While 2020 might have been a relatively light year for superhero movies,
2021 looks to be a return to form. There are a slew of superhero flicks scheduled to
hit cinemas - or at least some streaming service playing the role of a theater,
and we have everything you need to know about these upcoming blockbusters.
Sony dropped the first trailer for Morbius in January 2020,
and it was met with a mixture of confusion and excitement. The three-minute clip is essentially
a mini-origin story for lesser-known Marvel antihero Dr. Michael Morbius,
a brilliant scientist who turns to vampirism after his attempts to cure his rare blood disease
have mixed results. He gets super-strength and hyper-speed, but he's also left with, naturally,
"An overpowering urge to consume blood."
Morbius debuted as an enemy of Peter Parker in 1971's Amazing Spider-Man
#101, but he became more of a sympathetic figure in later issues. While his loyalties
aren't revealed in the trailer, we do see him meeting with an established villain.
Interestingly, Michael Keaton shows up at the end of the trailer looking a lot like Adrian Toomes,
a.k.a. the Vulture. Keaton's character is seen in the same white prison jumpsuit he
was wearing in the Spider-Man: Homecoming post-credits. Whether this means that
Morbius will be directly tying into the MCU by way of Spider-Man: Homecoming
remains to be seen. Fans are predicting that Morbius will sow the seeds for a big
screen Sinister Six, while Matt Smith's Loxias Crown, a.k.a Hunger, is clearly
the big bad. You'll get the chance to see it for yourself when Morbius comes out March 19, 2021.
After years of teasing, Marvel finally announced that a standalone Black Widow movie was coming,
dropping the news at Comic-Con 2019. By the end of the year we had our first teaser for the film,
a prequel that takes place after the events of Captain America:
Civil War. After siding with Steve Rogers during the dispute over the Sokovia Accords,
Natasha Romanoff will be operating under the radar in Black Widow, the first entry in Phase 4
of the MCU. Making her MCU debut in Black Widow is Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, another product of
the Red Room, the notorious training facility with which Romanoff clearly has unfinished business.
The trailers have also given us a good look at the movie's big bad, Taskmaster, as well as Romanoff's
"family" from her time in training Rachel Weisz is playing Melina Vostokoff and David Harbour is
a slightly-out-of-shape Alexi Shostakov, a.k.a the Red Guardian. He's essentially the Russian
Captain America. The next entry in the MCU film franchise will be released May 7, 2021.
While Tom Hardy will be back as Eddie Brock a.k.a. Venom, director Ruben Fleisher will
not be returning for the sequel. Taking over for him will be Black Panther antagonist Andy Serkis.
Serkis made his directorial debut in 2017 with heartwarming drama Breathe
and he proved his blockbuster chops the following year with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
The Venom mid-credits scene made it clear that Sony was plotting a sequel,
and Woody Harrelson will be starring in Venom 2 as Carnage to make good on his creepy promise:
"When I get out of here, and I will, there's gonna be Carnage."
What form that carnage will take even Harrelson doesn't know he says he, quote,
"just rolled the dice" on Venom 2 without seeing the script.
You'll get a chance to see all the carnage you could want on June 25, 2021.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel's goal for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten
Rings is to offer, quote, "a perspective on Asian identity," The studio has hired Asian
and Asian American filmmakers to make sure that happens, and, judging by the character's history,
that's a smart move. The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu comics began as an unofficial
continuation of Bruce Lee's legacy, with a character that was obviously based on the martial
arts icon. While Marvel's intentions may have been noble, the execution wasn't always perfect.
The job of bringing Shang-Chi into the modern age belongs to Chinese
American screenwriter Dave Callaham and Japanese Hawaiian director Destin Daniel
Cretton. The titular role has gone to Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu,
who may be best known for his appearances in the sitcom Kim's Convenience.
The Mandarin, the real Mandarin, as opposed to Iron Man 3's fraud, Trevor Slattery, is the
movie's main villain, played by Tony Leung. Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina will also feature,
though her role has yet to be revealed. There's not a lot of details out about the upcoming film,
but it's aiming for a July 9, 2021 release date.
One of the highlights of DC FanDome was the roll call for James Gunn's The Suicide Squad,
which officially introduced the ensemble cast of the soft reboot. Voila Davis, Joel Kinnaman,
Margot Robbie, and Jai Courtney reprise their roles from 2016's Suicide Squad,
and they'll be joined by a host of new recruits.
The director is clearly excited about his anti-hero team-up flick he promised
that it will be quote, "different from every other
superhero movie ever made" and called the filming experience "the greatest,
most exciting journey" of his life to date. The featurette released during DC's Fandome
revealed that plenty of big action set-pieces are in store when the film arrives on August 6,
2021. But there’s a catch! The Suicide Squad will hit theaters and HBO Max at the same time - so
you can relax at home and catch the flick or venture out into the wild and do the same.
Marvel's upcoming Eternals movie isn't due to hit cineplexes until the end of 2021,
but the film has already entered production.
There's nothing concrete in terms of plot, but we do know that this will be one of Marvel's
most eclectic ensembles to date. Angelina Jolie leads a packed cast that includes Kit Harington,
Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan and more.
The screenplay comes by way of Matthew and Ryan Firpo, while indie filmmaker
Chloé Zhao has been chosen to helm this huge cosmic feature. You won't have to
wait an eternity to see this movie; it'll arrive in theaters on November 5, 2021.
Work on Tom Holland's third standalone Spider-Man movie began in earnest when
Sony and Disney reached a new agreement over the character rights in September 2019, but,
like countless other projects, it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The still
untitled sequel to Spider-Man: Far From Home has been pushed back to December 2021. Jon Watts,
director of Holland's first two Spider-Man solo outings, is expected to see out the trilogy,
and Far From Home co-writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are penning the threequel.
Plot details still remain scarce, but there's been some big casting news. In a move that
nobody saw coming, Marvel is bringing back Jamie Foxx as Electro, the character he
portrayed in the Andrew Garfield-led The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It's a truly shocking reveal.
Fans already suspected that Marvel was slowly building up to an on-screen Sinister Six,
and the return of Electro only strengthens that theory. And how is it that Holland's Spider-Man
will be coming into contact with characters from other Spider-Verses? Well, the announcement in
October 2020 that Benedict Cumberbatch will appear in the film as Doctor Strange might offer a clue.
Either way, the as-yet untitled film will swing into theaters on December 17, 2021.
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