Welcome to GeekDad’s look into the upcoming movies of 2023. Each January, I love going through new movies and discovering a few that I hadn’t heard of previously. In this year’s installment of GeekDad’s preview of the upcoming year’s films, I’ve tried to largely avoid covering the sequels and remakes everyone knows will be coming out. To this end, you won’t see Wonka, John Wick 4, Fast X, Creed 3 or The Little Mermaid in this list. Also, due to personal preference, I’ve almost entirely avoided DC comics movies.
Marvel
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
We’re into the fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now. While phase three closed out with the explosive triumph of The Avengers over Thanos, phase four has been far quieter while introducing the multiverse. Very soon, on February 17th, we’ll see the introduction of our new Big Bad: Kang the Conquerer, as well as seeing Cassie Lang suit up for the first time.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
I’ve loved every one of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. I loved the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and I loved the guardians in Endgame and in Thor: Love and Thunder. Now, the Guardians finally get a feature film to finish out their time in the MCU. On May 5th, we’ll see Adam Warlock for certain, and there’s likely to be plenty more that hasn’t yet been revealed.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
I’m a huge fan of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. The animation, the characters, and the humor were outstanding. And I’m stoked to get a sequel this June.
The Marvels
More than simply a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, The Marvels is going to bring back Carol Danvers and reintroduce her to Maria Rambeau, who as a child had known Carol back in the nineties. As we saw in WandaVision, Maria has learned to glow like her auntie Carol, and is now going by the superhero name Spectrum. The film will also reintroduce Kamala Khan, aka Miss Marvel, in whose bedroom we saw Carol at the end of the Miss Marvel show on Disney Plus. Carol Danvers is basically Marvel’s Superman, so finding any challenge for her should be difficult for the writers. I’ll be in a movie theater on July 28th watching.
Sequels and Remakes
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
I was very pleasantly surprised by Shazam. I’m a Zach Levy fan since having seen Chuck, and I enjoyed him well enough as a replacement Fandral in Thor: The Dark World. I had expected DC’s Captain Marvel to be absolute garbage, and I was quite happy to have been wrong about that. Zach Levy does a great job of channeling Tom Hanks as a kid suddenly-become adult, and the writing was above-average for DC. The sequel will be in theaters on March 17th. I’m hoping that it’s better than Black Adam.
Wonder Woman 3
While the first Wonder Woman film was a come-from nowhere hit, the sequel didn’t hold up to the bar set by the original. I’m hoping that the third film can pull a Thor: Ragnarok and blow us all away.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Harrison Ford isn’t young anymore, but I guess you’re never too old to play an action hero. I’m sure the special effects will be amazing – I’m just hoping that the writing is up to par. We’ll see, on June 30th.
Dune:Part 2
There have been so many television adaptations of Frank Herbert’s story. The star-studded first half of this version was as good a version as we’ve yet seen. We don’t get the conclusion until November 3rd, but it’s certain to be quite the ride.
Untitled Ghostbusters Sequel
While I liked Paul Rudd and Finn Wolfhard in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, it was Mckenna Grace’s quirky character Phoebe that stole the show as Egon Spengler’s granddaughter. Since this sequel is scheduled to come out in December and doesn’t yet even have a title, it’s very possible that it will be pushed into 2024, but I personally can’t wait.
Evil Dead Rise
From the red band trailer, Evil Dead Rise looks much more horror and less comedy than Army of Darkness. I’m hoping they’re doing more than just stealing the franchise name and putting it on just another horror movie. The trailer has no Bruce Campbell and I didn’t hear anyone say “I’ll swallow your soul” even a single time. Evil Dead Rise will be in the theaters on April 21st.
Scream VI (3/10)
While there have been far too many sequels, the Scream movies are somehow always fun. I found the last one surprisingly good. It will be out on April 10th.
The Rest
Blue Beetle (8/18)
While I generally don’t care much for DC properties, the upcoming Blue Beetle movie has certainly caught my interest. The brief Blue Beetle first look trailer on YouTube only gives a second-long glimpse of the character, but I look forward to seeing where they go with this one.
Wish
While decades ago, when Disney’s Tron came out, computer animation was a novel thing, today it’s become reversed, and hand-drawn animation is a rarity. Disney is trying to recapture the old-school magic with their new film Wish, which you can see on November 22, 2023.
Elemental
A new Pixar film is always exciting. This June, we’ll get Elemental, which takes place in a world whose inhabitants are made of either air, fire, water, or land. The plot centers around a water guy and a fire girl learning how much they have in common.
The Old Way
A western with Nicolas Cage? Sure, I’m in. The plot looks rather typical, but as ever with these films, it’s all about the acting. This one is supposedly already in theaters.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
As someone who’s played Dungeons and Dragons since the eighties, I’ve got mixed and complex feelings about this one. Sure, I’d love the movie to be great. But I remember the supremely cringy Dungeons and Dragons film that came out 23 years ago, and I fear it will turn out like that one. I’m sure I’ll see it on March 31st, but I’m wary of being burned again.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Like so many children of the eighties, I read this book in grade school. The young actress playing Margaret looked familiar to me, and it turns out that she played Cassie Lang alongside Paul Rudd in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Super Mario Bros.
I’ve heard lots of peoples’ complaints about the new Super Marios Bros. Movie, and I’ll agree that the 1985 movie was garbage despite how great Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo generally are. My only complaints about this film, based on the trailer, is the rainbow road. I have been on the rainbow road, and at no point is it as straight as the rainbow road in the trailer looks to be. In any event, you can see the Super Mario Bros. Movie in theaters on April 7th.
Knock at the Cabin
M. Night Shymalan’s newest film is already in theaters. Dave Bautista, Johnathan Groff, and Ruper Grint. The film is creepy, with an almost Cabin in the Woods-like feel. Color me interested.
Rebel Moon
The trailer gives Rebel Moon an almost Dune-like feel. A Netflix film due out this year.
