JANUARY
Kraven the Hunter
Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Opening on: January 13, 2023
Originally set to appear sometime in the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man franchise before it was discontinued by Sony, the classic Spidey villain finally makes the jump to the big screen. The film will be directed by J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost, Triple Frontier), with Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who portrayed Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron) set to play the character.
FEBRUARY
(Photo by ©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
The Marvels (2023)
Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson
Opening on: February 17, 2023
The MCU ain’t getting any smaller, as Marvel plans to release five films in 2023 alone, including this sequel to Captain Marvel, which has Nia DaCosta (2021’s Candyman) at the helm and Brie Larson returning as Carol Danvers. The film will also be the big screen debut of Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel after her eponymous Disney+ series debuts in 2022.
MARCH
Dungeons & Dragons
Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith
Opening on: March 3, 2023
The popular role-playing game gets a shiny reboot, courtesy of directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night, 2015’s Vacation) and an all-star cast that includes Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Bridgerton breakout star Regé-Jean Page, and more.
Wonka
Directed by: Paul King
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Keegan-Michael Key
Opening on: March 17, 2023
Timothée Chalamet steps into the offbeat shoes of a young Willy Wonka in this origin story, which captures the budding chocolatier as he crosses paths with the Oompa-Loompas. Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Keegan Michael-Key, and Rowan Atkinson round out the grade-A cast, while Paul King, who enjoyed massive critical success with his two Paddington films, takes the helm.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada
Opening on: March 24, 2023
Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves’ blockbuster action franchise finally reaches theaters in 2023 after a two-year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t know much about the film, except that John Wick is at war with — and possibly presumed dead by — the High Table, and Stahelski has gone on record to say that there is a possibility that Chapter 4 will not be a “happy ending” for its central character.
MAY
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klmentieff, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki
Opening in: May 5, 2023
Writer-director James Gunn’s follows his giddily irreverent 2021 effort The Suicide Squad with the latest Guardians, which is sure to have a winning Chris Pratt, an awesome mix — see what we did there? — of other actors, and, we’re just guessing, plenty of comedic hijinks. We also know that Will Poulter is set to play Adam Warlock, who was teased at the end of Vol. 2.
Fast & Furious 10 (2023)
Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel
Opening on: May 19, 2023
This is only part one of the tenth installment of the most speedy and angry franchise out there. (Part two, rumored to be the last in the series, will drop in 2024.) And while the plot is hush-hush at the moment, we know that Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and the rest of the family will be back to do their thing.
The Little MermaidDirected by: Rob Marshall
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina
Opening on: May 26, 2023
This live-action remake of Disney’s fish-out-of-water favorite has some inspired casting — in particular, Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Awkwafina (Scuttle), and Javier Bardem (King Triton) — and new tunes co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, while pop star Halle Bailey will don some fins to play Ariel.
JUNE
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
Directed by: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Jack Dylan Grazer, Asher Angel Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Megan Good
Opening on: June 2, 2023
Zachary Levi is back in this sequel to the 2019 hit DC superhero film, which follows a teen foster child who acquires superhuman abilities when he utters the word “Shazam!” Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu join the cast as Hespera and Kalypso, the daughters of Atlas, who will feature as the primary villains in the story.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.
Starring: Ron Perlman, Anthony Ramos, Peter Cullen, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez
Opening on: June 9, 2023
The Transformers franchise takes another step back in time after the 1980s-set Bumblebee, taking viewers back to the mid-’90s as a pair of archaeologists stumble into a three-way conflict between different factions of Transformers. The film is loosely based on the Beast Wars storyline and will be directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), with Peter Cullen reprising his role as the voice of Optimus Prime and people like Ron Perlman, Anthony Ramos, and Dominique Fishback joining the cast.
Indiana Jones 5 (2023)
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook
Opening on: June 30, 2023
For the first time ever, a person not named Steven Spielberg is helming an Indiana Jones film. James Mangold (Walk the Line) directs this long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which boasts turns by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Antonio Banderas, and, of course, Harrison Ford.