Superheroes, super villains, anti-heroes, rogue smugglers, dinosaurs, and aliens: 2018 is a genre stuffed extravaganza at the multiplex and we are here for all of it. Today, we look at the 10 most anticipated movies of 2018.
For the past couple of years, marketing technology firm Amobee puts together a list of the most anticipated movies by data mining more than 600,000 sites to see which movies people are buzzing about, ranking upcoming films by volume of engagement. Last year's list included Spider-Man: Homecoming, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and The Last Jedi, though somehow box-office bomb Baywatch snuck on there, too. This year's list is just as stuffed with superheroes and spaceships.
10 10. Mission Impossible - Fallout (July 27)
Mission: Impossible - Fallout is the sixth installment in the Tom Cruise action franchise reunites the team from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, alongside M:I newcomers Angela Bassett and Henry Cavill, who will be sporting that famous mustache that proved a bit problematic for the Justice League reshoots.
9 9. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (November 2)
Fan excitement reached a fever pitch with the announcement that Fox was purchased by Disney, paving the way for Marvel's merry mutants to join the MCU. But the X-Men train had already left the station before that announcement. X-Men: Dark Phoenix continues the continuity shakeup began by First Class, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse, attacking one of the most famous story arcs from the comic books in a fashion most likely to be better executed and received than 2006's The Last Stand.
8 8. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 22)
Chris Pratt lands in more than one place on this list, reprising his role from Jurassic World, which gathered an earth shaking $1.67 billion in 2015. Along with Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom "finds a way" to bring back fan favorite franchise star Jeff Goldblum. (We need that shirtless Funko Pop figure now.)
7 7. Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6)
The conclusion of 2015's Ant-Man made it abundantly clear that suiting up as the Wasp was in the cards for Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope Pym in the MCU. Picking up sometime after Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp will see its top-billed duo on a mission that will likely uncover new secrets from Hank Pym's past.
6 6. Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)
Much has been made of the director switch-up during the making of the second standalone Star Wars film, a prequel featuring Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and the Millennium Falcon. But it's important to keep in mind that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was also a troubled production, which nevertheless earned $1 billion when it was released and was well received by both fans and critics. We here at MovieWeb are hoping things go well enough with Solo: A Star Wars Story to guarantee what we are really after: Ewan McGregor in a standalone Obi-Wan story.
5 5. Venom (October 5)
Since the alien costume that would eventually join with Eddie Brock to become Venom was first introduced in 1984, the villain and sometime "lethal protector" antihero with a tongue to make Gene Simmons blush has become as important a part of Spider-Man's rogue's gallery as Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus for many fans. Now, he's finally getting his own movie, with Tom Hardy in the lead role and a supporting cast that includes Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, and Jenny Slate. Venom is intended to help build Sony's own Spidey-centric Sony Marvel Universe, a world that's been described as "adjunct" to the MCU and will include 2019's Silver & Black.
4 4. Deadpool 2 (May 18)
Did someone say Marvel Universe? The fourth wall shattering and brilliantly self-referential world of Deadpool is already ripe for winking crossovers where other movies dare not tread, so who knows what the Disney/Fox news will mean for the abundance of jokes already planned for Deadpool 2? One thing is certain: Ryan Reynolds is back as the merc-with-a-mouth, joined by his comic book buddy-cop-movie style foil, Cable, a mutant warrior returned from a hellish possible future.
3 3. Avengers: Infinity War (May 4)
The third Avengers movie will arrive almost exactly ten years after the first Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Infinity War and its 2019 follow-up are set to conclude this phase of the MCU, with rumored character deaths and other shocking surprises in the battle against Thanos, the big bad teased continuously since the first Avengers. Infinity War will assemble a small army of superheroes.
2 2. Aquaman (December 21)
Speaking of superhero team-ups, Aquaman was introduced to the DCEU in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and took a much larger role in last year's Justice League. The warrior of Atlantis will be the first Justice League hero to get a standalone film since Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. has plenty of other big movies to roll out before the Christmastime release of Aquaman, including Ready Player One, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Tomb Raider, which was Number Five on IMDb's list of 2018's Most Anticipated Movies, a list based on traffic to their title pages. Aquaman did not make the IMDb list at all, a list that placed Infinity War at the top.
1 1. Black Panther (February 16)
The style, atmosphere, costumes, set designs, and electric power of the cinematic Wakanda will supercharge the already established charismatic appeal of Black Panther, the hero whose standalone story is the year's most anticipated movie. As its also the last Marvel movie to hit theaters before the release of Infinity War, it will surely serve as a lead-in, especially given the cool looking Wakandan soldiers we've seen running into battle with Hulk, Black Widow, and our favorite World War II superhero, who we last saw leaving his buddy on ice under the care of T'Challa. But make no mistake: Black Panther, his allies and enemies, and the awesome world of the fictitious nation of Wakanda are the stars of this show. Special thanks to the late comics legend Jack Kirby, who helped introduce T'Challa way back in 1966. Given the Marvel/Fox news, maybe we'll get to see Black Panther with the Fantastic Four onscreen someday and better yet, maybe we'll get to see him hookup with Storm!