After the busy year that was 2019, the list of movies to get excited for in 2020 feels a lot smaller. But we’ll take quality over quantity. The list below is made up of films that I am particularly interested in or very excited about. Unlike last year, however, where my most anticipated film didn’t make my best of the year list (which will be out soon), I’m going to do a raw list with no ranking of excitement.

 

The Gentlemen

So Guy Ritchie hasn’t made a great film in quite some time. Sherlock Holmes was loads of fun and RocknRolla was evocative of his older works but didn’t hit that same level of films like Lock Stock or Snatch. I have no idea if The Gentlemen will be good, the fact that it comes out in January does worry me that it might be awful, but here’s hoping it is good because it looks like old school, London gangster flick with loads of humour with a great cast. Please, be good.

No Time to Die

The twenty-fifth Bond movie is on the horizon and it does look mighty interesting. I was worried at first when Danny Boyle was replaced by Cary Joji Fukanaga  (True Detective, Maniac) but based on the trailer embedded below, the film looks like it has high energy and builds on the foundation of the films before it. What are the odds that Rami Malek is playing Dr. No?

Mulan

I’m kind of done with Disney remakes. The studio has been testing my patience as of late, seemingly only offering remakes of their older, classic properties. That being said…Mulan does look pretty interesting. Unlike The Lion King, which was nearly a shot for shot remake using state of the art, photorealistic CGI, Mulan seems more like a historical war epic with a small touch of magic. There will be no songs, no Mushu and that might anger some fans, but I’m curious to see what this grounded(ish) version of the film can offer. Now, where’s my Black Cauldron remake?

Soul

Meanwhile, over at Pixar, the studio has two offerings coming this year and while Onward looks fun, Soul is where my attention is and the teaser tells us barely anything about the actual movie. Jamie Foxx will be the star of the movie about a guy, who seems to like jazz music, who accidentally dies and becomes a ghost. The theme of the trailer was living life to the fullest so it’ll be interesting to see what Pixar, the king of the Feels Trip, offers us with another film about death and life.

Top Gun: Maverick

Oh man. Colour me excited for this one. Not only is Tom Cruise back as Maverick but the movie actually just looks really good. Tom Cruise must have minerals made of steel because he’s actually flying those planes in the movie and that fact is evident enough by the footage. This will be one to see in IMAX, as the crazy stunts were also filmed with those cameras. It looks fun, crazy and intense and I’m so there.

Black Widow

So it doesn’t look amazing or anything, but the Black Widow movie does look pretty fun. It takes place in the time after Civil War, the film looks like Marvel’s answer to Jason Bourne if it had a love child with The Fate of the Furious. It could be the fun, summer blockbuster popcorn movie we need and looks better than I thought it would. That being said, it does feel too little too late for the character, considering her fate in Endgame and the number of casual fans who are likely confused with this movie’s existence. It would have been nice to get this before Infinity War. 

A Quiet Place Part II

A Quiet Place was a surprise hit. It was a PG-13 horror film with minimal dialogue yet, director John Krasinski delivered a nail-biting experience with characters we care about. Now there’s a sequel and yes, that’s already a bit of a worry as sequels don’t often fair well, but Krasinski is back behind the lens and the film continues on right after the events of the first film. Colour me very intrigued.

TENET

The only synopsis we have of the film is that agents are trying to prevent world war III…through time travel. The man behind the script and the camera? Christopher Nolan. I’m a big fan of the director overall, he’s had some misfires in my book, but you can’t deny he understands scope and uses that with the perfect marriage of practical effects and CGI. For that alone, and the experience that’ll likely accompany the story, I’m already hooked on this film that’s shrouded in mystery.

Bill and Ted Face the Music

It’s Bill and Ted 3, of course I’m excited.

Halloween Kills

The Halloween sequel/soft reboot as a surprise hit for everyone when it came out in 2018. That film wiped out the complicated and messy Halloween canon, tossing out all the sequels in favour of telling a direct follow up to the original. Now, we get a sequel to the sequel that sees Jamie Lee Curtis return once again against Michael Myers. Here’s hoping this one doesn’t feel derivative.

Ghostbusters Afterlife

At first, I was not down for more Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters II was a rehash and the 2016 film landed with a thud. Then this one came around. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, the film features new characters and a new setting while following the storyline of the original films as we follow the grandchildren of Egon Spengler. It looks fun, charming, nostalgic and frankly, original, despite being a belated sequel and seems to capture a bit of Steven Spielberg in the process. Didn’t see this one coming.

Dune

I’m a simple guy: I see Dennis Villeneuve, who directed Blade Runner 2049, Arrival and Sicario, adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune, well, you know I’m already there. Add a ridiculous cast, which includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Jason Momoa and this sci-fi film has the makings to be a modern classic.

Marvel’s Eternals

I don’t know much about The Eternals from the comics, apart from Black Knight, which makes me rather lost in the woods when it comes to a comic book movie. With that in mind, that’s kind of refreshing. The Eternals is going to be a space epic directed by Chloe Zhao that features the likes of Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumali Nanjiani, Kit Harrington Salma Hayek and more in this story that will encompass 7000 years of history as the Eternals, created by the Celestials,  fight against their counterparts, the Deviants.

The Last Duel

On paper, it sounds like a western, but this is actually a medieval epic about a knight who challenges his squire to a duel. The film is directed by Ridley Scott and is written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, with Adam Driver in the lead role, Jodi Corner and Damon in supporting roles. We’ve had some okay medieval films on Netflix as of late, but nothing that can be considered epic or memorable. Here’s hoping Scott, who directed Gladiator (and duds like Robin Hood) can fix that.

 

And that’s that. Let us know what you’re most excited about, whether it’s on our list or not. What are you most excited for and most cautiously optimistic about?