Yes, yes I know Christmas has not yet come and gone and we should be luxuriating in the myriad festive wonders of the season – trust me I am; chocolate sultanas and tree decorating anyone? – but 2020 is technically only three away and with a host of new and exciting films to fill our cinephile hearts with joy (and perhaps a little heartburn from too much popcorn).
A number of the big ticket movies for next year have been releasing trailers and while we are neck deep in tinsel and fruit mince pies, there’s still time to take a good look at the promotional ghosts of cinema future.
Stoke up the fire or fire up the chilled air-con (pick your hemisphere of choice!) and enjoy these tantalising wonders to come …
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Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing an all-new foe: The Cheetah. As previously announced, the film stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig in the role of the Super-Villain The Cheetah, as well as Pedro Pascal. Chris Pine also returns as Steve Trevor.Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Monster) returns to direct the sequel, while Jenkins, Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Stephen Jones and Gal Gadot are producing the film. Rebecca Roven Oakley, Richard Suckle, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada are the executive producers. (synopsis (c) Coming Soon)
Wonder Woman 1984 releases 4 June 2020 in Australia and 5 June 2020 in USA.
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Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Night at the Museum franchise) directed Free Guy from a script by Matt Lieberman written way back in 2016. In the vein of hits such as Wreck-It-Ralph, Free Guy will follow Guy, a lonely bank teller who discovers he is actually a background character in an open-world video game entitled Free City and works to prevent the makers of the game from shutting it down with the help of an avatar.In addition to Reynolds, the cast also includes Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer, Get Out‘s Lil Rel Howery, Stranger Things‘ Joe Keery, Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi and Blindspotting‘s Utkarsh Ambudkar. The film acts as a reunion for Reynolds and Waititi, who previously shared the screen in the superhero film we all want to forget, 2011’s Green Lantern. (synopsis (c) Coming Soon)
Free Guy opens 2 July 2020 in Australia and 3 July 2020 in USA.
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12-year-old Mckenna Grace (Captain Marvel, Annabelle Comes Home) stars in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with Carrie Coon (The Leftovers) playing her mother and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT) as her brother. Paul Rudd (Avengers: Endgame) will be playing a teacher in the film, while Oliver Cooper and Bokeem Woodbine will also be featured. Original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts are all expected to return for the sequel.According to Reitman, the sequel “connects back to the Manhattan Crossrip of 1984” that was seen in the first film. “As the family arrives at an old farm, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters. Trevor and Phoebe are about to find out who their grandfather was and whether they’re ready to pick up the proton pack themselves.” (synopsis (c) Coming Soon)
Ghostbusters; Afterlife opens 10 July 2020 in USA.
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Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha Romanoff, a spy and assassin who grew up being trained by the KGB before breaking from their grasp and becoming an agent of SHIELD and an Avenger. The film is expected to be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but before Avengers: Infinity War.Black Widow will also feature a star-studded cast including Golden Globe nominee David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy) as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh (Fighting with My Family) as Yelena Belova, Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) as Melina and O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason. (synopsis (c) Coming Soon)
Black Widow opens on 31 April 2020 in Australia and 1 May in USA and UK.
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In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. (synopsis (c) Coming Soon)
No Time To Die opens in UK on 2 April 2020, Australia on 8 April 2020 and USA on 10 April 2020.