By any standard, 2017 is going to be a big year for film. 2016 broke a number of records in terms of box office and releases, but the sequel is going to be huge. There’s at least 8 superhero movies alone coming out from DC and Marvel next year, and that’s before we even dip into the Star Wars, Alien and Blade Runner end of the spectrum.
Indies won’t be immune to the trend either, with Trainspotting getting a sequel, and slated entries from indie royalty like Greta Gerwig or Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Here’s a list of some of films coming out in the next 12 months that fancy our tickles or something.
LANDLINE – 20 January (US)
Gillian Robespierre’s follow-up to 2014’s Obvious Child will be very anticipated in indie circles, with returning cast member Jenny Slate joining Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, John Turturro, and Jay Duplass in a film about a family in Brooklyn during 1995. It’s set to debut at Sundance.
T2: TRAINSPOTTING – 23 February (AUS)
Trainspotting, Danny Boyle’s second feature, was released back in 1996 and in many ways captured the zeitgeist of a generation. Its follow-up, based on Irving Welsh’s Porno, takes the energy of the original and tempers it through 20 years of (less than) graceful ageing.
GET OUT – 24 February (US)
Having wrapped up Key & Peele in 2015, Jordan Peele makes his directorial debut not with an expected comedy, but with a horror film. Having said that, Peele has said that it’s “a horror movie, but it’s a satirical premise.”
A CURE FOR WELLNESS – 16 March (AUS)
We highlighted the trailer for this back in October, and our excitement levels have been high since. Sitting somewhere between Stanley Kubrick and that dream you’ve told yourself isn’t real, Gore Verbinski’s 2017 entry is set to be one of the creepier entries for next year.
WILSON – 24 March (US)
Debuting at Sundance in January, this highly anticipated adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel has been in the works for a few years. The Skeleton Twins director Craig Johnson helms a screenplay by Clowes himself, with a massive cast including Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Isabella Amara, Judy Greer, and Cheryl Hines. Yes please!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 – 25 April (AUS)
Already one of the most viewed trailers of 2016, the sequel to the surprise 2014 blockbuster already has our money, and a fair cut of merchandising. The big question will remain as to whether director James Gunn can recapture the magic of the first, or if we’ve only just seen him get started.
ALIEN: COVENANT – 18 May (AUS)
So confident are Fox in this Alien prequel/Prometheus sequel that they moved the date forward by several months. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film stars Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearce, returning in their roles from Prometheus, with newcomers Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Billy Crudup and James Franco. In space, nobody can hear you squee.
WONDER WOMAN – 1 JUNE (AUS)
Directed by Patty Jenkins, it is the fourth film in DC Extended Universe, a series that began with Man of Steel, and continued with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. It also seems to be the first one that has the lights turned on and a sense of fun and adventure about it. The lasso wouldn’t lie, would it?
BOOK OF HENRY – 16 June (US)
After director Colin Trevorrow’s amazing indie success with Safety Not Guaranteed, he graduated to Jurassic World and even bigger franchises ahead. So it’s terrific to see that in 2017 he will get to release a dramatic film that returns him to his roots, with an impressive cast that includes Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Jacob Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, Lee Pace, Maddie Ziegler and Dean Harris.
THE BEGUILED – 30 June (US)
Sofia Coppola tries her hand at another period piece, this time remaking (or at least re-adapting) Don Siegel’s 1971 film of the same name. The Gothic horror piece collects a “best of” Coppola cast that includes Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst and Australia’s Angourie Rice.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING – 6 July (AUS)
The seventh cinematic outing of the wallcrawler since 2002, this marks the first solo adventure of Peter Parker under the Marvel Studios banner, allowing Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) to make good on some promises he made in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. This one is going to be huge.
DUNKIRK – 20 July (AUS)
Have we had enough of Second World War films yet? Christopher Nolan doesn’t think so, shooting a grand scale (IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large format film stock) film about the infamous 1940 battle, with a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles.
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS – 21 July (US)
The film is an adaptation of the French comic Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières, which Luc Besson will write and direct. Starring Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHaan, Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke and Rihanna, it is sure to be one of the most stylish sci-fi films of 2017.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 – 5 October (AUS)/6 October (US)
Please be good, please be good, please be good. Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
THE SNOWMAN – 12 October (AUS)/13 October (US)
There is so much to get excited about with this film. Its based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, but even more importantly, it’s directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). Even though his regular photographer Hoyte van Hoytema isn’t on board this time, due to his involvement in Dunkirk (see above), we’re sure Dion Beebe will make this look amazing .
JUSTICE LEAGUE – 16 November (AUS)
Past performance is not an indicator of the future quality. At least that’s what we are hoping. DC Comics’ first cinematic union of their major heroes has all the promise of still being something memorable, despite Zack Snyder at the helm and several series entires that have been less than lustrous.
COCO – 22 November (US)
Initially controversial for Disney’s attempt to trademark the term “Día de los Muertos” for merchandising, we’re excited because Lee Unkrich (Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3) has rarely put a foot wrong as a director. Plus, it’s Pixar’s only non-sequel for the next few years at least!
DARKEST HOUR – 24 November (US)
Expect the word ‘transformative’ to be used a lot in describing Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill, but Oldman is Churchill from the photos we’ve seen. Within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, he must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. We smell Oscar already.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII – 14 December (AUS)
Do we really need to explain this one? Vale Carrie.
UNDATED FILMS
- SUBMERGENCE – Wim Wender’s returns with a romantic thriller starring James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander.
- BATTLE OF THE SEXES – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris round up Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, and Sarah Silverman for a tennis drama, and that’s all you need to know.
- UNDER THE SILVER LAKE – David Robert Mitchell already has us hooked with a neo-noir thriller crime film starring Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, and Topher Grace.
- OKJA – Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) brings his talents to Netflix, who haven’t announced a date, but have announced a cast that includes Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, and Lily Collins.
- LADY BIRD – Indie queen Greta Gerwig makes her directorial debut with a film about a woman living in northern California for a year.
- HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES – John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) adapts Neil Gaiman’s sci-fi set in Croydon. Stars Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman.
- THE SHAPE OF WATER – Guillermo del Toro’s Cold War era film is his first since 2015’s Crimson Peak.
