After a chaotic 2020, where a lot of movie productions bounced around their movie schedule, and other projects skipped theatrical runs altogether, 2021 is looking just as unpredictable.
For those desperately seeking new blockbusters, the road ahead for 2021 is looking bright.
With releases from Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Marvel, and James Bond—2021 is going to be a massive year for film. Let’s just keep our masks on, and our fingers crossed that we can get back to the theaters.
The movie releases slated for 2021 are so exciting they’ll make you salivate with anticipation, and we can’t wait to see them. Regardless of how the reality of the calendar pans out, these are 20 movies we’re hoping that we’ll get to see this next year.
Jared Leto will play Michael Morbius, the biochemist who makes a grave error mid-experiment, accidentally injecting himself with blood and giving himself a form of vampirism
Release date: March 19, 2021
Emily Blunt will reprise her role as matriarch of her very quiet family hiding from creatures that hunt by sound in this sequel to the surprise 2018 hit. The second installment will show the family venturing out of their “safe zone” quickly realizing these creatures aren’t the only threats that exist.
Release date: April 23, 2021
3. To all the boys; Always and forever
One of three Netflix original franchises to see the third installment in 2021 (the other two being The Kissing Booth and The Princess Switch), To All the Boys, concludes with Always and Forever, as Lara Jean (Lana Condor) nears the end of high school and takes a pair of “life-changing trips” that lead her to ponder life with her family — and Peter (Noah Centineo) — after graduation.
Release date: February 12, 2021
After over three decades, it looks like Prince Akeem — ahem, King Akeem and Semmi are returning Stateside from there homeland of Zamunda. Much of the original cast is returning, including James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer and John Amos as Cleo McDowell, as Akeem learns that he has a long-lost son he never knew about who might be the heir to the throne.
Release date: March 5, 2021
While both a third installment of the Kingsman franchise and a Statesman spin-off is still on the way, audiences will first get a taste of how the whole thing came to exist in the first place with this prequel, set in the early 1900s. Ralph Fiennes leads an all-star cast in an origin story that will show how a group of ex-soldiers formed the spy agency.
Release date: March 26, 2021
True Detective director Cary Fukunaga takes the reins for the 25th James Bond film, with Daniel Craig returning for his fifth and (presumably) final turn as 007. He’s joined by series regulars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, and Ben Whishaw, as well as returning characters played by Lea Seydoux and Jeffrey Wright. Recent Best Actor-winner Rami Malek is reported to play the villain, while it’s presumed Captain Marvel‘s Lashana Lynch will play a newer 007 who may have to relinquish her famous code number back to Bond when he comes out of retirement.
Release date: April 2, 2021
The first Marvel property to kick off it’s Phase 4 will be this prequel focusing on Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. We don’t quite know what the story surrounding the character will be, but we do know that she’ll be joined by David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and rising star Florence Pugh, among others.
Release date: May 7, 2021
Vin Diesel revs up for the ninth installment of the blockbusting Fast & Furious franchise. Following last year’s detour to spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, we now return to the canonical Fast movies, with the latest entry directed by veteran series helmer Justin Lin. This time around, Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto must confront his thought-to-be-lost brother, played by John Cena. There will be growls.
Release date: May 26, 2021
9. Venom; Let There Be Carnage
The Venom sequel now has its title, a sure indication of how Woody Harrelson’s feared villain, teased at the end of the first movie, is set to run rampant. Andy Serkis takes over as director with Tom Hardy back in the central role of symbiote-ridden journalist Eddie Brock. Michelle Williams is also returning as Brock’s ex-wife Anne Weying, and Moonlight‘s Naomie Harris will also be turning up as the villainous Shriek.
Release date June 24, 2021.
Director James Gunn hops from Marvel to DC with his reimagined take on the anarchic villains’ collective. The Guardians of the Galaxy helmer assembles a cast of familiar favorites and bold newcomers to, hopefully, do what the 2016 Suicide Squad movie failed to do. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller are among those returning. Franchise newcomers include John Cena as Peacemaker, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, and even Sylvester Stallone will have to yet-to-be-announced role.
Release date: August 4, 2021.
Naughty Dog’s deliriously enjoyable console adventure game has had a bumpy ride getting to the big screen. We’ve all been waiting patiently for adventurer Nathan Drake, a kind of proto-Indiana Jones, to make his cinema debut. And in 2021, it’s set to pay off, with Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland taking the role of Nathan. Mark Wahlberg plays Victor Sullivan in this prequel to the games, with Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleischer directing. Meanwhile, Iron Man duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are on scripting duties.
Release date: July 16, 2021
Timothée Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the son of a noble house ruling in the far future over the spice planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, where, after a catastrophe shakes his family, he must journey out into the sand to find his destiny. Oscar Isaac, sporting an impressive beard, plays Paul’s dad and Rebecca Ferguson plays his mother, and pretty much every supporting role is filled by a famous face.
Release date: October 1, 2021
Tom Cruise is having a great 2021, and it hasn’t even started. He will return to play one of his most iconic characters in the seventh installment of the spy franchise. Ethan Hunt is expected to top some of his most insane stunts (always worth noting: Cruise does most of his stunts) as he faces off against a notoriously dangerous character played by Hayley Atwell. And don’t worry that this will be the final film—Mission: Impossible 8 is slated for November 2022.
Release date: November 19, 2021
There’s a lot to break down in the upcoming third Sony/MCU Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, with some pretty big potential implications for both studios and their respective franchises. Suffice it to say, there will be some heady, game-changing plot elements at play.
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return as Neo and Trinity in the fourth installment of the Matrix saga. Given that 2003’s Matrix Revolutions concluded with the death of both characters, we’re curious to know how the story will develop. Nevertheless, with Lana Wachowski back at the helm and the rumored inclusion of younger Morpheus, there are plenty of reasons to be excited.
Release date: December 22, 2021
The iconic, perhaps best-known musical of all time, is getting its first film adaptation since 1961. Steven Spielberg is directing this outing, which follows the plot of the stage production of a 1950’s New York City version of Romeo and Juliet. While Ansel Elgort steps into the role of Tony, the real excitement is around newcomer Rachel Zegler—a high schooler plucked from obscurity to play the role of Maria.
Release date: December 10, 2021
Originally slated for Christmas 2020, Universal’s Sing 2 will release in summer 2021 instead. The animated feature about a koala talent agent will see most of the principal cast return, with the addition of Idina Mendez and Selena Gomez. Chances are it’ll be another big family-friendly hit.
Release date: December 22, 2021
With Robert Downer Jr.. free from the MCU, it’s finally time for the long-awaited Sherlock Holmes sequel. By 2021, it’ll have been a decade since RDJ and Jude Law last brought their mischievous friendship to Victorian England. Rachel Mcadams is back as Irene Adler, with a script from Chris Bramcanto, best known for his work in television on Hannibal and Narcos, and Bohemian Rhapsody director Dexter Fletcher is at the helm, though he did report back in October of 2020 that the film was on the “back burner.
After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope of a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
Release date: July 2, 2021
Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of the famous Broadway musical of the same name, which is itself an alternative take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, is finally seeing the light of day in late 2020. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler star in as Tony and Maria, two teens in 1950s New York City who belong to rival gangs but fall in love with each other and must deal with the consequences.
Release date: December 10, 2021
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