A Tentative Look At The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2021

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Looking at a list of the most anticipated movies of 2021, you’ll be struck by how similar it looks to a list of the most anticipated movies of 2020. With a few notable exceptions, every movie from last year was delayed to some time in 2021, causing a massive shuffling in the movie release calendar. 

Now, as of this writing, the pandemic we’re living through is still at full blown status, so it’s possible that one or more of these titles will be delayed again, possibly even into the year 2022. But, for now, each of these movies is scheduled to be released at some point in 2021, even if it doesn’t make it to the big screen. 

Coming 2 America – March

The first movie we’re talking about is one that is already bypassing theaters and heading straight to a streaming service. Paramount Pictures had originally intended to release this movie theatrically, but the delay due to the pandemic caused them to shift gears, ultimately selling the distribution rights to Amazon who will release the movie on their streaming service. A movie that is a sequel to a thirty year old comedy film doesn’t necessarily seem like something to put on a list of anticipated movies, but Eddie Murphy has been on something of a comeback tour recently with Dolemite Is My Name on Netflix and a surprisingly well received hosting gig on SNL in late 2019. It had gotten to the point where we were going to be interested in whatever project Murphy had next, and it just so happened to be a sequel to one of his most popular movies from his prime. 

Godzilla Vs. Kong – March

WB announced that their entire slate of blockbuster movies would be released on HBO Max the same day they were released in movie theaters in 2021, including this movie. However, if there’s a movie you want to try and watch on the biggest screen possible, surely it’s the movie where a giant lizard and a giant ape fight each other. This is a movie that is going to try and be as big as possible, and while you’ll probably want to take advantage of the ability to watch this movie in the comfort of your own home safe from the virus, you’ll have to imagine what it would have been like to watch these two fight each other on an IMAX screen with state of the art audio equipment. Maybe try sitting really, really close to the TV. 

F9 – May

The ninth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise was one of the first movies to delay it’s release by an entire year when COVID hit, and now it’s looking like even that might not have been enough. Still, if we get to go to the movie outside of our homes this year, this is one that’s likely going to be worth seeing on the big screen if the last several installments of the franchise are any indication. John Cena joins the cast as the movie’s bad guy, and also Vin Diesel’s previously unmentioned brother. Han also shows up, despite having supposedly died in the third movie (and also the seventh movie thanks to the franchise’s convoluted timeline). And the big stunt of the trailer can only be described as a “Spider-man style, web slinging movie, but with a car.” They HAVE to go to space by the next one. 

Spiral – May

This is technically the ninth installment in the Saw franchise so it’s a little strange to see it coming out in May, but the origin behind this movie is an odd one. Apparently, comedian Chris Rock happened to meet the head of the studio Lionsgate at a friend’s wedding and pitched an idea he had for a new horror movie that would take place in the universe of the Saw movies. The idea was met positively, and now here we are, with a Saw movie (officially titled Spiral: From the Book of Saw) that is not only based off of an idea that Chris Rock had, but is starring both Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson. 

In the Heights – June 

After Hamilton was one of the most talked about streaming events of the lockdown in 2020, it’s easy to see why people would be excited for Lin Manuel Maranda’s other Tony winning musical to be available in movie form. While Hamilton was a filmed version of the stage performance, In The Heights is a more traditional movie adaptation of the stage production. Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos, steps into the role of Usnavi, the role that Lin-Manuel Miranda himself played in the original cast on Broadway, but Miranda still makes an appearance in the movie, playing a smaller side character. 

The Suicide Squad – August

If you’re thinking “I’m pretty sure that I already saw The Suicide Squad in theaters five years ago, and it wasn’t very good,” you’re wrong. That was Suicide Squad. This is The Suicide Squad. It’s a completely different movie. Yes, they both have Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn, but other than that, this is an all new team of bad guys going on a sucide mission. The movie is written and directed by James Gunn, who was offered the project pretty much the moment that Disney dropped him from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Happily Disney, has fixed that error, but the third Guardains movie isn’t due until 2023, so for now, you’ll need to see The Suicide Squad for your superheroes by Gunn needs. 

The Beatles: Get Back – August

Peter Jackson will always be known for his work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, but some of the best work in his career was a recent documentary he directed and produced about the First Word War, using original footage. They Shall Not Grow Old was one of the most immersive experiences you could get from a documentary, so the announcement that Jackson’s next project will be a documentary as well was one to be excited about. Jackson’s new documentary will be focused on The Beatles and, like They Shall Not Grow Old, will make extensive use of archival footage. The film will apparently have all forty-two minutes of the band’s famous rooftop performance, something that had never been shown in its entirety.

Dune – October

Dune is a famously unfilmable book. Yes there was an adaptation that was released in 1984, but most fans of the novel will say that the adaptation is just more evidence of how unadatable the book really is. There are documentaries that are about people trying and failing to bring a film version of Dune to life. Yet somehow, where everyone else has failed since 1965, it’s starting to look like director Denis Villeneuve may have succeeded. The first movie in what will hopefully be a two part adaptation of the entire book is scheduled to be released in October. Like Godzilla vs. Kong this movie is currently scheduled to be released on HBO Max as well, but one look at the sand worm in the trailer will make you hope and pray that your theater is safe by October, because it will be worth the ticket price to see that monster on the biggest possible screen. 

Eternals (and Black Widow and Shang Chi and Spider-Man 3) – November

It’s gotten to the point where only one Marvel movie is allowed on the “Most Anticipated” list or else they could easily take up half the list. This year, the Marvel slot is being awarded to Eternals. After the conclusion of the first three phases, we have undoubtedly started a new chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or we will if we ever get to see another Marvel movie). While all four Marvel movies that are currently scheduled to be released this year have something interesting to show off, Eternals is the one that looks like it could really set the stage for the future of the MCU. It’s the movie that has the most cosmic scale of any of them, and could give us a good idea of where the Marvel movies might want to go into phase four and beyond. 

The Matrix 4 – December
It’s become such a meme at this point to bash the Matrix sequels or pretend that they don’t exist, that people might not realize that if they actually sit down and watch them, they’re actually pretty good. That’s not to say that The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions don’t have their issues, but there’s a lot to unpack, and in a world where expensive blockbusters have to be fairly simple and straightforward, the Matrix sequels get to double down on being complicated. But even if the second and third Matrix movies were as bad as everyone pretends they were, a fourth movie would still make the “Most Anticipated” list based on the sheer quality of the first one alone. For those who weren’t aware in 1999, The Matrix was an unparalleled phenomenon. It was the Star Wars level film event of it’s time, and it came out in a year where an actual Star Wars movie was released. The Wachowskis have made a lot of big action films, but they’ve never made a movie where they didn’t have something that they wanted to say. (Seriously, their criminally under watched Speed Racer film might be their masterpiece.) So if they’re going back to the world of The Matrix, it’s likely that they’ve got something interesting to explore in that world.

Joel Leonard reviews the latest movies each week for Inside Pulse. You can follow him @joelgleo on Twitter though he's not promising to ever tweet anything from there. Joel also co-hosts the Classy Ring Attire podcast and writes the No Chance column on Inside Pulse as well.