Both Marvel and DC have published an aggressive movie schedule that goes out for years. Here are the ones I’m looking forward to seeing in 2016.
This list comes out after February’s blockbuster release of Deadpool, which is going to be hard to beat for best superhero movie of the year. It’s my personal favorite so far.
The must see movies:
These are the movies that I’m the most hyped for in order of release.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25th)
I’ve gone back and forth on this one. The first trailer had me excited. Then the second trailer released and I became concerned that this would be a cheese-fest. Then the third trailer came out and I was happy again.
Even though Batman v Superman is technically a sequel to Man of Steel, I’m looking forward to seeing how Ben Affleck does in his first go as Batman.
I think the trepidation I have with this one is with the storyline. The trailer makes it seem obvious: Batman is angry at Superman for destroying his city. They argue then fight, but they realize that they must come together to fight a true enemy.
To be honest, most stories have a basic path, the key is in how they tell the story along the way.
So, because of that, I could go either way.
Captain America: Civil War (May 6th)
Captain America: Civil War is my number two most anticipated right behind Deadpool. Captain America: Winter Soldier was a great movie–better than I expected, so I have high hopes for this one.
Beyond the battle between Cap and Iron Man, I’m looking forward to the introduction to T’Challa / Black Panther.
My knowledge of Black Panther is limited, but I’ve been reading up on him and following a great Twitter account about him.
I’m extra excited about Black Panther because he will be one of the few black superheroes to be getting his own feature film. Black Panther is set to hit the theaters on February 16th, 2018 with Chadwick Boseman as the King/Prince of Wakanda. That’s a long ways away, so that should give me/us plenty of time to read up on him and get immersed in the world.
Doctor Strange (November 14th)
This is another one that I have little to no knowledge of, but a big draw to this one is the lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch. I’m not saying that the actors in the other Marvel movies aren’t top notch, but Benedict Cumberbatch is a top notch actor.
Plus he looks really good as Doctor Strange:
Another thing that sets this one apart is, as others have written, this is not your typical superhero movie. Doctor Strange uses magic. As far as I know, he doesn’t have superhero powers (I’ll edit this if I’m wrong).
That dynamic leads to a different tone for the film. There will be more fantastical elements than any other superhero film, though we did get a small taste of magic with Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Honorable Mention:
Suicide Squad (August 5th)
Suicide Squad. I really don’t know where this one is going to fall on my likability scale.
I mean it could be an excellent movie, a mediocre film, or a terrible story and flop at the box office.
Most people have never heard of any of the main “heroes” in this film with the exception of Harley Quinn. The Joker is probably the most recognizable character, but he is played in a much different light than all previous versions of Batman’s arch nemesis.
Heath Ledgers version undoubtably will be the most notable portrayal for years to come, but we have yet to see Jared Leto’s version beyond a few short clips.
I think its going to come down to the story and the writing for this one. It always comes down to the writing. If the writers have put together a compelling storyline with believable characters that we care about, then this movie can be a success.
That will be the trouble though. We don’t know any of these characters. How many are there? Seven? Nine?
How are we going to be able to have the time to care about any of them? Spend too much time developing any one character and the others suffer. Dive into too many origin stories and none of the characters get due time without sacrificing the plot of the movie.
The not so much:
X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27th)
The X-Men movies haven’t been must-see movies for me. X-Men: First Class and X-Men: The Days of Future Past were actually pretty good in my opinion. This one, at least from the previews, seems a little shallow. I’ll probably write more about it the closer we get to the release. We’ll see.
Gambit (October 7th)
Two words: Channing Tatum. I just can’t picture him as a superhero.
Maybe I just need to find out a little more about Gambit. I know nothing about him as of this writing. I just know that he’s part of the Marvel Universe. That’s it. That’s literally all I know. In fact, I just Googled “Gambit Marvel” to make sure I got the Marvel affiliation right. FYI: “Gambit DC” came up in the predictive text, too. See I’m not the only one.
So, let’s see how these movies fare in 2016. I’ll be sure to put up my reviews for each one here, so be sure to subscribe to the mailing list to be notified.
My reviews will focus in large part on the storyline, you know, since I’m a writer and all. 🙂 I’ll give my opinion on the overall experience as well.
I’d love to hear your opinion, too, so please leave me a comment or shoot me an email: WillCBrown [at] outlook.com.
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