By Elazar Abrahams
January is here, which means it’s time to speculate about the pop culture year ahead. What has the potential to be good? What’s going to bomb hard? Will Godzilla and Kong have a romantic relationship in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire? Only time will tell, but sometimes the speculation and waiting game can be just as fun as actual opening weekends. So, without further ado, here are TV and City’s five most anticipated movies of 2024.
Mickey 17 (March 29)
This sci-fi flick, director Bong Joon-ho’s return to screens since his 2019 masterpiece and Best Picture winner Parasite, is both the movie on this list we know the least about and the closest to being released. Intriguing! We know it stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo, and we know it’s based on a novel about a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. The protagonist is a disposable employee, meaning after one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. Audiences can expect that to mean some of Joon-ho’s signature class commentary mixed with his most supernatural setting yet. No trailer or even poster has been revealed, but Mickey 17 has earned a spot on the hype meter simply for the fact that it is a Bong film. The man is on quite a hot streak, to say the least — 2013’s Snowpiercer, 2017’s Okja, and Parasite are all some of the best movies of this century so far. Let him cook!
Challengers (April 26)
The most enjoyable theater experiences don’t need superheroes or big explosions; they need a bunch of talented actors at the top of their game playing in a great director’s sandbox. That’s what I hope we’re getting with Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. The lights in my local AMC will go down and I’ll be treated to two hours of Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist performing the hell out of a juicy tennis and relationship drama. The three young cast members are all stellar while Guadagnino’s sensual inclinations don’t translate to box office success or even critical acclaim (while you might know Call Me By Your Name, his 2022 film Bones and All was criminally underseen), it does usually mean that the folks that do show up for this are in for something special.
Civil War (April 26)
“In the near future, a team of journalists travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating civil war that has engulfed the entire nation. Struggling to survive during a near-future civil war where the government becomes a dystopian dictatorship and partisan extremist militias regularly commit political violence.” There’s a world in which that story is straight to streaming drek, bottom of the dust bin action and guns. There’s another where it’s being written and directed by Alex Garland, a man whose projects are never schlocky. I’m glad we live in the second. Still, probability-wise, there’s a high chance this movie is not good and really in your face about the country’s real-life divisions. Why then, is it one of my most anticipated? The discourse, obviously. Civil War is sure to inspire a ton of stuffy think pieces, right-wing outrage no matter the content of the script, and lots of memes. Can’t wait for the toxicity. Plus, Nick Offerman is playing the president, and Kirsten Dunst is the lead. Can’t complain.
Joker: Folie à Deux (October 4)
For the most part, I actually despise the first Joker. It’s a dumb person’s idea of a smart movie. But as the years have passed and Marvel vomits out more and more mediocre projects, I’ve come to appreciate that it at least tried to do something different with the comic book genre. And I don’t want to get my hopes up for its sequel, but Lady Gaga is playing Harley Quinn. And supposedly it’s also, kind of, sort of, a musical? I’m intrigued, and it’s okay to admit you are too. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is undeniably stellar and closeups of his expressions could sustain hours of runtime alone. This is a blockbuster no one will want to miss.
Wicked: Part One (November 27)
I like musicals, sue me. I like big crowd pleasers and bright colors and exciting setpieces. The first half of Wicked (yes, sadly, the story is being split across two movies) promises to provide all of that. Ariana Grande is Gelinda, and Cynthia Erivo, who has the voice of a literal angel, is Elphaba. The rest of the cast, from Bowen Yang to Jonathan Bailey, is promising as well. Quiet arthouse cinema is great, but sometimes you just need a green witch and flying monkeys played by pop stars to believe in the magic of the movies again.
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