The Nun

Release date: September 7
Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons, Demián Bichir, Jonas Bloquet
Directed by: Corin Hardy (The Hallow)
Why we're excited: After a pair of creepy doll movies, Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation, the surprisingly expansive universe of movies inspired by The Conjuring, the ghost-hunting horror series starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, will get another spin-off. This one stars Farmiga's younger sibling Taissa as a nun tasked with investigating the mysterious suicide of one of her fellow Sisters in 1950s Romania. If the banned-from-YouTube ads are any indication, expect lots of jump scares and loud music.
(Watch the trailer)

Peppermint

Release date: September 7
Cast: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Method Man
Directed by: Pierre Morel (Taken)
Why we're excited: Garner first became a star with TV's Alias, a showcase for her ass-kicking and bad-guy-killing skills, so it makes sense that we'd be curious to see her unleash hell in this pulpy-looking revenge saga. As mom-turned-super-assassin Riley North, Garner goes after the cartel, crooked cops, and the evil judge who failed to bring justice in the murder of her husband and daughter. The trailers don't exactly scream "fun" -- in fact, Peppermint looks pretty grim and violent -- but this could be the stylized mayhem you need before the fall's onslaught of potential awards fodder.
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The Predator

Release date: September 14
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key
Directed by: Shane Black (The Nice Guys)
Why we're excited: Is it a reboot? A sequel? A reimagining? With action screenwriter extraordinaire (and original Predator co-star) Shane Black stepping behind the camera for this update of the pumped-up science-fiction thriller, we don't really care. The convoluted mythology of the Predator series has always been secondary to the tension and the excitement of seeing hyper-competent, ultra-burly commandos facing off against an elite alien species. Black's collection of wisecracking tough guys, which includes Logan villain Holbrook as an Army Ranger, should be up to the task. 
(Watch the trailer)

White Boy Rick

Release date: September 14
Cast: Richie Merritt, Matthew McConaughey, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Directed by: Yann Demange ('71)
Why we're excited: Following a handful of high-profile stinkers, including last year's Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower and the forgettable Oscar-hopeful Gold, McConaughey could use a hit -- or at least a well-received misfire. This '80s true crime tale about a Detroit teen-turned-FBI informant looks like it could do the trick. Playing the father of pubescent drug dealer Richard Wershe Jr., McConaughey is in full dirtbag mode here, sporting a mustache, aviators, and a bad attitude. He's got a grimy look that the movie around him appears to emulate.
(Watch the trailer)

Mandy

Release date: September 14
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Bill Duke
Directed by: Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow)
Why we're excited: The image of Nicolas Cage swinging a chainsaw in the air to do battle with the forces of evil should be enough to get your butt in the theater for this one. Once you're there, you'll find that the movie around him is far more hypnotic, bizarre, and moving than your average rage-Cage kill-fest. Filming each scene with a patient eye and a total control of mood, Cosmatos has crafted a heavy-metal odyssey that sets fire to familiar revenge tropes just to watch them burn.
(Watch the trailer)

The Sisters Brothers

Release date: September 21
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed
Directed by: Jacques Audiard (A Prophet)
Why we're excited: Look at that cast! This adaptation of writer Patrick deWitt's acclaimed revisionist Western novel of the same title features some of the most reliable, versatile actors working today. Eli and Charlie Sisters (Reilly and Phoenix) are hitmen on the hunt for a brilliant chemist (Ahmed) and you can bet there are some cowboy hijinks along the way. After the bleakness of Phoenix’s (excellent) hitman drama You Were Never Really Here earlier this year, it will be a relief to see him in a more comedic role, and Reilly, so funny in the recent Kong: Skull Island, should get a chance to remind viewers of his dramatic chops.
(Watch the trailer)

Night School

Release date: September 28
Cast: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Yvonne Orji
Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip)
Why we're excited: After last year's box office dominating summer hit Girls Trip, scene-stealing comedian Tiffany Haddish is back on the big screen with Night School, which finds her playing a teacher charged with helping Kevin Hart's high-school dropout get his GED. The "back to school" premise is about as old as, well, 1986's Back to School, but it should be fun to see Hart in movie that's a little less action-oriented than some of his more high-concept comedies. Plus, it's always cool to see two stand-up stars at the peak of their powers play off each other in a movie like this. 
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The Old Man and the Gun

Release date: September 28
Cast: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover
Directed by: David Lowery (A Ghost Story)
Why we're excited: In what's being discussed as his likely final film role, Redford stars as Forrest Tucker, an aging bank robber and frequent prison escapee first immortalized in a memorable profile by New Yorker writer David Grann in 2003. You can bet there will be plenty of geriatric heists and getaways, but director David Lowery, who directed last year's indie odyssey A Ghost Story and the previous year's Disney adventure Pete's Dragon, will likely bring a slightly whimsical, melancholy touch to the material. Instead of a gritty true-crime epic, this will probably have a shaggier vibe.
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Venom

Release date: October 5
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad)
Why we're excited: We'll admit this one has us a little worried. The early trailers for the long-rumored Spider-Man spinoff about investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Hardy) getting infected by an inky substance from space and basically going crazy in the process have inspired more memes than actual anticipation for the movie. (Seriously, what's with the tongue?) Still, the supporting cast is impressive and Hardy remains one of our more enigmatic, risk-taking movie stars. Even if this is a disaster, it will likely be stranger than some of the more streamlined superhero products released in recent years.
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A Star Is Born

Release date: October 5
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle
Directed by: Bradley Cooper
Why we're excited: Hollywood is so obsessed with this narrative mash-up of fame, showbiz, and romance that this will be the fourth retelling of A Star Is Born since the 1937 original. But there's good reason for that: It's a great story that's malleable to the demands and peculiarities of the times. For this modern-day update, the American Sniper himself, Bradley Cooper, is playing the hard-living male lead and handling directing duties, but it’s Lady Gaga, making her big-screen debut as a young singer with a big voice, who will likely be the draw for many movie-goers. If rapturous reviews out of the Venice Film Festival are any indication, this movie will be a mainstay in awards-season discussions in the months ahead. Either way, bring a hanky to wipe away the tears.
(Watch the trailer)

First Man

Release date: October 12
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler
Directed by: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Why we're excited: The story of moonwalking astronaut Neil Armstrong might first sound like an odd fit for Chazelle, the Academy Award-winning director of the musical La La Land and the drumming drama Whiplash, but it actually makes sense: He's always making movies about individuals testing their limits. Here, working from a script by Spotlight writer Josh Singer, those limits are bigger than ever. Trading a love of jazz for a love of aeronautical engineering, Gosling plays Armstrong, and the advanced word is that Chazelle really puts him through the ringer, emphasizing the physical turmoil and psychological terror of space travel. Strap in for a bumpy ride.
(Watch the trailer)

Bad Times at the El Royale

Release date: October 12
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth
Directed by: Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods)
Why we're excited: For his directorial follow-up to 2012's horror mind-bender Cabin in the Woods, celebrated screenwriter Drew Goddard, who penned the Oscar-nominated script for The Martian, appears to have cooked up another cockeyed genre riff. In a classic noir premise, a group of strangers, including a suspicious-looking priest played by Bridges, end up at a beaten-down hotel near Lake Tahoe and quickly get wrapped up in a sinister plot. Murder, bags of money, and a shimmying shirtless Hemsworth are all involved.
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The Oath

Release date: October 12
Cast: Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish, John Cho, Carrie Brownstein
Directed by: Ike Barinholtz
Why we're excited: Blockers funny guy Barinholtz wrote, directed, and stars in this high-concept political satire about a couple -- Haddish plays his wife -- gathering for Thanksgiving on the night before every American is forced to sign "the patriot’s oath," a document pledging loyalty to the president. Lots of screaming, fighting, and smashing of furniture follows. Think of it like The Purge meets your most unhinged family gathering.
(Watch the trailer)

Halloween

Release date: October 19
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton
Directed by: David Gordon Green (Stronger)
Why we're excited: John Carpenter's untouchable horror classic has withstood multiple sequels, countless ripoffs, and a reboot from Rob Zombie that's more interesting than you'd think. (Seriously, it's pretty good!) Decades later, Michael Meyers is still murdering teenagers and Laurie Strode (Curtis) is still fighting him off. This sequel, which was co-written by Vice Principals collaborators David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, will disregard all the entries that came after the 1978 original and attempt to wipe the narrative slate clean, which is fine. What we're looking for is a handful of scary sequences and a reprise of Carpenter's creepy score. This shouldn't be too hard.
(Watch the trailer)

The Hate U Give

Release date: October 19
Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Issa Rae
Directed by: George Tillman Jr. (The Longest Ride)
Why we're excited: Angie Thomas's bestselling YA novel tells the story of Starr, a young African-American student (played by Stenberg in the film) who moves between the worlds of her mostly white private high school and her black neighborhood. Following the shooting of her unarmed childhood friend Khalil by a white police officer, she becomes more politically active and begins to question the society around her. There's still plenty of time to read the book before the movie arrives.
(Watch the trailer)

Mid90s

Release date: October 19
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-kel Smith, Katherine Waterston
Directed by: Jonah Hill
Why we're excited: Between Skate Kitchen, Minding the Gap, and Mid90s, Jonah Hill's directorial debut about a 13-year-old skater (Suljic) and his older brother (Hedges), this is shaping up to be a big year for skateboarding cinema. If the stylish trailer is any indication, Hill's entry in the genre will be a nostalgic slice-of-life drama about growing up in L.A. in a house cluttered with plastic CD cases and video game cartridges. Like fellow goofball-turned-A24-backed auteur Bo Burnham, who released Eighth Grade to stellar reviews this summer, Hill is staying behind the camera for this one.
(Watch the trailer)

Suspiria

Release date: October 26
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Chloë Grace Moretz
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name)
Why we're excited: An epic reimagining of horror director Dario Argento's blood-spattered ballet headtrip, Suspiria will likely be one of the year's most divisive movies. Johnson stars as Susie Bannion, a gifted dancer who journeys to Berlin to study under the enigmatic Madame Blanc (Swinton) and begins to unravel a sinister, deadly mystery. If early reviews from the film's debut at the recent Venice Film Festival are any indication, this one will either test your patience with its long runtime or leave you completely entranced in its hypnotic rhythms.
(Watch the trailer)

Bohemian Rhapsody

Release date: November 2
Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Directed by: Bryan Singer (X-Men: Days of Future Past)
Why we're excited: Despite serious behind the scenes drama -- Bryan Singer went A.W.O.L. during filming amidst a wave of bad press and was eventually fired, but he will still get the director credit per a DGA ruling -- we're still curious about this rock biopic following the rise of Queen and its magnetic singer Freddie Mercury, played by Mr. Robot's Malek. Sacha Baron Cohen was long attached to the role, eventually leaving the project over creative differences in 2013, but Malek will likely erase any thoughts of Borat fronting the band from the second you see him in the trailer. He's got the moves, the swagger, and the look down. The singing voice you hear? That's still Mercury -- there's no replicating that.
(Watch the trailer)

The Girl in the Spider's Web

Release date: November 9
Cast: Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason, LaKeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks
Directed by: Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe)
Why we're excited: As much as we loved Rooney Mara in David Fincher's gripping The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from 2011, the long-promised sequels clearly aren't coming. (Maybe the cast, which included Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, was just too expensive?) So, we'll go for this leaner-looking follow-up that swaps out Mara for The Crown's Foy, abandons Stieg Larsson's original Millenium trilogy for a later sequel written by a different writer, and cedes the director's chair to the younger Alvarez, the gifted technician behind 2013's grueling Evil Dead remake. It's not an ideal situation but never count out Lisbeth Salander.
(Watch the trailer)

Overlord

Release date: November 9
Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jacob Anderson, Pilou Asbæk, Wyatt Russell
Directed by: Julius Avery (Son of a Gun)
Why we're excited: World War II and zombies: It's not complicated. Sure, the concept has been done before, mostly in video games and comics, but has it been approached at this grand scale? Add a cast of young actors, including Fences stand-out Adepo and Lodge 49 star Russell, and a hint of that mystery-box storytelling from super-producer J.J. Abrams -- the project was long-rumored to be set in the Cloverfield universe -- and you'll be clawing your way to the theater for this one.
(Watch the trailer)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Release date: November 16
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Jude Law, Johnny Depp
Directed by: David Yates (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Why we're excited: More wizards! At this point, you probably know whether or not you're part of the target audience for the latest entry in author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter prequel series, which follows Ministry of Magic creature expert Newt Scamander (Redmayne) and a dashing young professor named Albus Dumbledore (Law) in the early 20th century. Their latest adventure finds the two tracking down an evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) and you can expect Rowling, who penned the script, will have planted all sorts of references to Potter-lore throughout the film.
(Watch the trailer)

Widows

Release date: November 16
Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Colin Farrell
Directed by: Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Why we're excited: When a group of criminals get killed in a heist gone wrong, it's up to their widows to clean up the mess and finish the job. It's such a deliciously simple hook, swiped from a 1983 crime TV series that aired in Britain, but what will likely set Widows apart is the high caliber of the cast -- a murder's row of award winners like Davis, Liam Neeson, and Robert Duvall, along with relative newcomers like Daniel Kaluuya and Cynthia Erivo -- and the behind the scenes talent, which includes Gone Girl scribe Gillian Flynn and Oscar-winning director McQueen. This looks like high-octane pulp made by deadly serious professionals.
(Watch the trailer)

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Release date: November 16
Cast: Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan
Directed by: The Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men)
Why we're excited: In a long career that's veered between absurd comedies and violent crime dramas, the Coen Brothers have rarely steered us wrong. This anthology film set in the Old West, which was initially announced as a Netflix miniseries but will now be released as a film, will give the brothers a chance to return to familiar terrain they covered in their True Grit remake but the format should give them a chance to experiment. At the same time, the pair appear to be in their comfort zone, which inevitably includes some dead bodies and bags of money. Why mess with what works?

Creed II

Release date: November 21
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren
Directed by: Steven Caple Jr. (The Land)
Why we're excited: In some ways, 2015's Creed was such a brilliant reinvention of the larger Rocky mythos that it's tempting to imagine a world where it didn't get the inevitable sequel. But come on: That wouldn't be the Rocky way. Creed director Ryan Coogler isn't returning for this follow-up, which finds Adonis Creed training for a fight against the son of Ivan Drago, but Jordan and Stallone, who shares a writing credit on this one, are still throwing the punches in this never-ending boxing saga.
(Watch the trailer)

The Favourite

Release date: November 23
Cast: Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster)
Why we're excited: Lanthimos, the Greek filmmaker behind surreal movies like The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, has developed an ultra-dry, clipped style of comedy that's instantly recognizable. On the surface, the period drama The Favourite looks like a departure: Based on actual history, the story follows Queen Anne (Colman) as she deals with two of her subjects, played by Stone and Weisz. But the madcap tone of the trailer, complete with respected thespians flailing about and looking ridiculous, screams Lanthimos.
(Watch the trailer)

If Beale Street Could Talk

Release date: November 30
Cast: Kiki Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris
Directed by: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Why we're excited: Did you see Moonlight? The Best Picture winner from 2016 remains one of the most arresting features of the last few years, a work of deep emotion and formal ambition, so it only makes sense that the next film from Jenkins, an adaptation of James Baldwin's 1974 novel about a pair of young lovers, would be greeted with a high degree of anticipation. Even the trailer has more striking images than most whole movies released this year. 
(Watch the trailer)

Backseat

Release date: December 14
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell
Directed by: Adam McKay (The Big Short)
Why we're excited: As the head writer for SNL during the Bush era, McKay skewered Dick Cheney on multiple occasions, but this biopic starring Bale as the Darth Vader-like vice president will likely go for a slightly less madcap approach. (Don't expect a Will Ferrell cameo as Dubya.) Though there haven't been many details about the movie to emerge beyond the casting news and some on-set photos of a heavily made-up Bale, it's likely the political drama will feel more like HBO's recent Succession than your average episode of The West Wing.

Roma

Release date: December 14
Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men)
Why we're excited: Cuarón's last movie was the visually stunning space adventure Gravity, an immersive special effects extravaganza that was best viewed on a giant IMAX screen. In an odd turn of events, his next film, a more intimate historical drama set in Mexico City in the 1970s and filmed in black and white, will be distributed by Netflix, meaning many viewers might end up seeing it on their laptops. Will you watch what's being described by critics as "an epic, personal masterpiece" on your phone in between episodes of Ozark? That will likely be a reoccurring discussion point as Netflix attempts to position the movie as a Best Picture candidate in the coming months. 
(Watch the trailer)

Mary Poppins Returns

Release date: December 19
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer
Directed by: Rob Marshall (Chicago)
Why we're excited: This sequel arrives over 50 years after the Julie Andrew original from 1964, making last year's Blade Runner 2049 look timely in comparison. Though Dick Van Dyke is the only member of the original cast to return, it should be a pleasure to see Blunt, fresh off wielding a shotgun to protect her family in the spring's horror hit A Quiet Place, step into the role of the magical nanny with a fondness for pairing medicine with a spoonful of sugar. We're guessing this one will be suitably sweet.
(Watch the trailer)

Aquaman

Release date: December 21
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson
Directed by: James Wan (Furious 7)
Why we're excited: No longer an Entourage joke, a big-budget adaptation of Aquaman will finally swim into theaters this winter armed with a multi-pronged trident and the knowing smirk of star musclebound lead Jason Momoa. While the character's appearance in 2017's Justice League didn't exactly get us psyched for his stand-alone adventure -- to be honest, it's hard to remember exactly what happened in DC's disappointing team-up-- the early images of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis look eye-popping and the first trailer has a goofy glow to it. Wan can deliver slick thrills, Momoa has movie star charisma, and DC desperately needs a win. So why not dive in? 
(Watch the trailer)

Bumblebee

Release date: December 21
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz
Directed by: Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings)
Why we're excited: Yes, it's a spin-off of the Transformers movies, which are mostly odious. But this one wasn't directed by Michael Bay, doesn't star Mark Wahlberg, and probably won't be 150 minutes long like the last couple robot-fighting epics. Instead, it's a more human-scaled story of a teenager (Steinfeld) growing up in 1980s California who befriends Bumblebee, the beat-up Volkswagen sidekick from the original films. On the surface, it sounds like it will take the element that worked in the first Transformers movie -- the relationship between an adolescent and a car -- and add a little Stranger Things-like nostalgia to the mix. That might be enough to rev the engine on this lumbering franchise. 
(Watch the trailer)

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