ANTICIPATED MOVIES FOR 2021 Part 1 – Mainstream

 

ANTICIPATED MOVIES FOR 2021 

 Part 1 – Mainstream

 

JANUARY

The Last Duel

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer

Opening on: January 8, 2021

PLOT: Drama Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will reunite, with Killing Eve‘s breakout star Jodie Comer filling out the cast about a woman claims she's been raped by her husband's best friend, Jean de Carrouges. But when no one believes her accusation, her husband challenges his friend to a duel, the last legally sanctioned duel in the country's history.

 

THE 355

Directed by: Simon Kinberg

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Fan Bingbing, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Edgar Ramirez, Sebastian Stan, Diane Kruger, Emilio Insolera

Opening on: January 15, 2021

PLOT: Mystery thriller where five women band together to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could thrust the teetering world into total chaos.

 

FEBRUARY

Nomadland

Directed by: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn

Opening on: February 19, 2021 (following one-week virtual release on December 4, 2020)

PLOT: Drama based on the nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder. The film stars Frances McDormand as a woman who loses everything in the Great Recession and decides to see if the van life is all it’s cracked up to be.

 

The Father

Directed by: Florian Zeller

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman

Opening on: February 26, 2021

PLOT: Drama starring two Oscar winners based on a 2012 French play Le Père by the film’s director and co-writer, Florian Zeller. The story focuses on an aging man (Anthony Hopkins) struggling with memory loss whose daughter (Olivia Colman) moves into his flat to help care for him.

 

MARCH

Coming 2 America

Directed by: Craig Brewer

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, James Earl Jones, Garcelle Beauvais, Wesley Snipes

Opening on: March 5, 2021 on Amazon Prime.

PLOT: Comedy - After over three decades, it looks like Prince Akeem — ahem, King Akeem and Semmi are returning Stateside from their homeland of Zamunda. Much of the original cast are returning, including James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer and John Amos as Cleo McDowell, as Akeem learns that he has a long-lost son he never knew about who might be the heir to the throne.

 

The Many Saints of Newark

Directed by: Alan Taylor

Starring: Michael Gandolfini, Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, Billy Magnussen, Ray Liotta, Corey  Stoll, Alessandro Nivola - Opening on: March 12, 2021, with simultaneous release on HBO Max

PLOT: Prequel to HBO The Sopranos. Alan Taylor directs this look back at the early years of the iconic TV mobster, with Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, and Ray Liotta in supporting roles.

 

APRIL

No Time To Die

Directed by: Cary Fukunaga

Starring: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch

Opening on: April 2, 2021

PLOT: True Detective director Cary Fukunaga takes the reins for the 25th James Bond film, with Daniel Craig returning for his fifth and (presumably) final turn as 007.

 

BIOS

Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik

Starring: Tom Hanks

Opening on: April 16, 2021

PLOT: Tom Hanks is back, breaking our hearts again. Here he plays a sickly inventor — and the last human left on a post-apocalyptic earth — who creates a robot to protect the life of his dog when he dies and keep them both company while he’s alive.

 

A Quiet Place Part II

Directed by: John Krasinski

Starring: Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounsou

Opening on: April 23, 2021

PLOT: Director John Krasinski returns to helm this sequel, which he also wrote, starring his real-life wife Emily Blunt, as it follows up with the Abbott family after the events of the first film.

 

MAY

Black Widow

Directed by: Cate Shortland

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz

Opening on: May 7, 2021

PLOT: The first Marvel property to kick off its Phase 4 will be this prequel focusing on Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff teaming up with her Russian sister.

 

Spiral

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols

Opening on: May 21, 2021

PLOT: The Saw franchise officially gets revived in this new thriller, with Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III, and IV) back behind the camera. This time, two cops played by Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson investigate a series of gruesome murders and find themselves at the mercy of a killer reminiscent of the past (Jigsaw copycat, anyone?).

 

Cruella

Directed by: Alex Timbers and Craig Gillespie

Starring: Emma Stone, Joel Fry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Emma Thompson

Opening on: May 28, 2021

PLOT: Emma Stone will star in Disney’s latest live-action remake of an old classic. In the vein of Maleficient, Cruella will focus on the enigmatic villain of 101 Dalmatians in her youth and show how she became obsessed with Dalmatian fur. With Emma Thompson and Mark Strong rounding out the cast.

 

JUNE

In the Heights

Directed by: Jon M. Chu

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Jimmy Smits, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco

Opening on: June 18, 2021, with simultaneous release on HBO Max,

PLOT: Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu adapts Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout musical, In the Heights. The show, which kicked off the Hamilton creator’s career, won four Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Chu demonstrated real skill with spectacle in Crazy Rich Asians, and the new movie shares similar themes of reclaiming one’s heritage – it follows the stories of several characters in New York’s heavily Latino neighborhood, Washington Heights, over three days.

 

JULY

Top Gun: Maverick

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer, Jay Ellis, Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro

Opening on: July 2, 2021

PLOT: Top Gun sequel after 31 years! Not a whole lot is known about the movie, except that the filmmakers have recruited a cast of some of the most in-demand young actors in Hollywood – including Miles Teller, who will play Goose’s son – and that Val Kilmer is officially back as Iceman.

Space Jam 2

Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee

Starring: LeBron James, Don Cheadle

Opening on: July 16, 2021, with simultaneous release on HBO Max

PLOT: Speaking of old stories for new audiences, LeBron James‘long-awaited Space Jam sequel will finally arrive in 2021. With Don Cheadle starring alongside the basketball legend and Ryan Coogler producing.

 

AUGUST

The Suicide Squad

Directed by: James Gunn

Starring: Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney

Opening on: August 6, 2021, with simultaneous release on HBO Max

PLOT: 2016’s Suicide Squad may be rotten, but the 2021 follow-up might just redeem the series. Most of the primary cast is returning, with Idris Elba joining in a new role. The star-studded cast is also adding Storm Reid, Flula Borg, Nathan Fillion and Pete Davidson

 

Deep Water

Directed by: Adrian Lyne

Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts

Opening on: August 13, 2021

PLOT: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas star in director Adrian Lyne’s thriller based on the eponymous novel by Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Carol), about a married couple at odds with each other who begin to play dangerous mind games with each other, eventually leading to murder.

 

Candyman

Directed by: Nia DaCosta

Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tony Todd, Teyonah Parris

Opening on: August 27, 2021

PLOT: Longtime fan and contemporary horror maestro Jordan Peele is producing this sequel to — not a remake of — the classic 1992 horror film about the murdered son of a slave whose ghost haunts the Chicago neighborhood where the Cabrini Green housing projects once stood.

 

The Beatles: Get Back

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Starring: The Beatles

Opening on: August 27, 2021

On the heels of his universally acclaimed World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson turns his eye towards the Fab Four. Utilizing never-before-seen footage behind the scenes, the new documentary chronicles the Beatles as they record their 1970 album Let It Be, as well as their legendary performance on the rooftop of Apple Records in London.

 

SEPTEMBER

Death on the Nile

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Letitia Wright

Opening on: September 17, 2021

PLOT: Kenneth Branagh will return as detective Hercule Poirot following the surprise success of 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, which Branagh also directed. So far, big names like Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Letitia Wright, and Rose Leslie have joined the whodunit.

 

OCTOBER

Dune

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Zendaya

Opening on: October 1, 2021

PLOT: Acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario – Arrival – Blade Runner Sequel) takes on the massive challenge of re-adapting Frank Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi epic more than 30 years after David Lynch attempted the same.

 

Uncharted

Directed by: TBD (Ruben Flesicher wanted by Sony)

Starring: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg

Opening on: October 8, 2021

PLOT:  This Indiana Jones-styled action-adventure film, based on the popular video game series of the same name. Mark Wahlberg also signed on to co-star, and the latest report is that Sony is eyeing Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer to replace Knight as director.

 

NOVEMBER

Untitled Elvis Film

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks

Opening on: November 5, 2021

PLOT: Austin Butler beat out tons of hopefuls to win the role of the famed King of Rock and Roll for this biopic from Warner Brothers. With Baz Lurhmann on board to write and direct, it’s bound to be a lush cinematic experience. Tom Hanks is also attached in a supporting role.

 

Eternals

Directed by: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Brian Tyree Henry

Opening on: November 5, 2021 (formerly February 12, 2021)

PLOT:  The second film of Marvel’s Phase 4 goes cosmic again with the Eternals. Much of the cast was announced in bits and pieces, with a big reveal at Comic-Con 2019 and a key addition made in August. In brief, the Eternals are powerful immortals who helped shape humanity and history on Earth.

 

Mission: Impossible 7

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise

Opening on: November 19, 2021

PLOT: Tom Cruise will be back in action for the seventh installment in the franchise that showcased his willingness to engage in death-defying stunts. Christopher McQuarrie will also be back as writer and director after serving those roles in the last two films.

 

DECEMBER

West Side Story

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Rita Moreno, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler

Opening on: December 10, 2021 (formerly December 18, 2020)

PLOT: Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of the famous Broadway musical of the same name, which is itself an alternative take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

 

The Matrix 4

Directed by: Lana Wachowski

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nei Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra

Opening on: December 22, 2021 (formerly April 1, 2022), with simultaneous release on HBO Max

PLOT: Somehow, some way, Neo and Trinity are set to return to the world of The Matrix, as Lana Wachowski is set to bring us another sci-fi action-adventure set in the world digital world she helped create way back in 1999. We won’t get Agent Smith or Morpheus this time around, but people like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, and Priyanka Chopra are joining the cast.

 

The French Dispatch

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Benicio Del Toro, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Owen Wilson

PLOT: Initially reported to be a musical, Wes Anderson’s next film will be a drama that brings to life a handful of stories from a magazine created by an American living in a fictional city in France. The film’s press release calls it a “love letter to journalists,” and it brings together several regular collaborators in a massive, star-studded cast.

 

Stillwater

Directed by: Tom McCarthy

Starring: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin

Opening on: TBD (formerly November 6, 2020)

PLOT: Matt Damon stars in this thriller about an Oklahoma oil-rig worker who travels to Marseille, France to unravel a mystery and clear his daughter’s name when she is imprisoned for a crime she says she didn’t commit.

 

Wicked

Directed by: Stephen Daldry

Starring: TBD

Opening on: TBD (formerly December 22, 2021)

PLOT: It feels like fans of the musical have been waiting forever for a screen adaption of Wicked, and in 2021, they’ll finally get their wish. No cast details have been announced yet, but with a legacy like Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth to live up to, the lucky ladies who get the gig will have enormous shoes to fill.

 

Blazing Samurai

Directed by: Chris Bailey, Mark Koetsier

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Cera, Michelle Yeoh, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Honsou

Opening on: 2021

PLOT: Originally slated for release in 2017, the star-studded animated feature will finally see the light of day in 2021. Inspired by Mel Brooks‘classic western Blazing Saddles, the cast includes Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson and Ricky Gervais.

 

The Power of the Dog

Directed by: Jane Campion

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Paul Dano

Opening on: 2021

PLOT: In her follow up to Top of the Lake: China Girl, Jane Campion will reunite with Elisabeth Moss for Netflix’s The Power of The Dog, based on the 1967 novel of the same name. Also starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the film centers on two brothers on a ranch whose relationship shifts when one falls in love with a local widow.

 

Pinocchio

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

PLOT: This has been one of Guillermo del Toro’s long-in-development passion projects, and it will also be his first foray into animation. The stop motion-animated adaptation of the classic tale will reportedly be a tad darker than we may be accustomed to, with del Toro calling it a “brutalist fable.”