These days, movie fans are constantly bombarded with trailers, posters, and new information
about all kinds of tentpole franchise films.
On the flip side, however, there are a few upcoming movies that have managed to fly under
the radar.
From sci-fi epics to action-packed thrillers, here are some of the sequels you might not
know are being made.
After years of speculation that a fourth Matrix film was in the works, Variety broke the news
in August 2019 that a new instalment in the series was indeed on the horizon, and that,
despite previous rumors, it wouldn't be following a new character after all.
Original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss will be returning for The Matrix 4, along
with original writer and director Lana Wachowski.
"Woah."
And while Wachowski may have partnered with her sister Lilly to make the first three Matrix
movies, the fourth installment will have only the one Wachowski at the helm.
In addition to Wachowski, the script for The Matrix 4 will be co-written by Aleksandar
Hemon and David Mitchell, and is set to start production in early 2020.
No plot details have yet been revealed for the movie, and it isn't yet clear how the
film plans to incorporate Moss' or Reeves' characters, who were killed in the third film
in the franchise, The Matrix Revolutions.
It is equally unclear whether Laurence Fishburne's character, Morpheus, will be making an appearance.
Some sources have speculated that he may be recast in order to appear as a younger version
of the character, but that remains speculation for now.
James Cameron has been talking about his Avatar sequels almost from the moment the first film
exploded onto screens in 2009, smashing box office records and eventually becoming the
highest-grossing film of all time.
However, despite years of Cameron's repeated promises of a vast and expansive Avatar franchise,
it was beginning to feel as though a follow-up was as far off and unreachable as the moon
of Pandora itself.
But believe it or not, four more Avatars really do appear to be imminent.
In fact, according to Sigourney Weaver, the first two have already finished shooting.
They've even got titles: Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The
Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.
What does it all mean?
Well, no one knows, except James Cameron himself and his eclectic cast, which, in addition
to the original movie's stars, also features a host of newcomers, including Edie Falco,
Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, and Vin Diesel.
Everyone else will have to wait until the end of 2021 to find out.
Avatar: The Way of Water is scheduled for release on December 17th 2021, with
Avatar: The Seed Bearer arriving on December 22nd 2023, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider following on
December 19th 2025, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa concluding the franchise on December 17th 2027.
As the crew of the Nostromo learned the hard way all the way back in 1979, it's pretty
hard to kill an Alien, and the Alien franchise seems just as tough as the creature itself.
Reflecting on his landmark sci-fi horror film on its 40th anniversary, director Ridley Scott
told Variety that a third prequel is indeed on the way, intended as a follow-up to 2012's
Prometheus and 2017's Alien: Covenant.
Despite generally positive critical reviews, Covenant underperformed at the box office,
throwing the future of the franchise into uncertainty.
But following Disney's acquisition of Fox, both Scott and Alien's new studio home seem
eager to return to the sinister stars yet again.
As for what this third prequel might be about, only one thing is for sure: it won't follow
the format of the original Alien.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott talked about the need for the franchise to
continue to evolve in order to succeed.
He said:
"You can't keep repeating [the same premise] because the joke gets boring."
This next Alien film, tentatively titled Alien: Awakening, is still in the very early stages,
and none of the cast of Covenant has yet been asked to return.
Still, Scott maintains three things: it's happening, he'll be directing it, and it's
currently in the script phase.
After the release of the poorly-received Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
no one would've blamed Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and everyone else at Lucasfilm
if they'd given up on the Indiana Jones franchise altogether.
But now it appears that Indy will be back with Indiana Jones 5, which, despite a number
of push-backs and delays, is still theoretically happening.
Indiana Jones 5 has gone through a number of screenwriters already, from Crystal Skull
scribe David Koepp, to Solo's Jonathan Kasdan, to This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, and now,
apparently, back to Koepp.
No word has yet been given on what Indiana Jones 5 will be about, although Harrison Ford
will be at least 78 when the movie starts filming, so chances are that the adventure
will have to be a little less physically rigorous than previous installments.
"It's not the years, honey.
It's the mileage."
Of course, it's possible that even the filmmakers don't quite know the movie's plot yet.
Speaking to Den of Geek in September of 2019, Koepp said:
"I'm working on it again.
We're still trying.
And I think we've got a good idea this time.
We'll see."
If Indiana Jones 5 is indeed still hanging around in the "good idea" stage, it's probably
got a long way to go before it actually hits theaters.
Still, according to everyone involved, it'll get there.
Eventually.
Bill may have finally been killed at the end of 2004's Kill Bill Vol. 2, but that hasn't
stopped director Quentin Tarantino from expressing his desire for another sequel to round out
the trilogy.
According to Tarantino, the third Kill Bill would focus on the daughter of Vernita Green,
who is now all grown up and on the hunt for revenge against the person who killed her
mother, Uma Thurman's Beatrix.
Tarantino has said that he's had talks with Thurman about Kill Bill Vol. 3 as recently
as July of 2019, telling MTV:
"If any of my movies were going to spring from my other movies, it would be a third
Kill Bill."
Of course, a third Kill Bill may throw a wrench in Tarantino's plans to retire after his tenth
film; his ninth, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, hit theaters in the summer of 2019, and his
tenth, an upcoming Star Trek film, is currently in the works.
Then again, no one but Tarantino himself is going to hold him to his self-imposed film
cap if he chooses to keep going.
Nothing is finalized for a Kill Bill sequel yet, but it seems as though all that would
be needed for it to materialize is simply for Tarantino to decide to pull the trigger.
Although rumor has it that a third Sherlock Holmes film has always been part of the plan
over at Warner Bros., Robert Downey Jr. has spent the past decade leading the Marvel Cinematic
Universe as the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark.
Saving the world every couple years is obviously a pretty draining gig, and Downey's superhero
commitments kept him from being able to take up Sherlock's trademark deerstalker and pipe
for a third time.
But now that Downey has seemingly exited the MCU for good, he finally has the time to team
up with Watson, solve one more case, and take his last bow as the famous detective.
The third Sherlock Holmes film will be helmed by Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher, a departure
from the first two films, which were both directed by Guy Ritchie.
While Sherlock Holmes 3 was originally scheduled to release on Christmas Day 2020, it has since
been pushed back a year, and will now be striding into theaters in December 2021.
The Hitman's Bodyguard wasn't exactly a critical success, earning a pretty lousy Rotten Tomatoes score.
But the movie did pretty well at the box office, pulling in almost $177 million worldwide against
a $30 million budget.
After all, how can an audience possibly say no to the combined charisma of Ryan Reynolds
and Samuel L. Jackson?
Well, fans of the first film will be happy to know that The Hitman's Bodyguard is getting
a sequel, confusingly titled The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard.
Reynolds and Jackson are both returning, and Salma Hayek is also coming back at the titular wife.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the plot will find Reynolds' bodyguard trying to live
a peaceful life when he gets mixed up with Jackson's hitman once more.
Along with Hayek, the trio will apparently wreak havoc along the Amalfi Coast in an attempt
to save Europe from some as-yet-unconfirmed threat.
The movie will also star familiar names like Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Frank Grillo,
and Richard E. Grant.
If you're hoping for a wild time at the movies, then this is the one for you; insiders are
describing this film as:
"The Good.
The Bad.
And the Bats--- crazy."
According to Deadline, RoboCop is indeed returning to the big screen sometime soon, although
it seems this new film is going to mess around with the franchise's continuity.
The original RoboCop was directed by Paul Verhoeven, and it made quite a killing when
it was released in 1987.
After two sequels starring original actor Peter Weller, the franchise was rebooted in
2014, with actor Joel Kinnaman and director Jose Padilha.
The remake wasn't nearly as popular as the first film, and sadly for Mr. Kinnaman, it
looks like the new movie is going to ignore the recent remake altogether.
The latest entry in the franchise will be called RoboCop Returns, and is written by
Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, the guys who penned the first film.
In fact, RoboCop Returns was apparently written right after the original was released.
Sadly, the script never got made into a movie, but now MGM is giving it another go, with
the help of some rewrites by Terminator: Dark Fate writer Justin Rhodes.
Sadly, Peter Weller won't be returning to reprise his robo-role.
As for the plot synopsis, Deadline writes:
"Anarchy reigns and the fate of Detroit hangs in the balance as RoboCop makes his triumphant
return to fight crime and corruption."
Though District 9's Neill Blomkamp was initially attached to direct, he announced in August
2019 that scheduling conflicts had forced him to depart the project.
In November 2019, Orion Pictures announced that Little Monsters director Abe Forsythe
had taken up the helm of RoboCop Returns, and would also be giving the screenplay a
fresh rewrite.
"Your move, creep."
What do you get when you cross a horde of hungry zombies with a very fast train?
A critically acclaimed blockbuster that desperately needs a sequel, apparently.
Released in 2016, Train to Busan earned $85 million in its homeland of South Korea, and
wowed critics across the globe.
The plot follows a selfish businessman who's taking his daughter on a train ride to the
city of Busan, when zombies suddenly start popping up all over the place.
At first, the protagonist is only concerned with protecting himself and his kid, but as
things get bloodier and bloodier, he starts helping the other passengers escape the oncoming
horde.
Now, it seems writer-director Yeon Sang-ho is working on part two, supposedly titled
Bando.
The English title is being reported to be "Peninsula," which seems to imply that the
zombie virus has spread across Korea.
Shooting began in the summer of 2019, with a new cast stepping in front of the camera.
It's evidently a good time to be in the zombie train business, as New Line is currently working
on an American remake of the first film.
Of course, if you're new to the whole Train to Busan phenomenon, you can prepare for both
the sequel and the reboot by checking out the 2016 thriller in all its bloody glory
over on Netflix.
Sylvester Stallone and The Expendables 4 have been engaging in a will-they-won't-they dance
for a few years now, but the latest signs seem to point definitively to "they will".
Taking to his own Instagram account, Stallone announced in July 2019 that the sequel was
back on, with a photo of the star in his Expendables gear and the caption:
"All of those July 4th fireworks got my mind going!
I am starting to cook up the next adventure!"
Stallone directed, co-wrote, and starred in the original Expendables, which came out in
2010.
He also helped write the existing two sequels, although for those, he handed off directorial
duties to Simon West for 2 and Patrick Hughes for 3.
He walked away from The Expendables 4 back in 2017, but his exit appears to have been
only temporary.
In addition to Stallone, the Expendables franchise has been a veritable Who's Who of current
and former action superstars, but only Jason Statham and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been
confirmed as joining Stallone in The Expendables 4.
"I'm back."
If and when Stallone does finalize the fourth installment in the series, though, you can
expect the cast list to grow exponentially, with an even more impressive collection of
stars than the previous three films.
After the runaway success of The Hunger Games series of books and films, it seemed likely
that audiences would one day return to the dystopian world of Panem, one way or another.
And sure enough, in June 2019, publisher Scholastic announced that it would be releasing another
novel by Suzanne Collins set in the Hunger Games world.
This book would be a prequel, set 64 years before the events of the original story, and
would focus on the tenth Hunger Games.
In October 2019, the book's title was revealed: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Along with the announcement of the novel came the confirmation that Collins' prequel will
also receive the movie treatment.
Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake, whose studio adapted the Hunger Games films, said of the
book announcement:
"As the proud home of the Hunger Games movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne's next book
to be published.
We've been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing
to work closely with her on the movie."
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is scheduled to hit bookshelves on May 19th 2020, and from
the sounds of things, more news about the film adaptation will be right on its heels.
Directed by the one and only John Carpenter, Big Trouble in Little China is one of the
wackiest action movies ever made.
This 1986 fantasy-adventure follows trucker Jack Burton as he attempts to save a kidnapped
woman from the dark and magical underbelly of San Francisco's Chinatown.
With its Mortal Kombat-style warriors and magical sword fights, Big Trouble in Little
China has become a beloved classic, so naturally people were a bit worried when a remake with
Dwayne Johnson was announced in 2015.
There hasn't been a lot of new info since then, but it's now clear that the new Big
Trouble will actually be a sequel.
Speaking to Collider, producer Hiram Garcia admitted:
"You can't remake a classic like [Big Trouble], so what we're planning to do is continue the story.
We're going to continue the universe of Big Trouble in Little China."
As Garcia went on to explain, the events of the first film will still exist in the new
Dwayne Johnson movie.
On top of that, the Rock will be playing a brand new character, rather than Jack Burton.
So it seems they're taking a page from the Jurassic World playbook, by crafting a movie
that exists in a pre-established timeline, but also serves as a kind of reboot for a
new generation.
Unfortunately, Kurt Russell has told USA Today that he probably won't be in the sequel, so
Burton himself sadly won't be back in action for this one.
Nobody messes with the Jesus...except for John Turturro, that is.
After all, Turturro played the purple-clad Jesus in The Big Lebowski, and even though
he's only onscreen for two scenes, the pervy bowler apparently made enough of an impression
to warrant his own spin-off movie.
Once called Going Places, it's now known as The Jesus Rolls, and it has absolutely nothing
to do with the Dude.
"Yeah, well, that's just, you know, like, your opinion, man."
The plot follows Jesus, who's just been released from jail after he was framed for a crime
he didn't commit.
Now a free man, he teams up with two friends and goes on a wild road trip.
According to the film's official plot synopsis, the movie is:
"A film about a trio of misfits whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising
love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires
time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds."
In September 2019, a trailer for The Jesus Rolls appeared, albeit one dubbed in Italian
to promote the film's release in Italy.
As for the dynamic directing duo, the Coens aren't involved with this spinoff sequel,
but they're still totally cool with Turturro making a part two.
Almost two decades after the first Space Jam mashed up live action comedy, Looney Tunes
animation, and professional basketball, Warner Brothers announced in early 2014 that they'd
be making a follow up to the 1996 film.
The original Space Jam starred NBA superstar Michael Jordan, and featured appearances from
a number of other NBA players alongside its animated cast.
The sequel will star NBA MVP LeBron James, in addition to Don Cheadle, fresh off his
almost decade-long stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With a production team that includes Black Panther's Ryan Coogler and The Fast and the
Furious series' Justin Lin, Space Jam 2 will be helmed by director Malcolm D. Lee.
Lee wasn't the first director attached to the film, though; he stepped in for Terence
Nance, who departed the production on good terms in July 2019, citing creative differences.
The film is set to hit theaters on July 16th 2021, almost a full quarter of a century after
the first film premiered.
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