With the same cast (plus the always awesome Cillian Murphy) and the same writer/director, this is one that is sure to spark the interest of horror fans and film sound geeks alike.
–Harper
Promising Young Woman
April 17th
Dir. Emerald Fennell
On the one hand, women reclaiming the rape-revenge film is old hat at this point. With films like the excellent Revenge and the so-so MFA still pretty fresh in my memory, the hook alone isn’t enough. On the other hand, Promising Young Women seems unexpectedly sharp. The trailers aren’t too on the nose, so hopefully it will avoid being as predictable as 2019’s Black Christmas. And that cast! Carey Mulligan in a horror-thriller alone would get me interested. Add Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, and a whole raft of other talented actors? But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that a big part of my interest is caused by *sigh* advertising. Movie posters are garbage, but Promising Young Woman‘s is simple, evocative, and beautifully designed. I’m always excited for a good directorial debut, and I have high hopes for this one.
–Calvin
The Personal History of David Copperfield
May 8
Dir. Armando Iannucci
Directed and written by the creative minds that brought us In the Loop and HBO comedy Veep, The Personal History of David Copperfield isn’t on its face the kind of movie I’d normally gravitate towards. But given the creative talent involved, I know that instead of an expansively long Dickens adaptation, we’re probably looking more at a more pointed, witty comedy. Iannucci is not one to mince words. The cast also looks pretty stellar, including Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Wishaw, Gwendoline Christie, and Benedict Wong.
–Hannah
Wonder Woman 1984
June 4
Dir. Patty Jenkins
Minus a sort of weak ending, I was a big fan of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. The chemistry between its leads, Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, is one of the better intentional romantic pairings that I’ve seen in recent superhero cinema. I figured we’d be out of luck on that account, given that Pine played a mere mortal in a movie that takes place decades before this one… (and, spoiler, doesn’t make it out alive…) but apparently they’ve found a way to bring Pine back for this one too! I’m sure there’ll be some hand-wavey-timey-wimey nonsense to make it all work, but I’m pretty OK with that. I’m here for the bright colors, solid chemistry, and hopefully a fun retro soundtrack to boot. Oh, and Kristen Wiig as Cheetah!
–Hannah
Candyman
June 12th
Dir. Nia DaCosta
While the sequels didn’t really stick, the original Candyman is a horror classic and arguably the best horror film of the 90s. It weaves a story of an urban myth come to life amidst a darkly real world of gentrification and poverty, and created perhaps the most iconic African-American horror villain of all-time with Tony Todd’s fantastic performance. Much like 2018’s Halloween, this new Candyman seeks to disregard the sequels and pickup where the original left off, this time helmed by director Nia DaCosta and co-written by Jordan Peele. This series is one ripe for Peele’s sense of social commentary, and it’s doubly exciting to have a team of people of color behind this. Here’s to hoping that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (hot off his pivotal role in HBO’s Watchmen) will live up to the legacy as Candyman…Candyman…Candyman!
–Harper
In the Heights
June 25th
Dir. John M. Chu
Has Lin-Manuel Miranda’s star declined since Hamilton became an absolute sensation a half-decade back? Certainly. His limitations as an actor are more visible as he goes beyond his groundbreaking Broadway roles, and I think we’re all a little more cynical about American history and exceptionalism, post-2016. And yet, his writing is still absolutely electric. Not that you’d know, if you weren’t listening to Broadway cast recordings on the regular. Thankfully, John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) is here to adapt Miranda’s first Broadway hit, the similarly electric In the Heights. Telling the story of one summer in Washington Heights, Miranda’s fast-paced play has an expansive cast of excellent characters. I’m especially curious to see how In the Heights is adapted to film, since I’ve long considered Hamilton unadaptable. This will be an interesting test case.
–Calvin
Tenet
July 17th
Dir. Christopher Nolan
We’re big fans of Christopher Nolan here at Screenrex (Inception recently made our best of the decade list), so this one is a bit of a no brainer. The cast has some of my favorite working performers, including John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh (plus Michael Caine, duh). What really excites me about this one in particular is how little we know about it; the log line is “An action epic revolving around international espionage, time travel and evolution.” The trailer is equally as vague, but is jaw-droppingly cool. The sci-fi mystery surrounding Tenet is very reminiscent of when that first amazing trailer for Inception dropped, so we’ve got reason to by psyched!
–Harper
Dune
Dec. 18
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve has already found his way into my “must watch” director list – I’ll see whatever he’s working on, especially after recent favorites in Arrival and Bladerunner 2049. But after the way he handled a Bladerunner sequel, I’m really excited to see what Villeneuve can do with adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune. It’s a difficult project that’s eluded even the greatest of directors. That said, every casting announcement I’ve seen so far has only heightened my anticipation, including: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem. I mean, wow?
–Hannah
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
TBD
Dir. Charlie Kaufman
A movie directed by Charlie Kaufman is nothing if not interesting. Kaufman has had an endless string of critical darlings like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, and Synecdoche, New York, but this will be his first film since the 2015 Anomalisa. We don’t know the release date, but here’s what we do know: it’ll be releasing sometime in 2020 and will be dropping on Netflix. It stars Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley, and David Thewlis. The film is based on a novel by the same name from Iain Reid, which is a psychological thriller about a woman meeting her boyfriend’s parents. But if I had to guess, I’m willing to venture the movie’s script is more likely to veer wildly off course from the novel than portray a faithful retelling.
–Hannah
Da 5 Bloods
TBD
Dir. Spike Lee
Another “dropping sometime in 2020 on Netflix” film on the list, Da 5 Bloods is the next Spike Lee joint. It’s a Vietnam war film about a group of veterans returning to Vietnam years after the war in search of buried treasure. It’ll also examine the important role black soldiers played in the war, according to Lee. The film stars Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, and Paul Walter Houser. Lee’s last film, BlacKkKlansman, picked up an Oscar in 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see if Netflix has another award contender in this film.
–Hannah
Mank
TBD
Dir. David Fincher
Look, it’s a new David Fincher movie, how much more do we need to say? Having spent the last six years working mostly on Mindhunter, this will be Fincher’s first new feature since 2014’s Gone Girl. Mank is based on a script by Fincher’s father who passed away in 2003, and tells the story of real life screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he struggled to develop Citizen Kane into the American classic. Interestingly, this was intended to be his follow up to 1997’s The Game, but the studio at the time wouldn’t agree to let Fincher shoot it in black and white. While seeing Gary Oldman in another historical biopic might be the most exciting thing to some, I’m eager to hear the score; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have said they plan on using only period authentic instruments, abandoning their usual droney synths.
–Harper
Annette
TBD
Dir. Leos Carax
Leos Carax’s Holy Motors is one of those films that has stuck with me utterly since it hit theaters in 2012. An amorphous and indescribable experience that has grown in my estimation with each passing year, so it’s no surprise when you tell me his next effort, his first English language film no less, will be a musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard with songs by the cult pop act Sparks, it causes itself to shoot straight towards the top of my most anticipated films list. I can only hope his old pal Denis Lavant can make a quick drop-in at the very least, though a third portrayal of Merde is probably too much to ask for.
–Kyle
Blonde
TBD
Dir. Andrew Dominik
An adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe seemed an unlikely next project for Andrew Dominik, the mind behind 2007’s best film (don’t @ me), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and its follow-up Killing Them Softly. A filmmaker who up till now has been pretty strictly focused on the interior lives of very damaged men is a curious choice to take on subject matter surrounding one of Hollywood’s most iconic ingenues, but here we are and I can’t wait to see where he goes with it. Knives Out’s big breakout, Ana de Armas plays Monroe, while Bobby Cannavale and Adrian Brody both hop into supporting roles (as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller respectively). Another huge get for Netflix!
–Kyle
Nomadland
TBD
Dir. Chloe Zhao
While directing Eternals for Marvel Studios will surely bring Chloe Zhao closer to becoming a household name, its this small feature that she filmed at just around the same time based on the Jessica Bruder book of the same name that really has me intrigued. Nomadland returns Zhao to her ever growing interest in the American West, after her absolutely towering work in The Rider, and stars Frances McDormand as a woman who is financially ruined by the Great Recession and travels the western US in a van in search of employment. Much like the downright experimental The Rider, Nomadland will also feature a number of non-actors in roles, likely reflecting their own real world experiences. I’m delighted that Zhao is among the small subset of MCU filmmakers that’s able to keep producing more personal work.
–Kyle
On the Rocks
TBD
Dir. Sofia Coppola
Lost in Translation is one of my favorite films of all time, so having Sofia Coppola reunite with Bill Murray for another “adventure through a city” sounds thrilling. This time, instead of Tokyo, Coppola will focus on New York City in a film that finds Rashida Jones playing a daughter who is reconciling with her playboy father. It almost feels a bit personal, given Coppola’s own famous lineage, and with her career back on the upswing after The Beguiled, this is one to watch.
–Kyle
New Paul Thomas Anderson project
TBD
Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
I don’t know if this new feature, set in a 1970’s era Southern California High School, will actually come out this year, but it definitely has begun filming and could find its way towards a late 2020 release. It’s PTA, our greatest living filmmaker, I’m definitely going to put it on this list.
–Kyle