From Martin Scorsese to the MCU, the next twelve months will see plenty of exciting releases come to the big screen. Here are some of the best...
Ashley Carter (Editor) - Paulie & Henry: The End of a Goodfellas Era (Release date TBC)
I strongly suspect I’m not the only one refreshing my local cinema’s booking page on an hourly basis to check when tickets for this highly-anticipated gem finally go on sale. Yes, that’s right, Goodfellas 2 has finally been confirmed. Well, kind of. There’s no Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci, Liotta, or anyone else involved in the original film. But someone has cobbled together some (probably shit) documentary footage of former friends and mafia associates Paul Mazzei and Henry Hill to make Paulie & Henry: The End of a Goodfellas Era. Mercenary cash-grab using a popular film’s clout, or potential Best Documentary Academy Award nominee? Only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure, it’s definitely the first one.
George White (Screen Co-Editor) - Everything Everywhere All at Once (Released in March)
Multiverses seem to be all the rage right now. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Loki. Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yet Everything Everywhere All at Once appears to take the already mind-blowing concept to even weirder places. Starring Michelle Yeoh as an unlikely hero dragged into a bizarre quest to save the world, the film’s trailer gained a lot of attention when it dropped online – and, despite having almost three minutes of footage to dive into, no one could quite figure out what the hell is going on. But I’ll be damned if I ain’t excited.
Directed by the brains behind the one-of-a-kind Swiss Army Man, this is going to be a hell of a ride. I don’t care about being everywhere all at once – I just want to be watching this film as soon as it comes to cinemas.
Jamie Morris (Screen Co-Editor) - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) (Released in October)
How do you follow up the greatest animated film of the past several years? Well, making a two-part, universe-hopping sequel starring a time-travelling Spidey from the future – voiced by Oscar Isaac, no less – is certainly one way to do it. While the first film saw amateur webslinger Miles Morales being visited by fellow Spider-folk from other worlds, this time Miles is the one taking part in inter-dimensional travel, with the two-minute teaser depicting him quite literally being flung from one stylised cityscape to the next.
Surpassing 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse will be no easy task, but with Joaquim Dos Santos (director of the memorable final episodes of both Justice League Unlimited and Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Kemp Powers (co-director of Pixar’s Soul) on board, this film could well push the limits of animation even further.
Katie Green - Downton Abbey: A New Era (Released in March)
I have always been a fan of a period drama, so when the series of Downton Abbey came out all those years ago and took the world by storm, I was straight on to it. And while some shows that spawn cinematic spin-offs do not do so well, Downton nailed it with its first big screen release back in 2019.
What is most exciting about A New Era, though, is the returning cast. A stand-out is, without a doubt, Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Crawley, but seeing others such as Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot is something I definitely won’t be missing. The dresses, the dinners and, of course, Carson’s bossiness despite being retired - I am here for all of it!
Kieran Burt - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Released in May)
With the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel has fully realised the concept of the multiverse that the prior Spider-Man film and Loki only hinted at. Marvel’s next film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will fully explore exactly what it means. Directed by none other than the legendary Sam Rami - enough reason alone to anticipate the film, I might add - this is bound to be another mind-warping experience, featuring more kaleidoscopic visuals.
The trailer shows a range of elements, but the most exciting of these is the inclusion of another Doctor Strange. Reminiscent of the variant in What If (expertly tying the property even closer to the films), this idea flips the friendly, alternate version of the hero seen in NWH to explore what would happen if Strange were evil, which is bound to create great action and drive great conflict.
Michael Vince - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Released in November)
The sequel to one of the MCU’s best efforts, Black Panther, is slated for release this year, and no-one really knows anything about it. Since the passing of lead star Chadwick Boseman, there has been a lot of speculation around the potential recasting of the titular role. Yet earlier in 2021 it was announced that the role would not be recast, and another character would be stepping up to the mantle.
Whether or not this will be Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia or another character remains to be seen. What's not in doubt, however, are the credentials of the film’s cast and its director. Ryan Coogler’s first Black Panther was culturally significant, and a superb film in its own right, and if the follow up handles its former star’s passing sensitively – which I’m certain it will – and emulates the success of its soundtrack, then there is no reason to doubt its potential.
Oliver Parker - Crimes of the Future (Release date TBC)
David Cronenberg is finally back after eight years since his last release, 2014’s Maps to the Stars. It is said this film will be a return to his classical body horror style – something which he moved away from in the 2000s. With a star studded cast of Kristen Stewart, Vigo Mortsessen, Lea Seydoux and more, plus a veteran director at the helm, this film is bound to be, at the very least, exhilarating and fascinating.
Although this shares the name of Cronenberg’s 1972 feature film, it is not a remake or a reimagining. The plot has not been fully revealed yet but it is rumoured to feature biological augmentation, transhumanism and a so-called world without pain – themes that are all frequent in his films. While most releases today feel safer and we see fewer and fewer made for adult audiences, Crimes of the Future looks to truly disturb.
Aaron Roe - Killers of the Flower Moon (Release date TBC)
Killers of the Flower Moon sees the 79-year-old maestro Martin Scorsese tackle his most expensive production yet (estimated at around $200 million), with a cast that includes his two favourites, Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro. Obviously the prospect of this trifecta of talent working together for the first time as a collective is enough to make any cinephile's mouth water. But it’s the story, centring on the infamous serial killings of various members of the Osage Tribe – a group of extremely wealthy Native Americans – that really grabs our attention.
Set in 1920s Oklahoma, it will see Scorcese have a crack at making a film in the spirit of a genre that has influenced him so much: the Western. We can expect a bloody affair that will probably come in at a cool 180 minutes and not a minute less!
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