Movie Lineup 2018
Yesteryear was an awesome year of movies, from the noir superhero genre of Logan and the backstory heroine standalone of Wonder Woman to the surprising but fan-polarized Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the insanely funny Thor Ragnarok (being a sci-fi movie-fan, those were the dope movies from the top of my head,oh, also Justice League, which wasn’t so bad). And in this year, there are more superhero genre films, spinoffs, remakes and other long-awaited adaptations.
I took time in coming up with this guide of the top 20 movies to watch this year (the main ones).
The year kicks-off with Black Panther from the studio powerhouse, Marvel Studios on February 16th and man, have I been looking forward to this movie. After Black Panther’s dope debut in Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa, the Black Panther himself, goes back to the futuristic technological world of Wakanda in Africa, to succeed his father’s place as King. This was after T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka died in the events of Captain America: Civil War.
According to the plot, things will go south when T’Challa will face off a powerful old enemy and will be tested when he’s drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the rest of the world into peril.
From director Ryan Coogler (the guy behind Creed) and a crazy cast: Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Basset, Forest Whitaker and Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead) to name a few, this movie is going to be awesome.
Quoting from an article titled:“Black Superheroes Matter: Why a ‘Black Panther’ Movie Is Revolutionary” from the Rolling Stones website, and I personally love this quote,
“The Afro-punk aesthetic and unapologetic black swagger is an important resetting of a standard of what’s possible in creating a mythology for a black superhero”.
Enough said!!
After 10 years since Iron Man in 2008 started off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movies that have followed have been progressively building blocks about the heroes we know and love and the Infinity Stones that have been popping out. And we finally get to see the one villain we’ve been waiting for, Thanos.
In this epic movie, all heroes will come together to fight this alien-baddie in an epic cinematic cross-over, from the Avengers to The Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther and his squad from Wakanda. This will be Marvel’s 19th film in the MCU.
Directed by the Russo Brothers who did Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War this is not a movie to miss on May 4th.
This is the second anthology movie after Rogue One. Directed by Ron Howard, this will be a back-story about the galaxy’s coolest smuggler, Han Solo during his youth. Nothing much about the plot has been disclosed yet, but what I can say, that I’ve read from reliable movie sites is that it will have a dope cast that consists of Donald Glover who will act as Solo’s buddy Lando Calrissian, Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Emelia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen and her many titles from Game of Thrones) and Woodey Harelson (Hunger Games Trilogy).
As a Star Wars fan, this is a movie I’m looking forward to. It comes out on May 25th.
The third Marvel movie to hit this year on May 18th is back for another sequel, after its surprising success back in 2016. After watching the stupendously funny trailer, expect tons of cursing, blood, unapologetic action and Deadpool doing Deadpool stuff. There are new mutants in this sequel, Cable by Josh Brolin (who is Thanos in Infinity War and was in Men in Black 3) and Domino by Zazie Beetz.
After that brief detour to DC, here’s another Marvel movie, the 4th one. Led by Sony, Venom is a standalone movie based on the Venom Symbiote (a sentient gooey alien) character, who is one of Spiderman’s villains according to the Marvel comics.
Nothing much about the plot has been disclosed but with the main character to be played by Tom Hardy (Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road and Dunkirk) this isn’t a movie to miss on October 5th.
After mentioning three Marvel movies in the list (5 more to come), DC has taken a different direction here. This Japanese Anime film isn’t a theatrical release one and nothing much about the plot has been mentioned other than the fact that the Caped Crusader, Batman has been transported to Feudal Japan and he must battle reimagined versions of his villains alongside his allies.
Created by top Japanese Anime talent, Batman Ninja is a re-imagination of all the iconic characters in anime form not to mention the action–packed swordfights. With villains such as The Joker, Two Face, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd, Clayface and Harley Quinn and the good guys such as Alfred Pennyworth, Red Robin, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, that’s a recipe for a proper anime Batman movie. And I’m a big Batman fan.
The date of the movie’s release is yet to be announced.
After its successful predecessor (though personally, I think it is yet to reach the amazing charm Harry Potter left), Fantastic Beasts gets its second sequel on November 16th out of the planned 5 movies. In the Crimes of Grindelwald, we will see young Albus Dumbledore played by Jude Law (who is the future Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) who will team up with Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne the main protagonist in the movie, to apprehend Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), a villainous wizard and a former buddy to Albus.
This 5th Marvel Comic-based film which is the sequel to 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and is the 13th installment in the X-Men film series. Set in the 1990s after the events of X-Men Apocalypse, Charles Xavier (well-known as Professor X) encourages his team of mutants, the X-Men, to be more than superheroes. Unfortunately, one mission takes them to space and an encountered incident empowers Jean Grey (the Dark Phoenix and a powerful mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers) at the cost of losing control of herself. All the while, an alien shapeshifter (probably a bad one) intends to use Jean for her own purpose, believing she’s the Phoenix, a powerful being with the ability to destroy and re-grow any part of the universe.
James McAvoy is back as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and Nicholas Hoult as Beast. The movie is set for release on November 2nd.
Unfortunately, this one has been pushed to next year ):
It’s been 14 years since Pixar Animation Studios brought us the family superhero squad, The Incredibles. This was one of my favorite Pixar movies with the likes of Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille and it is one sequel that I’ve looked forward to for quite a long time.
In terms of the plot, “It’s a tough transition for everyone, made by the fact that the family is still unaware of baby Jack-Jack’s emerging superpowers. When a new villain hatches a dangerous plot, the family and Frozone (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to work together again.”
The Incredibles 2 is set for release on June 15th.
This is another Marvel movie, the 6th one in the list from Marvel Studios and a sequel to Antman. Scott Lang, the Antman (who debuted in Captain America: Civil War) and Hope van Dyne, the Wasp are joining forces with Dr. Hank Pym, Hope’s father on a mission that ties to the events of Infinity War. This will involve the original Wasp (who appeared briefly on Antman), played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who acted as Catwoman in Batman Returns back in them days.
This Antman and the Wasp is set for release on July 6th.
With the DC Cinematic Universe struggling to catch up with Marvel’s, which is taking over this year with 8 theatrical releases against DC’s 1, which is this character standalone film Aquaman, I as a DC Comic Fan, really hope Jason Momoa/Khal Drogo and director James Wan (Furious 7) won’t dissapoint. After all, if Warner Bros. did a good job in last year’s character standalone movie Wonder Woman, fingers-crossed, they’ll do justice to this Trident wielding hero after his introduction in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and last year’s Justice League.
Aquaman is set for release on December 21st.
The 7th Marvel movie from the recently bought 20th Century Fox, is a horror genre movie about a group of mutants who discover their powers while being held against their will in a scary looking asylum/clandestine facility.
This is set to be a new group of mutants to be introduced to the X-Men Universe from the Marvel comics. Oh, and one of the characters that feature in this horror movie is Masie Williams from the Game of Thrones. The movie is set for release on April 13th.
Unfortunately, it has been pushed to February 22nd 2019.
Breaking off from the previously mentioned list of comic movies, Ready Player One is a book-adaptation whose sci-fi genre is peppered with visual spectacle (check out the trailer and you’ll get the point). It’s about a world in the year 2045 that’s on the brink of chaos, where people have found salvation on an expansive VR universe called the OASIS built by an eccentric guy called James Halliday.
But when Halliday dies, he leaves a massive fortune to the person who finds a digital Easter egg, resulting to a contest that grips the entire world. This is where an unlikely hero named Wade Walts decides to join the contest and a breakneck reality-bending adventure commences.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, there’s potential for a quality action-packed VR movie-themed experience. The movie is set for release on March 30th.
I loved Jurassic World and I’m happy that after its box-office success, we’ll get to see again the dino-infested island, Isla Nublar, and the wrecked theme-park that was caused by the Indominus Rex in the previous movie.
In this sequel, Owen played by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt and Claire played by Bryce Dallas return to the wrecked and abandoned theme-park to try save dinosaurs from an erupting volcano while encountering terrifying new breeds, I expect an over-the-top action-spectacle movie here. Catch it on June 22nd.
So far in the movie adaptations of video games, there haven’ been any breakthroughs, from the laughable Mortal Kombat to the dull Assassin’s Creed. Now with Oscar winner Alicia Vikander taking the mantle from Angelina Jolie as one of the most iconic video game characters Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, I hope it will beat the odds of the predecessor video game adaptations. I really hope so.
In this movie Croft gets a pre-recorded video from his late father, who sends her on a mission to find the mysterious mother-of-death, a tomb that might end the world if opened. Of course, there are other bad guys who are interested in the tomb.
The movie is set for release on March 16th.
After 2013’s Pacific Rim, this sequel will have no Idris Elba (he died in Pacific Rim) but will feature John Boyega from the Star Wars trilogy, giant robots called Jaegers fighting Kaijus (giant monsters) and tons of robot-monster fights. And by the way John Boyega plays the character Jake Pentecost an ex-Jeager pilot and the son to Idris Elba’s character Stacker Pentecost.
The movie shows on March 23rd.
Another sequel to 2015’s Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt and we get to see Henry Cavill’s infamous mustache that caused much trouble in last year’s Justice League (CGI was used to remove his mustache that resulted to his face look strange).
Anyway, the movie will dive deeper into Ethan’s past and we expect amazing action stunts here. The sequel is set for release on July 27th.
This is a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, from Disney Animation Studios. I loved the prequels creative use of nostalgia in arcade games and in this sequel, the main character Wreck-It Ralph escapes from the arcade world into the expansive universe of the Internet.
The movie is set for release on November 21st.
This is the 8th Marvel movie produced by Sony Animation Pictures, and it’s an animated film produced by Lord and Miller who created The Lego Movie.
It’s about Miles Morales, the Spiderman in this animated film, a teenager juggling his high school life with his status of being a superhero, since the death of Peter Parker, the first Spiderman.
The animated film shows on December 14th.
And last but not least, is Ocean’s 8, the reboot of the classic heist films series Oceans’ 11. This round, it’s an all-female cast, a switch-up from the charismatic-male dominated squad led by George Clooney.
In this film, the main character Debbie Ocean, played by Sandra Bullock attempts to pull off the heist of the century at New York’s annual Met Gala with her crew. With a cast of Cate Blanchett (from Thor Ragnarok), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar), Rihanna (Work, Wild Thoughts) and Mindy Kaling (Pixar’s Inside Out), this looks very interesting. Looking forward to this heist movie.
Ocean’s 8 is set for release on June 8th.
And that’s the list of this year’s movies. Hope you liked this article, click the clapping hands as many times as you want and drop a comment.
NB: This article was last updated on Feb 21st. Movie release dates might be changing in the near future.
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