With this year’s summer movie season coming to a close, we have seen our fair share of hits, flops, and surprises. While there are still movies to look forward to later this year and next, audiences are excited for the 2015 movie season. The biggest names of film will tentatively be released during 2015. Some of those films include the sequel to Marvel’s, The Avengers, battling against DC’s, Batman vs. Superman, and a brand new Star Wars saga.
Here are some of the films that will be released in 2015 (dates are not set in stone).
The Fantastic Four
Release Date: March 6, 2015
Chronicle’s Josh Trank is on board to direct Fox’s reboot, titled The Fantastic Four. X-Men: First Class, with director Matthew Vaughn on board as a producer. There has been no set date of when production will start and casting has been a bit difficult. However, we can expect the core cast to be younger. We can expect production to begin early next year.
Ted 2
Release Date: April, 2015
Seth MacFarlane’s directorial debut, Ted, was certainly held to high standards. Ted made over $549 million worldwide. Universal itched for a sequel after seeing the success of the film, but MacFarlane opted out of making a sequel right away because he started working on the film A Million Ways to Die in the West. MacFarlane and Mark Wahlburg are both game to return for a sequel, but the only issue that may occur will be scheduling. Again, not much is known just yet and the sequel could eventually hit theaters a little later, but Ted 2 is indeed coming.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Release Date: May 1, 2015
Joss Whedon is back onboard to write and direct the sequel to The Avengers. James Spader is playing the evil robot Ultron, and some new Avengers include Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch (both of whom are currently in negotiations with Marvel).
According to Collider, Whedon has said that Ultron’s origin story will be changed for The Avengers 2, so don’t expect to see Hank Pym aka Ant-Man make an early appearance. Whedon has also revealed that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is “a huge part” of the follow-up, and has plans to expand Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye role as well. Filming begins the first week of March on what will act as Marvel’s capper to its Phase Two lineup of films.
Assassin’s Creed
Release Date: June 19, 2015
In 2015, we will likely see two films try to break the curse of video game feature film adaptations. First up will be Assassin’s Creed, which will star Michael Fassbender in the lead role. Fassbender is producing the film as well, but beyond that we don’t really know much. We hope to hear who the film’s director is in a few months though.
Inside Out
Release Date: June 19, 2013
The first of two Pixar films slated for release in 2015, Inside Out is the next feature film from Up and Monsters Inc. director Pete Docter. The film takes place inside the mind of Riley, an 11-year-old girl who recently moved with her family to San Francisco. Instead of the story centering on Riley, the central character sof Inside Out are Miley’s emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). With a wonderful original story and a perfect voice cast, this new Pixar film will definitely be a hit.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5
Release Date: July 10, 2015
Johnny Depp will be reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg will be taking the lead in an attempt to” inject fresh blood into the franchise” after the forgettable On Stranger Tides. The full title for Pirates 5 is rumored to be Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, but that has yet to be confirmed. Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can) wrote the screenplay, and filming will start later this year or in early January.
Man of Steel 2/Batman vs. Superman
Release Date: July 17, 2015
The untitled Zack Snyder superhero film aka Batman vs. Superman aka Man of Steel 2 is likely to be the can’t-miss movie of July. As we already know, Ben Affleck has been casted as the role of Batman, and Henry Cavill will reprise the role of Superman. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane are confirmed to reprise their characters from Man of Steel, but we still have no confirmation of who will be the villain or if Batman and Superman will be allies or “adversaries.” Filming of the untitled film will start in early 2014, with a large amount of location work to be done in Detroit and other Michigan cities.
ANT-MAN
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Filmmaker Edgar Wright has been attached to direct Ant-Man for years, and the script (written by Wright and Joe Cornish) has been locked for quite some time. After pushing the project back in order to make The World’s End, Wright is finally set for Ant-Man as his next film. Pre-production begins in October but beyond that, details are non-existent. Hopefully there is a lead actor for the role of Ant-Man late this year or early next year.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Release Date: November 20, 2015
The year 2015 will end The Hunger Games film adaption. In this last sequel of The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and wayward Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) attempt to win the civil war between the autocratic Capitol and the war-torn Districts of Panem. The first film was directed by Gary Ross, while the rest of the films will be directed by Francis Lawrence. The second sequel to the film adaption will hit theaters November 2013, and the first part of Mockingjay premieres in 2014.
Finding Dory
Release Date: November 25, 2015
We have gotten very little details for Finding Nemo‘s sequel Finding Dory. Finding Nemo grossed over 800 million worldwide, and I was actually surprised to hear a sequel coming out so many years later. Degeneres, who voices the voice of Dory, said in a statement released by the studio that “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.’ But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is — it’s got a lot more Dory.” We can only hope for the best in this new sequel and am excited another childhood film will be coming back soon!
Star Wars: Episode VII
Release Date: December 2015
In a galaxy far, far away…. there are details about the new episode of the Star Wars saga. From all the films featured in this list, Star Wars is the only film with little to no official details. Disney has kept everything under wraps and literally fans only have rumors and speculations to feed off of, but hopefully by the end of this year or early next year, we can have more official details and castings for the new Star Wars film. Disney is probably trying to build up anticipation for the new film, or are still trying to figure everything out since creating a new Star Wars sequel without George Lucas might be difficult. According to Screen Rant, Lucas is the “creative consultant,” which means he will be around to answer questions, since he basically created the whole franchise, but will not be involved in any other way. Lucas said “[If the filmmakers ask],’Who’s this guy?’ I can tell them. I mean, they have a hundred encyclopedias and things, but I actually know a lot. I can say, ‘This is this and this is that’.” All we can do is wait for more details to come and just have to be patient no matter how impatient we are.
Sources: Collider, Screen Rant, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB.