While 2019 might have seen us say goodbye to a number of our favourite film franchises (for now, at least), 2020 is not only ushering a new decade but a new year of massive movies.
Science fiction fans shouldn’t be lacking now we’ve reached the end of the Skywalker Saga – in December 2020, Denis Villeneuve will unleash the first part of his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, starring Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson, while the month before will give Marvel fans a hit of superheroes with the hotly anticipated The Eternals.
Christopher Nolan is also makes a comeback this year with Tenet, a Robert Pattinson-starring spy movie featuring time travel, and there’s the return of SoCal slackers Bill and Ted, too. Everyone’s favourite British spy is also back for Bond 25, No Time to Die.
Of course, there are new films, too, and some indie gems that are bound to become firm favourites. So dish out the popcorn: here are the most hotly anticipated films of 2020.
Release dates are liable to change, but are correct at the time of writing.
The Lighthouse
This black-and-white gothic thriller from Robert Eggers (The Witch) has a deliciously hallucinogenic quality and features superb turns from Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson.
Released: Jan
Parasite
Inventive and darkly funny, this treat from Bong Joon Ho (Okja) won the Cannes Palme d’Or last year. Choi Woo Shik plays a young man who blags his way into a wealthy Seoul household.
Released: Jan
Onward
High-concept Pixar alert: the studio that rarely makes a misstep is back with a new magical world in which two brothers cast a spell to try to bring back their dead dad. The slenderest of plot synopses and we’re already welling up. It’s a project that feels especially substantial for not being a sequel.
Released: Mar
No Time to Die
A new Bond film is always an event. Probably Daniel Craig’s last, the twenty-fifth features script work from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and a role for Londoner Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel).
Released: Apr
Wonder Woman 1984
Patty Jenkins returns to direct Gal Gadot in this sequel that plunges Wonder Woman right into the heart of the ’80s, with perms, neon and New Order dominating the lively trailer. Kristen Wiig co-stars.
Released: Jun
Tenet
Christopher Nolan directs John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki and Robert Pattinson in a time-travel spy epic – we’re hyperventilating already. Washington takes centre stage as the hero trying to stop a third world war.
Released: Jul
Respect
Jennifer Hudson plays soul legend Aretha Franklin in a biopic directed by Liesl Tommy, which also stars Forest Whitaker and Mary J Blige. Franklin consulted on the film before her death, so expect a credible watch and belting tunes.
Released: Aug
Bill & Ted Face the Music
As must we all eventually. But isn’t it more enjoyable facing the music with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter? For this decades-belated sequel, we catch up with their iconic SoCal airhead slackers in middle age, older now, though not necessarily wiser. Once again, Wyld Stallyns are called upon to save the world with guitar pyrotechnics.
Released: Aug
Last Night in Soho
Edgar Wright’s London-set psychological horror stars Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) as a modern-day fashion student who experiences the swinging ’60s. Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith co-star alongside Diana Rigg.
Released: Sep
The Eternals
Chloé Zhao (The Rider) helms the next Marvel superhero film, with heavyweight actors including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and Barry Keoghan.
Released: Nov
Dune
Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve is sure to give the classic sci-fi novel an interesting spin. This first of a two-parter stars Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin and Timothée Chalamet.
Released: Dec
