5. “Head Of State”
Reuniting “The Suicide Squad” principals that had great chemistry, Idris Elba and John Cena team up for the action comedy “Head Of State” for Amazon. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, known for the “John Wick”-esque thriller, “Nobody” starring Bob Odenkirk, the cast co-stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Sarah Niles and Richard Coyle. The plot is under wraps, but it’s said to be “Air Force One” meets “Midnight Run.”
Release Date: TBD via Amazon MGM.
4. “Apartment 7A”
When your horror spin-offs, TV shows, and sequels don’t work, go to the prequel. Centered around a young dancer who rents a room from an elderly couple, this “Rosemary’s Baby” origin movie is directed by Natalie Erika James, known for the excellent Sundance horror indie film, “Relic.” Produced by John Krasinski and Michael Bay, the film stars Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Marli Siu, and Rosy McEwen, and it’s based on the original 1967 novel by Ira Levin.
Release Date: TBD, but it was shot in 2022 and should be ready.
3. “Transformers One”
The long-gestating animated ‘Transformers’ movie finally arrives years after a writer’s room of ideas yielded a Cybertron origin story from writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. Josh Cooley (“Toy Story 4”) directs, and the cast includes Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime, Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne.
Release Date: September 13, 2024, via Paramount.
2. “Trap”
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan always works at a fast clip, and so he’s back, one year after 2023’s “Knock At The Cabin” with the mysterious new film “Trap.” Not much is known; the plot is mostly under wraps, but Josh Hartnett and Saleka Shyamalan star, and it’s a psychological thriller set at a concert. Shyamalan has described it as “very unusual” compared to his recent work, so maybe it’s akin to a single-setting thriller, where the setting is a rather large rock stadium?
Release Date: August 2, 2024, via Warner Bros.
1. “The Toxic Avenger”
Given the A-list genre prestige of Legendary Pictures, it’s interesting that they would want the rights to Troma’s scuzzy ‘Toxic Avenger’ B-movie series but scooped those rights they did. This remake is from actor/director Macon Blair (“I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore”) and stars Peter Dinklage as the title character, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Sarah Niles, Julia Davis, Julian Kostov, and Elijah Wood.
Release Date: It premiered at Fantastic Fest 2023, so it should surface soon.
Honorable Mention:
At this point, we’ve mostly covered it all, but there’s also Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical remake; “Kung Fu Panda 4” with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Awkwafina; “Arthur The King” starring Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, Juliet Rylance; “Imaginary,” the Blumhouse horror with DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Veronica Falcón, and Betty Buckley; “Despicable Me 4,” starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, and Steve Coogan; director Carlos Saldanha’s “Harold and the Purple Crayon” with Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Zooey Deschanel, DP turned director Rachel Morrison’s “Flint Strong” with Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Judy Greer, featuring a screenplay by Barry Jenkins and well, that kinda cover it all, bearing anything that shows up unexpectedly at a film festival this year. I’m anticipating this year!
