There is still a month left in 2015 and December delivers a couple highly anticipated films, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which large throngs of people have been waiting all year to see, so yes, this is somewhat premature.
You can thank Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.
Tuesday, the stars that portray Iron Man and Captain America showed up on Jimmy Kimmel and dropped the trailer for the third stand alone Cap movie, Captain America: Civil War, in our laps and the comic book movie-loving world went bonkers, as they should have, and that got us thinking about the movies that are on tap for 2016 that we’re really, really looking forward to.
Here’s that trailer:
Marvel Movies (Various Dates)
You could make a Top 5 list of comic book movies on deck for next year, so rather than include all of them individually, it’s easier to collect them all together by studio and admit that we’re pumped about Deadpool, Dr. Strange and, of course, Civil War.
DC Comics Deliveries (Various Dates)
Not to be outdone, 2016 will see Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad hit theatres, both of which will play a pivotal role in setting the table for the remainder of the DC films poised to roll out in the next few years.
X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27)
Yes, the X-Men are part of the Marvel imprint in comic form, but in theatres, they’re tethered to 20th Century Fox and not the Marvel Studio, which is why they’re separated here. The last two X-Men flicks have been good fun and with more new mutants being introduced here, Apocalypse should be no different.
The Hateful Eight (January 8)
If you like movies, you have to have a sense of anticipation whenever Quentin Tarantino delivers a film. The Hateful Eight features the same kind of quality ensemble we’ve come to expect from Tarantino and the trailers look like it will have the blend of violence and humour the Pulp Fiction filmmaker is known for.
Zoolander 2 (February 12)
It’s been a long time since the original gave us “Blue Steel” and “Magnum” and that actually helps the sequel. A lot of familiar faces are back and the ridiculousness of this male model movie should be good for quite a few laughs.
Warcraft (June 10)
Based on the wildly successful online game of the same name, the film version has the potential to be a major hit and potential franchise going forward. The epic fantasy will tell the origins of the conflict between the humans and orcs and if the early visuals that have emerged (and the outstanding graphics from the game) are any indication, expect this flick to look amazing.
Finding Dory (June 17)
Laugh if you want, but Finding Nemo was outstanding and remains highly watchable and this long-awaited follow-up should be the same. As the title suggests, the film will center on amnesic Pacific regal blue tang Dory as she tries to reunite with her family. Nemo and his father, Marlin, are along for the ride and given that it’s Pixar, you can be sure it will be fun for the whole family.
Independence Day Resurgence (June 24)
Picking up 20 years after the events of the first film, plenty of familiar faces from the original return, but with Liam Hemsworth replacing Will Smith in the “leading man that saves the world from the aliens” role. Even though you can probably forecast how this is going to end, it should be a terrific popcorn movie in the middle of the summer.
Ghostbusters (July 15)
There are far too many reboots happening these days (Memento? Seriously?) but this is one that makes sense and shifting things to incorporate an all-female squad is a cool swerve. If you watch the old films in the series, the graphics and ghosts look, um, well, bad. That won’t be the case here and the cast makes this a sure-fire funny reboot.
Star Wars: Rogue One (December 16)
Having a new Star Wars film to look forward to every December is great and Rogue One is intriguing. Set between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, it’s about a group of Rebels trying to steal the plans for the Death Star. If The Force Awakens is as good as it looks, expect people to be counting down to Rogue One as soon as that one leaves the theatre.
