21. BUMBLEBEE
RELEASE DATE: , 2018
DIRECTOR: TRAVIS KNIGHT
WRITER: CHRISTINA HODSON
CAST: HAILEE STEINFELD, JOHN CENA, PAMELA ADLON, CHRISTIAN HUTCHERSON, KENNETH CHOI
STUDIOS: ALLSPARK PICTURES, PARAMOUNT PICTURES
It’s a very strange time for Hasbro and Paramount’s once-lucrative Transformers franchise, which sank like a rock in water at the box office this year with its fifth and least successful entry, Transformers: The Last Knight. And it was this one that was supposed to launch the Transformers movie universe with annualized releases going forward, alternating between core sequels and spinoffs! There was even an epic writers room assembled to expand the universe, but they may have ruined it before it even started.
Unless of course, the first spinoff, the lower budget Bumblebee movie can do something unique and special. Its setting, star, and nod of the original Transformers animated series are already off to the right start but can it fight off franchise fatigue?
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.
20. ISLE OF DOGS
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 23, 2018
DIRECTOR: WES ANDERSON
WRITER: WES ANDERSON
CAST: SCARLETT JOHANSSON, GRETA GERWIG, FRANCES MCDORMAND, EDWARD NORTON, JEFF GOLDBLUM, BRYAN CRANSTON, TILDA SWINTON, BILL MURRAY, LIEV SCHREIBER, FISHER STEVENS, KARA HAYWARD, HARVEY KEITEL
STUDIOS: AMERICAN EMPIRICAL PICTURES, FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES
Wes Anderson wrote and directed a new movie coming in 2018 so that should be enough to earn your attention. And yes, it features several of the Wes Anderson regulars!
In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island that’s a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.
Isle of Dogs is another stop-motion piece from Anderson who loved the experience with Fantastic Mr. Fox and is inspired by the work of Akira Kurosawa and stop-motion animated holiday specials by Rankin/Bass.
19. SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2018
DIRECTOR: BOB PERSICHETTI, PETER RAMSEY, RODNEY ROTHMAN
WRITER: PHIL LORD
CAST: LIEV SCHREIBER, MAHERSHALA ALI, SHAMEIK MOORE, BRIAN TYREE HENRY
STUDIOS: COLUMBIA PICTURES
The eighth Marvel-branded movie opening in theaters in 2018 is also the only animated one and if you haven’t seen it, check out the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to witness its unique and awesome comic-inspired animation art style.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The LEGO Movie) helped put together the story for Sony Columbia’s first animated Spidey feature and it includes all sorts of Marvel Comics characters you won’t be seeing in the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequels, and for readers, it stars none other than fan-favorite Miles Morales!
18. MOWGLI (THE JUNGLE BOOK / JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS)
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 19, 2018
DIRECTOR: ANDY SERKIS
WRITER: CALLIE KLOVES
CAST: CATE BLANCHETT, ANDY SERKIS, CHRISTIAN BALE, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, NAOMIE HARRIS, EDDIE MARSAN, FREIDA PINTO, TOM HOLLANDER, MATTHEW RHYS, JACK REYNOR, PETER MULLAN, ROHAN CHAND, LOUIS ASHBOURNE
STUDIOS: IMAGINARIUM PRODUCTIONS, WARNER BROS.
Delayed and delayed, and then renamed from Jungle Book: Origins to Mowgli, one must ask how this movie can possibly compete with Jon Favreau’s mega successful The Jungle Book. The quick answer is the amazing talent and creativity of Andy Serkis, the man who deserves all the Oscars with his work in the Apes franchise. This take on the classic tale is also designed to be more adult and features an incredible cast:
Blending live action and performance capture, the story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli (Rohan Chand) raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often-harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo (Andy Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins. The other story’s central animal characters are: Kaa, the snake (Cate Blanchett); the leader of the wolf pack, Akela (Peter Mullan); the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui (Tom Hollander); Nisha, the female wolf (Naomie Harris), who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Nisha’s mate, Vihaan (Eddie Marsan); and Mowgli’s Brother Wolf (Jack Reynor). Freida Pinto and Matthew Rhys also star.
Alfonso Cuaron also came in to help assist on completing the project.
17. MORTAL ENGINES
RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2018
DIRECTOR: CHRISTIAN RIVERS
WRITERS: PETER JACKSON, PHILIPPA BOYENS, FRAN WALSH
CAST: HUGO WEAVING, STEPHEN LANG, ROBERT SHEEHAN, JIHAE, JOEL TOBECK, HERA HILMAR, FRANKIE ADAMS, COLIN SALMON, CAREN PISTORIUS, LEILA GEORGE
STUDIOS: MEDIA RIGHTS CAPITAL, UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.
Shot in New Zealand and backed by the power of Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshop and his creative team (which includes The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings’ Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh), Mortal Engines is the fantasy adventure to look forward to in 2018.
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