2023 has already been a year of blockbuster and a massive movie catalogue. The long-
delayed Aquaman sequel and The Flash movie finally landed while the MCU kicked off
the Multiverse Saga with Phase Five's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of
the Galaxy, and in the fall, The Marvels.
Harrison Ford returns one final time as Indiana Jones, Tom Cruise kicks off the endgame
of the Mission: Impossible series, and Timothée Chalamet plays a young Willy Wonka
(while also reprising his role as Paul Atreides in the Dune sequel). And speaking of
comebacks, The Hunger Games franchise is cooking up a prequel, Tobin Bell will return as
maniacal trap-man Jigsaw, and Keanu Reeves Gun Fu-ed his way back into our lives as
John Wick.
Ghostface, Optimus Prime, Magic Mike, and Miles Morales are also all back for more
while directors like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Greta Gerwig present new
and exciting projects. Read on for the 15 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023.
The Nun II : The Conjuring Universe continues to expand, as we get a sequel to the 2018
horror film The Nun, which starred Taissa Farmiga as a young nun who comes face-to-face
with the demon Valak at her convent. The second film takes place four years later, as
Farmiga’s Sister Irene encounters Valak again after a priest is murdered. Bonnie Aarons,
who portrayed Valak, is the only star currently attached to the film, so we have no word yet
on whether or not Taissa Farmiga will also return to reprise her role.
Shazam - The Fury of the Gods : Zachary Levi is back for more superhero silliness with
Shazam! Fury of the Gods, featuring Billy Batson and his foster siblings battling the
Daughters of Atlas, who look to use a weapon that could destroy the world. Helen Mirren,
Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler are Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea while Djimon Hounsou
returns as the wizard, Shazam.
Transformers - Rise of the Beasts : Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback star in this
'90s-set Transformers prequel about a pair of archaeologists from Brooklyn who discover
an ancient conflict through a globe-trotting adventure that ties in with three factions of
Transformers: the Maximals, the Predacons and the Terrorcons. Peter Cullen returns to
voice Optimus Prime while Pete Davidson debuts as Mirage and YouTube star Liza Koshy
plays Arcee.
The Equalizer III : Director Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington return for
another go in this vigilante action thriller franchise based on the classic TV series of the
same name. This time, Washington reunites with his Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning,
though we don’t yet know exactly who her character is and what the story will be.
Cocaine Bear : Loosely based (um...yeah!) on a true incident in the '80s involving a bear
and a duffle bag of narcotics, Cocaine Bear looks to unleash its crazy fury on moviegoers
this February. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, and starring Keri Russell (plus Matthew Rhys
and Margo Martindale - is this an Americans reunion?), Cocaine Bear follows an American
black bear that goes on a murderous rampage in a small Georgia town. O'Shea Jackson Jr.,
Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Ray Liotta (in one of his final roles) also star.
Ant-man and the Wasp – Quantumania : Jonathan Majors, who made his MCU debut
on Loki as "He Who Remains," makes a big splash as villainous variant Kang the Conquerer
in Ant-Man's third movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Paul Rudd, Evangeline
Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, and
Randall Park all return for this fuller exploration of the Quantum Realm, which Marvel
Studios head Kevin Feige said officially kicks off Phase Five and "The Multiverse Saga."
John Wick Chapter 4 : In this hotly-anticipated fourth John Wick flick, Keanu Reeves'
unbeatable hitman uncovers a path to defeating the High Table. But before he can earn his
freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe
and forces that turn old friends into foes. Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne,
Ian McShane, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lance Reddick, and Clancy Brown also star.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume III : Writer/director James Gunn bids farewell to
Marvel Studios (as he heads off to creatively lead the DCEU) with a third Guardians of the
Galaxy film. As Peter Quill still searches the far reaches of space for 2014 Gamora, the
Guardians must contend with the threat of the High Evolutionary (Peacemaker's Chukwudi
Iwuji) along with High Priestess Ayesha and the Sovereign's creation, Adam Warlock (Will
Poulter).
Fast X : With a budget reportedly ballooning out of control after longtime Fast franchise director
Justin Lin stepped down from the film in April, Fast X is still headed our way, acting as the
first half of a two-part finale for the Fast and Furious franchise. Familiar faces will be
joined by Fast newbies Jason Momoa and Brie Larson.
Creed III : Star Michael B. Jordan takes over official directing duties from Ryan Coogler
(who still co-wrote the story) for Creed III, this time following Adonis Creed as he
contends with a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy (Jonathan Majors) who
resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, eager to prove that he deserves his shot
in the ring. Co-starring Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia
Rashad.
Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One : The first half of (what's being said is)
a two-part finale for the Mission: Impossible franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One brings
back Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby and
Henry Czerny (from the very first M:I movie) as Ethan Hunt and his team must confront
their biggest global challenge yet. New faces include Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom
Klementieff, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, and Cary Elwes.
Meg 2 - The Trench : It may not have impressed the majority of critics, but 2018’s The
Meg was a surprise box office hit, so we’re getting a sequel. One upside is that this time
around the film is being directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Free Fire), who has proven
to be a pretty savvy genre guy in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do with
Jason Statham and a giant shark.
Spider-man : Across the Spider Verse : The dazzling, animated Lord and Miller-
produced Spider-Verse returns as Miles Morales goes on an adventure across the
multiverse with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-people (including Oscar Isaac as
Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099). Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Brian
Tyree Henry, and Luna Lauren Vélez return with new voices provided by Issa Rae (as
Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman), Jason Schwartzman (as the Spot), and Daniel Kaluuya (as
Hobart "Hobie" Brown/Spider-Punk).
Oppenheimer : Christopher Nolan’s buzzed-about biopic on physicist and “father of the
atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy in the titular role, as well as
Emily Blunt and Matt Damon. Like virtually all of Nolan’s films, the IMAX-shot pic
should be taken in on the biggest screen possible.
Barbie : After her stellar adaptation of Little Women, director Greta Gerwig is back with
this high-concept original (co-written with Noah Baumbach), which chronicles the most
famous doll ever (Margot Robbie) as she’s banished from Barbieland and introduced to our
world.