Movies That Are Going To Blow Everyone Away In Fall 2017

We're still not sure whether audiences will be willing to shell out for a full slate of Marvel and DC movies, but Sony's already looking to add another player to the game. Valiant Entertainment, the publisher behind the comics Bloodshot and Harbinger, has signed a deal to adapt both titles to the big screen, with plans to bring them both together in a shared-universe crossover picture titled Harbinger Wars. First, though, we get Bloodshot, in which John Wick directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski bring to life the saga of a dead mobster brought back from the grave and given superpowers. This is clearly not going to be the most kid-friendly comic movie on the block, which might actually give it an edge with audiences.

Five years after Resident Evil: Retribution, Milla Jovovich returns to close out the sci-fi horror franchise she's led for more than a decade—and nearly $1 billion in worldwide grosses. Despite the long lapse between sequels, this sixth installment will reportedly pick up right where Retribution left off while following director Paul W.S. Anderson's mandate to come full circle with the saga of a dystopian future in which a corporate-created virus has unleashed a zombie plague. In other words, if you haven't been watching so far, this isn't the best place to come in—but if the Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City, and "t-virus" are meaningful phrases for you, then you may want to mark your calendar.

After everything he went through in the first movie, what could possibly convince John Wick to come out of retirement? Dog lovers will be relieved to hear it isn't the death of another pooch that gets his guns blazing in John Wick: Chapter 2—this time, one of John's old buddies is in the middle of a scheme to topple an assassin's guild and he needs backup. The circumstances are different, but the end results look pretty much the same: tons of stylish violence with Keanu Reeves in the middle of it all, back in the role he might have been born to play.

Not long ago, the idea of a movie "based on" Legos seemed too silly for words, but then The Lego Movie racked up nearly $470 million while making us all root for plastic bricks (and play "Everything Is Awesome" on endless repeat). Taking the hint, Warner Bros. is diving right in with a universe of Lego-derived films, starting with this spin-off, which brings back Will Arnett as Gotham's Caped Crusader. He's joined by an intriguing cast that includes his Arrested Development castmate Michael Cera as Robin, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, and Mariah Carey as the mayor—and with Lego Movie animation co-director Chris McKay on board to helm the film from a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Seth Grahame-Smith, we're sure plenty of inspired silliness awaits.

Zhang Yimou's sprawling historical fantasy epic The Great Wall has been hit with early backlash over its casting of Matt Damon as the star of what's otherwise an eastern narrative. But the film has an intriguing (albeit a little ridiculous) idea: The Great Wall of China was built to keep out more than just unwanted human neighbors.

The story was created in part by World War Z novelist Max Brooks, whose book segments about China's part in the zombie apocalypse were criminally underserved in the cinematic "adaptation" of his story, so this could be a point of serious creative redemption. Plus, the promotional materials have shown some ambitious special effects and stunts, and Bourne hero Damon's had some strong action successes in the past. From everything we've seen so far, The Great Wall will at least be a spectacular showcase of effects-heavy cinematography.

Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine for so long that it's nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of the adamantium-clawed X-Men mutant. Soon, Fox will need to figure out who'll be the next actor to play the part, but first, Jackman's getting his swan song with a third standalone Wolverine feature. The film's plot draws from Marvel's Old Man Logan comic, about an alternate-future version of the (nearly) ageless hero. The film will also feature the return of Patrick Stewart's Professor X, adding yet another layer of closure for longtime fans of the franchise.

None of the many attempts to expand or remake the story of King Kong have managed to come anywhere near the classic original. But where there's franchise potential, there's a would-be blockbuster waiting to happen—so on March 10, 2017, the big guy returns with Kong: Skull Island. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson, this '70s-set trip into the Kong mythos gives viewers the biggest version of the character they've ever seen—which is a good thing for Kong, because after Skull Island finishes its theatrical run, Legendary is planning to pit him against Godzilla in a monster mashup for the ages.

Disney's campaign to turn each of their animated classics into live-action blockbusters continues with Beauty and the Beast, which offers a new perspective on their 1991 hit. Like Disney's earlier Beauty, this version draws inspiration from the classic fairy tale about a prince (played here by Dan Stevens) who's cursed with a grotesque appearance, yet finds love with a pure-hearted maiden (Emma Watson) imprisoned in his castle after her father (Kevin Kline) offers her up in a deal to spare his own life. Like a lot of stories from the era, it's rather dark, but Disney's animated adaptation put a family-friendly spin on it with music and humor, and we can expect the same here—plus a cast that includes Ewan McGregor and Sir Ian McKellen.

Go Go Power Rangers! Whether or not you've ever had a preference for the red, yellow, pink, blue, black, or even the occasionally-seen green or white rangers, those ninja steel-wielding high schoolers were loads of fun to watch (and dress up as) back in the day. The forthcoming Power Rangers isn't the first movie to capitalize on the mighty morphin '90s craze, of course. During the original family television series' popular run, the show's cast members teamed up for a big-screen adventure in the somewhat successful 1995 film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which was quickly followed up by 1997's Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie and several spinoff series.

However, Director Dean Israelite's take on the story offers a much more serious and emotionally charged account of how these misfit teens managed to become a band of unlikely world saviors, battling back the forces of evil—namely, Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks)—with the help of their sage mentor Zordon (Bryan Cranston). The film features young actors Dacre Montgomery, R.J. Cyler, Naomi Scott, Becky G., Zack Taylor, and Billy Cranston as the superhero squad, and if the film does manage to renew even a smidgen of the Power Rangers frenzy that the series enjoyed in the '90s, it's going to be massive.

For a movie that tried to spin an action-thriller yarn out of a bestseller that used the oral history format to tell the story of a worldwide zombie outbreak—and had an infamously troubled production in the bargain—World War Z turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining (not to mention extremely commercially successful) film. Which brings us to the inevitable sequel, World War Z 2, in which Brad Pitt returns to battle the zombie plague. We don't know much about the plot at this point, but director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible) will be working from a screenplay by Steven Knight, whose varied list of credits includes the chess drama Pawn Sacrifice and Bradley Cooper's Burnt.

Pity today's young film fans, for they've never experienced the cheesy joy that was being treated to regular installments of Friday the 13th throughout the '80s. Between 1980 and 1989, the hockey-masked slasher Jason Voorhees hacked his way through scores of screaming nubile victims in eight films—although by the end of the decade, the franchise had started to teeter between stale and ridiculous, and subsequent attempts to extend or reboot the character's mythology have failed to draw much of a following. This latest overhaul arrives nearly a decade after the last reboot, which grossed nearly $100 million. Although little is known about the plot, we're pretty sure it has to do with a guy in a hockey mask chopping sexed-up teens to bits.

Rupert Sanders' adaptation of the popular Masamune Shirow manga series of the same name has been riddled with controversy over its "whitewashed" casting of Scarlett Johansson as the main heroine, the Mayor. But Johansson's box office track record is still nothing to discount, and Sanders and Johansson also received the in-person blessings of Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Jamiyama, and Kenji Kawaii, who were each responsible for the original animated versions of the story.

Assuming audiences can look past the controversy surrounding the racial inconsistencies from page to screen, Ghost in the Shell is expected to be a visual spectacular that chronicles an epic chase between a cyborg policewoman and a dangerous hacker with the same kind of gnarly effects and existential futurism that captivated audiences in films like The Matrix, Johansson's own turn in Lucy, and The Fifth Element.

The fate of the Furious franchise seemed a bit uncertain in the wake of star Paul Walker's sudden passing in 2013, which complicated production of 2015's Furious 7 and put the burden of additional expectations on his longtime co-star and friend, Vin Diesel. But with nearly $4 billion in worldwide grosses, Universal wasn't about to garage its gearhead soap opera, so like clockwork, the gang will return for an eighth installment—and one that's already being set up as a callback to previous chapters as well as a springboard into a new trilogy that will reportedly see stories pivot away from the heist capers of recent sequels and into a spy saga spearheaded by Kurt Russell's Frank Petty character.

According to the official synopsis, the new sequel—titled The Fate of the Furious—finds Dom (Vin Diesel) lured back "into the world of crime he can't seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him" by a "mysterious woman" (Charlize Theron), setting up another worldwide adventure that sends our crew "from the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea." Listen carefully and under the roar of the motors, you can already hear the box office cash registers ringing.

After conquering the box office with her starring role in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, Emma Watson continues a banner 2017 with The Circle. This thriller from director James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) finds Watson playing the newest employee of a tech giant whose utopian vision for the future—and cuddly-seeming founder (Tom Hanks)—may be fronts for a chilling conspiracy to undermine our very way of life. Movies whose stories depend on cutting-edge technology tend to date about as well as discount computers, but with a pedigree this impressive, this Circle points to box-office gold.

Initially, it seemed like a hilariously dumb idea for Marvel to turn a relatively obscure comic about a ragtag team of intergalactic do-gooders—whose ranks include a raccoon-like creature and an alien resembling a sentient tree—into a $200 million movie. Nearly $775 million in box office receipts later, Guardians of the Galaxy could be the start of an Avengers-style franchise for the studio, and Chris Pratt, whose biggest credit prior to taking on the role of Peter "Star-Lord" Quill came as doughy doofus Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks & Recreation, is a full-on action hero. The gang's all back for Vol. 2, along with writer-director James Gunn, and while we don't have many details regarding what they'll be up to this time around, we're confident it'll be tons of fun.

A swords-'n'-sorcery legend meets Guy Ritchie's knockabout action style in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, in which a young Arthur (Sons of Anarchy vet Charlie Hunnam) starts out as just another scoundrel—until, of course, he grasps the hilt of his fateful blade Excalibur, setting in motion a fateful quest that sees him fighting for the fate of his people, the honor of his family, and the future of his country's crown. Like what you see here? Just wait: Warner Bros. has its eye on a franchise.

With 2012's Prometheus, Ridley Scott made his eagerly awaited return to the Alien franchise by way of a prequel that hinted at the long-ago beginnings of his blockbuster saga's story. Under the weight of decades' worth of sequels, spinoffs, and expectations, the end result couldn't help but disappoint some viewers, and in spite of a $400 million gross and largely positive reviews, there's a sense of unfinished business hanging over the sequel. Fans who feel Prometheus didn't tie into the Alien films strongly enough might be better served by Alien: Covenant, which brings back Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace to show what happens after they hijack an ancient spacecraft in order to venture to the homeworld of the mysterious Engineers and halt their plans for humanity.

Movies based on TV shows have an admittedly bumpy track record, but let's face it—most shows don't have slam-dunk moneymaking concepts like Baywatch. Years after the show reigned as a global ratings champion (and helped make Pamela Anderson a star), Hollywood has finally wised up to the reality that the only thing better than watching beautiful people run in slow motion on TV is watching them do it on the big screen. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, and Alexandria Daddario, the Baywatch movie seems to be taking a comedically self-aware approach to the cheesy source material, while taking care to include all the beefcake and cheesecake that made the show a sensation. A sequel can't be far behind.

Pre-production on this fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga started back when the previous sequel, 2011's On Stranger Tides, was on its way to theaters, and its path through development has been strewn with script difficulties and budget-induced delays. Still, any new chapter in a franchise that's grossed nearly $4 billion counts as a promising development for the studio, and Disney has stood by while producer Jerry Bruckheimer steered Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to its destination. Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki), this adventure sees Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow face off against an old nemesis played by Javier Bardem—and sees the return of Orlando Bloom's Will Turner in his new guise as Davy Jones.

After being introduced to audiences in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman will get her own standalone feature, which is rumored to be the first installment in a period-piece trilogy that will take audiences from the 1920s to the present day. Monster director Patty Jenkins is at the helm, with a screenplay from Pan writer Jason Fuchs. Meanwhile, Gadot will be surrounded by a supporting cast that includes Chris Pine, Robin Wright, and Danny Huston. Whatever actually happens in the movie, it's a long-overdue victory for comics fans who've waited years for the Amazonian warrior to get a shot at her own big-screen franchise—and it may help Warner Bros. gain a demographic edge on Marvel in the superhero blockbuster arms race.

Much like the undead antagonist at its core, Universal's Mummy movies will continue to lumber on long after we're all in the grave. Just ask poor Brendan Fraser, who's been usurped by Tom Cruise as the franchise's star for a reboot that brings cutting-edge special effects to bear on the familiar saga while laying the groundwork for a cinematic universe that hopes to tie the studio's many boogeymen together for a whole new generation of horror blockbusters. It's been awhile since we've seen Cruise do something a little scary, and the mummy is freakier than ever—bring on Frankenstein and the Wolfman.

Rev up your engines, kids, because Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is back in high-speed action in Disney-Pixar's Cars 3. The 3D animated adventure, which follows the events of 2006's Cars and 2011's Cars 2, will follow the famous red race car on his journey to catch up with a new generation of speedsters and feature the return of some fan favorites like Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt), and Ramone (Cheech Marin) while adding fresh fuel to the cinematic tank by way of yellow car and race technician Cruz Ramirez and the rookie racer McQueen longs to defeat, Jackson Storm. According to director John Fee, the storyline finds McQueen coping with something of a midlife crisis—mature stuff for a Pixar film, but considering how well the first two films (and spinoffs Planes and Planes: Fire & Rescue) have done at the box office, this one's sure to be a hit with the summertime family crowd.

Every time Michael Bay thinks he's out of the Transformers franchise, they pull him back in with a fresh boatload of cash. Bay's been making noises about being done with Optimus Prime and his buddies for years, and was initially only on board to produce this installment in the series. But the executives at Paramount must have been pretty persuasive, because he's still in the director's seat for what he insists will be his final Transformers film. Aside from Mark Wahlberg being back as the saga's current human star, The Last Knight looks like it'll plunge viewers into a time-traveling plot that includes King Arthur and an alternate history in which Nazis won World War II—plus plenty of action and lots of lead-ins to the assortment of spinoff films the studio's planning.

From its humble beginnings as a cartoon about a funny-looking supervillain who sets out to steal the moon and ends up adopting three adorable munchkins, Despicable Me has grown into an impressively adaptable franchise for Universal. In addition to 2013's Despicable Me 2, it's also spun off a prequel (2015's Minions), six short films, three video games, and a theme park attraction—and as we can see from the 2017 release schedule, it isn't done yet. Details are still very sketchy regarding this third installment, but we can safely assume Steve Carell will be back as the nefarious (but kinda cuddly) Gru—and we know he'll be working from a script written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, who collaborated on the first two films.

Sony's hopes for a Spider-Man film universe were dealt an embarrassing setback after director Marc Webb's reboots underperformed. But even if we aren't getting a Sinister Six or Venom movie anytime soon, the core franchise remains a top priority at the studio—as evidenced by this new reboot, which will find Tom Holland starring as the web-slinger in a standalone film while doing double duty as a supporting player in a number of Marvel movies (starting with Captain America: Civil War). Jon Watts, who helmed the creepy low-budget Kevin Bacon thriller Cop Car, is on board as director for a storyline that features Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark playing mentor to young Spidey in his battle against the Vulture (Michael Keaton).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves returns for this follow-up, which picks up from Dawn's final scene—a grim foreshadowing of the major conflict brewing between genetically enhanced primates and a human population decimated by a virus dubbed the Simian Flu. Andy Serkis is back as the apes' leader, Caesar, whose journey from young chimp to noble warrior has formed the backbone for the franchise's overall arc. He's joined by Steve Zahn (as a new ape) and Woody Harrelson (as a character known as the Colonel, reportedly the film's chief antagonist). Reeves, who co-wrote the script, is keeping storyline details under wraps, but says the events depicted in War for the Planet of the Apes see Caesar achieving "mythic" status.

After a decade spent in the sci-fi/fantasy realm, writer-director Christopher Nolan has put his considerable talents to work on a historical drama about a World War II battle. Dunkirk reunites Nolan with a pair of his Dark Knight and Inception alums, Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy, and early footage hearkens back to the heart-pounding beachfront battle imagery in the legendary opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.

Nolan's attention to historical detail on the partial IMAX production—including shooting on the site of the real-life events that inspired it—will no doubt serve his tale of heroism and survival well. And considering his box office track record, Dunkirk is sure to be a summer blockbuster that's much more engrossing than the usual generic popcorn fare.

Anyone who's seen The Fifth Element knows director Luc Besson is capable of delivering irresistible sci-fi eye candy when he's given the right concept (and a big enough budget). It's been awhile since we've seen Besson scale those colorful flights of fancy, but he's back in space with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which adapts the French comics series Valérian and Laureline—and sends Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne on a quest to save the universe. Packed with incredible visuals and rounded out by an eclectic cast that includes Rihanna and John Goodman, this looks like one summer movie well worth the price of an IMAX ticket.

Of all the adaptations Stephen King's written works have produced, Nikolaj Arcel's The Dark Tower has to be the most anticipated. The sci-fi western horror film will follow the events of King's prolific Dark Tower book series—reportedly picking up some time after the ending of The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, with elements from the first book, The Gunslinger.

The story will present the apocalyptic adventure of an 11-year-old boy named Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) as he accidentally uncovers the Mid-World dimension and joins up with Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) to find the Dark Tower before the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) can stop him from saving his dimension from certain destruction. Like King's book series, the film will juxtapose Wild West-style revolver action with supernatural elements and fantastic locales that constitute their own, radical plane of reality. The King faithful are sure to turn up for this long-overdue Hollywood treatment of the beloved series, especially with Elba and McConaughey's star power driving the narrative.

Some movies we see for the drama, others for the spectacle, and still others because they hold the potential for a viewing experience that's too singularly strange to resist. Into that latter camp falls The Emoji Movie, in which Sony attempts to spin a grand animated yarn around the pictures you make with your phone when you're too lazy to type. Stranger things have happened—remember when everyone thought The LEGO Movie was an idiotic idea?—and if nothing else, it'll make your kids laugh and give you an opportunity to later say "Yes, I've seen a movie starring Patrick Stewart as the voice of a talking piece of poop."

Everyone's favorite freaky doll from The Conjuring got her own movie with 2014's Annabelle, and although the reviews weren't great, it made a bunch of money—so now naturally, ol' Annabelle is back for another round. According to the official synopsis, Annabelle: Creation will focus on the dollmaker responsible for her creation, who unwittingly exposes a group of homeless orphans to her curse when he and his daughter take them in. The setup's really nothing we haven't seen before, but there's nowhere to go but up after the original, and the Conjuring franchise shows no signs of slowing down: The Conjuring 2 scared up more than $300 million in 2016, and another spinoff, The Nun, is due to arrive in 2018.

We still don't have any idea when we'll see Ryan Reynolds suit up for the Deadpool sequel, but in the meantime, here's The Hitman's Bodyguard, which promises similarly irreverent action with a story forcing Reynolds' character, the titular bodyguard, to team up Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a hitman with whom he's sparred in the past. What forces this odd couple to come together? Their common enemy, a dictator played by Gary Oldman. Great cast, promising premise—this looks like it could be a perfect late-summer blend of one-liners, frenemy bonding, and stuff blowing up real good.

Though 2016 was an epic year for movies, it almost feels like a warm-up compared to the long list of blockbuster films we've had on the release calendar throughout 2017. And the major releases are far from finished: we've lined up the biggest upcoming releases during the fall quarter, and whether you're into action, comedy, horror, or drama, there's something here for everyone. We even tossed in a couple of bonus features, including the new big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's It and Pitch Perfect 3 even though they arrive a bit outside the fall calendar. As you'll see, plenty of films will be fighting for your movie ticket money over the next several months.

Until now, the only people frightened by Polaroid cameras were grandmothers who freaked out when the company went bankrupt. That's all due to change with the August 25 release of Polaroid, in which a teenage outcast stumbles across one of the cameras, only to discover that the darn thing kills everyone unfortunate enough to have his or her picture taken. Norwegian director Lars Klevberg adapts his own short film for this Dimension-distributed horror outing, which looks to fill the late-summer fright gap between Annabelle 2 and It.

The 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's IT amassed a cult following but, unfortunately, the four-hour feature's laughable special effects and disorienting cutaway-style editing haven't aged well. Tim Curry's original performance as the town-terrorizing clown Pennywise still set a high bar for anyone to follow in the role, though—his signature cackle remains a chilling childhood memory for many—so when director Andrés Muschietti revealed his new version of the character (now played by Bill Skarsgård) in a costume that could've easily been borrowed from a schoolgirl's dress-up chest, it's only natural that he faced a little blowback.

There's still reason to believe this thing will be a hit with the King faithful, though. There's a bevy of talent on board, including Skarsgård and Finn Wolfhard (of the breakthrough young cast from Stranger Things), and there were plenty of scenes from the book that were glossed over in the first adaptation. IT is just one of two chapters in the story of an ageless monster who picks the wrong group of kids to mess with; part two is expected to pick up their story as adults, when they reunite to grapple with it again.

The creative team behind 2015's Kingsman: The Secret Service reunites for this sequel, with director Matthew Vaughn continuing to work with characters created by comics legends Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. The plot details are still a little loose—rumor has it that the Kingsman British spy team will team up with their American equivalents after their headquarters are destroyed by a lethal foe—but who needs a synopsis when you've got a cast this intriguingly weird? Returning stars Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, and Sophie Cookson are joined by an eclectic ensemble that includes Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, and Elton John. Also reportedly in the mix? Kingsman star Colin Firth, who—if you've seen the original—is kind of a surprising addition. Whatever happens in The Golden Circle, we're betting it won't be dull.

When director Darren Aronofsky goes dark, he goes pitch black. Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream may not be traditional horror films, but they both borrow quite a bit from the genre. With Mother!, Aronofsky seems fully committed to making the psychological horror movie we all know he's capable of, and we can't wait.

It helps that Mother! has a truly remarkable cast. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a (supposedly) happy couple who welcome Ed Harris and, later, his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) into their happy home—but the home doesn't stay happy for long. While the surreal, disjointed trailer (thankfully) doesn't give much away, Mother! is full of common horror-flick imagery—bleeding walls and mobs with torches both feature prominently—but under Aronofsky's lens, it feels fresh and new. September 15 can't get here soon enough.

Yes, The LEGO Ninjago Movie is a feature-length toy commercial. You know what else was designed to sell a bunch of little plastic blocks? The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie. Both of those films managed to infuse a pretty blatant marketing grab with enough humor, character, and emotion to delight audiences the world over. They aren't just good advertisements, they're good movies—and there's no reason to think LEGO Ninjago won't be, too.

In LEGO Ninjago, Dave Franco (21 Jump Street, Now You See Me) sets off to stop his supervillain father Garmadon, voiced by Leftovers star Justin Theroux. Along the way, he'll team up with fellow ninjas played by Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, and others, will receive advice from his mom, Olivia Munn, and will undergo rigorous training from his ninja master, Jackie Chan. The action looks bright and fun, while the father-son plot provides much-needed heart. All that, and LEGO Ninjago features a giant cat. That's just too adorable to turn down.

Put Tom Cruise behind the yoke of an airplane, and good things happen. More than three decades after he flew an F-14 to action movie stardom in Top Gun, he's taking to the skies again in American Made, a thriller based on the life of real-world DEA informant Barry Seal. In American Made, Cruise's character transforms from a bored commercial airline pilot to one of the world's most notorious drug smugglers. But when you're working with the CIA, the DEA, and Pablo Escobar's drug cartel all at once, there's a pretty good chance things will go sideways—something Seal learns the hard way.

American Made reunites Cruise with his Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman, and the movie promises to be a wild, if factually inaccurate, ride (the real Seal never officially worked for the CIA). Whether the story is true or not doesn't really matter as long as it's good. After The Mummy flopped, Cruise could use a hit to turn his 2017 around. By all indications, American Made will be it.

If Flatliners sounds familiar, there's good reason: Niels Arden Oplev's upcoming sci-fi thriller is actually a sequel to a 1990 Kiefer Sutherland vehicle of the same name. Like the original, Flatliners features a group of five medical students—in this case, led by Ellen Page and Rogue One's Diego Luna—who undergo near-death experiences in an effort to document what happens in the afterlife. When they return, they have brand new abilities and insights—and might be going a little bit crazy.

The new Flatliners comes across as more of a traditional horror film than its predecessor, although that could be misdirection; with a premise this trippy, it's hard to tell. All we know for certain is Sutherland will join Page, Luna, and the rest of the cast, reprising his role from the first film—and that this year's Flatliners promises looks just as weird as the original. Flatliners isn't a sequel anyone was asking for, but if Oplev can pull it off, it might very well sit alongside as the original as a cult favorite.

What kind of chutzpah does a person need to have in order to try and follow up a towering sci-fi classic like Blade Runner? It's a daunting task to say the least, but Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has a few big things going for him—most importantly, the presence of original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, who's producing, and star Harrison Ford, reprising his role as Rick Deckard. Ford's joined by an ensemble rounded out by Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto (not to mention Dave "Drax" Bautista), all working from a script co-written by Blade Runner writer Hampton Fancher with Michael Green (Logan, Alien: Covenant). Storyline details are under wraps and whether the end result can stand up alongside the original obviously remains to be seen, but all the ingredients are here for a helluva movie.

It's only a matter of time before Idris Elba takes his rightful place as one of Hollywood's top stars. The Dark Tower didn't get the job done, but The Mountain Between Us might. Elba isn't going it alone, of course: in The Mountain Between Us, he stars opposite Oscar winner Kate Winslet, two-time Academy Award-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad, and hundreds of miles of a barren, snowy landscape to help him on his way.

In the film, Elba plays a doctor and Winslet plays a journalist who end up on the same small flight over the Uinta Mountains. When the plane crashes, they must team up to escape the harsh and unforgiving wilderness. That's a difficult task for anyone, especially two strangers, and with Winslet's character injured from the get-go, the couple's chances of survival seem slim. After all, charisma can only carry you so far.

The Foreigner might star former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, and it might be helmed by Casino Royale and GoldenEye director Martin Campbell, but this Jackie Chan-driven action flick has more in common with Liam Neeson's Taken than anything to do with 007. After his daughter dies in a terrorist attack, Chan's character, Quan, sets out to to find the perpetrators. In the process, he runs afoul of Brosnan's Liam Hennessy, a British government official who has ties to the IRA—and who might hold the key to uncovering the attackers' identities.

But Quan is more than just a low-key, unassuming businessman. He's a trained killer, and he knows how to hurt people. No matter how hard Hennessy tries to keep the truth under wraps, Quan seems to be one step ahead. It's going to take everything both men can muster (and more) to come out on top.

It isn't Friday the 13th in America if there isn't a schlocky horror film in theaters. In 2017, that's going to be Happy Death Day. The title is ridiculous. The premise—a college girl relives the day that she dies over and over again until she solves her own murder—is exactly the same as Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow except, y'know, a horror movie. The cast, headlined by relative unknown Jessica Rothe, is full of young and attractive young 20-somethings just begging to be offed. Heck, there's even a killer in a creepy mask. What more could you want?

In other words, if you like your horror served with a generous side of cheese, Happy Death Day (directed by Paranormal Activity vet Christopher B. Landon) is just what you're looking for. Happy Death Day might be all empty calories, but like the best junk food, it sure goes down easy.

When a local woman disappears during the year's first snowfall, Michael Fassbender's Detective Harry Hole picks up the case—and it turns out that things are much worse than they first appear. The day after the woman vanishes, her body turns up with its head missing. Hole and his partner Katrine Bratt (The White Queen and Mission Impossible's Rebecca Ferguson) investigate, and after perusing a collection of so-called "cold cases" (har har), he realizes he's up against the Snowman Killer, Sweden's first known serial killer.

What follows is a Silence of the Lambs-like cat-and-mouse game across Sweden's snowy landscape, punctuated with performances from well-known character actors like J.K. Simmons, Chloë Sevigny, Val Kilmer, and James D'Arcy. And if The Snowman does well at the box office, expect to see more Harry Hole adventures in the future—the movie is based on the seventh book in Jo Nesbo's best-selling Harry Hole series. There are a lot of killers out there, after all. Someone has to catch 'em.

Just in case there's any doubt: 2017 is Wonder Woman's year. Not only did the Amazing Amazon's first solo film break box office records, but she's set to return (along with star Gal Godot) as part of the Justice League in November.

And then, there's Wonder Woman's other origin story, which is also getting the big-screen treatment. Professor Marston & the Wonder Women won't have much in the way of superpowers, but it'll make up for the lack of action with lots and lots of sex. See, psychologist William Moulton Marston, who created Wonder Woman, had some pretty unique ideas about male-female relationships (spoiler: they involve a lot of bondage), and his distinct views became fundamental elements of Princess Diana's story.

It's a weird and interesting tale, and Professor Marston & the Wonder Women is set to bring the whole thing to life with the help of Luke Evans; Rebecca Hall, who plays Marston's wife; and Bella Heathcote, who plays the third pillar of the Marstons' polyamorous relationship.

Lionsgate was definitely playing a game by presenting 2010's Saw 3D: The Final Chapter as the very last round of Jigsaw's punishing plans. While details are scant on what the newest round of trap-filled thrills will bring, composer Charlie Clouser told The Hollywood Reporter that the eighth installment of the franchise will be a "reinvention" of the series and that co-directors Michael and Peter Spierig offer "a fresh take on the material that will establish a new storyline and new characters that can carry the saga into the future."

Some speculate that the new flick will pick up material left on the screenwriting table by Saw 3D, as that film was originally supposed to be split in two. As screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan revealed to Bloody-Digusting.com, the return of Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) to the final installment was supposed to be a little more eventful than it already was. "The big reveal of Dr. Gordon was a bit underserved as a result [of not being split into two], perhaps creating more questions than answers. There were several ideas we never quite figured out, but I don't want to say what they were because you never know what might happen in the future."

George Clooney might be best known for his acting, but over time he's proved himself to be a capable, thoughtful, and diverse director as well. This fall, he's teaming up with his O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Hail, Caesar! collaborators Joel and Ethan Coen to bring the quirky crime thriller Suburbicon to theaters.

Suburbicon boasts a lot of talent in front of the cameras, too. Matt Damon plays the protagonist, a man who loses his wife in a shocking home invasion incident. Julianne Moore shows up as Margaret, the aunt Damon recruits to take care of his suddenly motherless child. Oscar Isaac's loanshark brings the violence. Before long, gangsters die, riots break out, and the once-quiet suburban neighborhood turns entirely upside down.

Oh, did we mention that it's funny too? In classic Coen brothers fashion, Suburbicon doesn't take any of its wildly twisting plot too seriously. If you like murder with a sense of humor, Suburbicon is a must-see when it debuts in late October.

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is an apocalyptic series of events that results in the world being plunged into water after the deaths of several gods—including Odin, Thor, and Loki—and culminates in a planetary rebirth. Needless to say, it's obvious from the title that Thor: Ragnarok won't be a jolly good time for our hammer-wielding hero (Chris Hemsworth), although we can guess from his imminent participation in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movies that he'll emerge relatively unscathed after the final act. First, however, he'll have to bust out of prison—without his hammer—and, according to the official synopsis, "survive a deadly gladatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk!" Thor: Ragnarok marks the MCU debut of New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, who earned raves for his 2014 vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows.

The first Daddy's Home didn't exactly thrill critics, but audiences ate it up: the movie made over $242 million at the global box office. That's enough to earn a follow-up, and in true sequel fashion, Daddy's Home 2 is doubling down on everything that made the first movie stand out—including twice as many dads as the original. This time around, returning stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are joined by Jon Lithgow and Mel Gibson as their respective fathers; naturally, chaos ensues.

Hopefully, that'll mean twice as many laughs, too: Ferrell and Wahlberg have undeniable chemistry, and Lithgow proved his comedic chops long, long ago. Gibson remains a wildcard, however, not to mention a controversial choice for a family comedy. Daddy's Home 2 could be a stroke of subversive genius. We'll see.

Marvel has done a brilliant job of laying out the template for a successful shared universe, and now Warner Bros. is following in its rival's footsteps with its DC Comics properties, which are due to get their first moments in the all-star superhero team spotlight with Justice League. Director Zack Snyder has already agreed to helm, and confirmed members of the cast include stars from the studio's pre-existing franchises, including Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and Ben Affleck, as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, respectively. While we don't yet have any idea what danger our team will face, we do know it'll be serious enough to attract the attention of Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). And with a sequel already scheduled for 2019, you can bet the battle won't end here.

Pixar hasn't released a non-sequel film since 2015, when the largely forgotten The Good Dinosaur hit theaters. While it's always nice to return to Pixar's lively and unique worlds, it's even more exciting when the studio decides to experiment with something brand new.

That's just one of the reasons you should be excited about Coco. Drawing heavily on Mexican culture, it tells the story of a young boy, Miguel, whose family has banned music. For an aspiring musician like Miguel, that's a problem. Before long, the boy finds himself wandering the Land of the Dead, where he teams up with a trickster named Hector (voiced by Gael García Bernal) to unravel his family's history. While Disney's made some bizarre choices while marketing the movie (the studio's attempt to trademark "Dia de los Muertos" raised the ire of critics), Coco should at least look gorgeous. Whatever issues Pixar might have, delivering a shoddy-looking product isn't one of them.

If you're a fan of B movies, you've probably heard of Tommy Wiseau's The Room, which is widely considered the single worst movie ever made. You might also wonder exactly how a movie so, so terrible was even made in the first place.

James Franco has the answer. The Disaster Artist, which Franco directed, produced, and stars in, tells the real-life story of The Room's production, as first unveiled in George Sestero's book of the same name. Franco, who plays Wiseau, is joined onscreen by his real-life brother Dave, who plays Sestero, as well as fellow stars like Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone, and many others (naturally, Wiseau himself makes a cameo as well).

Unlike its source material, The Disaster Artist is supposed to be pretty good, too: the film received a standing ovation when it premiered at South by Southwest in spring 2017, and there's something deliciously subversive about one of the most terrible films of all time inspiring one of the best films of 2017. In other words, we can't wait.

Between The Hobbit, Hellboy 3, Pacific Rim 2, and the Silent Hills video game, it can seem like Guillermo del Toro is more famous for what he's not directing than what he is. As a result, every movie he releases feels like a rare treat. And why not? While Crimson Peak only came out a couple of years ago, del Toro remains one of the most interesting directors working in Hollywood—especially when he's playing with monsters.

That's enough to get us excited for his latest effort, a romantic horror film starring Sally Hawkins, featuring appearances by Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer. In The Shape of Water, a disabled janitor strikes up a relationship with a creature in a water tank (played by Hellboy's Abe Sapien, Doug Jones). Fox must think it's pretty good, too: they've decided to release it right in the heart of awards season, when it's sure to get as much attention as possible.

This is Star Wars we're talking about, so the list of things we truly know about Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi is awfully short. But we do know a couple of important facts: one, Rian Johnson (Xoop) will be in the director's chair; and two, most of Episode VII's cast will be back, including Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver, along with OG franchise stars Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. (Carrie Fisher had wrapped filming for Episode VIII before her tragic and unexpected death.) Beyond that, pretty much all we can tell you is that this installment follows the events of Episode VII, and advances the new trilogy pitting the Resistance against the First Order led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Oh, and another thing: it'll sell tons of tickets.

Now that you've marked up your movie calendar for 2017, there's no time like the present to plan ahead for next year—and you can get an early jump on your fellow filmgoers by taking a look at our list of the top movies of 2018.

Despite his claims to the contrary, John Cena's professional wrestling career is winding down. Thankfully, the 16-time WWE champion is proving just as dominant in Hollywood as he is in the ring. With a handful of comedies (Trainwreck, Sisters), action flicks (the upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblebee), and a reality TV show (American Grit) under his belt, the Doctor of Thuganomics is branching out into family entertainment with Ferdinand, an animated feature based on Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson's popular children's book.

The film, which stars Cena playing against type as the pacifist bull Ferdinand, also stars SNL's Kate McKinnon, former Doctor Who and current Scrooge McDuck David Tennant, Hamilton's Daveed Diggs, and many, many others. The film relies on slapstick—a Blue Sky Studios specialty—and action much more than the original story, but the book's general theme, which teaches kids that it's okay to just be yourself, still comes through intact. That's good, because the book is a bona fide classic, and deserves a respectful adaptation. With Cena in the lead, we might get just that.

Ostensibly, Jumanji is a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams film (Williams' character even provides some help from beyond the grave), but don't expect things to look too similar in the 2017 outing. For one, the latest edition of Jumanji stars the Rock, not Williams, with Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Nick Jonas serving as sidekicks. Secondly, the new Jumanji is a video game, not a board game. Finally, instead of a game that brings exotic creatures into the real world, the main characters in this Jumanji actually enter the fictional jungle—and then, as in any other video game, must fight their way to the exit if they want to win. If it works, Jumanji should provide an interesting spin on a well-known story (even if Gillan's costume looks ridiculous), as well as a fitting tribute to one of the greatest actors of his (or any) generation.

Even in a world where pretty much every movie is part of a trilogy, Pitch Perfect—which focuses on the trials faced by a college a capella group—seems like a weird choice for an ongoing series. On the other hand, the franchise's recurring cast, which includes Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, and Elizabeth Banks, is full of funny and lively performers who seem up for anything. The music is catchy. The stories don't break new ground, but they're sweet and fun.

So, why not check in on Beca, Fat Amy, and the rest for a third helping of melodious shenanigans? Pitch Perfect 3 reunites pretty much the entire cast—and then some—as the Bellas try to cope with life after college while teaming up for one last performance at a USO show, where they'll compete against bands with real instruments for the very first time. If all goes according to plan, Pitch Perfect 3 will be just the thing you need to escape the winter doldrums—at the very least, it should provide a welcome respite from December's all-consuming holiday madness.