From Avengers: Infinity War to Deadpool 2, here’s a list of all the big films that will open in theatres over the year.
2018 looks set to be another huge year for films, with the biggest chapter of Marvel’s decade-long project with the Avengers, new instalments in the world of X-Men and Jurassic World, alongside the return of The Incredibles, Tomb Raider, Deadpool, and even Mary Poppins. And also, another Star Wars story. Here are the 32 most anticipated movies in the new year:
1. Mary and the Witch’s Flower Release date: January 18,2018
After Studio Ghibli shut down following the then-retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, several former employees – led by Oscar-nominated Yoshiaki Nishimura – founded Studio Ponoc, to carry on their love for film-making. This fantasy anime, following a young girl who picks a flower that grants magical powers, is its debut effort.
2. Maze Runner: The Death Cure Release date: January 26,2018
The YA dystopian trilogy comes to a close with this third and final chapter, where Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) leads the group of escaped Gladers on their most dangerous mission yet: break into the Last City, the deadliest labyrinth of all, which contains answers to the questions they’ve had since the beginning. Wes Ball, who directed both previous instalments in the trilogy, is back as director.
3. God Particle Release date: February 2,2018
The third anthology entry in the Cloverfield universe is centred on a team of astronauts aboard the ISS who end up alone after a scientific experiment involving a particle accelerator makes the Earth disappear. Produced by J. Abrams and starring Daniel Brühl, Elizabeth Debicki, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and David Oyelowo, the film follows the astronauts as they fight for their survival.
4. Black Panther Release date: February 16,2018
The king of Wakanda T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who first appeared in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, gets his own standalone film – directed by Creed’s Ryan Coogler – where his sovereignty is challenged by two enemies. He must team up with CIA and Wakanda’s special forces to prevent a world war. Black Panther also stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
Black Panther and Captain Marvel Have Me Excited About Marvel Films Again
5. Annihilation Release date: February 23,2018
Alex Garland (Ex Machina) adapts the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, where a soldier’s biologist wife (Natalie Portman) volunteers to enter an environmental disaster zone to figure out what happened to her injured husband and his fellow soldiers, who never made it back. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Oscar Isaac are also part of the cast.
6. A Wrinkle in Time Release date: March 9,2018
Ava DuVernay becomes the first black woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of over $100 million with this adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s famous book, where a woman works with her younger brother and a classmate to rescue her father (Chris Pine) from a universe-wide evil with help from three astral beings, played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling.
A Wrinkle in Time Trailer: Disney’s Cosmic Kids Adventure Looks Beautiful
7. Tomb Raider Release date: March 16,2018
Alicia Vikander stars as Lara Croft in this reboot of Tomb Raider, based on the 2013 reboot version of the popular game. As she sets out to finish her father’s research on the island he disappeared, she uncovers ancient secrets that will help clear her name. Roar Uthaug (The Wave) directs.
8. Pacific Rim Uprising Release date: March 23,2018
Set ten years on since the first film, ex-Jaeger pilot Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) — son of Idris Elba’s character from the original – gets a chance to be a hero like his father when the Kaiju return, working with his adopted sister Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) and their fellow pilots to save humanity from extinction. Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight took over from Guillermo del Toro in writing and directing duties.
9. Isle of Dogs Release date: March 23,2018
Wes Anderson returns after a gap of four years with his next feature, a stop-motion animation set in a dystopian future Japan, where dogs have been quarantined on the remote eponymous island due to a «canine flu». The film follows five local dogs, voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Balaban, who help a boy looking for his dog and protect him from Japanese authorities.
Scarlett Johansson, Yoko Ono, Greta Gerwig, F. Murray Abraham, Ken Watanabe, Frances McDormand, and Liev Schreiber also have voice roles.
10. Ready Player One Release date: March 30,2018
Steven Spielberg is at the helm of this long-awaited adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel, which is filled with 80s pop culture references, including to Spielberg’s own works. The director felt he would be vain to include them, and has opted to avoid them. As for the story, Ready Player One is set in near-future dystopian Earth where mostly everyone spends their time in VR in a game called OASIS.
When the founder dies and says ownership will transfer to the first person to find an Easter egg, a race begins that pits the protagonist, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), and his friends against a large corporation that wants control to monetise the system. Spielberg has called it «his most difficult movie» since Saving Private Ryan.
Ready Player One Trailer: Steven Spielberg’s VR Game-Movie Takes Shape
11. The New Mutants Release date: April 13,2018
The X-Men franchise branches into horror with The New Mutants from director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars), where five young mutants fight to escape their past sins and save themselves from a facility where they’re being held against their will. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Magik), Maisie Williams (Wolfsbane), Charlie Heaton (Cannonball), Henry Zaga (Sunspot), Blu Hunt (Mirage), and Alice Braga (Cecilia Reyes).
12. Avengers: Infinity War Release date: April 27 (India); May 4,2018 (US)
Easily the most-awaited film of 2018, the third Avengers chapter is a lot more than that. It brings together everyone from past Avengers films, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Thor: Ragnarok – an ensemble cast that takes four paragraphs to list – to join forces and confront Thanos, who’s on a mission to collect the Infinity Stones. Infinity War, set four years after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, has been described as a «heist film» by director the Russo brothers.
13. Solo: A Star Wars Story Release date: May 25,2018
The next Star Wars film arrives just five months after The Last Jedi, though this one is a standalone adventure set before A New Hope. It follows the adventures of a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his Wookie partner Chewbacca, including meeting Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). The cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany.
Solo had a troubled road during production, with original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller being fired four months into filming, before replacement Ron Howard extended reshoots to fit the demands of Disney and Lucasfilm.
14. Deadpool 2 Release date: June 1,2018
Ryan Reynolds is back as everyone’s favourite bad-mouthed superhero in this sequel, which expands the vigilante roster with Domino (Zazie Beetz) and Cable (Josh Brolin) in addition to the existing ones Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus. Morena Baccarin and T. J. Miller are also back, though David Leitch (John Wick) is in the director’s chair, after Tim Miller left due to creative differences with Reynolds.
15. Ocean’s 8 Release date: June 8,2018
An all-female soft reboot of Ocean’s 11 focuses on Danny Ocean’s (George Clooney) estranged sister, Debbie (Sandra Bullock), who’s got a mind to pull off the heist of the century at the annual Met Gala, the target being jewellery worn by Anne Hathaway. Her crew consists of Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Awkwafina. That’s only seven, so make up your guesses as to who the eighth will be.
Matt Damon will have a cameo role, as will half a dozen celebrities as themselves: Kim Kardashian, Maria Sharapova, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Adriana Lima, and Serena Williams to name a few.
16. Incredibles 2 Release date: June 15,2018
Fourteen years on from the original, Brad Bird returns to the film that put him on the map, giving us another dose of the adventures of the Parr family: Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible, Violet, Dash, and of course Jack-Jack. Most of the original voice cast return, including Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone. The new villain will be The Underminer, voiced by John Ratzenberger.
17. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Release date: June 22,2018
The fourth highest-grossing film of all time gets an inevitable sequel, set four years after the events of the original, with the lives of the remaining dinosaurs roaming freely on the theme park’s island threatened by a volcanic eruption. The former head of the park Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) convinces dinosaur trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) to help mount a rescue mission.
Given it’s a Jurassic movie, of course everything goes horribly wrong. Meanwhile, the two also stumble on a conspiracy that endangers everyone. The film, directed by J. A. Bayona, also has a cameo role for Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, who was in two movies of the original trilogy.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Trailer – Everybody Runs, Including Dinosaurs
18. Ant-Man and the Wasp Release date: July 6,2018
Releasing after Infinity War, this sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man is actually set before the events of that film, which is bound to confuse everyone. Here, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly’s titular heroes team up to embark on a new mission from Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).
