2020 Movie Season has officially kicked off and while we are still in the thick of Award Season reflecting upon 2019 Releases, it's time to start looking at what’s coming down the pipeline for 2020. And there is a lot.
* Note: many of the movies are on slate for 2020 releases, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be pushed back due to Post-Production. *
Here are my 2020 Most Anticipated Movie Releases, please note that these are not in order of release due to the shifting movie schedule timelines.
1. Cherry
Director: The Russo Brothers
Cast: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Jack Reynor, Michael Gandolfini
Status: Filming
Expected Release: TBD
Summary: Based off the novel by the same name, “Cherry” was released in 2018 and was autobiographical, detailing the life of author, Nico Walker. “Cherry” follows the story of the unnamed narrator as he moves on from college to the Army where he becomes a Medic. After he leaves the military and returns home, he begins to suffer from extreme PTSD. In an effort to control his symptoms, he becomes addicted to opioids and begins robbing banks to keep up with the expense of his addiction.
Set against the backdrop of the American Opioid Crisis, “Cherry” is a different take for the Directors The Russo Brothers who are most notably known for their success with the Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame Series. Tom Holland will be starring as the main character and its time for us to prepare to say goodbye to his boyish charm as Spiderman and the teenage boy that we have seen across the last few years of film. This dramatic and serious role will be somewhat of a first for Tom Holland who is preparing to shed the younger exterior and start receiving more roles like these. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him join the ranks of Timothée Chalamet and pop up as a possible Oscar contender for the 2021 Race.
2. King Richard
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Cast: Will Smith, John Bernthal, Saniyya Sidney (Venus), Demi Singleton (Serena)
Status: Pre-Production
Expected Release: TBD
Summary: Will Smith has put in the work in 2019, after starring in Gemini Man, Aladdin and Spies in Disguise and now he is able to star in the movies that are passion projects after collectedly cashing in his checks. Discussions of “King Richard” have been circling around for a while and they are finally moving forward. “King Richard” is the semi-autobiographical story of Serena and Venus’ father as they are raised with their father as their coach.
The story will ultimately be told from Richard William’s perspective, which I suspect will cause a bit of scrutiny when the film starts circulating – why would the story focus on the male, father figure instead of the women who are responsible for their legacy? Richard Williams was viewed as the first “father” coach stereotype that pushed his children towards excellence regardless of emotion. No date yet released for its debut, but you can bet that it will show up at the end of summer/beginning of fall to start making its rounds at Film Festivals and onto the Award Circuit.
3. West Side Story
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Maddie Siegler, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler, Brian d’Arcy James
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: December 18, 2020
Summary: Based on the original play with the same name, “West Side Story” is again getting a reboot. Taking the 1957 Adaptation, “West Side Story” explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. While I am not thrilled about Ansel Elgort as the lead, this is expected to be the break-out role for Rachel Zegler whose media presence is somewhat impressive. She was discovered via Youtube and Twitter for her musical covers and is expected to steal the show.
4. The Invisible Man
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Elizabeth Moss
Status: Finished
Expected Release: February 28, 2020
Summary: Another re-make on the popular horror genre film, the adapted movie from Blumhouse takes a different angle on the story that we have seen before. Starring Elizabeth Moss as Cecilia, a woman who is finally free from an abusive relationship when it is revealed that her ex-boyfriend took his own life on the night of her escape. As she settles back into normal life, she begins to suspect that his death wasn’t real after all. As a series of disturbing events turn lethal, Cecilia begins to work to prove that she is being stalked by someone that nobody can see. I have high hopes for this film, being sponsored and supported by Blumhouse, a production company that has become synonymous with high-grossing horror film releases.
5. Top Gun: Maverick
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Tom Cruise, Glen Powell, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: June 26, 2020
Summary: High-way-to-the-box-offfffice. Might I be so bold to say that "Top Gun: Maverick" is the most anticipated movie of the summer? Yeah, I’ll say it. We should expect to see Top Gun as the highest-grossing summer box office release of 2020. Taking place almost thirty years after the original “Top Gun: Maverick” revisits the hot-shot fighter pilots in the secret program Top Gun. Featuring Glen Powell and Miles Teller as the newest recruits who are taken under the wing (get it?) of Tom Cruise, we can expect to see a new generation of pilots and new stories while it continues to capitalize on the nostalgia that we associate with the original.
6. Trial for the Chicago Seven
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Expected Release: October 2, 2020
Summary: Based on the story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Honestly, sign me up for literally anything Aaron Sorkin, writes, produces or directs. Pumped.
7. Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Robert Pattinson, John David Washington, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Caine, Himesh Patel, Kenneth Branagh
Status: Post-Production Expected Release: July 17, 2020
Summary: The latest venture from Christopher Nolan, there is not much that we know about “Tenet” even though we have seen the first trailer. Based on the scenes that we have been privy to, it seems to be another time-space-continuum-adventure as Robert Pattinson and John David Washington star as “time-spies” operating in a parallel universe where time is moving forward and backward at the same time as they try to prevent the doom of World War III. Think Inception….but more complicated. And of course, as in every Christopher Nolan movie, there will be an actor sporting his exact same hairstyle.
8. On The Rocks
Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Jenny Slate
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: TBD
Summary: Not much is known about the movie other than it is a Comedy/Drama that takes place in New York as a young mother (Jones) tries to re-connect with her father (Murray) who is a larger-than-life playboy on an adventure throughout the city. We can expect it to be great as it is being directed by Sofia Coppola – it will probably verge on the edge of comedic and dramatic tones.
9. Last Night in Soho
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Matt Smith, Anya Taylor-Joy
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: September 25, 2020
Summary: The much anticipated follow up to Wright’s “Baby Driver” (2018), “Last Night in Soho” was written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns who is currently begin recognized for her writing on “1917” (2019). “Last Night in Soho” follows a young girl pursuing a career in fashion design in the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a wannabe singer. But London in the 1960s is not what it seems and her life starts to fall apart under shady consequences. Other than this loosely translated plot, there is not much we know about the film, but considering “Baby Driver” grossed over $300M at the box-office, we should expect a similar original story from Wright with generated Awards Buzz.
10. The Woman in the Window
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Amy Adams, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Anthony Mackie, Brian Tyree Henry
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: May 15, 2020
Summary: Based on the novel by the same name, The Woman In the Window, features Anna Fox (Adams), a woman who lives alone in her New York City apartment and watches the world operate without her outside the view of her window. Haunted by trauma of her past, Anna suffers from agoraphobia, the fear of being outside which forces her to remain indoors. One evening, Anna witnesses the murder of a mother in the house across the street, as she alerts authorities she is confronted by the family and mother herself, people begin to question her mental state. As she strives for answers, she gets tangled into a web of lies as secrets start coming to the surface.
I have high hopes for this movie, the book was thrilling and has similar tones from “The Girl on the Train” and other mystery novels of its kind. What concerns me about this film is that it has spent the last six months in Post-Production, never a great sign. That usually means that they were not satisfied with the final product and re-edited the content to make it better. I hope it doesn’t meet the same fate as “The Girl on the Train” (2017) which was a mess of a movie, based on a great novel.
So those are them, My Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2020. While there are many others that I am excited to watch, these are the ones that I will be closely watching in terms of Awards 2020 Season. But…that’s not all. Here are some other close contenders that didn’t quite make the list, bur are expected to generate buzz in 2020
Other Notable Contenders that didn’t quite make my list due to subjective release dates, but still equally excited for these!
Notable Contenders
Mank
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Lily Collins, Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried
Expected Release: TBD
Summary: Follows the screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s tumultuous development of Orson Welles’ iconic movie “Citizen Kane” (1941). Not much else has been released about the film other than it will be shot in black and white and it is rumored to be one of David Fincher’s passion projects. The rights for the movie were originally pursued by David Fincher’s father and in 2020 it is rumored to finally make it to the big screen.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro
Summary: Based on the non-fiction book by the same name, "Killers of the Flower Moon" explores a Native American Reservation in Oklahoma in the early 1930s when members of the tribe mysteriously start disappearing. Set against the back-drop of the Wild West, "Killers of the Flower Moon" explores the murders taking place and how the investigation sparks the start of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Quiet Place II
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds
Expected Release: March 20, 2020
Summary: The highly anticipated follow up to 2018’s “Quiet Place”, the sequel seems to focus on the Abbott Family after the death of their father, as they go out into the world to find other people still alive. Quiet Place II also seems to explore the origins of the monsters that hunt humans by sound. The Quiet Place was an extremely successful horror release in 2018 and the sequel is just as anticipated.
Dune
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Mamoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin
Expected Release: December 2020
Summary: A new adaptation of the 1984 Movie of the same title, “Dune” is a sci-fi adventure tale of son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy. As we mentioned earlier with Tom Holland pursuing a more serious acting career as he starts to step back from the Marvel Franchise, it seems that Timothée Chalamet is getting his toes wet. “Dune” marks the first adventure, sci-fi thriller that Chalamet gets to be a part of. It is expected to be released in December, and will most likely collect up some of the Superhero, Star Wars releases that will be absent this year and will capitalize.
In The Heights
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephanie Beatriz
Expected Release: June 26, 2020
Summary: Based on the Play by the same name written by Lin Manuel-Miranda, “In The Heights” is a musical (duh) in which a bodega owner has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Domican Republic after inheriting his grandmother’s fortune.
Antebellum
Director: Gerard Bush and Christopher Renze; Producer: Jordan Peele
Cast: Janelle Monae, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemmons, Gabourey Sidibe
Expected Release: April 24, 2020
Summary: Although a teaser trailer has been released, not much else has been noted about Jordan Peele’s third film other than the fact that it exists in the horror genre. Plot from IMDB states “successful author Veronica finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late.”
Death on the Nile
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Letitia Wright, Annette Bening, Russell Brand
Status: Post-Production
Expected Release: October 9, 2020
Summary: Based on the novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, “Death on the Nile” is another story in the Hercule Poirot Saga, as the famous detective is called to investigate….a Death on the Nile. Following in the footsteps of “Murder on the Orient Express” (2017), DOTN features another stacked cast. We can only hope that it is better than MOTOE.
So those are my lists - there are plenty more that I didn't cover and much more that are going to be released in 2020. Let me know which ones are your favorites and go to the movies!
And that's the sitch.
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