From animated remakes, to superhero adaptations, to long-awaited sequels, and even a poker flick; 2016 should be as good a year as any for movie fans. Picking just five was not an easy task for our staff, but we managed to finally agree on a shortlist of films we are most looking forward to in 2016.
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice
The classic argument you would always have amongst your friends will finally be settled. Thanks to Warner Bros. studios, next March we will finally find out if the Dark Knight could outwit and defeat the Man of Steel. Set mostly in Superman’s Metropolis, neither suphero seems to trust the other, but as tensions build another threat begins to emerge that could endanger the cities of both heroes.
Plot details are coming out slowly, and we don’t want to give away too much, but at the root of the heroes’ quarrel could possibly be a familiar foe that you love to hate. Additionally, the film will also be the first big screen appearances for Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
The Final Table
Given that poker and online gambling are as popular as ever, it should be no surprise that film studios are still cranking out related films. Set ‘somewhere deep in Vegas’, nine poker stars are kidnapped in a dark basement and forced to play a game of hold ‘em for the highest stakes possible: their lives.
It’s Saw meets Rounders, and we think this 2016 release (exact month TBD) is a creative twist on your run-of-the-mill horror film that is right up our alley.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Twenty years after the original’s release, the sequel to Independence Day invites us into the story two decades after the human race successfully fended off an alien invasion. Thanks to the alien technology left behind from the battle, the Earth is now better defended and more unified against a future attack.
Or so the humans think. Prior to their defeat in the last battle, the aliens apparently sent out a distress signal back home, and an even larger and more powerful invasion force is now headed toward the feisty blue and green planet. This June 2016 release unfortunately won’t feature a return of Will Smith, however supporting stars Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman from the original film will be back.
Suicide Squad
Instead, Will Smith will be appearing on screens this summer in Suicide Squad, an adaptation of DC Comics’ misfit supergroup of the same name. The cast features actors, villains, and anti-heroes of various levels of notoriety. This includes Batman/Bruce Wayne (played by Ben Affleck), the Joker (Jared Leto), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Deadshot (Smith), among many other lesser-known “heroes” and actors.
While the oddball group are far from friends, they are forced to ban together in exchange for lesser prison sentences from the government. Scheduled for an August release, the film should be notable if for no other reason than Leto’s performance, as he allegedly never broke character during filming.
The Jungle Book
Since Disney’s original animated film debuted in 1967, many have tried to recapture the magic of Rudyard Kipling’s classic book of the same name with limited success. In 2016, Disney has decided to take another crack at creating a newer version of the story that younger fans will hopefully go on to appreciate for another 50 years.
Part live action, part CGI, Disney has enlisted relatively unknown child actor Neel Sethi to play Mowgli as he journeys away from his jungle home. Part musical, the film will feature everyone’s favorite Jungle Book characters voiced by a star-studded cast that includes Bill Murray as Baloo and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa.