Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023
Knock at the Cabin —February 3rd
Here comes another deeply uncomfortable question from thriller director M. Night Shyamalan: would you kill a member of your family to save the world? The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, and Rupert Grint.
It’s a brutal premise for the characters of Knock at the Cabin. Separated from the outside world and with time running out, the family must make an impossible decision. And knowing Shyamalan, there’s some sick twist in the works.
Scream VI — March 10th
The rumors are true: our favorite masked murderer is hitting up the big city! The “re-quel” cast of Scream V is back for more as they leave the bloody neighborhood of Woodsboro for New York City. They’re joined by the one and only Gale Weathers, and, in what may come as a surprise, Kirby Reed (fresh off of her off-screen death in Scream IV).
Scream VI introduces some new faces too — Dermot Mulroney, Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori among them. Will one of them be the new Ghostface, or are they just more victims for the iconic villain?
As the tagline promises: “In a city of millions, no one hears you scream.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie — April 7th
After the failure of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, Nintendo has been reluctant about licensing its content for films. So needless to say, there must be something special about this one—and it’s definitely not Chris Pratt’s lackluster stylings.
The adored and iconic mustachioed plumber is back to save the Mushroom Kingdom from his notorious nemesis King Bowser—voiced excellently by Jack Black. Accompanying him is his classic crew: Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad.
And I’m hoping this film crushes the box office; if it does, we could soon see a whole slew of Nintendo movies on the horizon, including a Donkey Kong spin-off or a Luigi Mansion film.
Beau Is Afraid — April 21st
Ari Aster, the famously unnerving director of Hereditary(2018) and Midsommar(2019), is back with a third film: Beau Is Afraid. Described as a “nightmare comedy”—I don’t doubt that first part—the movie follows a paranoid man’s journey to go home to his mother.
Any attempt to predict the film would probably be in vain—the trailer itself is strange, unsettling, and entirely bizarre. We see riots in the street, a dark figure in the hall, and a number of fantastical backdrops as Beau’s trip seems to descend into chaos.
One thing’s for sure: get ready to be disturbed.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — May 5th
Set right after their holiday special, the Guardians are doing what they do best: shooting through space to defend the universe. This time, they’ve got Nebula and Mantis on the team, and of course, there’s the wild card of Gamora—or at least the version of her from all the time-trickery in Endgame.
There’s no doubt that Vol. 3 will be as emotionally hard-hitting as the previous two; to make things worse this may be the last dance for at least one of our Guardians. As one of Marvel’s most adored crews, saying goodbye will be especially hard.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — June 2nd
In 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took audiences by storm. Spidey has been one of the most difficult comic book characters to adapt into film, and yet, the tale of Miles Morales crushed it, from story to animation and soundtrack. Five years later and the sequel is almost here.
In the first film, Spider-Man variants from across the multiverse came careening into Miles’ world. But in Across the Spider-Verse, Miles himself is traveling through the infinite universes, meeting—and possibly fighting—new versions of himself, including Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Punk, and Spider-Woman.
Across the Spider-Verse is already shaping up to be as slick and engaging as its predecessor.
Barbie — July 21st
I still remember my reaction when I first heard about the Barbie movie. Disbelief, doubt, almost concern even. Then I saw that it was going to be directed by Greta Gerwig, co-scripted by Noah Baumbach, and star both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and I was whistling a different tune.
Since then, I’ve been obsessed with any detail that has leaked online—if you haven’t heard Ryan Gosling’s Ken scream yet, it’s a must.
But even with all the pictures that have dropped, we know very little. The teaser trailer we got in December is tantalizingly brief: a dramatic parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey followed by a few exhilarating snippets of Barbie’s dreamy plastic world, complete with a dance number. Honestly, the plot could be about literally anything and I’ll be lined up at dawn when Barbie hits theaters.
Oppenheimer — July 21st
Of course I couldn’t include Barbie without also including its release date twin. Similarly star-studded, Oppenheimer casts Cillian Murphy as the titular role, and follows the famed physicist during the Manhattan Project.
Christopher Nolan, with all his ambition and scale, is probably the perfect director to craft this epic thriller. Continuing with his love of practical effects, he reportedly recreated the atomic bomb for this film.
What do you get when you combine a stacked cast, one of the most intense directors in Hollywood, and the biggest power this world has ever seen? Probably absolute insanity.
Dune: Part 2 — November 3rd
It turns out that the “unfilmable” sci-fi classic was indeed filmable; it just had to be done with two movies. The last time we saw Paul Atreides, he had just begun to embrace his destiny as the messiah of the Fremen. In Part Two, Paul will unite with Chani, the girl in his visions, and take revenge against the Harkonnens. But that’s not the end of it.
Even more ominous, Paul will have to “prevent a terrible future only he can foresee”. If that doesn’t get you pumped for this sci-fi epic, Dune: Part Two at least promises to have more than seven minutes of Zendaya.
Cocaine Bear — February 24th
Who doesn’t want to watch a black bear high on cocaine?