2016 was a terrible year for movies. Some great movies came out, but overall it was dull. 2017 had its fair share of disappointments, but some amazing movies came out throughout the entire year. As the year comes to a close, everyone looks to 2018 to see what’s to come in the theaters. So far, it is looking strong. There are plenty of movies that are not on many people’s radars that will be missed until their release dates, but these are movies we know about so far going into 2018. This list will not be in any exact order in terms of my excitement, but it will give you a good idea of what exciting movies are coming. I was originally going to do a top ten but realized some movies would be left out that I could not let myself ignore on this list. Be sure to let me know what you are looking forward to the most in the comments.
15. Ready Player One
Release date: March 30
The legendary Steven Speilberg is making an adaption based on the book Ready Player One. Full of references to pop culture and a look into what the future could hold, the book has become beloved by sci-fi fans. It can always be risky when making a movie based on a book, but with all the skills that Steven has, this should not be an issue. As someone who has not read the book, I will be going into this as blind as possible. The story is about a virtual reality world in which the creator ends up passing away. His final message is for users to find his grand Easter Egg to earn a prize. Expect to see your favorite characters from video games and movies throughout this sci-fi adventure.
14. Blood Fest
Release date: TBC 2018
Blood Fest will be the third movie being produced by the internet production company Rooster Teeth. This horror comedy will follow a group of people in their 20s who attend a festival that celebrates the best in horror. This group of young adults discovers the headman of this festival has an evil agenda in which they must use their knowledge from horror movies in order to survive this festival of horror. This will be ambitious for the company to accomplish since their previous efforts in movies and other big productions have never been on the side of horror. With the cast set with Jacob Batalon from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Zachary Levi from the tv series Chuck, and Rooster Teeth’s own Barbara Dunkelman. There is no official release date, but since they finished filming earlier this year, it is safe to say that we can see Blood Fest sometime next year.
13. Cloverfield 3 (previously known as God Particle. Name subject to change when trailer gets released)
Release date: February 2 (Rumor)
The next installment in the anthology series Cloverfield is finally set to release next year. This series is always weird with last minute information being released such as cast, trailers, and more. Once we get anything solid, it will be within a few months of the movie’s release. Previously known as God Particle, the story is to be set with some astronauts who discover something horrible and must fight to survive. Since the first two movies are so different, we can assume that this will be widely different from the previous movies. As a fan of the first two, I can say that this should be just as great, if not better.
12. 12 Strong
Release date: January 19
Every year we get war films based on true stories, but 12 Strong sets itself apart with a story that people may not have heard of. Whether the details are accurate or not will be determined. The story follows shortly after 9/11 when a group of U.S. Special Forces is sent to Afghanistan they are met with a dangerous mission that does not go according to plan. It is a fierce fight to the death mixed with a powerful story of what this team went through. With such a strong cast with Michael Pena and Chris Hemsworth, it is hard to ignore this upcoming powerful story.
11. Annihilation
Release date: February 23
Alex Garland’s new film is an adaption of the Southern Reach Trilogy book series. A group of soldiers goes into a disaster zone that ends up leaving one man alive (Isaac Oscar). He manages to escape but is severely injured. His wife Lena (Natalie Portman) who is a biologist goes in with a team to figure out what happened. I only discovered this movie from researching upcoming movies in 2018. Seeing Alex Garland writing and directing gave me the confidence to look further into it. Alex is known for directing the 2015 sci-fi movie Ex Machina and writing 28 Days Later. With this experience under his belt and the overwhelmingly great cast, it looks like Annihilation will be a great way to start off the year.
10. Halloween
Release date: October 19
As a horror fan, I am sad to say that I have not seen any Halloween movie. I know how beloved the first two are and I should watch them before this latest installment comes out. Horror is a difficult genre to pull off, but based on the information we have, it looks like this could be a great one. Original cast members Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode) and Nick Castle (Michael Myers) return for Laurie to finally face off Michael. John Carpenter returns to write and produce which is another great sign that this could be great. In a recent interview, it has been announced that violence will be limited to obtain the most amount of tension. Too many horror movies rely on violence too much and lose any tension. If the pacing is right then this could work in their favor.
9. The Strangers 2: Prey at Night
Release date: March 9
I have been waiting for years to finally get a sequel. There have been many issues on the way for a sequel to the 2008 horror flick, but it looks like early next year we will finally get it. As mentioned before with Halloween, horror is a hard genre to accomplish. Not much is known besides the main story will be about the three masked killers from the first movie will be terrorizing a family who stopped by a mobile home park. The sequel should maintain what was so special about the first movie in order to succeed while giving itself something unique for the audience. As the release date comes closer, hopefully, we can get more information.
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Release date: December 13
The upcoming animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will be quite unique for fans of the hero. Miles Morales will have his first time on the big screen as the masked hero since Peter Parker is dead. From the trailer, we can see that it appears there will be more people taking on the spider suit to fight crime. The trailer shows how beautiful the animation will be as Miles swings around the city. More information will come out a while later since the current release date is in December but we can count on plenty of villains will be showing up if there are going to be multiple heroes. 
7. The Predator
Release date: August 3
Another remake of a classic movie is always a bit worrying. Despite my worries for the upcoming The Predator, I can’t stop my excitement. Our main cast is in the image below. A military unit is on a rescue mission to save some allies from a guerrilla force in South America only to discover there is another threat waiting for them. In an attempt to bring the same tone that the first movie had, this will be treated with action, humor, and horror to bring this remake to the same level as the original from 1987. 
6. Venom
Release date: October 5
The iconic villain Venom is getting his own standalone movie with Tom Hardy as the character. This already sounds phenomenal. Not much is known about the project. Sony announced they wanted to do this movie a long time ago, but it has had problems. Getting frozen and forgotten many times, but Sony is taking it seriously now. The movie is said to have a horror tone to it which will provide for a unique Marvel movie experience. A rumor lately is that it can be rated R potentially. If this is true then it looks like this can be a dream come true. With movies like Logan and Deadpool taking the R rating to superhero movies, it would look just as good for a supervillain too.
5. Sicario 2: Soldado
Release date: June 29
If you have not seen the first Sicario then stop reading this and go watch it! The tension and pacing of that movie bring a new taste to its genre. The story continues with the war on drugs. Federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) re-teams up with operative Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro) to fight the cartel. My hopes are that they can maintain the tension from the first movie. The trailer gives a more action-packed vibe which is fine as long as they can tone themselves down just enough to give that proper tone that the first had. Full of tension, brutality, and a realistic look at the cartels make this irresistible to fans of these kinds of movies.
4. Deadpool 2
Release date: June 1
Words can’t describe how excited I am for Deadpool 2. The first movie was in development hell for so long but managed to be a fantastic movie. Disney acquiring Marvel characters like Deadpool was scary but was confirmed that Deadpool will still have an R rating and continue to have a home despite Disney being present. Not much on plot details but Cable (Josh Brolin) and Domino (Zazie Beetz) will be new additions to the cast. We will get more information as the release date gets closer. Just like the first movie, there will be tons of violence and crude humor for fans to enjoy.
3. The New Mutants
Release date: April 13
Another horror inspired superhero movie is coming next year called The New Mutants. A spinoff from the X-Men movies we have been getting in the past few years, this will deliver a new taste to the franchise. A group of young mutants has been lured into an asylum in which they are being experimented on. The cast is full of upcoming stars such as Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), and Anya Taylor-Joy (Split). It is an exciting time to see superhero movies take big risks by changing up the usual formula. I have high hopes that The New Mutants and Venom might be able to start a great new trend in the genre.
2. Solo: A Star Wars Story
Release date: May 25
Another prequel movie that will expand the universe of Star Wars and one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, Han Solo. With Ron Howard set to direct, the iconic hero Han Solo will get a backstory that will dive into a part of his life we have never seen before. With the wave of excellent movies we have gotten recently in the series, there is no stopping this upcoming movie from being just as great despite some initial issues early on. Aiden Ehrenreich (Hail Ceasar) as Han Solo. Alongside Aiden will be Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) who will play as a new female heroine named Kira, Woody Harrelson (Hunger Games, True Detective, Zombieland) will play a criminal who influences Han named Beckett, and Donald Glover (The Martian and Community) will play a young Lando Calrissian. With this all-star cast and the amazing Ron Howard directing, this next Star Wars movie looks to be in safe hands
1. Avengers: Infinity War
Release date: May 4
10 years in the making, the first part to Avengers: Infinity War is coming this May. All our heroes from these movies are joining together to fight Thanos (Josh Brolin). It will be a big and wonderful year for Josh with this movie being the biggest one for him in 2018. Thanos comes to Earth and threatens the world, but he has to get through a lot of superheroes in order to get what he wants. With such a giant cast, it is intimidating to see how they can pull this movie off, but with their current track record and the build-up to this one movie, it should be worth the wait. Originally, the next movie would be part 2, but now the title is going to change. From an interview with co-director Joe Russo mentions, “”We wanted the movie to be very different and distinctive, you know,” he told Cinema Blend. Some cross over will connect the two movies, but it looks like this story with Thanos might end with one movie. It will be interesting to see how Anthony and Joe Russo manage to pull this one off with the expectations are high and with so many characters to manage, this will be a difficult movie to make. The big question is who will die? The source material kills off several characters, so who dies in the movie? This will bring high stakes to the movie that will surely help it greatly. A problem I find with a lot of these big franchises is the lack of stakes, especially with the superhero genre of movies. With a major character death, it will bring weight to the movie and the future of the MCU.
Images via Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox, Thunder Road Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures, Aviron Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Warner Bros. Pictures, Rooster Teeth, and Bad Robot.
Tristan Zelden 