With 2017 proving to be a fairly mixed-bag of ups & downs from the comic book movies we’ve seen we have a new set of releases to look forward to in the year ahead.
Black Panther
Marvel introduced the T’Challa/Black Panther character played by Chadwick Boseman back in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War with the promise and hope of a solo movie on the way. Perhaps a bit more of a fringe character like Dr Strange but with a ton of potential that the Marvel Movie Machine could really bring out the best from him. The Wakandan King takes his chance to fight the good fight against and with the initial glimpses of an impressive cast followed by a trailer that swaggered into the limelight – it got the hype kicked off in style. A solid start to the comic book movies for 2018 is the main hope and there’s every confidence that this could be another MCU entry that will deliver.
UK release: 12th February
US release: 16th February
Global release dates – here
Official Facebook Page – Black Panther FB
Avengers: Infinity War
With an every-growing roster of characters in the MCU there was a hint of concern that the next two Avengers films would struggle to cope in tying a quality story with a fair share of screen time for all involved but with the first official trailer, any concerns were completely blown away. Infinity War feels like the beginning of the end for the Phase 3 movies with Avengers 4 marking the true end of what has been years of work and build-up to something even bigger than we could have envisioned. It was once hard enough to imagine any of our favourite comic book characters would reach the big screen but they have and they’ve done it in style. The world-building approach has paid off with Marvel playing the long game and I’d be hard-pushed to find a comic fan that isn’t pumped for this one.
UK release: 27th April
US release: 4th May
Global release dates – here
Official website – www.foxmovies.com
Deadpool 2
The first Deadpool movie paved the way for movies that were a world-away from the PG-13 sweet-spot that the big movie companies were aiming for with its R-Rating and while I have never liked the character it was obvious that this was the start of a new series. True to form the success lead to the green-light for a sequel and with a star like Ryan Reynolds pretty much becoming Wade Wilson he’s got the cajones to deliver more of the same in as many sequels it can get. The addition of Josh Brolin as Cable may be enough to make me go see this one but it feels like a dead-cert to hit the same success.
UK & US release: 18th May
Global release dates – here
Official website – www.foxmovies.com
Incredibles 2
It’s hard to believe that the first Incredibles movie hit our screens back in 2004 but next year we’ll pick up where that movie left off in its sequel. The movie-landscape is different now though with year on year of Comic Book themed movies hitting the big screen but given Pixar’s penchant for producing films with appeal across every age-range it’s hard to think that this could be anything more than a BIG movie…..although this time around it’s up against a year of other BIG movies…..time will tell.
US release: 15th June
UK release: 13th July
Global release dates – here
Official Facebook page – Incredibles 2 FB
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Introducing Ant-Man back in 2015 seemed like a bit of a surprise direction for the MCU to take but it felt like another strong step at broadening the whole Marvel movie cast with a character from the fringes of its mainstream roster. That being said, it proved to be another area they could bring success from and there’s a definite feeling that his appearance in Civil War helped add momentum & interest for this second solo outing. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly & Michael Douglas are joined by the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer & Laurence Fishburne to name a few and it’s a fair bet that this could build on the success of that first movie.
US release: 6th July
UK release: 3rd August
Global release dates – here
Official Facebook page – Ant-man FB
Alita: Battle Angel
The Battle Angel Alita Manga series will get a big screen adaptation thanks to James Cameron & Robert Rodriguez and with two creative giants there’s a hope that this will be an adaptation worth waiting for. It’s got a lot to live up to in the animated releases and perhaps the fact that Cameron & Rodriguez have had their fair share of hits and misses, then this one could be hanging in the balance. I’m inclined to hold out hope that this could be a big release for 2018…..and I’m sure I’m not alone but time will tell.
UK & US release: 20th July
Global release dates – here
Official website – www.foxmovies.com
Venom
We don’t know much about this Tom Hardy movie outside of a few recent glimpse of him on-set and an unconfirmed hint at the film’s logo but director Ruben Fleischer has hinted that it’ll take its plot from the Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes storylines. Hyped to see Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom and I’m sure we’ll learn more about this as the year progresses.
UK & US release: 5th October
Global release dates – here
Official Facebook page – Venom FB
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Jean Grey(Sophie Turner) reappeared in the mutant roster in 2016’s less than impressive X-Men: Apocalypse which seemed to miss the heights achieved by the previous First Class & Days of Future Past movie releases. That being said, it’s always felt like there’s a ton of potential in the Phoenix stories to pull off an impressive movie and last year’s Logan surpassed enough expectations to show that 20th Century seem to have reached a point where they at least seem to understand what heights the X-Men stories can hit…….here’s hoping that it wasn’t a one-off…..and that we don’t get another Last Stand.
UK & US release: 2nd November
Global release dates – here
Aquaman
While last year’s Justice League became another divisive DC release, one of the highlights for me was Jason Mamoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman and as he swaggered into the murky waters of Comic Book movies he seemed like he belonged. That will all be tested at the end of the year when his solo movie hits and we’ll know a bit more about how DC Extended Universe is progressing.
UK & US release: 21st December
Global release dates – here
I’m hopeful that each of these will keep the comic book movie train rolling and with a world of other characters still available too there’s no reason why not. There’s the added bonus of more TV shows on the way too so we’re entertained all year round plus there’s the source material to read & re-read as many times as we can.
G-Man
COMICS ANONYMOUS 