2024 has a lot of movies coming out, ones that look like they are going to massively vary in quality, thankfully, I am here to make myself a definitive watch list, and maybe even cement an easy 2024 favourites to copy and paste into at the end of this year. Although, in reality, most of these films will get pushed into the following years or be just a bit too hyped up in my own mind. For now though, we can look into the crystal ball of Wikipedia articles and IMDB cast lists to discern which ones might be worth the screen time. Here’s 20 films that I’m most looking forward to watching, in the coming year.
1. Nosferatu
Robert Eggers has made some weird little films in the past, with the trio of The VVitch, The Lighthouse and The Northman. With one singular still being released from Nosferatu, I am already prepared for this film to match his high quality level of scale and uncomfortability. Knowing that we have local Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård portraying the legendary monster almost confirms that he is going to be creepy, probably a bit drooly and violent. After the intense world of The Northman, I have no doubts that this film is going to make me feel like a tiny little guy in the sprawling landscapes of this Bram Stoker adaptation.
2. Joker: Folie à Deux
A musical thriller follow up to the intense 2019 drama with a controversial following is exactly what I’m going to be interested in for 2024. Joker (2019) has gained a bit of a reputation with the sexually frustrated and internet housed males of the world, hailing Joaquin Phoenix’s character as sort of a hero to their “movement”. There is no better pivot to this than inviting the entire female and gay population in to watch Lady Gaga sing as Harley Quinn in the sequel. My expectations are not that this film is going to be as emotionally in depth as the first, but more that it is going to be a fun 2 hours, and a little something to add to my Spotify Wrapped for this year.
3. Mickey17
“Mickey 17, an "expendable", who is a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact.” That quote is pulled from the Wikipedia premise section of this upcoming Bong Joon-Ho feature. This film will be Joon-Ho’s follow up to his Oscar winning film , Parasite in 2019. It stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey17 along with a supporting cast of Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo. What’s not to like?
4. Inside Out 2
Switching up the vibe a little bit to something hopefully fun for us all, the sequel to the endlessly likeable Pixar film, Inside Out. This time, it is looking like we’re complicating things with some new emotions to add to the mix, as the character from the original, RIley grows up and feels some new feelings. I imagine we will be right there on the journey with her and the emotions, feeling and crying. I am rarely let down by Pixar projects, providing at the least, a little bit of lightness in the year, so I am hopeful for this one.
5. Wicked: Part One
Shamefully not having seen the musical, I am expecting this to be my full scale introduction to the world of Wicked. If having Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande wasn’t enough, this endlessly photographed film has looked impressively practical in its approach, teasing some visual landmarks to look forward to. If the musical has any indication on this film's success, I feel like we could be in for quite the box office hit for this film. With a sequel planned, I imagine we will all be deeply engrossed in the world of Wicked by the time this little film series is over.
6. Blitz
Taking the tone back down, we have a historical drama from Steve McQueen, the academy award winning director of 12 Years a Slave. This story takes place in World War 2 London, with Saoirse Ronan taking on the leading role. While no direct plot has been revealed for the film, you can assume it will centre around these characters surviving “The Blitz” of German bomber planes, where London was bombed for 56 nights following September 7th 1940. I can’t see this one being a comfort film, with an easy story, but I do think the creatives in front of and behind the camera can be trusted to tell an emotional story, that is not glossed over and watered down.
7. The Governesses
A second Lily Rose-Depp entry to this list (she is also starring in Nosferatu) as she shares the lead of this film with Jung Ho-yeon (Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game) and Renate Reinsve (from 2021’s The Worst Person in the World). This film is by The Last Black Man In San Francisco director, Joe Talbot. That was a lot of names. These people have made a film that looks to be about this group rebelling against the ways of the house they all work in and essentially awakening a sexual revolution with those around them. Will this be tasteful, or just a soft core 90 minutes of cringe, we can only wait and see.
8. The History of Sound
Aaand we have another war movie. This one, taking place during World War 1 as two young men (Paul Mescal and Josh O’ Connor) set out to record the voices and music of American countrymen. The film is based on the prize winning short story of the same name by Ben Shattuck. The only thing keeping me sceptical of this one is Oliver Hermanus, the director of this, who I know as the director of last year’s Living, a film that I thought was frustratingly surface level in its approach to the adaptation. Although, with Shattuck returning to write the screenplay, I have hopes that we can get the emotional depth we’re all craving in a World War 1 love story about sound recording.
9. Hope
Another returning player, Jung Ho-Yeon is starring in this Korean thriller alongside Micahel Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. This one comes from The Wailing’s director, Na Hong-Jin as we follow the story of townsfolk discovering a disturbing revelation on the outskirts of their remote harbour town. They are then thrust into a fight for survival against something they have never before faced. An action film premise with a director who can do thriller and horror well and a cast to back it up, sounds like the perfect combo to me. We also have Parasite’s Hong Kyung-Pyo at the helm of the camera, ensuring we’re going to get something polished and visually impressive.
10. Jane
No returning cast or crew for this one. Alfonso Curon’s newest feature focuses on Jane, the twin of American writer Philip K. Dick. In real life, Jane died at 8 weeks old, but in this iteration, she is being portrayed by Charlize Theron, set out to explore her unique relationship with her twin brother and his work. I assume we will delve into some of the world’s created by Philip K. Dick in his 40 (ish) novels or 120 (ish) short stories. With plenty of options to choose from, I can see this film being quite the journey through space and time, all while tying it down to an emotional core. Cuaron has done it before, notability with Gravity in 2013 or more recently with Roma in 2018.
11. Maria
Another “woman’s name” film! A Maria Callas biopic was not going to be on my radar at all for 2024, even with the news that the Greek opera legend would be played by Angelina Jolie, but with Pablo Larraín directing, it has shot up in my expectations. I was very impressed by his 2021 film, Spencer, focusing on Princess Diana, and the psychological rollercoaster we were taken on. Similar to Diana, Callas was a particular focus for the media at the time, publicising all of her actions and spinning them to suit their narrative of a “primadonna”. Whichever approach to the story this film takes, I find it hard to imagine it won’t be intensely stylised and stressfully presented, just what I’m looking for.
12. They Follow
They Follow, follows up 2014’s It Follows, which follows newly not virgin, Jay being followed by a paranormal presence, who she must pass on the burden to another, by having sex with them. Maika Monroe (Jay) will return in this film as the protagonist. While the details of the story have been light so far, I am a big enough fan of the first film to look forward with anticipation for the follow up. We don’t have the best luck with horror sequels, but with It Follows being hailed as “elevated horror” it is hard to assume it’s going to slot into the cash grab category of other horror sequels.
13. The Trashers
A rubbish gangster story, literally. The premise of this film is not exactly one that would usually draw me in and excite me for its release but Cooper Raiff is directing this film and his previous work with Cha Cha Real Smooth is one of my favourite movies of all time, so it would be impossible not to have some expectations for this new one. While I’m a little unsure about the story and direction of it, I have enough faith in Raiff’s abilities to create characters with depth and humour that the story will be likeable at the least. Also having David Harbour and Cooper Hoffman as your main roles brings an inherent likeability.
14. The Electric State
A little bit of a gear change for this film as it looks to be a little bit of an action blockbuster that will probably be visually impressive and a little bit vapid. The cast list of this film is stacked, Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan and too many more. The story comes from the Ruso brothers who were behind a lot of the recent Marvel projects. The plot is a retro-futuristic past where Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) sets off on a journey across the American midwest to be reunited with her brother.
15. MaXXXine
The conclusion to the Ti West and Mia Goth trilogy is set to come out this year. Following on from the events of X, Maxine (Mia Goth) moves to LA to pursue her acting career. Based on the previous entries to the trilogy, I am assuming this doesn’t go too smoothly for her and she is thrust into a psycho-sexual and murderous escapade that either helps or hinders her career. Either way, I am locked in to find out the conclusion to this story, and excited to see anything that both Ti West and Mia Goth do together.
16. Love Lies Bleeding
This is probably the most likely to actually come out this year is Love Lies Bleeding, where we meet gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) who falls for aspiring bodybuilder, Jackie (Katy O’Brian), headed to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. However, we can’t have a simple love story, as their love ignites a bit of drama with Lou’s crime family. Both Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson have been featured on this list now, unpredictably both growing out of their Twilight roles into genuinely interesting projects between them.
17. Vineland
To go from most likely, to least. Vineland from Paul Thomas Anderson might be the most unlikely to land in 2024. This film follows up his 2021 release, Licorice Pizza, one that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, but I am still anticipating this one to be one to watch out for. With another star studded cast of actors performing the most convoluted sounding plot that I have read in a long time. We’ve got hippies performing rituals, federal agents and the anti drug disappearances of characters. I have no doubt this is going to be a journey, one that I am excited for.
18. Eddington
Emma Stone has dived deep into the world of weird films, sticking to her new type here as she joins the cast of this new Ari Aster feature. Coming off Beau Is Afraid, Eddington seems like it may lean a little more traditional into the horror genre, promising a nightmare like highway town that Lindsay (Emma Stone) and Marc (Christopher Abbott) happen upon during their drive to Los Angeles. The film seems like it may fall into the new genre of Covid horror, playing on those all too recent fears dragged up by the pandemic. There are few other details about this film so far, but it's one I will be heavily tracking the more info that trickles out.
19. Challengers
While I didn’t love Luca Guadanino’s Bones and All, his previous work is enough for me to pay attention to this upcoming film, starring Zendaya, West Side Story’s Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor (making his second appearance on the list). The film is about Tashi (Zendaya), tennis player turned coach who is training with her husband Art (Mike Faist) to become a Grand Slam champion. They meet Patrick (Josh O’Connor), a former boyfriend of Tashi in one of the tournaments, and his appearance shakes up the relationship that they all share.
20. Talk to Me 2 / Talk to Me Prequel
A bit of a cheat to put two movies in one but I’m not sure if both or either will hit the screens this year, so I will be excited for either, both or neither. Talk to Me was in my top 20 of 2023, with its boundless energy, new horror ideas and some effective takes on the classic tropes. The universe is one that I’m excited to dive back into, with not many details being available to me at this stage. It seems like the prequel may focus on the social media aspect of the story, possibly being presented in the style of Missing / Searching. Either way, I will be gleefully awaiting some more details.
An optimistic list of films yet to come. There were so many more films I came across while searching for this list that I could have listed for life. I also have my ear the ground of film nerds around the globe, following along with film festivals announcements and the like. While this list is true to the films I’m most interested in, I’m actually more excited to see the ones that I haven’t heard of yet, the smaller films that I didn’t know about before this year, slowly building an audience and making their way to a screen near me.
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