7. John Wick 3: Parabellum (May 27th, 2019)
Keanu Reeves has certainly made a comeback in films in the past few years in no small part thanks to the action thriller John Wick. The first film not only had a crazy amount of over-the-top yet realistic action, with Reeves doing many of his own stunts, karate and gun moves no less, but delivered on quite a dramatic story on Reeves’ retired and grieving assassin. John Wick: Chapter 2 only upped the ante and based on everything we know about John Wick 3: Parabellum, fans of the franchise can expect another actionfest.
At the end of the second film, John Wick was on the run after killing a member of a highly dangerous criminal organization while breaking the Continental’s most important rule: no killing on Continental grounds. With a huge price on his head, Parabellum picks up soon after the second with John attempting to escape New York City as numerous assassins, one of which is Halle Berry as an assassin named Sofia. Between a star studded cast and an image of John outrunning assassins on horseback, there is plenty of reasons to be excited for John Wick 3: Parabellum.
6. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (May 31st, 2019)
While the summer of 2019 already includes Spider-Man, John Wick and Shazam!, one blockbuster that looks like it will be purely amazing is Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to 2014’s Godzilla and the next film in Universal’s MonsterVerse. Featuring the title monster, as well as Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown, the sequel sees Godzilla go up against a trio of monsters: Mothra, Rodan and the three-headed King Ghidorah.
Apart from the trailer already selling us on the film, director Michael Dougherty has promised the film will hold nothing back from Godzilla and the monster fights, saying “we definitely take the gloves off for this film. No holding back.” With some beautiful lighting, setting and visuals shown in the trailer, Godzilla: King of the Monsters looks to be one of the most visually vivid films of the year. The only thing to consider next is how this is the penultimate film to Godzilla vs. Kong, itself a follow up to this film and Kong: Skull Island.
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (July 26th, 2019)
Apart from the superhero and monster fare we’ll get in the summer is Quentin Tarintino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarintino’s latest, which will mark his tenth film, is set in the summer of 1969 and revolves around the very infamous and publicized murder of Sharon Tate by the Manson Family.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has quite the star studded cast that reunites Tarintino with most of his usual suspects alongside some newer faces. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt headline the film as two out-of-work actors while Margot Robbie will play Tate, who just so happens to be DiCaprio’s neighbour in the film. Other big names that are starring are Al Pacino, Timothy Olyphant, Tim Roth, Dakota Fanning, James Marsden, Rumer Willis and Emile Hirsh. Even Burt Reynolds was set to star before his untimely passing with Bruce Dern taking over the deceased actor’s role. Knowing Tarintino’s filmography, Once will be just as entertaining as it will be controversial.
4. Star Wars: Episode IX (December 19th, 2019)
Any time a Star Wars film comes out, it is usually treated as an event by both fans and the mainstream audience. With the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the latest films from the galaxy far, far away have been blockbuster hits that have pleased most audiences. The Last Jedi did stroke a fair amount of controversy with the direction Lucasfilm and director Rian Johnson took with the story and while that may be a reason to do with Solo‘s failure at the box office (more likely though because it came with within six months of Last Jedi and wasn’t promoted too well), fans are still excited for Episode IX especially since The Force Awakens‘ J.J. Abrams is returning to direct the climax.
The Last Jedi left the characters in some interesting places. With Luke having passed on into the Force and Kylo Ren taking the mantle of Supreme Leader, Rey, Finn and Poe are left on the run from the First Order and vastly outnumbered. There’s plenty of questions going into the next film on how everything will be resolved. Can Kyloe be redeemed? Is there anything more to Rey’s parents? What role does Luke have to play now that he is one with the Force? Abrams delivered a great, if not wholly original, Star Wars film and the prospects of him returning are exciting. The only downside to Episode IX is it won’t have the late Carrie Fisher returning as General Leia, instead utilizing unused footage from The Force Awakens to bring the beloved character and actress back for the finale.
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Originally published December 25, 2018. Updated November 21, 2019.
