2019 – A Look Ahead
As we count down the last few hours of 2018, it’s time to have a look ahead at what’s “coming soon” in 2019.
January – Glass. I’m a huge fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s 2000 film Unbreakable, and its 2016 stealth sequel Split, so I’m really looking forward to the trilogy’s conclusion, which unites Bruce Willis’ everyman “superhero” David Dunn, Samuel L. Jackson’s criminal mastermind “Mr. Glass”, and James McAvoy’s supernatural killer “The Horde”.
February – Alita: Battle Angel. Filmmaking legend James Cameron has been working on this film for over 15 years, and although he’s handed over directing duties to Robert Rodriguez, Cameron has stayed on as co-writer and co-producer. The end result looks to be suitably epic. Also out in February is The Kid Who Would Be King, writer/director Joe Cornish’s first film since his well-received 2011 debut Attack the Block, which is a teen-centric modern retelling of the King Arthur legend.
March – Captain Marvel. The twenty-first film in the MCU is a flashback film (which avoids having to address the fallout from 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War). Set in 1995, it tells the story of how US Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) becomes the cosmic superhero Captain Marvel, with help from a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who still has both his eyes. Also out in March is Tim Burton’s Dumbo remake, which looks like being the first of the endless Disney live action remakes to actually try to bring something new to the material.
April – Avengers: Endgame. The shock ending to Avengers: Infinity War was arguably the biggest cinematic cliff-hanger since The Empire Strikes Back, and so the world waits with baited breath for the culmination of the first twenty-one MCU films. This is truly the end of an era…
May – John Wick: Chapter 3. The second John Wick film was in my Top Five films of 2017, so I’m really looking forward to the third instalment of this mythic tale of international assassins. Also out in May are the sequels Godzilla: King of the Monsters (which boasts an impressive cast) and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (which should be a good option for younger viewers).
June – X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Postponed from late 2018, this follow up to 2016’s (hugely disappointing) X-Men: Apocalypse has a lot to prove. Still, the returning cast is incredible, and writer/director Simon Kinberg has promised to take the opportunity to do the Dark Phoenix storyline justice. Also out in June is Men In Black International, the relaunch of the Men In Black series starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, hoping to recapture the incredible chemistry that they had in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.
July – Spider-Man: Far From Home. The first film in the post-Endgame MCU, this is likely to be a reasonably standalone film, focusing on Peter Parker’s life following on from the Avengers films as well as being a direct sequel to 2017’s Homecoming. Joining the returning cast is Jake Gyllenhaal, playing the supervillain Mysterio. Also out in July is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s latest film set in Hollywood in 1969, with a star-studded cast headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
Later in 2019 – In August we have The New Mutants, which was delayed from April 2018, suggesting some major behind-the-scenes issues. It was always a bit of an experiment – a horror-film set in the X-Men universe, starring up-and-comers Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams. In September we have It: Chapter Two, the second half/sequel to the hugely successful 2017 horror film, before we have Joker in October, the controversial Joker origin story (unconnected to any other DCEU film) staring Joaquin Phoenix and co-written and directed by Todd Phillips (who has a somewhat mixed filmography). Finally, in December we have a little film called Star Wars Episode IX (for now), which will conclude not only the Sequel Trilogy, but also the entire Skywalker Saga. No pressure there, then.
So that’s a selection of what to look out for in 2019 and in the meantime, I’ll be working on my cinematic highlights from 2018...
