It’s the era of the superheroes & we’re getting some amazing comics that will be turning into movies for us this year!
1. Black Panther
The first movie out the gate, coming to Malaysia in February will be the Black Panther. And as we saw from Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman is the perfect Black Panther. The movie is directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed) and features great talents such as Michael B. Jordan (Fantastic Four), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), and Angela Bassett (American Horror Story). Black Panther will see T’Challa return home to his kingdom of Wakanda, but his sovereignty is under threat from enemies both within his country and from the outside.
2. New Mutants
This Fox movie coming out this year is about a bunch of teenage mutants who are learning to control their mutant powers. Like Doctor Strange, the movie will focus on the more supernatural, mystical elements of the superhero genre. The movie will be directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) and will star Anya Taylor-Joy (Split), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf), Blu Hunt (The Originals), and Alice Braga (I Am Legend). And watching the trailer, I love the mystery and horror-feel I get from it and I’m totally excited.
3. Avengers: Infinity War
This is easily the biggest superhero movie to release this year. After several movies and its sequels, we can finally watch Iron Man, Captain America, The Winter Soldier, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Scarlett Witch, Spider-Man, Thor, Loki, Vision, Peter Quill, Nebula, Drax, Gamora, Groot and many more band together against Thanos. This movie will continue after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War where the Avengers are still torn apart but must band together with the Guardians of the Galaxy to confront Thanos, who is trying to amass the Infinity Stones in order to complete the terrifyingly powerful Infinity Gauntlet. Though the premise might not seem complex, it might be for the better as there will be a lot of space to cover with such a big and varying cast that will need to bond well together and have an interesting dynamic.
4. Deadpool 2
The Mercenary with the Mouth is back and is going to be a huge hit for 20th centry Fox. The first movie grossed over $783 million worldwide, so it’s not surprising that a sequel was immediately ordered. The movie will once again poke fun at the superhero movie genre and will of course be R-rated. Other than Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and T.J Miller will both be returning whilst Zazie Beetz will star as Domino and Josh Brolin will take on the role of Cable. And yes, for those wondering, Kevin Feige doesn’t see problem with Brolin playing both Cable and also Thanos.
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp
This movie will be the first movie after Infinity War, which is quite a lot of pressure for these tiny insects. But with the surprising success of the original Ant-Man movie and Paul Rudd’s well-timed humour, it’s easy to get excited for this sequel, especially with the first movie’s mid-credits scene, transforming Evangeline Lilly’s character into The Wasp. Director Peyton Reed has stated that Lilly will go ‘full Wasp’ which is expected as her character is in the movie’s title. The movie will be one of Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie, albeit jointly. However, the first Marvel movie to feature a solo female lead will be Captain Marvel, set to reach the screens in 2019.
6. Venom
*This is just a concept trailer, there is no official trailer for this movie yet.
This movie has been sort of an enigma for a while since it was announced, but we know just a little more about the movie today. The movie will star Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island). Riz Ahmed (Rogue One) has joined the cast as Carlton Drake, Jenny Slate (Obvious Child, Parks & Recreation) as Leslie Gesneria/Agony, and Woody Harrelson as an unnamed henchman. The movie is said to tell the origins of Venom, Jekyll and Hyde-style.
7. X-Men: Dark Phoenix
The moment Fox announced a Dark Phoenix movie, many were excited. Simon Kinberg will be making his directorial debut with this movie, and many cast members from past X-Men movies will be returning to reprise their roles; James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Evan Peters. And with the events of X-Men: The Last Stand erased by X-Men: Days of Future Past, there will be a lot of room to play with in this new movie where the X-Men must face the full power of the Dark Phoenix as well as the alien Shi’ar empire.
8. Aquaman
Ever since it was announced, we have all been excited to watch Khal Drogo turn into Aquaman; a superhero with the ability to harness the power of the ocean. He has already made a brief debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and also a more substantial part in Justice League, but from there, he will have his own self-titled movie. Aquaman has always been a joke in the superhero world – The Big Bang Theory has made several jokes too – but the moment Jason Momoa was announced to take on the role, Aquaman immediately became a badass. Alongside Momoa will be Amber Heard (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) as Mera, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Nuidis Vulko, Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) as Orm / Ocean Master, Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut, Batman Forever) as Queen Atlanna and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Baywatch 2017, The Greatest Showman) as David Hyde / Black Manta. The story will surround a disagreement over exactly who should have control of the ocean.
Bonus:
Alita: Battle Angel
Not from the typical MCU or DC world, comes Alita: Battle Angel. And just from the trailer, you can tell that the movie will be kicking ass. The movie is based on Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita manga. The film is produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, and directed by Robert Rodriguez from a screenplay by Cameron, Rodriguez and Laeta Kalogridis. The movie will also star big names such as Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson. The manga itself showcases a post-apocalyptic future and focuses on Alita, a cyborg who has lost all her memories, found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and looks after her. But she soon discovers that there is one thing she remembers and that is the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst who leads her to becoming a Hunter Warrior (bounty hunter). James Cameron has stated that he wants to adapt the ‘spine story’ of the original manga and focus on the first 4 books.
