Outside the Wire
Judas and the Black Messiah
Finally, Hollywood takes on COINTELPRO, federal government's concerted -- and successful -- effort to undermine and dismantle Black Power organizations in the 1960s.
Coming 2 America
Release Date: March 5
The follow-up to 1988 comedy classic Coming to America has finally gotten the greenlight from Paramount Pictures -- and with star and comedy legend Eddie Murphy on board, to boot. Murphy will reprise his role as Prince Akeem Joffer, the heir to the throne of the fictional African kingdom of Zamunda. Craig Brewer, who helmed Hustle & Flow, is the director of a screenplay written by "black-ish" co-creator Kenya Barris. The story will reportedly center on Akeem returning to America in order to meet the son he never knew he had.
Though the film's reportedly been in development for years, the phenomenonal success of 2018's Black Panther likely prompted a frantic Hollywood search for similar properties. Given the similarities between BP and Coming to America -- each movie features a predominantly Black cast and a story about a prince's ascendancy to the throne of a wealthy African kingdom -- the prospect of a Coming to America sequel likely had studio executives chomping at the bit. And moviegoers will soon have two African royal families to watch on the big screen.
The problem is, as funny as he is, Eddie Murphy has a horrible track record when it comes to sequels. Both Another 48 Hours and The Nutty Professor II were ginormous steps down from their respective predecessors and the Beverly Hills Cop films just got worse and worse with each new installment. But someone as hilarious as Eddie Murphy doesn't just forget how to make people laugh. So we'll see.
City of Lies
Release Date: March 19
Johnny Depp makes his comeback in a film based on a true story about police corruption that was completed years ago but never actually made it to American theaters. Until now. In his best movie to date, Depp portrays late LAPD detective Russell Poole, who uncovered more than he bargained for when he endeavored to solve the murder of legendary rapper Christopher "Biggie" Wallace.
The Many Saints of Newark
Release Date: March 12 Moved to September 24
Even without the late James Gandolfini, the idea of this Sopranos movie
hitting theaters is compelling -- except for one thing: The film'll be a
prequel and what made the long-running Sopranos television series special
was its focus on the MODERN mafia. The time period in which the movie's set
will likely put it in the Goodfellas/Casino/Donnie Brasco era -- which we've obviously seen before. So this film will live or die by whatever new take the filmmakers can bring to the table.
hitting theaters is compelling -- except for one thing: The film'll be a
prequel and what made the long-running Sopranos television series special
was its focus on the MODERN mafia. The time period in which the movie's set
will likely put it in the Goodfellas/Casino/Donnie Brasco era -- which we've obviously seen before. So this film will live or die by whatever new take the filmmakers can bring to the table.
Morbius
Release Date: March 19 October 8 Moved to January 21, 2022
Marvel's second-most famous vampire (the most famous is Blade, of course) will be making his big screen debut in this origin story about Michael Morbius, a scientist who accidentally turns himself into a living bloodsucker after an attempt to cure himself of a rare illness results in unforeseen side effects.
Justice League: The Snydercut
Release Date: March 18
After three long years of campaigning, fans of the original DCEU (which includes Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad) and director Zack Snyder succeeding in convincing Warner Bros. management to fund the completion of Snyder's version of Justice League. Snyder was removed from the project when executives panicked following negative critical reviews for BvS and Suicide Squad (though both were hits with fans and brought in hefty profits) and replaced with Joss Whedon, who essentially made an entirely different film. Though Whedon's movie was intended to please critics, it disappointed moviegoers and consequently cost the studio an estimated $60 million in losses.
Now, the product of Snyder's original vision is set to debut on streaming service HBO Max at some undetermined time in March. The Superman, the Batman, Cyborg, Aquaman, the Flash and Wonder Woman will all face-off against Darkseid and his lieutenant Steppenwolf in a four-hour movie.
No Time to Die
Release Date: April 2 Moved to October 8
No Time to Die was initially scheduled to hit theaters in April 2020, which is the strangest part of its release date move, given that so many past James Bond movies have debuted in November. The 25th 007 flick later landed where it always should've been -- November 2020. But due to the ice-cold reception to the movies that debuted in theaters between late August and early October, No Time was shifted to nearly a year after its original release date.
A Quiet Place II
Release Date: April 23 Moved to September 17 Moved again to May 28
Without Remorse
Without Remorse belongs to the Tom Clancy collection of films and television shows adapted from his books (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Shadow Recruit, Jack Ryan). And frankly, it's refreshing to see one of these stories not revolve around CIA analyst and supposed desk jockey Jack Ryan. This one is about Navy SEAL Senior Chief John Kelly, originally portrayed by Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger and later Liev Schrieber in The Sum of All Fears. But now, burgeoning action star Michael B. Jordan has taken over the role.
Free Guy
Release Date: May 21 Moved to August 13
Since Free Guy is about a mediocre dude who doesn't realize that he lives inside of a video game who falls for a woman of action who shows up outta nowhere, it seems to pretty much be a live-action version of The LEGO Movie. But the visuals look great, so let's do this.
The Ghostbusters saga will try to repair the damage done by the 2016 reboot with this true sequel that pretends that that bucket of dishwater never even happened -- Terminator: Dark Fate-style. Hopefully, this movie doesn't also turn out to be a bucket of dishwater -- Terminator: Dark Fate-style. Picking up over three decades after Ghostbusters II, Afterlife will feature new busters alongside Winston, Peter and Ray.
In the Heights
Release Date: June 18
Maverick
Release Date: July 2 Moved to November 19
Producing a sequel to an iconic film which revisits iconic characters
several years later is always a dicey proposition. As Rocky Balboa, Live
Free or Die Hard and Blade Runner 2049 prove, it can absolutely be a
worthwhile endeavor. But for every Creed there's a Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull. The results mostly depend on the skill and approach of the director
and writer.
several years later is always a dicey proposition. As Rocky Balboa, Live
Free or Die Hard and Blade Runner 2049 prove, it can absolutely be a
worthwhile endeavor. But for every Creed there's a Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull. The results mostly depend on the skill and approach of the director
and writer.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Release Date: July 9 Moved to September 3
In Shang-Chi, the MCU will debut its second movie featuring a mostly minority cast and the first appearance of the real Mandarin, Iron Man's arch-nemesis from the comics. Unfortunately, Awkwafina seems to have a sizable role.
Dune
Release Date: September 17 Moved to October 1 Moved again to October 22
The new Dune is a do-over for the 1984 mega-flop starring Sting and a pre-Star Trek Patrick Stewart that cost the studio an estimated $23 million. With Blade Runner 2049's Denis Villanueve behind the wheel, it's a good bet that no matter how much money the remake brings in, it'll at least be a better movie.
Updated 6/30/21
No comments:
Post a Comment