The Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

Cinemuny February 14, 2023

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Get ready for a year of unforgettable cinematic experiences! 2023 is set to be a blockbuster year for movie lovers, with a long list of highly anticipated films hitting theaters.

From the return of beloved franchises like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Creed III, and Fast X, to new and exciting movies like Barbie, The Little Mermaid, and Wonka, movie fans will have plenty to look forward to this year.

With a mix of big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Keanu Reeves gracing the big screen, 2023 is poised to be a great year for movie lovers.

So sit back, grab your popcorn, and prepare to be wowed as we take a closer look at the most anticipated films of the year.

‘Missing’

Director(s): Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
Starring: Nia Long, Storm Reid, Amy Landecker
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Release date: Jan. 20

Grace (Nia Long) is seemingly gone without a trace after vacationing with her boyfriend, and it’s up to her daughter (Storm Reid) to trace her digital footprint. But from a directing perspective, Missing isn’t a typical mystery thriller.

The trailer shows that it’s going to be directed in the same style as the 2017 film Searching by Aneesh Chaganty—entirely online. Admittedly, this style might not be for everyone, but with stars like Nia Long and Storm Reid, their energy is bound to bring something different.

‘Knock at the Cabin’

Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release date: Feb. 3

M. Night Shyamalan is fully back. Coming off The Visit, Split, Glass, and Old, the premise of the filmmaker’s latest project, Knock at the Cabin, is squarely in his wheelhouse.

A couple, played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge, is vacationing in the woods with their daughter when four strangers appear and hold the family hostage under the demand that they sacrifice one of three to prevent an impending apocalypse.

It’s a killer hook that likely relies on Shyamalan’s ability to execute fully on its premise. But based on the film’s gripping first trailer, it looks like we’re starting on a great foot.

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’

Director(s): Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek, Gavin Spokes, Caitlin Gerard, Christopher Bencomo, Ayub Khan-Din, and Juliette Motamed
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release date: Feb. 10

Steven Soderbergh’s first theatrical release since 2018’s Unsane (crazy to think about one of our best directors doing streaming fare for the last five years) is a reunion with star Channing Tatum to close out the Magic Mike franchise with one last bang (sorry).

Based on Tatum’s development of the Magic Mike Live show, Last Dance features the titular Magical Michael working with Salma Hayek’s character to bring a stripper stage show to life.

The first trailer looked to scale down the scope of the film to focus back on Mike after the ensemble nature of the sequel while still maintaining its effortless charm.

‘Cocaine Bear’

Director(s): Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, Margo Martindale
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release date: Feb. 24

This movie is exactly what you think it is, and I love it for that. Cocaine Bear is loosely based on the true story of a 1980s bear who accidentally snorted a ton of cocaine in a Georgia forest.

Thankfully, the real bear didn’t actually kill anyone, but that would of course make a boring-ass movie. The Cocaine Bear film reimagines what could have happened if that animal decided to go on a murder spree. It sounds like a sick fever dream, and I’m here for it.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

Director(s): Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Release date: Feb. 17

The Ant-Man franchise is one of the most understated, underrated parts of the MCU. The first Ant-Man movie had the misfortune of being sandwiched in between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.

It wasn’t until the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp that the character really came into his own, and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) was crucial to the defeat of Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. The new Quantumania will introduce another big bad: Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a multive

‘Creed III’

Director(s): Michael B. Jordan
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad
Distributor: United Artists Releasing
Release Date: March 3

It’s time to get back in the ring. Creed has been one of the most successful and warmly welcomed reboots of a classic franchise like Rocky. Now with the third installment, Jordan is not only reprising his role as Adonis Creed but he’s also stepping behind the camera for the first time as director.

After he found his place in the world, both outside and inside the ring, Donnie now has to face his past and figure out all the things that happened in his childhood that made him who he is today.

The film will uncover this using one of his childhood friends and former boxing prodigy, Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), who returns to Donnie’s life after serving a long sentence in prison and is looking to take back everything that was taken from him. The face-off between him is deeper than boxing and Donnie will be forced to fight for what’s his.

Sylvester Stallone will not be appearing in this installment and as much as he will be missed, Jordan has made it clear that he is more than capable of carrying this story on his own.

‘Scream VI’

Director (s): Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Jenna Ortega, Courteney Cox
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: March 10

For the latest installment of the Scream franchise, survivors of the latest killings are trying to put their best foot forward and start a new life in New York City. Carpenter sisters Sam and Tara, and twins Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin soon realize they are reliving the same tragedy after another ghost-face killer makes its way around town.

The identity of the latest villain is unknown, for now. However, there are a few suspects. Will it be legacy actor Courteney Cox or one of the many new faces? Only time will tell.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

Director(s): Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Clancy Brown, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Donnie Yen
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release date: March 24

After one exciting cliffhanger, Keanu Reeves’ beloved John Wick returns for a staggering fourth installment as he plans to take down the High Table, aka the regulatory body that controls all the comings and goings of assassins. John’s pursual of the Table may find him facing off against old friends like Ian McShane’s Winston.

If that weren’t enough, joining the cast this time is martial arts master Donnie Yen, whom you may remember from Rogue One or his extensive work in Hong Kong action cinema classics like Once Upon a Time in China II.

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’

Director(s): David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: March 17

The first Shazam! movie, about a delinquent teenager named Billy Batson who turns himself into an adult superhero by saying “Shazam!” added levity to the DCEU—a levity that was sorely needed after miserable, darkly lit slogs like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

In the new movie, Billy and his superpowered foster siblings join forces again to fight the daughters of Atlas, which include characters played by Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler, and Lucy Liu. James Gunn is currently in the process of rebooting the DCEU. But this new movie, with its irreverent tone and over-the-top silliness, will fit right in.

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’

Director(s): Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release date: April 7

The long-awaited Super Mario Bros. Movie has a near-impossible bar to clear. How do the filmmakers do justice to nearly four decades of interactive storytelling? But the early buzz has been encouraging, and despite the grumbling complaints about Chris Pratt’s Mario voice, it would have been grating to hear Charles Martinet’s signature voiceover for an entire film’s length.

As for the initial trailers, we can already spot scores of Easter eggs (check out the Mario Kart tribute at the end). That massive Koopa army is appropriately awe-inspiring. And Jack Black’s Bowser voice is shaping up to be special.

‘Fast X’

Director(s): Louis Leterrier
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, John Cena, Brie Larson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, Rita Moreno, and Charlize Theron.
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 19

Every installment in the Fast & Furious franchise has gotten bigger and better than the last—so buckle up, because Fast X is undoubtedly going to be a wild ride. Fast X will be the second-to-last film in the blockbuster franchise, and as Dominic Toretto’s story comes to an end, these next two adventures are set to be the biggest yet. (They went to space in F9, so there’s no telling how far they’ll take it this time around.)

As always, new enemies will come into play and new challenges will surface that will bring the gang back together.

Following the events of 2021’s F9, Cipher (Charlize Theron) and Dante (Jason Momoa) will come together in their fight against Dom and his squad, who are assisted by Tess (Brie Larson). Fan favorites Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, and Cardi B will return, and Rita Moreno is also set to make an appearance.

As much as people say they are over these films, we yet to see anything less than a packed theater when these movies come out. So if you ask me, May can’t get here fast enough.

‘The Little Mermaid’

Director(s): Rob Marshall
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Jude Akuwudike, Noma Dumezweni, Kajsa Mohammar, Lorena Andrea, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Lin-Manuel Miranda
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Release date: May 26

In the latest live-action rendition of the Disney classic, Halle Bailey stars as Ariel, a mermaid who trades her voice for a chance to explore the world above. Bailey has dodged tons of racist backlash for taking on the role, but it hasn’t lessened the hype for the film.

Given the new characters added to the credits, it seems the film may stray away from the original story. But given the very few clips released so far, the music has me READY for the release.

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

Director(s): Steven Caple Jr.
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Vélez, Tobe Nwigwe
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release date: June 9

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh installment in the Transformers film series. Director Steven Caple Jr. will be at the helm this time around, with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback as leads as well Peter Cullen, Pete Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Ron Perlman, and Peter Dinklage as voice talent.

The film will be set in the year 1994, and bounce from New York City to Peru as the Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons join the existing battle on Earth between Autobots and Decepticons. Based on the trailer alone, this is one to look out for this year. —

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’

Director(s): Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Rachel Dratch
Distributor: Marvel
Release date: June 2

Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) is back to team up with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) to save every other Spider in the multiverse. Both Miles Morales’ depiction and the overall art directing made me a huge stan of the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, so the sequel is sure to not disappoint.

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’

Director(s): James Mangold
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Release date: June 30

The best thing about the new Indiana Jones film? It’s that The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will no longer be the last Indy film. Between the nuclear refrigerator, the confusing alien plotline, and the damn UFO rising out of the ground, it felt as far removed from the franchise’s adventure serial roots as possible.

In the newest movie, the Nazis are back as the main villains, and the plot, rumored to be about time travel, will hopefully include more of the ancient mysticism that the franchise is famous for. Also, Mutt isn’t returning, which is also a positive, because no one wants Harrison Ford to hand off the reins, no matter how old he gets.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

Director(s): James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Release date: May 5

Before writer and director James Gunn leaves the MCU to run the DCEU, he’ll release one more Guardians of the Galaxy movie—the final part of a cohesive trilogy. David Bautista, who plays Drax, has said this will be his final MCU film, so there’s speculation that Drax might die in this one. We’ll grieve for any of them. But if it’s Rocket, our hearts might not be able to take it.

And speaking of adorable characters, Baby Groot is now Beefcake Groot. We’re going to miss this oddball crew when they’re gone. Check out the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ to prepare yourself now.

‘The Marvels’

Director(s): Nia DaCosta
Starring: Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Parris, Samuel L. Jackson
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Release date: July 28

The third MCU movie in an extremely busy year, The Marvels will star Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers; Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau (who becomes the second Captain Marvel in the comics); and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan.

The movie will follow up on the end credits scene at the end of the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ when Kamala unexpectedly switched places with Carol. If we’re lucky, the movie will also follow up on the late-game revelation that Kamala is a mutant. X-Men, here we come!

‘Oppenheimer’

Director(s): Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release date: July 21

An all-star, A-List cast; a legendary director; and a rich, biographical subject. What more could a prestigious Hollywood film want? Oppenheimer is a biographical film about Robert Oppenheimer, widely considered the “father” of the atomic bomb for his work on the World War II–era Manhattan Project.

Oppenheimer was infamously conflicted about his invention, and later in his life was a vocal opponent to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. All of this should make for a fascinating examination of a brilliant, complex man.

It’s filmed in IMAX, which means that the Trinity nuclear test should be especially brilliant—or, as Oppenheimer himself put it, “the radiance of a thousand suns.” —Kevin Wong

‘Barbie’

Director(s): Greta Gerwig
Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, and Kate McKinnon
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: July 21

Barbie might be one of the films we are looking forward to the most. The film will center on a doll living in Barbieland, who’s forced to leave due to her being less than perfect. Her departure from Barbieland sends her off on an adventure in the real world to help her discover along the way that perfection can only truly be found within.

Director Greta Gerwig will be the one bringing the story to life and she has put together a stellar cast fill with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, and the supporting cast also includes Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Helen Mirren, Rhea Perlman, and Kate McKinnon.

‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1’

Director(s): Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Henry Czerny, and Cary Elwes
Distributor: Paramount
Release date: July 14

Under the guidance of Christopher McQuarrie, the Tom Cruise–fronted Mission: Impossible franchise is easily the best spy franchise (the recent histories of both Bond and Bourne are simply too spotty to claim the mantle), and the supersized—both in title and in scope—Dead Reckoning Part 1 looks to keep the momentum going.

Even with a trailer, we know little about the film’s plot, but we do know a considerable amount about the stunts featured in the film, including a moment when McQuarrie crashes a real train and a death-defying stunt that sees Cruise launch himself on a motorcycle into a ravine and perform a base jump.

Just watch the behind-the-scenes video and tell me you’re not excited off the strength of that, let alone the fact McQuarrie’s previous M:I film Fallout is up there with Fury Road as one of the best action movies of the last decade.

The pedigree is here for Paramount to have another Top Gun: Maverick–level success as we watch Cruise bring it for audiences once more.

‘Challengers’

Director(s): Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor
Distributor: MGM
Release date: Aug. 11

After dropping the coming-of-age cannibal drama Bones and All, director Luca Guadagnino surprises with his next project: a radical swing into the world of sports?

The Zendaya-led Challengers is a romantic tennis comedy that features West Side Story breakout star Mike Faist and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor (aka young Charles).

Zendaya’s character is the wife and coach to Faist’s struggling tennis pro, who signs him up for a “challenger event,” during which he’ll face her former lover. Quiet character studies are Guadagnino’s bread and butter, and the assembled cast is enough to cause a racket over.

‘The Flash’

Director(s): Andy Muschietti
Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Kiersey Clemons
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release date: June 16

The Flash is complicated. Not only for the myriad of controversies surrounding the film’s lead, Ezra Miller, but also because it once upon a time was meant to serve as a way for Warner Bros. to have a soft reboot of the DC cinematic universe. But now, with new leadership in charge at DC Studios, it’s hard to know how much of Andy Muschietti’s multiversal story will end up sticking around under the tenure of Peter Safran and James Gunn.

Nevertheless, The Flash remains compelling, as original Batman actor Michael Keaton will don the cowl for the first time since Batman Returns. That’s worth the cost of admission alone, regardless of whether or not this movie’s impact will matter in the future.

‘Dune: Part Two’

Director(s): Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Tim Blake Nelson, and Léa Seydoux
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release date: Nov. 3

After the smashing success of Dune in theaters and on HBO Max, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two will pick up in the aftermath of Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) falling in among the Fremen as he works to avenge the death of his father and fight against House Harkonnen.

For as epic in size and scope as Part One was, Part Two will up the stakes considerably with more action, drama, and cast members; the new installment will see a staggering amount of additions, including Florence Pugh and Austin Butler. Dune was once thought unfilmable, but Villeneuve caught lightning in a bottle. We’ll see if he can do it again later this year.

‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’

Director(s): Francis Lawrence
Starring: Hunter Schafer, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Burn Gorman, Rachel Zegler, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Blyth
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release date: Nov. 17

While the beginning of the 2020s felt a little apocalyptic, The Hunger Games series has laid out how dim a dystopian societal collapse could really be. But how did we get there? The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes rewinds back to the 10th annual Hunger Games, 64 years before the first movie (or book, if you’re about that life).

‘Wonka’

Director(s): Paul King
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: Dec. 15

Starring Timothée Chalamet as a younger Willy Wonka, Wonka is a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it covers Wonka’s early history, from before he was the world’s most famous candymaker. What a lot of people don’t know is that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not the only Wonka-based book that author Roald Dahl wrote.

He also wrote a sequel named Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. In it, Dahl expands Wonka’s universe quite a bit, with inventions such as the de-aging potion Wonka-Vite, his knowledge of Minus Land, and the monstrous aliens known as Vermicious Knids. There’s lots of original material to work from, and it’ll be exciting to see how director Paul King manages to incorporate some or all of it.

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Director(s): Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser
Distributor: Apple and Paramount
Release date: Sometime in 2023

Marty. Back. Scorsese’s first feature film since 2019’s The Irishman is yet another expensive streaming project (the budget for this movie is roughly $200 million) and is an adaptation of the 2017 nonfiction book of the same name.

Killers of the Flower Moon is an investigative look into a serial set of murders in 1920s Oklahoma, where members of the Osage Nation tribe were killed for the oil reserves found on their land, spurring the birth of the FBI in the process.

Despite the presence of heavy hitters DiCaprio and De Niro, Jesse Plemons is the film’s lead. The last time Marty made a movie that involved con artists and law enforcers, it turned out pretty well, so let’s hope for the same here. Any Scorsese feature is an event in and of itself, so it’s worth keeping Killers on your radar. —