Honestly, I was expecting to struggle to come up with 20 movies I’d be interested in seeing in 2020. Every year since I started doing this, the years tick past and if I keep the pattern, I then have to find an additional movie to be interested in from the previous year.
2020 was not the struggle I was expecting it to be. And while I may not watch all of these in the theater I am intrigued by each one of them, so… In chronological order, let’s take a look for what 2020 has in store for us at the theaters…
Pass the popcorn!
January
1/17 Dolittle
Honestly, I’m more interested in seeing a post-Tony Stark Robert Downey Jr than I am another Dr. Dolittle story. But the cast of voices doing the animals is pretty superb too, so it may not be a must-see in theaters, but I’ll be sure to check it out at some point.
February
2/7 Birds of Prey
Say what you want about Suicide Squad, but Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was a standout character, so putting her together with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary for “the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn” should make for a fun and mature movie-going experience.
2/14 Sonic The Hedgehog
I thought it was a bad and dangerous precedent to listen to the audience to change the artistic style of the lead character, but it did create quite a buzz… I grew up enjoying the many variations of animated Sonic Adventures, so if for no other reason, I’m curious what the plot is here as they introduce Sonic to another generation.
March
3/6 Onward
“In times of old the world was magical but times change…” This is a great setup for any film, but when you add in the voice talents of Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, plus it’s a fantasy adventure set in “modern” times, plus it is animated by Pixar. This is gonna be hard to just pass on. It may not be for everyone, but for those of us who are interested, it definitely has the capacity to be a fun time.
3/13 My Spy
Honestly, I had no idea this movie existed, it just wasn’t remotely on my radar until I saw it in front of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and I’m in. In fact, even if it was just Dave Bautista as a spy in any form, I would be in. Bautista is, like The Rock and John Cena one of the more bankable former wrestlers who has gone Hollywood.
April
4/8 No Time to Die
While I have made it known many times over to certain friends of mine that Daniel Craig isn’t my top Bond, I do want to see his swansong. Plus, unlike Bonds before him, Craig’s time as 007 has been a more continuous story than ever before, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all ends up.
May
5/1 Black Widow
Finally! That’s all I have to say. Nothing against Captain Marvel, I enjoyed the film, but Black Widow should have been not only the first MCU stand-alone female superhero film, but it should have predated DC’s Wonder Woman. This is too long in the making for one of the original Avengers.
5/8 The Personal History of David Copperfield
I’m not really into Dickens’ but if you’re going to put Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton in a Dickens’s tale and ramp up the comedy, then it’s hard to say no. Seriously, I don’t like Dickens, but I’m still intrigued by this because of the cast alone.
June
6/5 Wonder Woman 1984
It was the best of the first generation of DC’s universe-building movies, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is arguably some of the greatest superhero casting this side of the DC/Marvel discussion. So, since they found a way to bring back Chris Pine and the fact that Patty Jenkins is back in her director seat, this one is kind of a can’t miss.
6/26 Top Gun: Maverick
If you’re going to interest me in going back to Top Gun you need to build out a stellar cast beyond the returns of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer… Well, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Ed Harris is a good start. Will I see it in the theater? Probably, it feels like the kind of film that will look better on the largest possible screen, but I don’t think I need to see it opening night.
July
7/10 Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Jason Reitman is directing, Winston, Venkman, Ray, and Dana are returning and we add in Paul Rudd to this franchise. Look, I know the gender-swapped version is hit or miss, but this isn’t a reboot, this is a continuation that is many years in the future from what we last saw of the original franchise, so of course, I’m in. Who else ya gonna call?
7/17 Bob’s Burgers: The Movie
I may be removed from watching Bob’s Burgers on a regular weekly basis, but I will not miss seeing the Belcher family on the Big Screen. That’s all there is to it. I just hope I don’t miss too much because I haven’t been a weekly viewer for the past few seasons.
August
8/14 Respect
Biopic films have been pretty good of late, so with Jennifer Hudson taking the lead as Aretha Franklin in this biopic, this should continue the trend. Plus the soundtrack should be off the charts great.
8/21 Bill & Ted Face the Music
I was a big fan of Bill & Ted, so the fact that they are returning to the screen is all I need. I don’t need a trailer or a synopsis or a poster to get hyped for this. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are back as Bill S. Preston and Ted “Theodore” Logan. Excellent!
8/28 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
The Hitman’s Bodyguard was a hit because of the writing and the cast. Well, Tom O’Conner is also the writer on this sequel and it appears that Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek are all returning as well, so of course this for me is a must see.
September
Nothing that I am interested in, but the completionist in me didn’t want to skip the month in this post, so here it is representing the fact that September is a month that does in fact exist. Though still, I’m not interested in any of the movies that are coming out during the course of it.
October
10/2 BIOS
The description is “On a post-apocalyptic earth, a robot, built to protect the life of his dying creator’s beloved dog, learns about life, love, friendship and what it means to be human.” And it stars Tom Hanks. What more do you need?
10/16 Snake Eyes
Honestly, we’re going back to the 80’s with a lot of stuff that’s coming out in theaters this year so why should a G.I. Joe spin-off centered on Snake Eyes be anything more than part of the pattern. As long as the writing isn’t bad, this should be more of the explosive series we’ve already seen with the reboot that started in 2009 with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
November
11/6 Eternals
Look, I don’t claim to be anything less than a big fan of the MCU. So, let’s see how The Eternals ties in to the rest of the “it’s all connected” universe, and more to the point, will it give us any major hints at where the MCU is heading…
11/20 Godzilla vs. Kong
I’m aware that Godzilla: King of Monsters had more or less mixed reviews, but I really liked it, plus I loved Kong: Skull Island, so putting them on a collision course seems like something I would enjoy seeing. And it comes out the week before Thanksgiving, so hopefully it will be a film worth giving thanks for…
December
12/18 Uncharted
Video game adaptations don’t usually do well, but unlike Sonic’s troubles, with Travis Knight directing Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, there should be plenty of star power and good direction provided the script doesn’t let them down.
In Conclusion
Yes, yes, yes, there are plenty of films I skipped over. So, what made my list that you don’t care about? What do you agree with me on, and more importantly, what would you like to correct about my list by adding to it?
Let me know on twitter @AgentPalmer or in the comments below.