All the requisite caveats are involved in curating a film preview for 2021. This year is likely to be full of schedule changes and surprise decisions to switch certain projects to streaming, as the cinema industry remains profoundly in flux and many theaters have yet to reopen.
Warner Bros., one major studio, plans to debut each of its films simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service; others will sell some titles online at a premium price, including Disney.
What stands out about the film landscape of 2021 is how closely the lineup resembles that of 2020: the new films are to be released by major studios, as producers expect a redo after a lost year.
Here are the upcoming films along with their confirmed release dates, that we think you wouldn’t dare to miss!
1) THE LITTLE THINGS (JANUARY 29)
Last month’s rollout of Wonder Woman 1984 was a taste of Warner Bros. films for an entire year that would arrive simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters. While a superhero movie’s glitz was enough to attract record audience figures, can a more workman-like crime drama make the studio as big of a wave?
The Little Things of Warner Bros. has a hefty cast of Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek, featuring a dogged county sheriff attempting to solve a serial-killer case (all Oscar winners). If nothing else, it might be a solid late January diversion.
2) CHERRY (FEBRUARY 26)
Avengers: Endgame, which cost $356 million to produce and became the most financially profitable movie in Hollywood history, was the last film directed by the Russo brothers. The duo’s follow-up is smaller, a relief after years of Marvel machine work (for which they made four titles).
The latest film follows an Army medic with PTSD (Tom Holland), based on an autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, who begins to rob banks to pay for his opioid addiction, a bleak yet unfortunately relevant idea. Two weeks later, Cherry will be on Apple TV+ to premiere in theaters first. This hybrid model of release could prove popular, pandemic or not, in Hollywood going forward.
3) RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (MARCH 5)
A dramatic-looking adventure set in a fictional world inhabited by monsters and warriors, Disney’s first original animated film since Moana. A young woman named Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) is the protagonist; she goes in search of Sisu (Awkwafina), a water dragon who can help her overcome an atrocious villain.
For its hero, the film’s teaser trailer had an exciting visual tone and arcane ancient puzzles to solve, but the specifics of the plot remain light. And even though the film will be available in theaters, it will also roll out for a premium fee on Disney+, just like Mulan’s last year.
4) NO TIME TO DIE (APRIL 2)
The announcement of the next James Bond movie has been regarded as a bellwether for the health of the cinema industry for almost a year now. Last spring, when No Time to Die was kicked down the schedule (around the time of Billie Eilish’s featured song of the film was released), it was the first indication of the big impact of the pandemic on the film world; when the film was postponed again in the fall, it meant that Hollywood was not bouncing as hard as anticipated.
No Time to Die, the last outing of Daniel Craig as the British super-spy, is reportedly set for April, but be warned: as his studio, MGM, waits for the right time to ensure a smooth worldwide opening, it could easily be moved back again.
5) THE SUICIDE SQUAD (AUGUST 6)
With new Batmen and Jokers springing up in recent years and many iterations of the same Justice League movie rolling out, the sprawling world of movies based on DC Comics characters has now become too knotty to untangle. Technically, the Suicide Squad is a sequel to the 2016 Suicide Squad, and several cast members are shared-Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney.
But James Gunn (who made Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy) writes and directs it and promises a more anarchic, comedic feel, stuffed with fresh villains as part of a ragtag ensemble seeking to save the world (or maybe end it?). Among the several recent additions to this party are Idris Elba, John Cena, Pete Davidson, and Sylvester Stallone.
6) DUNE (OCTOBER 1)
Before Warner Bros kicked it to 2021 for pandemic purposes, Dune was last scheduled for a Christmas 2020 release; it was then bundled into the year-long strategy of the studio to debut each of its films simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.
Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who obviously crafted this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic for the big screen, was highly criticized for that move; one hopes that this is how it will be seen and enjoyed by October. Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, rounding out a huge production with Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and many others.
Source: The Atlantic