WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU
From James Bond to Spider-Man sequel — the film releases leading cinema’s 2021 comeback
JUST like the climax to a great action movie, cinema is about to dust itself down from a terrible beating and come out fighting.
In 2020 there has been a lot of talk about the end of the big-screen experience as lockdowns forced cinemas to close across the globe.
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But the arrival of multiple Covid vaccines means film fans will be able to ditch streaming and try the real thing again some time next year.
And the really good news is that postponing so many blockbusters in 2020 has created a movie mountain, with the latest Bond, a Top Gun sequel, Fast & Furious 9 and Black Widow among this year’s films that had to be rescheduled.
They will join all the exciting releases that were always due in 2021, such as the return of The Matrix and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
Here are some of the best to come in ’21. . .
Chaos Walking
March 1
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THE release of this young adult movie starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley was due in March 2019 but was put back – not because of Covid-19 but due to scenes being reshot after negative reactions from “test” audiences.
The film is based on Patrick Ness’s excellent 2008 sci-fi novel The Knife Of Never Letting Go, so it has the potential to be great.
No Time To Die
April 2
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THIS film needs no introduction – Daniel Craig puts on his tux for the last time as James Bond.
Joining him is Oscar winner Rami Malek as the baddie Safin and Lashana Lynch as Bond’s 00 spy rival, Nomi.
A Quiet Place 2
April 23
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FEW horror movies have made as much noise at the box office in recent years as A Quiet Place.
The terrifyingly brilliant 2018 original, about extraterrestrial creatures which can’t see, but attack anything which makes a sound, deserves a sequel.
It it will be fantastic to see Emily Blunt return as tormented mum of three, Evelyn Abbott.
Black Widow
May 7
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MARVEL fans have wondered why it took so long for Scarlett Johansson’s leather-clad assassin to get her own spin-off movie after she wowed fans in Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
Now that the former KGB hitwoman Natasha Romanoff – the Black Widow – finally gets her opportunity to go solo in this prequel, the excitement will be hard to contain.
Fast & Furious 9
May 28
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IN every Furious film you wonder how Vin Diesel and co can outdo their previous car carnage, but they always manage it.
In this outing, wrestler John Cena’s character Jakob Toretto is the villain.
The franchise’s ninth outing, which also stars Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron, is maybe more furious than fast, as it was due out in April 2019.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
June 11
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THERE is little to fear from this sequel to 1989’s Ghostbusters II because at least Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray are all back to add quality to the proceedings.
This time, Finn Wolfhard, from Netflix sci-fi hit Stranger Things, plays one of the children who discovers his family’s links to the original ghoul-catching team.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
June 25
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TOM HARDY’S fearsome alien Venom is back after the 2018 Spider-Man spin-off proved a major hit.
This time he rages against Woody Harrelson’s Carnage in the Marvel adventure directed by Brit Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Michelle Willaims and Naomie Harris also star.
Top Gun Maverick
July 9
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AFTER 35 years since the original Top Gun flick, Tom Cruise is taking off again as US Air Force test pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
But this time he is the instructor to trainee “Rooster” Bradshaw, played by Miles Teller.
Given that Maverick is not the spring chicken he was in 1986, which one will take fans’ breath away this time?
The Minions 2: The Rise Of Gru
July 16
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SAY yellow again to the mini masters of mayhem who are beloved by kids all over the world.
There is little doubt that they were the stars of 2010’s Despicable Me and are worthy of a second spin-off.
This sequel to the 2015 film is set in the 1970s, with Steve Carell once again lending his voice to the grumpy main man, Gru.
The Suicide Squad
August 6
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ALTHOUGH this is a sequel to the much-slated box office hit from four years ago, the new incarnation has an almost entirely different cast.
The only key anti-hero remaining in this comic book adventure for grown-ups is Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.
New members of the cast include Idris Elba, John Cena and Peter Capaldi.
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
August 7
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THE troublesome – and some parents might say annoying – bunny, voiced by James Corden, bounds back on to the big screen just in time for the summer holidays.
Peter and his pals leave the McGregors’ veg patch for an even bigger adventure in this live-action and animated comedy sequel to 2018’s Peter Rabbit.
Dune
October 1
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TWO of cinema’s hottest young stars, Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, should lend some cross-generational appeal to what will be a serious sci-fi blockbuster.
This remake of the 1984 film by David Lynch – both based on the 1965 novel by sci-fi master Frank Herbert – also features Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård and Josh Brolin.
The Last Duel
October 15
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SIR Ridley Scott directs one of the few original films on our list of 2021 releases, in which two friends in 14th century France, Jean and Jacques – played by Matt Damon and Adam Driver – are ordered to fight to the death after Jean accuses Jacques of raping his wife.
Ben Affleck and Brit Jodie Comer, from television favourite Killing Eve, also star.
Eternals
November 5
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MARVEL’S big new superhero movie has Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden in leading roles.
They play immortals from outer space who defend humankind against dangerous forces in the form of baddies the Deviants.
Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan and Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington also make an appearance.
Mission: Impossible 7
November 19
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THE Covid-19 crisis made completing the seventh instalment of the spy blockbuster series seem like an impossible mission in itself.
But Tom Cruise, returning as all-action hero Ethan Hunt, was determined to get it finished – as his recent rant at Warners’ studio staff in Leavesden, Herts, about being Covid-safe revealed.
Spider-Man Sequel
December 17
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TOM HOLLAND returns for his third full Spider-Man movie, having also pulled on the snazzy blue and red suit in three Avengers films.
Benedict Cumberbatch will appear as hero Dr Strange and Jamie Foxx returns as the baddie Electro, though his skin will not be blue this time.
This instalment centres on Spidey’s romance with Spider-Woman.
The Matrix 4
December 22
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AFTER previous sequels Reloaded and Revolutions left fans of the 1999 original film disappointed, everyone will be hoping that Matrix main man Neo does something new when the dystopian action franchise hits cinemas once again.
The revitalised Keanu Reeves as Neo, plus Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith, are all back.
The Boss Baby 2
Coming soon
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BOSS Baby Ted, voiced once more by Alec Baldwin, has all grown up – but his brother’s kids prove to be just as intelligent beyond their years.
It’s hardly surprising that the 2017 animated original movie has resulted in this offspring, which also features the voices of Hollywood A-listers Amy Sedaris, Eva Longoria, Lisa Kudrow and Jeff Goldblum.
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Everybody's Talking About Jamie
No release date
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THE true story of a County Durham schoolboy who wanted to attend his prom in drag has been turned into a Disney movie.
Richard E Grant as a former drag queen and Sarah Lancashire as Jamie’s mum Margaret are among the cast of this screen adaptation of the hit West End musical.
No Time To Die - New James Bond trailer drops as Daniel Craig returns as 007
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