6. AQUAMAN



RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 21, 2018
DIRECTOR: JAMES WAN
WRITER: WILL BEALL
CAST: JASON MOMOA, AMBER HEARD, NICOLE KIDMAN, WILLEM DAFOE, DOLPH LUNDGREN, PATRICK WILSON, GRAHAM MCTAVISH, TEMUERA MORRISON, MICHAEL BEACH, LUDI LIN, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II
STUDIOS: DC COMICS, WARNER BROS.

The DC cinematic universe is a total mess, but that doesn’t mean there are elements we don’t love and want to see more of, like the heroes of Justice League. Momoa was a scene-stealer, but seeing his actual story from the books play out under the direction of James Wan looks to be somethign special.

Warner Bros. tried to rush their team-ups to catch up to Marvel, but failed to pay respect to their characters. After the success of Wonder Woman, let’s hope they learned! We expect good things from Aquaman and its creative direction and cast as a standalone adventure. It’s a shame its the only DC theatrical release in 2018 versus the eight Marvel ones.

5. ANNIHILATION



RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2018
DIRECTOR: ALEX GARLAND
WRITER: ALEX GARLAND
CAST: NATALIE PORTMAN, TESSA THOMPSON, OSCAR ISAAC, JENNIFER JASON LEIGH, GINA RODRIGUEZ, SONOYA MIZUNO, BENEDICT WONG
STUDIOS: DNA FILMS, PARAMOUNT PICTURES

What if I told you the writer of Dredd and Sunshine, and the writer-director of Ex Machina, had a movie coming out in 2018? It’s called Annihilation, based on the first novel of the same name in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. A team of scientists enter Area X, an environmental hazard zone where the laws of nature seemingly don’t apply.

Annihilation was originally intended for a wide theatrical release but after refusals to dumb down the film after test screenings the deal with Paramount fell apart and Netflix is now distributing, something Garland is disappointed by. Still, Netflix did right by Bright, and the film promises to have an insanely mind-blowing ending so we couldn’t be more excited.

4. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY



RELEASE DATE: MAY 25, 2018
DIRECTOR: RON HOWARD (PREVIOUSLY, PHIL LORD AND CHRIS MILLER)
WRITERS: JON KASDAN, LAWRENCE KASDAN
CAST: ALDEN EHRENREICH, EMILIA CLARKE, DONALD GLOVER, PAUL BETTANY, JOONAS SUOTAMO, WARWICK DAVIS, WOODY HARRELSON, THANDIE NEWTON, CLINT HOWARD
STUDIOS: LUCASFILM, WALT DISNEY PICTURES

One Star Wars movie per year, forever, until we die or the movies take a hit critically/financially. Extensive reshoots and additional direction seemed to work in favor of Lucasfilm’s very first Star Wars Anthology, Rogue One, so we can only hope the change in directors at the last minute (with Ron Howard taking over for Phil Lord and Chris Miller after shooting 90% of the originally planned film) does the same.

Marketing hasn’t started yet for Solo: A Star Wars Story at the time of this writing, but the force is strong with film franchise from a galaxy far, far away and much of our team is curious and excited to learn more about the ambitious recasting of the iconic Han Solo. And c’mon, we’re getting Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Win!

3. VENOM



RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2018
DIRECTOR: RUBEN FLEISCHER
WRITERS: JEFF PINKNER, KELLY MARCEL, SCOTT ROSENBERG
CAST: TOM HARDY, MICHELLE WILLIAMS, JENNY SLATE, WOODY HARRELSON, RIZ AHMED
STUDIOS: COLUMBIA PICTURES

Like Solo: A Star Wars Story, the marketing has not begun for the long-awaited Venom movie, a project Sony has tried to get off the ground multiple times over the last decade plus. All we’ve seen is star Tom Hardy in behind-the-scene photos looking as buff as ever and that’s almost enough of a selling point to pique our interest.

Venom poses one of the most interesting questions for Marvel-based movies coming in 2017 (of which there are eight!). Will it or won’t it connect to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man and how will the first “adjunct” movie to the main Marvel Cinematic Unviverse actually fit in? How is Venom really Venom if he’s never had Peter Parker and his spidey powers as a host or is that coming later? An all-star cast, director, and property still make for a wonderful mix as a standalone origin story for the Venom symbiote.

2. BLACK PANTHER



RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 16, 2018
DIRECTOR: RYAN COOGLER
WRITERS: RYAN COOGLER, JOE ROBERT COLE
CAST: CHADWICK BOSEMAN, MICHAEL B. JORDAN, LUPITA NYONG’O, DANAI GURIRA, MARTIN FREEMAN, DANIEL KALUUYA, ANDY SERKIS, ANGELA BASSETT, FOREST WHITAKER, LETITIA WRIGHT, WINSTON DUKE, STERLING K. BROWN, JOHN KANI, FLORENCE KASUMBA
STUDIOS: MARVEL STUDIOS, WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

It took way too long to finally get T’Challa on the big screen by Marvel made it happen with Chadwick Boseman’s epic introduction as a key figure in Captain America: Civil War. Where Iron Man has his tech and pride, and Captain America has his country and liberty, Black Panther is above all that.

He’s a hero of his people, and their leader. He’s their monarch, the king, and their super-powered hero and in February we’ll get to see what that really means and what secrets Wakanda has to share. And it could even be the location of the sixth and final Infinity Stone, the soul gem.

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically-advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

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