40. “A Quiet Place: Part II”
Director: John Krasinski (“A Quiet Place,” “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men”)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounsou
Synopsis: Forced to face the terrors of the outside world, following the first film, the Abbott family realizes the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking about.
What You Need To Know: While he had initial doubts, it didn’t take long for John Krasinski to come around to the idea of making a sequel to his 2018 horror smash “A Quiet Place.” While the sequel ended up being one of 2020’s many cinematic COVID casualties, it could very well make a splash next year, should things return to some semblance of normalcy. The key to success here will be pushing the genuine thrills of the original forward without feeling a repeat, or losing the well-crafted magic that made ‘AQP’ such a phenomenon in the first place.
Release Date: April 23, 2021, via Paramount Pictures.
39. “Radioscopie”
Director: Claire Denis (“Trouble Every Day,” “High Life”)
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon
Synopsis: A story set in the world of French radio and part of the shoot will take place at famed Radio France headquarters Maison de la Radio in Paris,
What You Need To Know: Claire Denis is a real-deal renegade artist who is capable of finding beauty, horror, and tenderness in pretty much anything. She was all set to shoot “The Stars At Noon” with Robert Pattinson and Margaret Qualley, but that got delayed because of the pandemic and “The Batman” movie which starred Pattinson. Instead, she reunites with Binoche again for the third time and a story that sounds like it’s about her personal love for French public radio. Maybe not as exciting on the surface, but in Denis’ hands, it’ll surely be riveting. Now, if only she starts shooting soon (and let’s face it, it might be 2022, hence the lower placement).
Release Date: TBD. – NL
38. “Mission: Impossible 7”
Director: Christopher McQuarrie (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Vanessa Kirby, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff,
Synopsis: Unknown.
What You Need To Know: Thanks to the assured directorial hand of Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed the last two installments, and is back again, the “Mission: Impossible” has gotten exponentially better in the last few years, and it was generally always pretty good. Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time (duh), but the plot is not why people flock to these movies in droves. The appeal is watching Tom Cruise attempt a series of death-defying stunts in a series of jaw-dropping setpieces in international locales. Oh, and the presence of series regulars like Pegg, Ferguson, and newcomers like Hayley Atwell, surely sweetens the deal. This one is a two-parter being shot back to back with the second film arriving in 2022.
Release Date: November 19, 2021, via Paramount Pictures – NL
37. “The Suicide Squad”
Director: James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”)
Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Taika Waititi, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Pete Davidson (and a huge supporting cast).
Synopsis: Unknown.
What You Need To Know: Following the drama of an online scandal that saw him briefly fired from the “Guardians Of The Galaxy” franchise in 2018, things picked up fast for director James Gunn after that. Re-instated by Marvel a year later, Gunn’s first task was softly rebooting “Suicide Squad” for Warner Bros. and shifting it away from the much-maligned 2016 iteration directed by David Ayer. Viewers of the first film know, The Squad is a band of miscreant villains forced to fight for good, which seems to play right into Gunn’s irreverent sensibilities. Gunn has also promised fans a hard R-rating, which should mean a lot of demented carnage. Warner Bros. seems pleased as they’ve already greenlit a spin-off television series centered on the Peacemaker (Cena) character for HBO Max.
Release Date: August 6, 2021, via DC Films and Warner Brothers.– NL
36. “Les Olympiades”
Director: Jacques Audiard (“Une Prophete”, “The Sisters Brothers”)
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Genevieve Doang, Lily Rubens, Line Phe
Synopsis: Mostly unknown other than the story is said to center around adolescence and female friendship.
What You Need To Know: Jacques Audiard is a cinematic chameleon, determined to explore new genres and motifs every time he makes a film, although, to date, he has displayed an affinity for crime cinema, Westerns, and romantic melodrama. Audiard co-writing this new film, “Les Olympiades,” with “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire” mastermind Celine Sciamma gives us an extra reason to be excited. All we know is that Audiard rarely brings anything less than his A-game, so yeah, we’re there.
Release Date: TBD, but the film is supposedly in post-production, so let’s not rule out a Cannes 2021 premiere. – NL
35. “Untitled 3rd Spider-Man Sony/Marvel Film”
Director: Jon Watts (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Cop Car”)
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina
Synopsis: A continuation of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” with a reported multiverse narrative allowing for what essentially sounds like an All-Stars ‘Spider-Man’ movie.
What You Need To Know: Director Jon Watts showcased wit and dexterity with tone and action in the first two “Spider-Man” movies, but the third ‘Spider-Man’ movie sounds absolutely gangbusters and potentially bananas–even possibly an event-movie on the scale of one of Marvel’s “Avengers” movies. For one, Benedict Cumberbatch will appear as Doctor Strange and that opens the possibilities to many multiverses apparently. Because right now, the reports and rumors say many actors from past franchises are returning. Jamie Foxx is confirmed to reappear as Electro, as is Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus. And it looks like many classic Spider-Men will be back: reportedly Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Dunst, and possibly Emma Stone pending rumored pregnancy issues. If it all goes down as planned, it’s going to be a massive movie.
Release Date: December 17, 2021, via Marvel. – RP
34. “Triangle of Sadness”
Director: Ruben Östlund (“Force Majeure,” “The Square”)
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Hanna Oldenburg, Henrik Dorsin, Vicki Berlin
Synopsis: A pair of models find themselves at a crossroads in their careers.
What You Need To Know: Ruben Östlund lives to make his audience uncomfortable, and his particular, squirm-inducing brand of jet-black arthouse comedy is on full display in both the masterful “Force Majeure” and also the Oscar-nominated “The Square.” Whereas the Swedish director tackled ineffectual masculinity and art-world snobbery in his last two films, “Triangle of Sadness” appears to be a vivisection of the modern fashion industry’s superficiality. Following a model couple as they are stranded on a desert island with a coterie of wealthy eccentrics and a resourceful maid, it sounds like the kind of loopy, potentially scathing material which Östlund excels – in this case, the more heartless, the better.
Release Date: TBD, but a festival run seems all but assured. – NL
33. “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Director: Daniels (“Swiss Army Man”)
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis
Synopsis: A sci-fi adventure comedy about a 55-year-old Chinese woman trying to finish her taxes.
What You Need To Know: Daniels are the absurdist whiz-kids responsible for 2016’s daffy, touching farting-corpse buddy comedy “Swiss Army Man.” And for anyone who was itching for another dose of the duo’s signature lunacy, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is (hopefully) almost upon us. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” will see Daniels reuniting with “Swiss Army Man” distributors A24 for what sounds like a particularly out-there premise, even for these filmmakers. Daniels working with the Russo Brothers (as producers) and Scott Rudin (as an executive producer) seems to indicate that they are stepping outside their relatively small-scale wheelhouse just a bit – a move that, we hope, doesn’t come at the expense of their singular, eccentric vision.
Release Date: TBD, but we’re betting on either Sundance or SXSW premieres. – NL
32. “Candyman”
Director: Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods,” Netflix’s “Top Boy”)
Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonnah Paris, Colman Domingo, Tony Todd
Synopsis: A “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 horror film “Candyman” that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
What You Need To Know: Bernard Rose’s original “Candyman” is a certifiable cult classic of ’90s horror, and a memorably nasty piece of genre termite art that harbors a ferocious social undercurrent. In this regard, it makes sense that Jordan Peele – who filtered social anxieties through the prism of full-force horror in both “Get Out” and “Us” – would want to resurrect the “Candyman” legend for a new generation. We’re confident that director Nia DaCosta will do justice to the majesty of the O.G. “Candyman,” and the fact that the legendary Tony Todd will be reprising the iconic namesake role only sweetens the deal.
Release Date: August 27. – NL
31. “Halloween Kills”
Director: David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express,” “Halloween”)
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Mitichak, Judy Greer, Robert Longstreet, Omar J. Dorsey
Synopsis: The saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode continues in the next thrilling chapter of the Halloween series.
What You Need To Know: “Halloween” is one of those horror touchstones that is better left untouched. However, David Gordon Green’s 2018 “Halloween” was one of the best attempts to date at re-imagining John Carpenter’s original slasher classic. “Halloween” made a killing (no pun intended) at the box office, so a sequel was all but inevitable. “Halloween Kills” is the second installment in a trilogy (“Halloween Ends” arrives in 2022), and as much as we’d love to see Green go back to directing oddball poetic indies like “George Washington” and “All the Real Girls,” we’re all for him taking on a “Halloween” sequel, especially since Jamie Lee Curtis recently called it “a masterpiece.”
Release Date: October 15th, 2021, via Universal Pictures – NL