This week will see the release of the (for the moment) last Skywalker saga Star Wars film. It’s quite the moment in cinematic history. While this will be an exciting way to end 2019, there is still much to look forward to in 2020. Much of the slate of films to premiere in the coming year come from already beloved stories set down in print sometimes generations before they ever made it to the big screen.
There is already a long list of new films, remakes, reimaginings, classics, and YA content soon to hit theaters. To get everyone ready, and add a little bit of context, here are just a few that look pretty exciting (and a few there may be reasons to worry about.
Excited - The Call of The Wild
The trailer was released recently and offers viewers a heavy dose of Harrison’s gravelly voice narrating about his slightly less articulate co-star, Buck. Not every movie has to shoot for an oscar, sometimes it’s just about how much people love their pets.
Worried - The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle/Dolittle
Robert Downey Jr. is quite the box office draw (in and out of his Iron Man armor). While excitement has been building since the film was announced, and then the animal voice cast was expanded (including the likes of Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, and John Cena) the trailer for the film hasn’t been received with quite as much joy. A chaotic plot get jumbled together with less than lifelike computer animation and one begins to wonder if this zany outing might just go speeding off the tracks. Here’s hoping the trailer is just misleading, but that doesn’t mean questions don’t remain.
Excited - Artemis Fowl
March 2020 will finally bring the world the film adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s, Artemis Fowl. A movie was promised long ago when the first book in the series was released in 2001. Many fans have been waiting incredibly patiently to see the young Mastermind and his dealings with the high tech fairy world he has discovered below his feet to finally grace the screen.
With a cast led by Dame Judi Dench and Josh Gad, the seriousness and whimsy of the original story seem to be in good hands. It’s a magical world with a new and more malevolent twist.
Worried - The Secret Garden
Like with Dolittle above it is the trailer for The Secret Garden that has made some viewers (and book lovers in particular) nervous about this adaptation. The book is much beloved, as is the 1993 film adaptation starring Maggie Smith. This film will not be that. This version, similar to 2007’s Bridge to Terebithia will remove the magic from the minds of the child protagonists and paint the screen a bit awkwardly with computer-generated plants and animals growing at quite a “magical” pace.
Colin Firth and Julie Walters offer viewers hope for the April 2020 release, but sometimes classic stories should be allowed to speak for themselves.
Excited - The Eternals
Marvel’s first major team outing post-Avengers will offer the greater world a better look at the little known heroes known as “The Eternals”. Likely based more on the 2006 miniseries by Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr, The Eternals are a superpowered humans who evolved down a different branch of the evolutionary tree than regular humans.
However, their history in comics stretches all the way back to the 1970’s so there’s plenty of backstory and plot to pick and choose from. Very little is known about the film other than its cast which includes Game of Thrones “brothers” Kit Harrington and Richard Madden, as well as Angelina Jolie.
Worried - Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile will hit theaters early in October of 2020. It boasts an all-star cast including Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Letitia Wright. So what’s the worry about? Well, Branagh last outing as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express also boasted an all-star cast including Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe just to name a few. And yet, that film did not go over well.
The film dragged and was not quite able to balance all the star power it brought to the screen. Hopefully, Branagh, who also directs, has learned from his first outing, but that remains to be seen.
Excited - Dune
Sci-fi fans can plan to end the movie year on a high note with the release of Dune in December of 2020. Fans should be aware going into it that this first film is part of a two-part adaptation of the novel by Frank Herbert. The movie stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Aquaman’s Jason Momoa, The Avengers’ Josh Brolin, Guardians of the Galaxy Dave Bautista, and Star Wars’ Oscar Isaac, just to name a few.
Let’s add a score by Blade Runner 2049’s Hans Zimmer and it’s easy to see why this film adaptation is particularly exciting for fans. The last time Dune was on the big screen was 1984. Fans are hoping the time away will make this next version a worthy adaption of the book.
Worried - The Witches
Just in time for Halloween a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s, The Witches we enter cinemas across the country. There’s no reason to really doubt the film’s potential, but a much loved, and very successful adaptation of the book from 1990 already exists and stars Anjelica Huston in a case of perfect casting.
The film still holds a 97% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Octavia Spencer, and Chris Rock may star in the picture, but it’s unclear if that will be good for the storytelling.
Excited - Good Morning, Midnight
Probably one of the lesser-known titles on the list, Good Morning, Midnight is based on a novel of the same name about a lonely scientist who survives the apocalypse by being stationed at a remote outpost in the arctic. His only real contact? An astronaut on a return trip from Jupiter. The movie will hit theaters at some point in 2020 and is both directed by and stars, George Clooney. The film also stars Rogue One’s Felicity Jones and Friday Night Lights’ Kyle Chandler. A smaller sci-fi feature may be just the thing to cleanse the pallet in 2020.
Worried - The Knife of Never Letting Go/Chaos Walking
Chaos Walking, based on the first book in that dystopian trilogy originally titled The Knife of Never Letting Go. Should be a slam dunk. Based on a popular YA dystopian book series, starring mega-hit actors Tom Holland from Spiderman and Daisy Ridley from Star Wars, this one should offer fans nothing but excitement. However, the ever-changing release date has not inspired confidence. Shooting began in 2017, with an original release date of March 2019. Obviously, that release has been pushed back and has not confirmed slot for the coming year.
That’s why fans have started asking questions and getting nervous about how this beloved book may look when it finally hits the screen. Only time will tell.
