I’ll repeat this from last year, as it certainly held true in 2019: Please note that even though the list skews towards big, flashy action movies, I still really enjoy smaller, more intimate films. I may not get as excited about them in advance, but there’s a very good chance there are movies not on this list that will end up on my favorites list for 2020. I’m particularly looking for some great rom coms (which seem to be gravitating more and more to Netflix).
Here’s the list, in order of release date:
Birds of Prey (February): This is the movie about Harley Quinn, and it looks very different than most other comic book movies. The trailer didn’t completely sell me, but I’m curious to see how it’s reviewed.- Onward (March): Fantasy creatures living in a modern world, their stories told by Pixar? I’m in.
- A Quiet Place Part II (March): I don’t often seek out scary movies, but I loved the experience of watching the original film in the theater.
- Mulan (March): Yes. Yes. Yes. This is probably the movie I’m most excited about this year, as the original Mulan is one of my favorite animated Disney movies, and the live-action version looks epic.
- Black Widow (May): Marvel has been consistently great for me, and I’m curious to see how this movie plays into the events of the next phase of the MCU (and how it ties into the events of Avengers: Endgame).
- Fast and Furious 9 (May): These movies have been pure popcorn fun for me, so I hope that trend continues here.
- Wonder Woman 1984 (June): I loved the first film, and I hope this one turns out just as good.
- Soul (June): Two Pixar movies in the same year? Awesome!
- Top Gun: Maverick (June): Tom Cruise has this relentless pursuit of getting people to the theater. It doesn’t always work, but I think this movie has huge potential.
- Free Guy (July): This is pretty random–it’s Ryan Reynolds playing an NPC in a video game world who realizes he can be more than an NPC. It could be terrible, or it could be Deadpool-level awesome. We’ll see.
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife (July): I really liked the look and feel of the early teaser, which seemed to learn a few things from Stranger Things.
- Tenet (July): Christopher Nolan’s Inception is a movie I still think about from time to time, so I’m happy for him to return to sci-fi. I think the trailer is safe to watch, as it makes almost no sense, but it looks really cool while doing so.
- Eternals (November): This is the other Marvel Phase 2 movie this year. I know nothing about it, but I don’t care–I’ll definitely watch it.
- Dune (December): I tried to read Dune a few years ago and just couldn’t get into it, but I know a lot of people love it, so maybe the movie will capture me. It seems like a really interesting world to explore.
I used this list as reference when creating my list.
What are a few movies you’re eagerly anticipating in 2020?
Oh, Jamey.
Birds of Prey was the original ‘girl power’ comic out of DC, and they produced a competent, if not exceptional, live version in 2002. It was actually very good, but the world was not ready for a female super-team.
This version is a very strange amalgamation of DC characters, focusing largely on those without powers. To be honest, it looks like a uselessly edgy Charlie’s Angels. I love the players, especially Detective Montoya, since she has been presented as a difficult and conflicted character for a very long time, and I also love the tortured backstory of Oracle.
But Dr Harleen Quinzel is a straight up sociopath and making a show where she is basically the Dr House of crime seems like a dramatic departure.
I am not against dramatic departures, but I sort of feel like there needs to be an emotional justification, and the recent films have certainly not provided it, and to suddenly present such a justification, in the same universe and with the same actress feels disingenuous.
My 2 cents.
If I’m 100% honest though, I only have an interest in seeing a new Dune and Tenet.
Everything else is either beating a deaf horse or a sad divorce from originality.
That said, I will at least watch the trailer for the Ghostbusters film, since the original was a significant influence on my childhood. I actually enjoyed the Kristen Wiig reboot, my only real complaint being that they aimed sort of low when creating the antagonist compared to the previous films.
Admittedly, I scrolled through the article containing 74 movies very quickly and watched none of the trailers. However, I’m in for Black Widow & Eternals! Mulan and Tenet look awesome too.
Just curious–how come The New Mutants didn’t make the cut?
I also love some of Guy Ritchie’s earlier films, so The Gentlemen is on my list.
Thanks for posting! This list is always helpful to give me a few annual movies to look forward to!
As for The New Mutants, I need to give it a chance, but for some reason it just hasn’t excited me much.