Hollywood already has a crazy and exciting 2019 planned for us. Disney has three live-action remakes coming our way, Marvel has a new superhero (and a grand finale ahead for the Avengers), and we're getting another Joker movie. But beyond the remakes and the sequels, there's also an exciting big-screen adaptation of a beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and a new star-studded Quentin Tarantino movie. These are 10 movies you'll be rushing to see in 2019.
Shall we begin?
10. X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Pushed back from 2017, Dark Phoenix is set to reunite the first class on a deadly mission to save Jean Grey (Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner) from a malevolent force in one of the comic series’ most treasured arcs.
Murky test screenings, reshoots and rejigs have hit Simon Kinberg’s big whack at a new X-Men franchise instalment where it hurts, but is it really possible to produce a bad film where James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender meet over a game of chess and call each other “old friend” while wacky comic CGI stuff happens elsewhere?
Who said “Apocalypse”? Sit down! You’re right. But… sit down. For now. Please? We want this to be good.
9. Chaos walking
Doug Liman (Edge Of Tomorrow) is getting back into the sci-fi/fantasy game with his adaptation of Patrick Ness’ bestselling novel, Chaos Walking.
Accompanied on a fraught journey by wee Spider-Man Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley plays perhaps the last woman alive in a dystopian world where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts. They’ll have to try to survive both this bonkers reality, and Mads Mikkelsen as the Big Bad. One ticket, please!
The movie’s reshoots have been delayed to let Holland finish work on his second Spider-Man film, Far From Home, so i suspect this may end up in the back half of 2019’s release schedule, and not even close to its original March date.
8. Glass
M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero thriller reteamed Unbreakable’s Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson with newer Split villain James McAvoy as the three got locked up in an asylum together under the care of psychiatrist Sarah Paulson - as if just putting those men in a room together wasn’t bad enough, clearly no one had seen a single episode of American Horror Story!
Things were likely to go from bad to worse once Crumb, Dunn and Mr. Glass started conspiring to rid themselves of the hospital shackles, and we were definitely going to be there to watch what came next.
7. The lego movie; part 2
Four years (and two spin-off movies) later, Chris Pratt's LEGO Movie hero Emmet returns for a proper sequel along with Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Tiffany Haddish, and Maya Rudolph
6. Captain marvel
Captain marvel is reported to be the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this '90s-set blockbuster that kicks off after pilot Carol Danvers (Oscar winner Brie Larson) has already acquired her powers and trekked off to have otherworldly adventures with her mentor, Mar-vell (Jude Law).
When she comes crashing back down to Earth she’ll meet a couple of familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. agents called Nick Fury and Phil Coulson, and all this will connect to Avengers 4, and the maybe-saving of half the universe. Somehow! Arg!
5. Joker
Joaquin Phoenix stars as the Joker in this origin story for Batman’s most notorious foe, and it looks like it could actually be (whisper it) …good.
Yes, DC and Warner Bros’ new strategy of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks continues with the handing over of the Clown Prince of Crime to The Hangover director Todd Phillips. He’s written the screenplay with ‘gritty story maker for hire’ Scott Silver (8 Mile, The Fighter) and it’ll explore the transition of a humble Arthur Fleck to the villainous smile-scratcher we all know and fear.
4. Artemis fowl
The only Kenneth Branagharghrhr movie now set to be released in 2019 after Fox pushed back Death On The Nile to 2020 to avoid its new Disney friend's Christmas tree angel Star Wars IX. The flame-haired luvvy has indeed been a very busy man, filming this adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling children’s book (and likely the first of many adaptations, if all goes well) over the summer of 2018.
In this live action Disney affair, young Artemis Fowl will discover a magical world full of Fairies, and decide to rob them.
Er, yes. It’s not your average tale..
3. Lucy in the sky
Fargo maestro Noah Hawley was forced to shelve his planned Doctor Doom movie in the midst of the upcoming Disney/Fox merger, but he’s kept himself busy on his first feature film for Fox while he waits for the dust to settle.
Lucy In The Sky (which was at one point called Pale Blue Dot) stars Natalie Portman as an astronaut who’s been on a mission to the stars for way, wayyy too long. Disconnected from her family and friends when she comes back to Earth, she begins an affair with a fellow astronaut who turns out to be not exactly committed to the idea of an exclusive thang. A fully tripped-out psychological meltdown could be in the offing, and who has better chops than the combo of Hawley and Oscar-snatcher Portman to pull it off?
Hawley’s latest muse Dan Stevens (The Guest, Legion) is also on board this one playing Portman’s neglected husband, as are Deadpool’s Zazie Beetz and Mad Men’s Jon Hamm.
2. Star wars; Episode six
Christmas in 2019 will likely be dominated by the closing part of the most recent Star Wars trilogy, and J.J. Abrams is back at the helm after Colin Trevorrow departed the project.
Will Rey’s parents turn out to be more than just “junkers”? Will Finn and Rose have a blooming romance? Will Poe learn from the mistakes of his impulsive decision-making system? Will Kylo Ren get in touch with his light side? Will there be an angry man boycott that makes virtually no difference to the overall box office but that somehow manages to tiresomely dominate online chatter for months either side of the film’s release? Hmmm...till we see it in cinemas.
1. Avengers; End game
There's less known about the most anticipated movie from marvel studio, Avengers: Endgame. Disney and Marvel have kept a very tight lid on it and, as usual, not even its stars know how it’ll end. Apart from our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man Tom Holland, perhaps, who seems to find out the climax to everything one way or another! Historically, he’s been known to spill the beans about all manner of plot twists, so its better to keep an eye on his instagtam page till April rolls around
So, what's in the buzz? Well, the Russos shot this back-to-back with Infinity War, and our usual line-up has of course been cut down the middle by mad titan Thanos. The original crew - Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Hulk - are all pawns in Doctor Strange's 'one in fourteen million' endgame now, alongside Ant-Man, Rocket Raccoon, War Machine, Okoye, Valkyrie and Nebula, but what will become of our other dusty faves?
We shall have to wait and see.