50. “Thor: Love and Thunder”
Marvel has spent the last decade carefully curating legacy characters to take over the mantle when certain actors inevitably leave their roles—i.e., Kate Bishop in the “Hawkeye” series. Inspired by one of the best Thor runs in recent memory, ‘Love and Thunder’ sees Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) worthy of holding Odinson’s (Chris Hemsworth) hammer. Helmed by ‘Ragnarok’ director Taika Waititi, many characters from ‘Guardians’ are set to appear in the flick, with Christian Bale cast as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher.
Release Date: July 8, via Disney. – AB
49. “The Actor”
Ryan Gosling has quite a few projects on the horizon, including the aptly titled “The Actor,” based on Donald Westlake’s (a.k.a. Richard Stark) novel “Memory,” and directed by Duke Johnson (co-director with Charlie Kaufman on “Anomalisa”). Gosling plays Paul Cole, a man struggling with memory loss, and he attempts to rebuild his life in 1950s Ohio after being hospitalized and left for dead.
Release Date: TBD, via Neon. – AB
48. “Beth & Don”
Coming off her high-profile writing gig for Ridley Scott in “The Last Duel,” filmmaker Nicole Holofcener returns to bread and butter: adult stories about women. Her latest reteams her with “Enough Said” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a novelist whose marriage starts to deteriorate after she overhears her husband offering up a frank assessment of her work. While most films of this ilk have retreated to TV, Holofcener remains the last bastion of her female filmmaking generation.
Release Date: TBD, via A24, but this could be a fall film festival player. – RP
47. “The Woman King”
Ever wanted to see Viola Davis kick ass as an African warrior general and head of a bad-ass all-female military? Gina Prince-Bythewood, who’s gained a ton of clout since “The Old Guard,” has got you. She directs this historical epic inspired by the true events in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega co-star.
Release Date: Sept. 16, 2022, via Sony Pictures Releasing. – RP
46. “The End”
Joshua Oppenheimer’s (“The Act of Killing”) name will always turn heads, and his new musical project, “The End,” starring Tilda Swinton, will see the renowned filmmaker moving out of his usual documentary realm and into expressive new territory. While not a ton is known about the project, NEON producing a musical supposedly about “the last human family” left on earth isn’t something we could miss, nor should audiences.
Release Date: TBD, via NEON. – AB
45. “The Sky Is Everywhere”
Following the success of NEON’s “Shirley,” her most relatively mainstream film featuring her biggest star (Elisabeth Moss), filmmaker Josephine Decker seemingly continues in the same path of slightly bigger budgets and the inclusion of Hollywood stars. Her latest is an adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s novel about a high schooler struggling to cope with the sudden death of her older sister. The film features Grace Kaufman, Jason Segel, and Cherry Jones, and filming finished in fall 2020, which smells like a 2022 Sundance premiere.
Release Date: TBD, with A24 and Apple TV+ distributing. –RP
44. “The Banshees Of Inseherin”
British/Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh was an arthouse darling until “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” launched him onto the Oscar stage. His latest, however, seems like a return to his more intimate roots and centers on lifelong friends on a remote Irish island who find themselves at an awkward time in their relationship when one of them no longer wants to be pals. “In Bruge” co-stars Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are center stage, and Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon support.
Release Date: TBD, but production wrapped spring 2021, so a festival bow seems likely. –RP
43. “Triangle of Sadness”
Palme d’Or-winning Filmmaker Ruben Östlund (“Force Majeure,” “The Square”) lives to make his audience uncomfortable, and his particular, squirm-inducing brand of jet-black arthouse comedy is always on display. His latest centers on a pair of models who find themselves at a crossroads in their careers and stars Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Hanna Oldenburg, Henrik Dorsin, and Vicki Berlin.
Release Date: TBD, but it feels like something that could debut at Cannes. – NL
42. “John Wick: Chapter 4”
Since Keanu Reeves won the internet, he’s become adored by film lovers. Look no further than the rise of the “John Wick” franchise. ‘Chapter 4,’ set in the Johnnie To-lite world of High Table assassins, sees Laurence Fishburne returning from ‘Parabellum,’ furthering “The Matrix” crossover appeal. Featuring veteran talents Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Clancy Brown, beside the familiar faces of Lance Reddick and Ian McShane, expect bullets to fly and blood to come out the other side.
Release Date: May 27, via Lionsgate. – AB
41. “The Wonder”
Emma Donahue. Florence Pugh. Sebastian Lelio. An adaptation of Donahue’s (“Room”) 1850s set novel, “The Wonder,” follows an English nurse (Pugh) called to witness an Irish miracle in the form of a medical anomaly. A frenzy of curiousness, bringing cynics and tourists alike to the 11-year-old wonder’s cabin, journalistic interest peaks, and rises. The “Fantastic Women” director is never not-interesting, and this particular triumvirate of talent makes for extremely promising creative alchemy.
Release Date: TBD, via Netflix. – AB