Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2016: PART 2 (Top 10)

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s two-part post in which I’m listing my Top 20 most anticipated films of 2016. This is Part 2 and today I’ll be listing my Top 10 most anticipated films of next year. If you haven’t already read Part 1, you can check it out at the link provided below. But for now, here are my Top 10 most anticipated films of 2016 from Marvel heroes to escapades in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, or as others may call it, ‘Space… the Final Frontier’.

Kicking things off at Number 10 is the latest film from a legendary film duo.

10. HAIL, CAESAR! (February 5)

We all know of the many film classics from the duo of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, from the 1998 cult classic ‘The Big Lebowski’ to their arguably superior 2010 remake of ‘True Grit’. As for their newest film, ‘Hail, Caesar!’ it is very much looking like the kind of quirky comedy that the two are known to make. My good friend Matt Goudreau noted that the first trailer made it look a lot like their 2008 film ‘Burn after Reading’. I’ll admit that I’ve actually only watched one of their films, their ‘True Grit’ remake, but I am really interested in seeing their new film. I guess you can say it’s due to the fact that the film is focused around 1950’s Hollywood which, as a film fan, I think is a pretty interesting subject to focus on. And of course, you can always expect a terrific ensemble cast from the Coen Brothers and this film is no exception. Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, and so on and so forth. The film is getting released in February, which may or may not be a good thing given the usual quality of films released during that time. But of course, this is the same duo that brought us classic films like ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’ so I think we’ll be fine.

After ‘Moana’ landed the #15 spot in yesterday’s post, Disney Animation’s first film of the year lands the Number 9 spot on this list.

9. ZOOTOPIA (March 4)

It’s great to see that Disney is currently in the middle of what can arguably be regarded as their second ‘Renaissance Era’. I’d say it got started around the time when John Lasseter become the animation studio’s Chief Creative Officer. Slowly but surely the company returned to top form with hits like ‘Tangled’, ‘Wreck-it Ralph’, and of course ‘Frozen’, which became the company’s biggest animated film in nearly two decades. Anyway, for the first of Disney Animation’s 2016 slate, we have ‘Zootopia’. The directing duo behind this film consists of a pair of directors that were responsible for some of the studio’s recent hits, Byron Howard (‘Tangled’) and Rich Moore (‘Wreck it Ralph’). ‘Zootopia’ is described as a buddy comedy set in a world designed entirely by animals, for animals. I’ve liked quite a few of the ‘buddy comedies’ Disney has done in recent years like ‘Tangled’ and the highly underrated ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ so I’m definitely interested in seeing how this one turns out. And of course like many Disney animated films, it’s got a really nice ensemble voice cast, including Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, and of course Disney’s ‘John Ratzenberger’; Alan Tudyk. For the record, I refer to him in that way because just like how Ratzenberger is the lucky charm for Pixar, Tudyk has starred in the studio’s last three films, mostly in villainous roles, and will also be a part of the voice cast for ‘Moana’.

Speaking of Disney…

8. THE JUNGLE BOOK (April 15)

If you recall my Top 10 most anticipated films list for 2015, you might remember seeing this film amongst the ‘Honorable Mentions’. But, as could happen with any of the films on this list, it ended up getting pushed back and is now set for release this April. I’m guessing this was to allow extra time for the filmmakers to finish this new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story and ‘remake’ of Disney’s 1967 animated classic. Obviously there’s been quite a bit of frustration that some have had with Disney over all of the big live-action remakes that have been getting announced these past few months but I’ve been more optimistic about them due to how much I loved ‘Cinderella’. If that film could turn out so fantastic then I’m confident that at least one or two of these upcoming ‘remakes’ are going to be too. And I’ve been a fan of most of Jon Favreau’s films; the first two ‘Iron Man’ films (yes I even like the second film), the modern Christmas classic ‘Elf’, and 2014’s charming indie flick ‘Chef’. Pair that with a terrific ensemble voice cast that includes Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, and Scarlett Johansson and some damn good looking visuals (as evident from the recently released first trailer) and you have what looks to be a really fun jungle adventure that, like ‘Cinderella’, will be highly respectful of its original adaptation while managing to be its own thing.

Number 7 is shaping up to be one of the most unique entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

7. DOCTOR STRANGE (November 4)

‘Doctor Strange’, Marvel Studios’ November 2016 release, is set to introduce one of Marvel’s most spectacular characters, the ‘Sorcerer Supreme’ Dr. Stephen Strange, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, the film will start to explore the mystical, or as Kevin Feige put it, ‘supernatural’ side of the MCU, which is sure to produce quite a lot of stunning visuals as evident from what was shown at D23 this year (from what I’ve heard, for the record, having not actually been there). Serving as the director of the film will be Scott Derrickson, known for horror films like ‘Sinister’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’. Definitely an ‘out-of-left-field’ choice for Marvel but of course that hasn’t stopped them before. And as far as casting is concerned, you really can’t do much better than Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. But then you also have some other big names like Tilda Swinton as ‘the Ancient One’, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, and a few ‘soon to be named’ characters played by Rachael McAdams and, so it seems, Mads Mikkelsen. This film is definitely compiling an exceptional cast that, along with Derrickson and writer Jon Spaihts, will surely continue the terrific run of Marvel Studios as it begins Phase Three. Though of course it’s not the first of Marvel Studios’ outings next year… that one’s coming up later on.

A much more outgoing superhero hopefully gets redeemed after a disastrous film debut in my Number 6 pick.

6. DEADPOOL (February 12)

‘The Merc with a Mouth’ first made his live-action debut in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’… where he was ruined by having his mouth sewn shut by scientists and given all sorts of mutant powers that the character clearly did not have in the comics. Thankfully it looks like Fox will finally fix that mistake and Deadpool will be done proper justice in this brand new film, which again sees Ryan Reynolds returning to the role of mercenary Wade Wilson which is good because despite what happened to the character in ‘Origins’, Reynolds was definitely a perfect choice for the role. Now it looks like he’ll finally get the chance to be in a ‘good’ superhero film with what is clearly going to be a no-holds barred violent and crass R-rated film. And given the nature of the character in the comics, I’m perfectly fine with it being that way (see my last post, specifically the part about ‘Batman v. Superman’, for my rant about how I’m hesitant about studios like DC going a darker route for characters that are unfit for that kind of mood and atmosphere). While Fox may have struck out big time with their recent ‘reboot’ attempt of the Fantastic 4, they’ve had much better luck with the X-Men franchise and being that this is a part of that franchise, I’m confident that ‘Deadpool’ will end up being a fun smaller-scaled entry in the superhero genre that packs a bigger punch than some of its fellow superhero films.

‘Harry Potter’ is very much the ‘Star Wars’ of my generation and taking the N umber 5 spot is a brand new adventure set in the magical world of J.K. Rowling’s iconic franchise.

5. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (November 18)

In recent years there have been quite a few Potter fans who have been clamoring for J.K. Rowling to write another ‘Harry Potter’ book. But whether or not she ends up doing that, we will be getting another cinematic adventure set within the world of wizards in the form of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. Inspired by the fictional in-universe book of the same name, this new film sees the return of ‘Order of the Phoenix’ through ‘Deathly Hallows’ director David Yates to the franchise while Rowling herself serves as the film’s screenwriter. Set in New York in the 1920’s, the film will follow the ‘author’ of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ book, Newt Scamander, played by one of my favorite up-and-coming actors, Eddie Redmayne, as he tries to track down all sorts of dangerous magical creatures at the risk of threatening the state of relations between wizards and Muggles (referred to in this film by an American term, ‘No-Maj’). Aside from Redmayne, the cast also includes Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, and Ron Perlman. I’m legitimately interested in seeing how this planned film trilogy is going to turn out given its roots as an in-universe textbook. But quite simply at the end of the day, I’m definitely excited to see more films set within the magical world of the ‘Harry Potter’ universe.

After a phenomenal series high-mark in 2014, Fox’s star superhero franchise is set to continue next year with another highly promising superhero epic.

4. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (May 27)

The ‘X-Men’ franchise returned to top form after a few disappointing entries in the late 2000’s with 2011’s ‘X-Men: First Class’. Part of the success came from the return of the series’ original director, Bryan Singer, even though he only served as a producer/writer for that film. But he would subsequently return to the director’s chair for 2014’s ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. That film defied all expectations to become the series’ best installment to date, inspired by one of the classic X-Men comic storylines while also erasing some of the series’ past mistakes… namely those that came in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Now Singer is back for ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, which is seemingly set to be the final installment of this pseudo trilogy that started with ‘First Class’. This time around, it’s the ‘First Class’ era cast leading the way after ‘Days of Future Past’ featured characters from both that era and the ‘2000’s films’ era. And as the title suggests, this film sees the X-Men going up against the ‘first’ mutant, En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac, a great choice in my opinion). Of course many of the returning regulars of the series are returning, including James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Rose Byrne (Moira MacTaggert), and Evan Peters (Quicksilver). As for newcomers, there’s Olivia Munn as Psylocke and Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the younger iterations of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler, respectively.

Remember back when ‘Days of Future Past’ was coming out and a lot of fanboys got pissed over the look of Quicksilver when the marketing started up? Well hopefully most of those fanboys ended up getting proven wrong when Quicksilver ended up being one of the best parts of that film. But the fanboys are back again with this film as there’s been a lot of negative buzz over the first look of the main villain Apocalypse. Given his purple skinned appearance, there were quite a few comparisons made between him and Ivan Ooze, the main villain from the first ‘Power Rangers’ film. That seems to be the common thing on the internet nowadays, isn’t it? People comparing things to other things, usually in a negative manner. Well thankfully I’m not one of those people and I feel that the fanboys are seriously overreacting. Isaac has stated that the character’s design was going to be a combination of practical and digital effects. And of course it should be noted that this film is still a few months away so the ‘effects’ on display at the moment aren’t necessarily going to end up being the same in the final product. And at this point, I find it ridiculous to doubt this franchise after one of the biggest superhero films of all time. It’s clear that Bryan Singer, who if you recall first came into this franchise being rather unfamiliar with the series, is one of the main driving forces of this franchise’s success so I’m hyped for the next installment of the ‘X-Men’ franchise now that Singer’s back in charge of the franchise that he kick-started way back in 2000.

Following in the footsteps of ‘The Force Awakens’ is the first in a series of upcoming spin-offs that are set to expand the ‘Star Wars’ universe.

3. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (December 16)

While everyone is currently buzzing over ‘The Force Awakens’ and the new trilogy of ‘Star Wars’ films, Lucasfilm is also developing a series of spin-offs that take place in the ‘Star Wars’ universe but are not intended to cross over with the main trilogy. At this time, we already know of some future ‘Anthology’ films, including a Han Solo film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and a Boba Fett film that was originally supposed to be directed by Josh Trank before he dropped out of the project. But first, we got ‘Rogue One’, directed by Gareth Edwards, fresh off of 2014’s summer hit ‘Godzilla’. If you recall my ‘Star Wars Month’ post back in May in which I listed my Top 10 favorite Star Wars video games, one of the games that I listed was the 1995 first person shooter game ‘Dark Forces’. The opening mission of that game had main character Kyle Katarn finding the plans to the Death Star for the rebels. This new film obviously won’t follow that story route but it is the same general plot. Set in between the events of Episode III and IV, this film will follow a group of Rebels in their quest to steal the plans to the Empire’s new powerful weapon. The diverse ensemble cast is headlined by Felicity Jones and Ben Mendelsohn but perhaps the biggest selling point of this new film is that it’ll primarily focus on a group of characters who aren’t Jedi. They’re just regular people thrust into a grand situation which should result in a highly compelling adventure. I’ve always been wanting this franchise to branch out from its usual storylines so I’m very excited to see what Lucasfilm has in store for all of these new ‘Anthology’ films.

While I’m confident that these new ‘Star Wars’ films are going to be awesome, I’m equally excited for the next installment of the other ‘Star’ franchise, even if J.J. Abrams isn’t ‘in the Captain’s chair’ this time around.

2. STAR TREK BEYOND (July 22)

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a major fan of J.J. Abrams’ two ‘Star Trek’ films. The 2009 series reboot is legitimately one of my Top 10 favorite films of all time and the 2013 sequel, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, is not too far behind. But it seems like I’m in the minority amongst Trek fans when it comes to liking these films because there are quite a lot of vocal Trekkies who HATE these two films with a burning passion. This is primarily because they feel that these are not ‘Star Trek’ films… despite the obvious fact that they helped save the franchise after it had suffered the one-two punch of the critical/commercial disappointment of ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ and the cancellation of the series ‘Enterprise’. It wasn’t that big of a deal with the 2009 film at first but then came ‘Into Darkness’. Once Trekkies found out that the film oh so dared to make a few callbacks to ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (though seriously not as much as they claim), they became even more vocal in their disdain towards these films and now suddenly the 2009 film started getting a lot more flak. There was even an event at Las Vegas in which the film was labeled as the worst film in the franchise. Yes, those Trekkies viewed this film as being worse than ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’, ‘Star Trek: The Motion-Less Picture’, and ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’. Talk about a case of over-reacting. 

Regardless of all of that overly critical bashing, I still love both of J.J’s ‘Trek’ films for being highly entertaining fast-paced sci-fi adventures that, contrary to what some people say, still very much feel like ‘Star Trek’ films but now come with the energy of the ‘Star Wars’ films. So with that in mind, I’m very excited for the next installment of this new ‘Star Trek’ series, ‘Star Trek Beyond’. This time around, however, J.J. isn’t directing the new ‘Trek’ film for obvious reasons. Instead, Justin Lin will be taking over as director and while I’m certain that many of those hardcore Trek fans are upset with having yet another ‘action director’ taking on the franchise, apparently they forgot that Lin is one of the best action directors in the business today for his work on the recent ‘Fast and Furious’ films, particularly the fifth and sixth films. Plus, from what I’ve read, he’s a major ‘Star Trek’ fan. Admittedly, J.J. has stated that he’s more of a ‘Star Wars’ fan than a ‘Trek’ fan but I don’t see why that was such a big deal. But this time around, a definite ‘Trek’ fan is in control backed up by a screenplay co-written by Scotty himself, Simon Pegg. It seems like this new film will be much more based around the theme of exploration which should definitely please fans of the franchise. But as for me, I’m just excited to see the next installment of one of my favorite series of recent years (the reboot series, to be specific) which I believe couldn’t be in better hands.  

Okay I’ll admit it… My Number 1 is totally obvious

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (May 6)

Yeah I know, I’m very predictable given how much I adore the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when you have a franchise that has had a run that is as great as the MCU has had since its inception in 2008, can you blame me? And to kick off Phase Three of the MCU we have ‘Captain America: Civil War’. ‘Winter Soldier’ directors the Russo Brothers return for this film which is set to be based around one of the biggest Marvel comics storylines of recent years, ‘Civil War’, in which the Avengers find themselves on opposing sides of a new act that is meant to regulate superhero activity following all of the international incidents they have been involved in over the years. Leading the charge for each side will be, of course, Captain America and Iron Man. We’ve definitely see the rivalry between them come into play in the ‘Avengers’ films, with Cap being the honest and patriotic hero while Iron Man is much more brash and arrogant. For the record though, that doesn’t mean that Iron Man is the ‘villain’ of this film nor are the Avengers that are on his team like Black Widow, Vision, and War Machine. Ultimately the main idea of this story is that it’s a conflict of ideals. Those on Cap’s side oppose the new act while Iron Man and his team support it. Sure in the ‘Civil War’ comics, Iron Man’s team became authoritarian and tried to capture all unregistered super-persons but I’m pretty sure that Marvel isn’t going to make them go ‘that far’.

Now with that said, while this is being marketed as a Captain America film, many fans have pointed out the obvious fact that… there are a hell of a lot of superheroes in this film. Not only are Captain America and Iron Man in it, but then you also have Black Widow, Falcon, Bucky AKA ‘The Winter Soldier’, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, as well as the MCU debuts of Black Panther and Spider-Man. Obviously I’m not too worried about that given Marvel’s efforts in establishing these characters beforehand before throwing them all together into one film. But with that said, I am genuinely curious to see if they really are able to keep the main focus on Cap given how many other characters are in this film. Because if this ends up not being the case, then this probably should’ve just been called ‘Avengers: Civil War’. But with that said, if this film is able to make it work (and I don’t see why it won’t because of obvious reasons (Marvel, duh!)) then it’ll prove that the Russo brothers are the perfect choice to follow Joss Whedon as director of an ‘Avengers’ film. They’re currently slated to direct the two-part ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ so you can pretty much consider this film to be their test project just like how J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ films led the way to him directing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.

So those are my Top 10 most anticipated films of 2016. What other films are you looking forward to seeing to next year? Sound off in the comments below.