2017 is a stacked year. There's no denying that. Marvel Studios are pumping out not one, not two, but three movies just this year, and there are still loads more upcoming releases that look full of promise.
There's a bunch of movies that I have been paying a particular amount of attention to and that I'm definitely looking forward to seeing. That being said, I'm only limiting myself to just seven entries (with a couple of honorable mentions), because that's just how I roll on my website. Some might not have the biggest names involved, and some don't even have posters or trailers yet, but they're on this list simply because I'm that pumped to see them, as early as now.
To make things clear, I'm only listing down movies that are confirmed for release in 2017, which means that, as much as I'm excited for a Creed sequel and Soldado (both of which I'm sure will be great), since they aren't exactly confirmed for release this year, they just barely miss the list.
And, as I mentioned earlier, let's dig into my...
You know what movie was awesome? Kingsman: the Secret Service was. You know what else is awesome? Matthew Vaughn returning to direct a sequel in a franchise he started. Personally, I really like Matthew Vaughn's work, and I've seen his entire portfolio. The dude knows how to deliver quality every time. If that's an indication of things to come, then Kingsman: the Golden Circle is certainly gonna be, as the Brits would say, f***ing mental.
Complain about Scarlett Johansson being cast in this movie all you want, but you can't deny that the trailers for Ghost in the Shell offer us a look at what could potentially be a pretty great movie. It's like they took elements from Blade Runner and Kill Bill and mashed them up with stuff from the works on which Ghost in the Shell was based, and that right there is enough to grab my attention.
I've always been a fan of King Kong, so when the first trailer for Kong: Skull Island dropped at Comic Con, I was immediately stoked. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who directed the charming coming-of-age film The Kings of Summer, is at the helm of this one and has a stellar cast to work with, consisting of Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Toby Kebbell. I'm liking what I see from this so far, and I hope to God it's good.
Now that those are all out of the way, allow me to introduce to you the movies I'm looking forward to the most this year, starting with...
The first John Wick movie was awesome. It had anything and everything people wanted in a good action movie. An interesting and well-executed plot? Check. Cool characters interacting amongst other equally cool characters? Check. Lots of blood, bad-assery, and ass-kicking? You bet.
And John Wick 2 looks like it's bringing more of the same stuff we loved from the first movie and cranking it up at least a couple of notches. It has a great cast and is helmed by a director that really, really knows his shit. With that, I'm hoping we get a kick-ass sequel and, if this one's awesome, I wouldn't mind getting a kick-ass trilogy.
It was tough to decide which MCU release I was gonna put on this list. I'm a huge Spiderman fan, and I happened to really like Guardians of the Galaxy. However, seeing as I grew up on the Raimi trilogy, I decided that I'm just a wee bit more excited for Spiderman: Homecoming.
Like I mentioned in my review for Captain America: Civil War, I really liked Tom Holland as the friendly neighborhood web crawler, and I would like to see more of him. This year, we're getting more, and the trailers for Homecoming look great. Also, Michael Keaton's in here. Always great.
I never really expected to like the rebooted Apes franchise after seeing the trailer for Rise back in 2011. But here I am, 6 years later, an avid fan of the series. What can I say? The movies are great and are among the best science fiction movies to come out in recent memory, and there are a lot of them, if you know where to look. War for the Planet of the Apes already looks like a solid addition to what could be another great sci-fi/fantasy trilogy.
Everything about it looks great, so far, from the trailers to them casting Woody Harrelson, and I, in particular, am quite excited. Rise was a sleeper, and I liked it more the more I thought about it. Dawn, I thought, was awesome, and I just loved it more and more as I let it marinate in my head. If that's anything to go by, I'm expecting to like War.
Having grown up with the movies and at least three VCD's worth of episodes from the animated series, the X-Men made up a substantial part of my childhood. On that note, I have every reason to be excited for Logan (which, sadly, is Hugh Jackman's last movie as everyone's favorite Canadian).
I liked James Mangold's Wolverine, and I really like the new X-Men movies, and everything I've seen from the trailers promise a different comic-book movie experience than what we've been accustomed to. If it's packing all the violence, emotion, and heart the trailers are promising, then I'm sure Logan would be a pretty f***ing awesome watch.
For some reason, I can't seem to quite wrap my head around why the DC Extended Universe is just so generally reviled. Sure, Suicide Squad and Dawn of Justice were messes, but the BvS Ultimate Cut and Man of Steel are great, and I consider the latter to be one of the best superhero movies out there. There still is a lot to look forward to in this franchise, and I'm particularly stoked for what they have to offer this year. But, since there are two DC movies coming out this year, I'm just gonna talk about one - Wonder Woman.
Not only do the trailers look great, but the cast and crew are definitely worth noting as well. We have James T. Kirk and Princess Buttercup in here alongside Wonder Woman, and so is Remus Lupin. To add, Patty Jenkins directed the critically acclaimed Monster and, based on the trailers, has delivered a gorgeous-looking movie. And you know who else is gorgeous?
Gal Gadot.
So, yeah - I'm ready.
Take one of the best directors working today and you have him put together a sequel to one of the most beloved science fiction movies of all time. That is pretty much a guarantee for a good movie, and that's exactly what we're getting with Blade Runner 2049. We have Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival) at the helm, Harrison Ford making a return, and the undisputed best celebrity Ryan in the world Ryan Gosling in a major role. What's not to love about this already?
Apart from the stellar cast and crew that have been put together (with most of the folks from Sicario working on this one, too), the trailers are incredibly promising as well, showing gorgeous cinematography and the same gritty, cyber-punk feel the original Blade Runner had. I cannot put into enough words just how excited I am for this one.
Surprised?
As you probably might have expected, I am pretty f*cking pumped for Star Wars: the Last Jedi, and I have a lot of reasons to be. First, it's written by Rian Johnson (who directed Looper, which I absolutely loved). Second, it's being directed by Rian Johnson. And third - and these are just three out of how many reasons to be excited - we're getting a largely original story within the Star Wars universe and getting to explore the characters we've come to love from The Force Awakens.
All signs are pointing in the right direction for The Last Jedi to be a great follow-up to The Force Awakens and bring quite a lot to the table. If you've seen Looper, you'll understand why I'm more excited than most people would generally be for this one and, if you haven't seen Looper, you should. Watch Looper, like right now. Based on what I know from the director, we can expect something compelling and, surely, very, very good.
And there we have it; those were my seven most anticipated movies that are confirmed for release in 2017. And I wanna know what yours are. Leave a comment, let me know. As always, this has been Rafa. Stay classy.
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