Happy 2024! Movies We’re Looking Forward To

Happy new year! I’m sending all best wishes for health and happiness for everyone who visits me here. You are all most welcome and most appreciated.

As usual, we have a lot to look forward to from Hollywood, as it comes roaring back from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. We can expect the usual book adaptations and sequels — we know about them now because they get announced earlier. But as always, there will be some surprises and a year from now, there will be films and writers, directors, and performers so much a part of our culture we cannot believe we did not know them already in 2023. Here’s some of what we know about what to expect.

SEQUELS AND REMAKES

Just as we had last week with “The Color Purple,” we have a movie musical based on a Broadway show based on a beloved movie. This time, it’s Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls,” updated for a new generation. I’m pretty sure, though, that fetch still is not going to happen.

Two of the biggest action movies of 2023 were titled as “Part 1.” So we expect the new “Fast and Furious” and “Mission Impossible” films to be just as thrilling as their first chapters. We also expect that these “final” chapters might not be the last we will see of these characters

“Dune 2” continues the saga of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Oscar winner Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.

“KUng Fu Panda 4” The animated series continues with Jack Black as the big-hearted panda martial artist.

“Ballerina” is a character from the “John Wick” universe, meaning she’s an assassin, played by Ana de Armas.

“Bad Boys 4” brings back Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Shouldn’t they be bad men by now?

“Despicable Me 4” — still despicable?

“Deadpool 3” and yes, Wolverine is in it, along with “The Crown’s” Emma Corbin.

“The Karate Kid” brings back at least some of the original cast, with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan returning.

“Beetlejuice 2” brings back director Tim Burton and our favorite ghost/demon, still played by Michael Keaton, with a now-grown Winona Ryder. Catherine O’Hara is back, too. Which Harry Belafonte song will she dance to this time?

“Twisters” is somehow connected to the Helen Hunt/Bill Paxton movie with the flying cow, but will have all new characters played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos.

“Inside Out 2” takes our beloved Riley one step further into the increasingly complicated world of college life. So, the entry of a new character in her emotions line-up, Anxiety, played by Maya Hawke.

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is a prequel, taking place almost centuries before the events of “The Two Towers.” So expect new characters and cast, except for Miranda Otto as Eowyn.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” is another origin story, the background on Mufasa and his brother. What makes this one intriguing is that the person behind it is director Barry Jenkins of “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is the I forget what number in the series. But if people keep going, they’ll keep making them.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” brings the new and original Ghostbusters together to save the world.

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” gives us the origin story of the character played by Charlize Theron in “Fury Road.” George Miller returns as director and Chris Hemsworth co-stars.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” — the title says it all.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” — the title says it all.

“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” four decades after the original, has Eddie Murphy and his pals played by John Ashton and Judge Reinhold, and Bronson Pinchot as Serge (pronounced Saaaaarge), along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and “Zola’s” Taylour Paige.

“The Fall Guy” may not sound promising, an update of an all-but-forgotten 80s television series with Lee Majors as a stunt man/bounty hunter. But if I tell you it stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt and “Ted Lasso’s” Hannah Waddingham, and is directed by John Wick’s David Leitch, you are likely to be as excited as I am.

It’s not a explicitly a sequel or a remake, but Matthew Vaughn’s “Argyle” looks very much in the same spirit as his “Kingsmen” films, meaning edgy but wildly entertaining action.

COMIC BOOKS AND SUPERHEROS

“Madam Web” stars Dakota Johnson as Spider-Man’s buddy.

“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” has a high bar to reach given the brilliance of the first two, but I am confident they will continue to astonish and impress.

And even some originals:

“Which Brings You to Me” is an unusual romance. The usual part is when two people (played by Nat Wolff and Lucy Hale) with messy lives meet at a wedding and have an impulsive sexual encounter. What makes it different is what happens when they start to tell each other about their past relationships.

“IF” stands for Imaginary Friend. Writer/director John Krasinski has created a story about a man (Ryan Reynolds) who can see people’s imaginary friends.

“Ordinary Angels” has double-Oscar winner Hillary Swank in a fact-based story of an unlikely hero, a hairdresser with a chaotic life who decides to help a family she’s never met. This seems similar to her under-appreciated, also fact-based role in “Conviction,” which has me hopeful.

“Hit Man” stars up-and-coming Glen Powell as professor who pretends to be a hit man, from versatile and always-interesting Richard Linklater. Note: Powell’s first major role was in one of Linklater’s best, “Everybody Wants Some!!!”

“A Different Man” asks questions about identity and purpose, with Sebastian Stan as an actor who drastically changes his appearance only to then lose out on the role that would have been perfect for him before the change.

“Girls State” is a documentary follow-up to the acclaimed “Boys State,” about the program for teenagers interested in politics.