2024 Movies
This year I’m going to preview the new movie releases for the upcoming year in a bit of a different way. I’ve divided them into three categories: category one contains movies that I’m giving a 1 out of 3 for anticipation—I’m curious about them, but will wait to hear reviews and word of mouth before deciding whether or not to check them out—category two has 2 out of 3 movies—I’m interested in seeing them at some point, but not necessarily in theaters—and category three has 3 out of 3 movies—these are the movies I fully intend to see in theaters and nothing will stop me. Within each category I will organize the films roughly by release date, but we’re going to be jumping all around, so I’ll include release info at the end of each one.
1/3 – Curious
Night Swim
Premise: A suburban family’s swimming pool in their back yard is haunted.
Why Curious? The premise has potential, Wyatt Russell is in it, and it’s a low budget directorial debut from Blumhouse. January horror movies usually suck, but this one might go against the norm.
Release info: Night Swim is scheduled to be released on January 5th, 2024.
Lisa Frankenstein
Why Curious? After the fun of the comedic twist on Dracula with Renfield in 2023, I’m open to a comedic twist on Frankenstein, if it’s in a similar vein of over-the-top exploitation. The cast is good, it’s written by Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body) and it’s another directorial debut.
Release info: Lisa Frankenstein is scheduled to be released on February 9, 2024.
Madame Web
Why Curious? The trailer for Madame Web was one of the worst trailers released in 2023, making the movie look like a CW show. With Sony’s track record, this one might be so bad it’s good, and it seems destined to fail, but if it is so bad that it’s entertaining, I’d be curious to check it out.
Release info: Madame Web is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2024.
Kung Fu Panda 4
Why Curious? I’ve never seen a Kung Fu Panda movie. My knowledge of the series does not extend beyond the scene of Master Oogway saying “Monkey”. With the fourth entry being the first new sequel in seven years, and word of mouth about the first three being quite positive, I think it might be time for me to catch up with the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Release info: Kung Fu Panda 4 is scheduled to be released on March 8, 2024.
IF
Why Curious? This family film sounds fairly original, has a great cast, and is written and directed by John Krasinski. I’m mainly curious to see what Krasinski can do transitioning from the horror/thriller genre with the Quiet Place movies and having a big budget to work with.
Release info: IF is scheduled to be released on May 17, 2024.
Twisters
Why Curious? The original Twister has been on my need-to-watch list for many years, and as such a big Michael Crichton fan (who wrote and produced), it’s embarrassing that it’s taken me this long. The new one will be the perfect excuse for me to finally watch it, but I’m only barely curious about the sequel. It’s mostly a curiosity that it’s being made at all, because Twister isn’t exactly a 90’s classic beloved by everyone, nor is it a premise that seems to beg for a sequel, and disaster movies aren’t all the craze they were even a decade ago. Not much is known about this long-delayed sequel yet, so we’ll see what they come up with in an attempt to turn a profit.
Release info: Twisters is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2024.
Kraven the Hunter
Why Curious? This whole Spider-Man Cinematic Universe Sony is still trying to make work with the absence of Spider-Man himself is so pitiful that it’s like seeing someone do something embarrassing and they continue to do the thing that you’ve told them is embarrassing so you kind of want to keep watching to see if they can be any more embarrassing than they’ve already been and if people start bullying them for it even though you tried to warn them. I probably will not watch Kraven the Hunter, but if it reaches Morbius levels of bad, I might consider it.
Release info: Kraven the Hunter is currently scheduled for release on August 30, 2024, though it was supposed to come out in 2023 and a trailer was released before it was delayed, so who knows if it will be delayed again or not.
2/3 – Interested
Mickey 17
Why Interested? I know almost nothing about this movie, but I know just enough to be interested. It’s directed by Bong Joon Ho, who just keeps getting better with each movie he makes, and his last sci-fi movie, Snowpiercer, was one of my favourite movies of 2013. It stars Robert Pattinson, who is also getting better with each new role he takes on, and the supporting cast is very good as well.
Release info: Mickey 17 is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2024.
Civil War
Why Interested? Civil War is written and directed by Alex Garland, who has only directed three movies so far (Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men) but written many more, and knows the science fiction genre, which Civil War has a foot in. It’s also going to be a politically-charged action/war film, and with it being backed by A24, I think it has a lot of potential. I still haven’t seen his last film, Men, but still want to. I’m not really excited about Kirsten Dunst being in the lead role, but Nick Offerman as the President is a great casting choice.
Release info: Civil War is scheduled to be released on April 26, 2024.
Bad Boys 4
Why Interested? I really enjoyed the first two Bad Boys when I was a teen. I re-visited them prior to the third film coming out early in 2020 before the pandemic started and found they hold up. The third movie, Bad Boys For Life, was an unexpectedly welcome return for both actors, and I’m definitely interested in a fourth outing with them, though not super excited because the same screenwriters did not write this one, but the same directors are returning, at least.
Release info: the currently untitled fourth Bad Boys is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2024.
A Quiet Place: Day One
Why Interested? Even though I didn’t love either Quiet Place movie, I was thoroughly hooked by the opening of the second film, which showed the arrival of the aliens from the point of view of the main characters. I don’t mind the idea of seeing the early days of the invasion from the perspective of different characters, especially when those characters are being played by such great actors as Lupita Nyong’o (whose last role in a horror film was Jordan Peele’s Us), Joseph Quinn (Eddie in Stranger Things Season Four), and Alex Wolff (Hereditary).
Released info: A Quiet Place: Day One is scheduled to be released on June 28, 2024.
Borderlands
Why Interested? I don’t expect Borderlands to be a good video game movie adaptation, but the reason I’m more than just curious about it is because of the director, Eli Roth, who has never made a movie this big before, but he seems like a good fit for something like this, and the cast is also surprisingly full of talent. It will probably suck like most video game movies, but it at least sounds like it has a lot of potential.
Release info: Borderlands is scheduled to be released on August 9, 2024.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Why Interested? I mean, a musical sequel with Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn? How could I not be intrigued? I appreciated Joker when I saw it in theaters, but I have not been compelled to watch it again since, so I’m not totally on board for this sequel, but I think it has potential to be either brilliant or disastrous.
Release info: Joker: Folie a Deux is scheduled to be released on October 4, 2024.
Wolf Man
Why Interested? I’m one of few people who really enjoyed the 2010 Wolfman remake, but even as someone who enjoyed it, that remake was not the way to reboot the Universal Monsters Cinematic Universe. After the abysmal Mummy reboot in 2017 I was done with Universal monsters, but then The Invisible Man snuck up in early 2020 and was a surprisingly refreshing and tense retelling of the classic tale. The Invisible Man was written and directed by Leigh Whannell and produced by Blumhouse, which seemed to be a winning combo, so that’s the reason I’m interested in this Wolfman re-reboot. Whannell is directing, Blumhouse is producing, and Ryan Gosling, who was attached to star for years, was replaced with Christopher Abbott, who I do not know, but I’d rather see a fresh actor take on the role than a big star like Gosling.
Release info: very little is known about this movie so far, but it is currently scheduled to be released on October 25, 2024, though with so little known about it at this point, there is a good chance it could be delayed.
Venom 3
Why Interested? Honestly, I don’t know why I’m putting this one as a 2/3. I haven’t even seen Venom: Let There Be Carnage yet as of writing this. The first Venom is so bad I find it entertaining, and I’ve heard at least a couple decent(ish) things about the second movie, but I’m not really that interested in a third solo Venom film. They’ve already done Carnage, so I don’t even know what they’ll come up with for the third one, but I’m sure it will be desperate, whatever it is.
Release info: The currently untitled third Venom film is scheduled to be released on November 8, 2024.
Gladiator 2
Why Interested? Speaking of desperate, the existence of this sequel just baffles me. Ridley Scott is coming back to direct it, which might have elevated it to a 3/3, but after Alien Covenant I really don’t care about him coming back to do a sequel to one of his old movies. That being said, apparently the movie has been in development for a really long time, and has attracted some interesting cast members, including Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. Ridley Scott is 86, so I don’t know how many more movies he’s got in him. This could be his last big blockbuster!
Release info: Gladiator 2 is scheduled to be released on November 22, 2024.
3/3 - Definitely Seeing
Dune: Part Two
Reasons not to miss it: Dune: Part One was supposed to come out in 2020, but that didn’t happen, and we all know why, then it was delayed until late 2021, but it was worth the wait. The main problem with Part One, though, was that it did not have an ending. It truly feels like only half of a whole movie, so I couldn’t really give it a proper evaluation or even decide what I thought of it, so I was eagerly awaiting Part Two in 2023…and we almost got it, but then the Hollywood strikes resulted in it being delayed until 2024. Finally, we will get the ending we’ve been waiting to see for over two years!
Release info: Dune: Part Two is scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024. Let’s hope it doesn’t get delayed again!
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Reasons not to miss it: Glance back at my blog and you’ll notice I have not missed writing about any of the Godzilla movies released in theaters since 2014. I was beyond excited for Godzilla vs. Kong and it lived up to my expectations, but I have to admit, I’m not as excited for the sequel. I’m still amazed a sequel is even coming out at all, considering Godzilla vs. Kong was rumored to be the last movie in the MonsterVerse for a while there, but after its unexpected success during the pandemic when people were desperate for a fun new blockbuster, a sequel was fast-tracked, and after the many delays Godzilla vs. Kong faced, it feels almost like this sequel is being rushed out. But, director Adam Wingard did a fantastic job handling Godzilla and Kong’s rematch, and from what the trailer has shown, it looks like he’s ensuring an even more epic follow-up, with more monsters and more surprises.
Release info: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2024.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Reasons not to miss it: Director George Miller spent years out in the Australian desert making his fourth Mad Max movie, with Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson as Max and Charlize Theron as newcomer Furiosa, and the movie he ended up making put every other action movie director in Hollywood to shame. Mad Max: Fury Road remains one of the best action movies of the 2010s, and this long-awaited prequel with Miller behind the camera again is getting some flack online for not looking as good as Fury Road, with more CGI and fewer original ideas. My hope is Miller maintains the epic vision he created with the last movie and justifies the decision to step backwards in time from Fury Road instead of forwards and tell a worthwhile story about Furiosa that doesn’t just rely on connections to the previous movie.
Release info: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is scheduled to be released on May 24, 2024.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Reasons not to miss it: Until I saw the trailer I was a little skeptical of a fourth Apes film without Serkis involved. I thought it would be cool if he played a new character in a similar way to how Roddy McDowell played Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes after having played his father Cornelius in two previous films—it would be easy with motion capture technology, as demonstrated by Avatar: The Way of Water. But, it seems they’re going in a different direction, which I’m all for after having seen the trailer. The visual effects look every bit as good as the last movie, if not better, and I think it will be interesting to see this intermediate time between the initial rise of the apes and their eventual development of ape society as it was in the original Planet of the Apes.
Release info: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled for release on May 24, 2024. If it holds that date it’ll be a double feature of Furiosa and Apes that weekend!
Deadpool 3
Reasons not to miss it: There is only one Marvel Cinematic Universe film coming out in 2024, and it’s a sequel to a movie that wasn’t part of the MCU in the first place. I’m over the MCU at the moment due to more bad movies than good ones in the past few years and little in the way of a cohesive overarching story between films and shows, but we have not seen Deadpool since Deadpool 2 in 2018, which was before Disney had acquired 20th Century Fox and all the X-Men-related films/characters were returned to Marvel Studios. Now, Deadpool is playing in a much bigger sandbox. If they can stay true to their word that he will remain a fully R-rated character in a hard-R film that doesn’t hold back on the violence, coarse language, or meta jokes despite now being part of the shared MCU, I think Deadpool 3 has major potential to be one of the most irreverently entertaining superhero movies in the past few years.
Release info: The currently untitled third Deadpool film is scheduled for release on July 26, 2024.
Alien: Romulus
Reasons not to miss it: The Alien franchise needed rejuvenation after the abysmal Prometheus sequel Alien: Covenant, and fans have been waiting for years for the Alien TV series in development for FX, but now we’re finally getting a new cinematic entry that is poised for success. It is being co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez, who is more than qualified to bring the sorely missing horror back to the series, having made the 2013 Evil Dead remake and the original thriller Don’t Breathe in 2016. The cast is full of unknown actors, just like the original Alien was, and it is being called a standalone installment in the series. In 2022 the Predator franchise got a much needed new entry, Prey, that was actually good, and in 2024 it seems likely the Alien franchise will get the same treatment.
Release info: Alien: Romulus is scheduled for release on August 16, 2024.
Nosferatu
Reasons not to miss it: Writer/director Robert Eggers came on the horror scene with The Witch in 2015, then followed it up with The Lighthouse in 2019. He has a keen eye for detail in his direction, and even though his last film, The Northman, wasn’t one of my favourites of that year, I think a gothic, serious retelling of a horror classic from him might end up being one of the best horror films of 2024 and one of the best horror remakes in recent memory.
Release info: Nosferatu is scheduled for release on December 25, 2024.
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