The disaster that was 2016 is nearly in the books, which means its time to look forward to what’s to come in 2017. There’s plenty of excitement to go around, so let’s run down 10 reasons to go to the theater in the new year.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
We start our list with arguably the most anticipated film of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. If Ironman is the top billed MCU character and Captain America is 2nd, the Guardians are a close 3rd. The trailers have been received VERY well, with Baby Groot stealing the spot-light. I think it goes without saying that regardless of quality Marvel has another huge hit on their hands.
The Fate of the Furious
We will soon live in post-Paul Walker Furious-land and without him I anticipate The Rock shouldering more of the story than he has in the past. Its good to see The ridiculous naming conventions are still there. The names Fast 8 and Furious 8 don’t quite carry the same tone as The Fate of the Furious. We can only dream that this is the film where Vin and crew finally call themselves “The Furious.” Maybe they’ll even have uniforms, X-men style. Why not? Those films have no problems with being over the top and dumb, why stop now?
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is another movie whose trailers have played really well. Gal Gadot stole the show in BvS, so much so that DC decided to feature her prominently on the cover of the Blu-Ray release of the film. They have yet to prove they can make a legit good movie in the still young DC Cinematic Universe. WW is thier next attempt at a clean origin story that actually benefits from not being an origin that’s already been beaten into the ground. Don’t eff this up DC and you might have a good year.
Spider-Man Homecoming
Coming off his well received debut in Captain America: Civil War, the newly christened MCU Spider-Man has the biggest task of any character of any movie this year. He’s got to right the ship, stop the bleeding, and most importantly, make Spider-Man exciting again. He’ll have help from the previously mentioned Ironman, but ultimately it will come down to Tom Holland and the script. Spider-Man is huge and I don’t think Sony can afford for Homecoming not to set the world on fire.
Logan
Hugh Jackman’s “final” Wolverine film, and possibly the final film in the already 8 (9 if you count Deadpool) film deep X-Men canon, is a loose adaptation of the Old Man Logan story. I like the risks being taken here and respect the decision to finally admit that Jackman is getting old. At 48, it’s time for him and Fox to move on, and closing it with a vastly different X-Men film is probably the classiest way to go out. Let’s just hope it’s good.
Power Rangers
This is the biggest wild card on this list. The Power Rangers, despite being an ever-present television show, haven’t had a feature film since 1997. The buzz around this reboot is strong and the well edited origin-focused trailer only helped to hype this beloved franchise. A film of the right quality could cause the Mighty Morphin’ kids to see a resurgence akin to what Transformers saw 10 years ago. However, the late March release date could either mean the confidence from the studio isn’t there, or that they want to make an off-season statement. We will see.
Justice League
When the JL trailer was leaked/released earlier this year is seemed WAY too early. My thought was that they needed to do some damage control after BvS seriously divided the audience. It was a funny trailer that made the film seem fun, unlike the two dour entries the universe had seen so far. Honestly it’s hard to predict the performance of DC films, as all of them have been bad, yet successful. I think JL will continue this trend, but at some point fans will revolt, right? That’s gonna happen, right? It’s got to, right?
War for the Planet of the Apes
The current POTA series has quietly been one of the best Blockbuster Big-Budget franchises of the past few years. Its reliance on Caesar the Ape as the main character is inspired and compelling and through the apes, deeply human stories are being told. Probably the biggest surprise is how successful the movies have been. They aren’t relying on traditional Hollywood tactics to sell tickets, they are just good films. I have all the confidence that it will be decent, but will the audience stick around?
Thor: Ragnarok
If any film next year is at risk of falling through the cracks, Thor 3 is that film. A big as Dark World ended up being, it was not well received and often scrapes the bottom of the Marvel MCU ranked lists. The character is still entertaining (see Dr. Strange’s stinger) and there’s plenty of story to tell. Ragnarok will benefit from being released in the Winter during the down season. Also the inclusion of fan-favorite Hulk should get some butts in the seats. I’m curious to see if fans are still excited to see what’s going on in Asgard.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Star Wars Episode VIII
How do you follow up the biggest movie of all time? Probably by retelling Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars Episode VII was a success in every definition of the word. Disney came through with a Star Wars movie that pleased the masses. It simultaneously played it safe and took wild risks. We are still a year away from the Episode VIII, and it can’t come soon enough.
(Trailer Coming Soon)