ReBre’s Most Anticipated Movies of 2020
Our annual tradition of chatting about ReBre’s most anticipated movies lives on via Discussing Comics. Check out the our Podcast about this list…right here.
Here it is, our 4th annual Most Anticipated movie list. There are some bangers on the list below. There are some questionable sequels and maybe even a couple of surprises. Despite the iconic sound of saying “the year 2020” not too many automatically iconic movies are listed below. It will be a peculiar year and if I’m making bold predictions, I’d say it will be a record low for box office profits. I know that’s a bummer, so let’s move on to our actual list. First up, DC’s latest disaster is almost upon us.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn – 2/7/2020
We kick off this oddball year with an oddball movie. Everything about Birds of Prey seems wrong. The DC comics lady-hero-squad falls victim to the cult-like popularity of Batman secondary character, Harley Quinn. Why this isn’t just a Quinn stand-alone me is beyond me. Suicide Squad wasn’t good, but Margot Robbie’s portrayal was a serious bright spot. Maybe this will be a better film, maybe the Birds of Prey will steal the show. I find it really weird that Harley Quinn is fronting a movie for a team that she has historically never been a member of. shrug emoji
Sonic the Hedgehog – 2/14/2020
The journey Sonic the Hedgehog has taken to the silver screen is quite the adventure. Last year I was skeptical that a decent movie could be made about Sega’s flagship character. I think I even called in a “beautiful trainwreck”. All of that was before the trailer fiasco that flipped the internet onto it’s back. Now, Sonic has been delayed into 2020, the Hedgehog has gotten a complete redesign, and the trailer makes this movie seem more than competent. Dare I say I’m actually excited for this one? I think I might be.
Onward – 3/6/2020 | Soul – 6/19/2020
With Pixar’s 2 films this year I’m going to cheat a little. Rather than talk about them individually, I’m going to rave about the prospect of new original ideas coming from the best animated-studio in Holywood. In the last decade, Pixar released 11 films, with only 4 of them being original non-sequels. In 2020 we get TWO brand new ideas and I am seriously stoked. The little info that we’ve gotten from the trailers suggests that both movies have the charm we’ve come to expect out of Pixar’s best work. Soul is the first film directed by Pete Doctor since the certified classic Inside Out and Onward looks like vintage Pixar imagination. Pixar sequels are fun and often touching extensions of their established characters, but the studio is at its best when it’s swinging for the fences with original properties
Bloodshot – 3/13/2020
Based on the comic book of the same name, Bloodshot stars Vin Diesel playing well…Vin Diesel. I didn’t even know this property existed until I was sifting through the upcoming films for this list. After watching the trailer, this sci-fi, nano-tech-filled, story of deception, betrayal and freedom has Diesel written all over it. I don’t know if it will be good, but that’s never stopped me from enjoying action movies with big-Vin in them.
The New Mutants – 4/3/2020
For the third year in a row, The New Mutant makes this list. I am more curious than ever to see this nearly abandoned X-Men spin-off. News that the film will be released sans the edits they announced last year, makes me think Disney is comfortable not putting any unnecessary cash into getting this out the door. I guess it’s still possible that they could pull the plug and drop it on Disney+, but seeing as the other X-Men movies aren’t on the service, that doesn’t seem likely. This movie might actually come out, this year. The three stars of the film Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, and Charlie Heaton are all still seen as bankable talents, this could ultimately help the movie, but that’s doubtful.
Black Widow – 5/1/2020
Black Widow isn’t the only MCU entry this year, but it is the only one with a character you’ll recognize. Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha Romanoff in a story that supposed to flesh out the backstory of her character that died heroically in Avengers: Endgame. I like that its set following the events of Captain America: Civil War because there’s a lot of unknown backstory between that and Avengers: Infinity War. It wouldn’t surprise me if we have a Cap sighting, or one of their other “outlaw” friends. Ultimately, telling a spy story starring Russian characters could be treading in too familiar waters. We’ll see. It will be great to see Johansson suit up one more time as a fan-favorite Avenger, before the odd unknown characters of Phase 4 start to roll out.
Fast and Furious 9 – 5/22/2020
Little is known about the next chapter in the long-running Fast and Furious franchise. All the major players are coming back and Justin Lin, arguably the best director the series ever had, is back in the chair. So, things are looking up for Dom and the family. However, after last year’s LUKE-warm Hobbs and Shaw, this series needs a win. Jordanna Brewster is said to be back, but with her character being married to the late Paul Walker’s character, I’m very curious where they are going with the lore. As dumb as these movies are, at their core there’s a story arc that is solid and takes itself super serious. With Lin back, I doubt that changes in Fast 9.
Wonder Woman 1984 – 6/5/2020
DC’s second movie of the year is the follow up to 2017’s runaway hit, Wonder Woman. I’m optimistic, but the trailer already has some worrying material in it. Chris Pine’s character, Steve Trevor, is back, despite being both dead and nearing 100 years old in canonical time. Aesthetically, WW1984 looks to be taking everything from Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. That might just be the marketing and trailer decor, but with this being set in the 80’s it’s a bit on-the-nose for me. In the first film, Diana’s character played up the “fish out of water” storyline really well. From what I can tell, the sequel has Trevor’s character doing the same thing. This is not a good sign. Sure all of this could be footnotes to a grand amazing film, but if this trailer is to be believed, we have reason to worry about Wonder Woman 1984.
Free Guy – 7/3/2020
Not technically a Comic Book movie, nor a Video Game movie, Free Guy looks like an opportunity for Ryan Reynolds to play himself in the most ridiculous world the creators could possibly think of, a generic open-world video game. Upon first viewing, the trailer for Free Guy feels like a really expensive SNL sketch. It’s funny, well-edited, and effectively tells the core story arc of the movie. If this trailer was released as a quick short film parody of how stupid modern Hollywood movie premises are, it would have hit the nail on the head. How they turn this into a full-length feature is where the real difficulty comes in. Luckily, as a long-time fan of Ryan Reynolds, who is willing to watch him in pretty much anything, this movie is right up my alley. With the full power of Disney behind it, Free Guy could be a huge hit, or it could be another John Carter.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – 7/10/2020
Regardless of how you feel about the female reboot, fans did not show up for the 2016 flop. After that, the assumption was that we wouldn’t see Slimer and friends any time soon. However, with a refocus on the story of the original movies and Jason Reitman (the son of the original director) helming a soft reboot/continuation, Ghostbusters fans may actually have something to be excited about. Sony is being very cagey with details on who’s actually in the film but the grand assumption is that all three surviving actors will be back. After watching the trailer the only thing I’m worried about is the tone. The original films were comedies at their core and were defined by their New York setting. The trailer shows a rural town with a more horror/mystery tone. This isn’t a critique of quality, as the film looks, at the very least, super-interesting.
Bob’s Burger’s: The Movie – 7/17/2020
The only detail that exists for the highly anticipated Bob’s Burgers film, is that it’s a musical. The Fox TV show is not a musical, but fans of the show know music is in its veins. Bob’s Burgers developed a cult-like following once it became the third pillar of Fox’s Sunday night animation block. The announcement of a feature film is as exciting as it is predictable. The TV show has always been a more family-friendly affair than its Sunday partners Family Guy and The Simpsons, so it will be interesting to see the direction the film team takes with the possibility of more adult humor. Regardless, the movie will be opening to a strong built-in audience that is constantly hungry for what Bob and his family are serving.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Morbius – 7/31/2020
I had to make sure this film was still in production before putting it on my list. Much to my surprise, the Jared Leto-led Spider-man Spin-off is on track to meet it’s 7/31 release date. I personally don’t know much about the character of Morbius, but the idea of Jared Leto playing a Vampire is way too good for me to put up any argument against. 2018’s Venom was better than it had any right to be, so right now I trust Sony’s odd Spider-man direction.
Bill and Ted: Face the Music – 8/21/2020
Bogus Journey came out in 1991. It’s hard to believe that there’s any interest in the characters 29 years later. Hell, they might just be hoping to capitalize on the current Keanu-sance. Those first 2 movies may not have aged too well, but there’s some zany fun to be had in a current day story. However, I don’t know if aged Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves will be as believable as two lovable buffoons in their mid-50s. Either way, I’ll be there to see it.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Venom 2 – 10/2/2020
After the tremendous success of Venom, two years ago, it was easy to guess that a sequel would be fast-tracked. I would assume we can expect the same amount of dumb fun from Eddie Brock and Venom this time around. Also, the promise of Carnage and Woody Harrelson is exciting. Like with Morbius, the biggest question that keeps popping up is, when does Peter Parker swing in? I doubt Venom 2 will introduce him, as the MCU story isn’t quite done yet, but Sony is clearly interested in leveraging their ownership of Spidey and friends. If what they churn out this time is as good as the first film, I’ll be happy and waiting with bated breath to see where they go from here.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
The Eternals – 11/6/2020
Who the **** are the Eternals? Ok, that may be harsh, but like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel is taking a big risk on a relatively unknown group of characters. This time they are mixing in unprecedented levels of diversity. The cast of The Eternals is evidence that everyone wants a piece of that Marvel money. Established superstars like Angelina Jolie and Selma Hayek join some of the hottest younger actors in the business; Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Bryan Tyree Henry and Lauren Ridloff amongst others. Obviously, with this being the MCU, I’m all in, but I would have been in for this movie due the cast alone…geez! I don’t know if this is on purpose, but Phase 4 seems pretty odd already.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Godzilla vs. Kong – 11/20/2020
I’m not really a Godzilla or King Kong guy, but many friends of the site are and there’s still plenty of time for me to become a Kaiju lover. It’s been over 60 years since Godzilla and King Kong have shared the screen so I can see this being quite the big deal. I guess I’ve got some catching up to do.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
I’ve gotta say I’m not thrilled by this line-up. It was tough finding so many movies I genuinely care about. Then again, 2019 was full of films I was significantly hyped for and many of them were certified trash. I don’t know what to think. It also doesn’t help that at this point last year we had more trailers for late-year movies. Many of the back half films are shots in the dark. I’m sure the year will be fine, but Marvel having a down year and a complete lack of Star Wars on the schedule makes 2020 a year of question marks.
