Movies that are going to blow everyone away in 2017
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Five years after Resident Evil: Retribution, Milla Jovovich returns to close out the sci-fi horror franchise she's led for more than a decade—and nearly $1 billion in worldwide grosses. Despite the long lapse between sequels, this sixth installment will reportedly pick up right where Retribution left off while following director Paul W.S. Anderson's mandate to come full circle with the saga of a dystopian future in which a corporate-created virus has unleashed a zombie plague. In other words, if you haven't been watching so far, this isn't the best place to come in—but if the Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City, and "t-virus" are meaningful phrases for you, then you may want to mark your calendar.
John Wick: Chapter 2
After everything he went through in the first movie, what could possibly convince John Wick to come out of retirement? Dog lovers will be relieved to hear it isn't the death of another pooch that gets his guns blazing in John Wick: Chapter 2—this time, one of John's old buddies is in the middle of a scheme to topple an assassin's guild and he needs backup. The circumstances are different, but the end results look pretty much the same: tons of stylish violence with Keanu Reeves in the middle of it all, back in the role he might have been born to play.
The Space Between Us
There are star-crossed lovers, and then there are star-crossed lovers. This fascinating teen love story follows a boy born and raised on Mars and the Earth girl he falls in love with. Sixteen-year-old Gardner (Asa Butterfield) lives his entire life only meeting the 14 other people on the Red Planet, but finally gets a chance to visit Earth and connect with his pen pal Tulsa (Britt Robertson). But his visit doesn't go as planned: young Gardner realizes his organs can't handle Earth's atmosphere, and he embarks on a whirlwind journey to try and figure out where he belongs in life (and the solar system).
Rings
It's been about a decade since Samara climbed out of a TV and killed some folks, and in the years since, we've traded in those tubed monstrosities for sleek flat screens—so in Rings, that freaky VHS tape is looking to make the transition into the digital age. The long-awaited sequel picks up the action approximately 13 years after the first films, and follows a woman (Matilda Lutz) and her boyfriend (Alex Roe) who get roped into the freaky drama of that horrific tape. But, this being a sequel, it also aims to deepen the mythology with a secret message hidden inside the tape that no one has found until now. The film also features the tagline "First you watch it. Then you die." Which is one heck of a challenge for potential viewers
Fifty Shades Darker
The second film in the Fifty Shades of Grey saga arrives with stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan joined by Kim Basinger, Tyler Hoechlin, and Hugh Dancy. The sequel picks up following the original, with Ana (Johnson) trying to move past her relationship with Christian (Dornan). Since this franchise is far from over, you can probably guess they get back together—but this time under Ana's conditions. The first film made a whole lot of money, though it wasn't popular with critics. It'll be interesting to see what new director James Foley (Perfect Stranger) brings to E.L. James' bondage tale.
Get Out
This racially charged horror film was written and directed by Jordan Peele, who's described the project as "a horror movie, but it's a satirical premise." The story follows a young African-American man who visits the family and estate of his white girlfriend. When many of the black people in the area start to vanish, the young man realizes this weekend visit is a lot more dangerous than just meeting the parents. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Erika Alexander and Keith Stanfield.
The Lego Batman Movie
Not long ago, the idea of a movie "based on" Legos seemed too silly for words, but then The Lego Movie racked up nearly $470 million while making us all root for plastic bricks (and play "Everything Is Awesome" on endless repeat). Taking the hint, Warner Bros. is diving right in with a universe of Lego-derived films, starting with this spin-off, which brings back Will Arnett as Gotham's Caped Crusader. He's joined by an intriguing cast that includes his Arrested Development castmate Michael Cera as Robin, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, and Mariah Carey as the mayor—and with Lego Movie animation co-director Chris McKay on board to helm the film from a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Seth Grahame-Smith, we're sure plenty of inspired silliness awaits.
The Great Wall
Zhang Yimou's sprawling historical fantasy epic The Great Wall has been hit with early backlash over its casting of Matt Damon as the star of what's otherwise an eastern narrative. But the film has an intriguing (albeit a little ridiculous) idea: The Great Wall of China was built to keep out more than just unwanted human neighbors.
Logan
Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine for so long that it's nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of the adamantium-clawed X-Men mutant. Soon, Fox will need to figure out who'll be the next actor to play the part, but first, Jackman's getting his swan song with a third standalone Wolverine feature. The film's plot draws from Marvel's Old Man Logan comic, about an alternate-future version of the (nearly) ageless hero. The film will also feature the return of Patrick Stewart's Professor X, adding yet another layer of closure for longtime fans of the franchise.
Kong: Skull Island
None of the many attempts to expand or remake the story of King Kong have managed to come anywhere near the classic original. But where there's franchise potential, there's a would-be blockbuster waiting to happen—so on March 10, 2017, the big guy returns with Kong: Skull Island. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson, this '70s-set trip into the Kong mythos gives viewers the biggest version of the character they've ever seen—which is a good thing for Kong, because after Skull Island finishes its theatrical run, Legendary is planning to pit him against Godzilla in a monster mashup for the ages.
Beauty and the Beast
Disney's campaign to turn each of their animated classics into live-action blockbusters continues with Beauty and the Beast, which offers a new perspective on their 1991 hit. Like Disney's earlier Beauty, this version draws inspiration from the classic fairy tale about a prince (played here by Dan Stevens) who's cursed with a grotesque appearance, yet finds love with a pure-hearted maiden (Emma Watson) imprisoned in his castle after her father (Kevin Kline) offers her up in a deal to spare his own life. Like a lot of stories from the era, it's rather dark, but Disney's animated adaptation put a family-friendly spin on it with music and humor, and we can expect the same here—plus a cast that includes Ewan McGregor and Sir Ian McKellen.
The Fate of the Furious
The fate of the Furious franchise seemed a bit uncertain in the wake of star Paul Walker's sudden passing in 2013, which complicated production of 2015's Furious 7 and put the burden of additional expectations on his longtime co-star and friend, Vin Diesel. But with nearly $4 billion in worldwide grosses, Universal wasn't about to garage its gearhead soap opera, so like clockwork, the gang will return for an eighth installment—and one that's already being set up as a callback to previous chapters as well as a springboard into a new trilogy that will reportedly see stories pivot away from the heist capers of recent sequels and into a spy saga spearheaded by Kurt Russell's Frank Petty character.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
Initially, it seemed like a hilariously dumb idea for Marvel to turn a relatively obscure comic about a ragtag team of intergalactic do-gooders—whose ranks include a raccoon-like creature and an alien resembling a sentient tree—into a $200 million movie. Nearly $775 million in box office receipts later, Guardians of the Galaxy could be the start of an Avengers-style franchise for the studio, and Chris Pratt, whose biggest credit prior to taking on the role of Peter "Star-Lord" Quill came as doughy doofus Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks & Recreation, is a full-on action hero. The gang's all back for Vol. 2, along with writer-director James Gunn, and while we don't have many details regarding what they'll be up to this time around, we're confident it'll be tons of fun.
Pirrates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Pre-production on this fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga started back when the previous sequel, 2011's On Stranger Tides, was on its way to theaters, and its path through development has been strewn with script difficulties and budget-induced delays. Still, any new chapter in a franchise that's grossed nearly $4 billion counts as a promising development for the studio, and Disney has stood by while producer Jerry Bruckheimer steered Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to its destination. Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki), this adventure sees Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow face off against an old nemesis played by Javier Bardem—and sees the return of Orlando Bloom's Will Turner in his new guise as Davy Jones.
World War Z 2
For a movie that tried to spin an action-thriller yarn out of a bestseller that used the oral history format to tell the story of a worldwide zombie outbreak—and had an infamously troubled production in the bargain—World War Z turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining (not to mention extremely commercially successful) film. Which brings us to the inevitable sequel, World War Z 2, in which Brad Pitt returns to battle the zombie plague. We don't know much about the plot at this point, but director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible) will be working from a screenplay by Steven Knight, whose varied list of credits includes the chess drama Pawn Sacrifice and Bradley Cooper's Burnt.
The Space Between Us
There are star-crossed lovers, and then there are star-crossed lovers. This fascinating teen love story follows a boy born and raised on Mars and the Earth girl he falls in love with. Sixteen-year-old Gardner (Asa Butterfield) lives his entire life only meeting the 14 other people on the Red Planet, but finally gets a chance to visit Earth and connect with his pen pal Tulsa (Britt Robertson). But his visit doesn't go as planned: young Gardner realizes his organs can't handle Earth's atmosphere, and he embarks on a whirlwind journey to try and figure out where he belongs in life (and the solar system).
Rings
It's been about a decade since Samara climbed out of a TV and killed some folks, and in the years since, we've traded in those tubed monstrosities for sleek flat screens—so in Rings, that freaky VHS tape is looking to make the transition into the digital age. The long-awaited sequel picks up the action approximately 13 years after the first films, and follows a woman (Matilda Lutz) and her boyfriend (Alex Roe) who get roped into the freaky drama of that horrific tape. But, this being a sequel, it also aims to deepen the mythology with a secret message hidden inside the tape that no one has found until now. The film also features the tagline "First you watch it. Then you die." Which is one heck of a challenge for potential viewers
Fifty Shades Darker
The second film in the Fifty Shades of Grey saga arrives with stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan joined by Kim Basinger, Tyler Hoechlin, and Hugh Dancy. The sequel picks up following the original, with Ana (Johnson) trying to move past her relationship with Christian (Dornan). Since this franchise is far from over, you can probably guess they get back together—but this time under Ana's conditions. The first film made a whole lot of money, though it wasn't popular with critics. It'll be interesting to see what new director James Foley (Perfect Stranger) brings to E.L. James' bondage tale.
Get Out
This racially charged horror film was written and directed by Jordan Peele, who's described the project as "a horror movie, but it's a satirical premise." The story follows a young African-American man who visits the family and estate of his white girlfriend. When many of the black people in the area start to vanish, the young man realizes this weekend visit is a lot more dangerous than just meeting the parents. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Erika Alexander and Keith Stanfield.
The Lego Batman Movie
Not long ago, the idea of a movie "based on" Legos seemed too silly for words, but then The Lego Movie racked up nearly $470 million while making us all root for plastic bricks (and play "Everything Is Awesome" on endless repeat). Taking the hint, Warner Bros. is diving right in with a universe of Lego-derived films, starting with this spin-off, which brings back Will Arnett as Gotham's Caped Crusader. He's joined by an intriguing cast that includes his Arrested Development castmate Michael Cera as Robin, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, and Mariah Carey as the mayor—and with Lego Movie animation co-director Chris McKay on board to helm the film from a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Seth Grahame-Smith, we're sure plenty of inspired silliness awaits.
The Great Wall
Zhang Yimou's sprawling historical fantasy epic The Great Wall has been hit with early backlash over its casting of Matt Damon as the star of what's otherwise an eastern narrative. But the film has an intriguing (albeit a little ridiculous) idea: The Great Wall of China was built to keep out more than just unwanted human neighbors.
Logan
Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine for so long that it's nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of the adamantium-clawed X-Men mutant. Soon, Fox will need to figure out who'll be the next actor to play the part, but first, Jackman's getting his swan song with a third standalone Wolverine feature. The film's plot draws from Marvel's Old Man Logan comic, about an alternate-future version of the (nearly) ageless hero. The film will also feature the return of Patrick Stewart's Professor X, adding yet another layer of closure for longtime fans of the franchise.
Kong: Skull Island
None of the many attempts to expand or remake the story of King Kong have managed to come anywhere near the classic original. But where there's franchise potential, there's a would-be blockbuster waiting to happen—so on March 10, 2017, the big guy returns with Kong: Skull Island. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson, this '70s-set trip into the Kong mythos gives viewers the biggest version of the character they've ever seen—which is a good thing for Kong, because after Skull Island finishes its theatrical run, Legendary is planning to pit him against Godzilla in a monster mashup for the ages.
Beauty and the Beast
Disney's campaign to turn each of their animated classics into live-action blockbusters continues with Beauty and the Beast, which offers a new perspective on their 1991 hit. Like Disney's earlier Beauty, this version draws inspiration from the classic fairy tale about a prince (played here by Dan Stevens) who's cursed with a grotesque appearance, yet finds love with a pure-hearted maiden (Emma Watson) imprisoned in his castle after her father (Kevin Kline) offers her up in a deal to spare his own life. Like a lot of stories from the era, it's rather dark, but Disney's animated adaptation put a family-friendly spin on it with music and humor, and we can expect the same here—plus a cast that includes Ewan McGregor and Sir Ian McKellen.
The Fate of the Furious
The fate of the Furious franchise seemed a bit uncertain in the wake of star Paul Walker's sudden passing in 2013, which complicated production of 2015's Furious 7 and put the burden of additional expectations on his longtime co-star and friend, Vin Diesel. But with nearly $4 billion in worldwide grosses, Universal wasn't about to garage its gearhead soap opera, so like clockwork, the gang will return for an eighth installment—and one that's already being set up as a callback to previous chapters as well as a springboard into a new trilogy that will reportedly see stories pivot away from the heist capers of recent sequels and into a spy saga spearheaded by Kurt Russell's Frank Petty character.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
Initially, it seemed like a hilariously dumb idea for Marvel to turn a relatively obscure comic about a ragtag team of intergalactic do-gooders—whose ranks include a raccoon-like creature and an alien resembling a sentient tree—into a $200 million movie. Nearly $775 million in box office receipts later, Guardians of the Galaxy could be the start of an Avengers-style franchise for the studio, and Chris Pratt, whose biggest credit prior to taking on the role of Peter "Star-Lord" Quill came as doughy doofus Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks & Recreation, is a full-on action hero. The gang's all back for Vol. 2, along with writer-director James Gunn, and while we don't have many details regarding what they'll be up to this time around, we're confident it'll be tons of fun.
Pirrates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Pre-production on this fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga started back when the previous sequel, 2011's On Stranger Tides, was on its way to theaters, and its path through development has been strewn with script difficulties and budget-induced delays. Still, any new chapter in a franchise that's grossed nearly $4 billion counts as a promising development for the studio, and Disney has stood by while producer Jerry Bruckheimer steered Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to its destination. Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki), this adventure sees Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow face off against an old nemesis played by Javier Bardem—and sees the return of Orlando Bloom's Will Turner in his new guise as Davy Jones.
World War Z 2
For a movie that tried to spin an action-thriller yarn out of a bestseller that used the oral history format to tell the story of a worldwide zombie outbreak—and had an infamously troubled production in the bargain—World War Z turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining (not to mention extremely commercially successful) film. Which brings us to the inevitable sequel, World War Z 2, in which Brad Pitt returns to battle the zombie plague. We don't know much about the plot at this point, but director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible) will be working from a screenplay by Steven Knight, whose varied list of credits includes the chess drama Pawn Sacrifice and Bradley Cooper's Burnt.
