From the next entries in beloved franchises to intriguing reboots and years-in-the-making
dream projects, some truly must-see releases are starting to fill up the calendar.
These are just some of the biggest films arriving in 2021 — and beyond.
It's been more than 20 years since a new Mortal Kombat film hit the big screen, but one of
the most popular video game franchises of all time is finally making its way back to
theaters.
"Hoo hoo hoo!
Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about!"
Producer James Wan who launched franchises with Saw and The Conjuring has handed the
director's chair over to first-timer Simon McQuoid for this flick, but you can bet his
blockbuster pedigree will be felt throughout the production process.
At this point, we have no idea what the plot of the new film will be.
The Mortal Kombat video game franchise has expanded significantly since Mortal Kombat:
Annihilation hit theaters in 1997, giving the filmmakers an even bigger mythos to draw
from as they craft their story.
We also don't know which fighters will be characters in the film, or which actors will
play them, but we can hope to learn more soon since the film is expected to start shooting
in 2019.
The new Mortal Kombat film is set to hit theaters March 5th, 2021.
It's been more than 30 years since He-Man and the Masters of the Universe appeared in
their own live-action feature film.
It's going to take a couple more years to finally get the characters back on the big
screen, but it wasn't for lack of trying.
A new live-action film starring He-Man and his pals has been in the works for more than
a decade, and at one point it was even supposed to be hitting theaters in 2019.
"I've waited a long time for this."
That didn't happen — but now Sony Pictures has finally announced a March 5th, 2021 release
date for Masters of the Universe, which will be directed by Band of Robbers' Adam and Aaron
Nee.
Noah Centineo, who rose to fame via Netflix's To All The Boys I've Loved Before, has signed
on to play He-Man — and while we have no idea who will play his various allies and
adversaries yet, we can expect old favorites from the animated series to show up along
the way.
Let's just hope they don't show up like… uhh… this:
"By the power of Grayskull!
Skeletor…
You're so Money Super Market."
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
The Jurassic Park franchise returned to blockbuster status in a big way in 2015 with Jurassic
World, and producer Steven Spielberg wasn't about to let it stop there.
Colin Trevorrow, who directed and co-wrote the first installment, always had the shape
of a trilogy in his mind, and that mission continued with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
in 2018.
In keeping with the established rhythm of one film every three years, the third installment
in the World trilogy is now set to arrive on June 11th, 2021.
Trevorrow will return to the director's chair for the third installment, and will co-write
the film with Pacific Rim: Uprising screenwriter Emily Carmichael.
Stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are also expected to return for the film,
which will feature dinosaurs roaming free on the mainland United States, making it a
truly Jurassic World.
Beyond that, we don't yet know anything about the plot.
John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum is the most successful entry in the franchise, surpassing
the entire box office runs of the two previous installments early in its theatrical run.
The Wick films still clearly have a lot of juice in them, audiences are still coming
back for more, and Keanu Reeves seems committed to continuing his reign of action dominance
so it's no surprise that the third film perfectly sets up a fourth installment.
"How can you escape from the light?"
"Of course.
You can go to the dark — but they're in the dark too."
It's also no surprise that it's already been announced.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to hit theaters May 21st, 2021, with Reeves back once again
as the titular hitman, this time going to war against people he once thought he could
trust.
We don't yet know who else will be back for the fourth film, or who will write and direct
— though director Chad Stahelski has already expressed interest in returning.
What we do know is that Wick won't get any less dangerous over the next two years.
The Batman has had a long road to the big screen already, and we'll still be waiting
two more years until it's actually in theaters.
At one point the film the first solo Batman flick since The Dark Knight Rises in 2012
was supposed to be delivered by star, director, and co-writer Ben Affleck, who'd also signed
on to play the Caped Crusader for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
But after Justice League was released in 2017, things began to change: First Affleck seemed
to be backing away from work behind the camera, ultimately giving up the directing role to
Matt Reeves.
Then he seemed to be backing away as star, and finally revealed that he was done playing
Batman altogether.
Ever since then, Reeves has been working to refocus the story on a younger version of
the character.
Now, The Batman will reportedly be led by none other than Robert Pattinson, with Reeves
also reportedly eyeing the Penguin and Catwoman as his villains for the film.
Other than that we still know very little about where The Batman is headed, but we'll
find out more soon.
The film is slated to hit theaters June 25th, 2021.
For a long time, the idea that we would only ever have three Indiana Jones films seemed
both comfortable and obvious.
Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford spent a good chunk of the 1980s crafting
their trilogy, and then it seemed to be put to bed.
In 2008, after years of whispers, that all changed with the arrival of the divisive Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull, and in an age when franchises and nostalgia are often king at the box office,
it was only a matter of time before a fifth film materialized.
Indiana Jones 5 was at one point going to arrive in 2019.
Then that release date was pushed to 2020, and then the Walt Disney Company announced
that the film would again be delayed, this time to a hopefully final release date of
July 9th, 2021.
Harrison Ford will return to reprise the title role, and Steven Spielberg will once again
serve as director, with Jonathan Kasdan writing the script.
25 years after the original film starring Michael Jordan hit theaters, and after years
of rumors about its production, we will finally see a new Space Jam movie in 2021.
The original film was a defining moment for many kids, bringing together the biggest Looney
Tunes stars and the biggest basketball stars, and now LeBron James is going to do his best
to walk in Jordan's footsteps with a sequel.
"Uh, Michael… you know that your friends are cartoon characters?"
"Yeah, so?"
"No, no… doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me."
James confirmed back in June that he's begun shooting the film, which doesn't yet have
an officially-announced plot but will likely feature plenty of star power in the form of
basketball icons and cameo appearances.
Warner Bros. has not confirmed the film's full cast, but NBA reporter Shams Charania
reported that the NBA stars recruited for the film include Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard,
and Klay Thompson.
Meanwhile, WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Nneka Ogwumike are also expected to play key roles.
Space Jam 2 slams into theaters July 16th, 2021.
For a period of several months in late 2018 and early '19, James Gunn was looking for
new projects after he was fired by Marvel Studios, cutting him off from the upcoming
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Those fences have since been mended and Gunn is back at Marvel, but in the interim he snagged
another comic book project over at Warner Bros.: The Suicide Squad.
A new take on the anti-hero team first introduced by director David Ayer in 2016, Gunn's follow-up
will focus on a new team lineup and aim for a different tone than the original film, which
means we'll get a mix of new cast members and returning stars.
Among those confirmed so far to be returning are Jai Courtney as Boomerang and Viola Davis
as Amanda Waller, while it also seems likely that we'll see more of Margot Robbie as Harley
Quinn and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag.
Newcomers include Idris Elba in a still-undisclosed role, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man,
and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher.
Also reportedly attached to the project are Gunn's Guardians pals Benicio del Toro — who'll
be playing an undisclosed character — and Michael Rooker, who'll portray King Shark.
The Suicide Squad will hit theaters August 6th, 2021, nearly five years to the day after
the first film.
Back in April 2019, a few months after the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of
Grindelwald, we learned that the third installment in the Harry Potter prequel series will be
arriving in theaters in the fall of 2021, keeping up the Thanksgiving-adjacent release
schedule already established by the series.
The Fantastic Beasts series, set decades before the Potter films and starring Eddie Redmayne
as wizard and magizoologist Newt Scamander, is now setting up to chronicle the ultimate
wizarding duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald that was referenced in
the Potter films — along with the true nature of the character of Credence, who got some
huge news about his ancestry in the last film.
The series is set to last a total of five films, with each one taking place primarily
in a different city.
We don't yet know what city writer J.K.
Rowling will take her characters to this time around, or what the subtitle of the film will
be, but we can expect return performances from Redmanyne, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and
Ezra Miller, along with the potential for new stars.
Fantastic Beasts 3 will hit theaters November 12th, 2021.
Nearly a decade ago, James Cameron released Avatar, a dazzling sci-fi spectacle that captivated
audiences around the world and ultimately became the highest-grossing film of all time
until Avengers: Endgame took the mantle in July 2019.
Even while promoting Avatar, Cameron was already talking about his plans for sequels, and what
was at the time a vision for a trilogy of films set on the planet Pandora.
Way back then, Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 were supposed to arrive in 2014 and 2015, but that
didn't happen.
Then three sequels were happening instead of two, with Avatar 2 arriving in 2016.
Then 2018.
Then 2020.
Now, with the purchase of Fox by the Walt Disney Company, the release date has been
moved once again to a hopefully final slot on the calendar: December 17th, 2021, with
the following three sequels arriving in 2023, 2025, and 2027.
Hopefully Cameron and company can meet the deadlines they need this time, and we'll all
go back to Pandora.
Back in 2009, just as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was heating up, Robert Downey Jr.
launched another franchise with Sherlock Holmes.
The film, directed by Guy Ritchie and co-starring Jude Law as Holmes' sidekick Dr. Watson, grossed
more than half a billion dollars worldwide and spawned a sequel — Sherlock Holmes:
A Game of Shadows — in 2011.
"Are you sure you want to play this game?"
"I'm afraid… you'd lose."
After that, the Holmes franchise began to cool down as other successful versions of
the character carried on their mysteries on television through Sherlock and Elementary.
Law and Downey stayed busy with plenty of acting work, and Ritchie went on to make King
Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Aladdin.
Now, ten years after A Game of Shadows, Holmes and Watson will ride again.
Sherlock Holmes 3 is set to hit theaters on December 22nd, 2021, a year later than the
original release date of Christmas Day 2020.
Downey and Law are both set to return as Holmes and Watson, and Narcos' Chris Brancato is
set to write the screenplay.
Though Ritchie is rumored to return as director yet again, he has not yet officially signed
on.
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