by Sofia Voss, The Cincinnati Herald

It’s safe to say that 2023 was a revolutionary year for film, reflected by the historic Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strikes. With the two strikes overlapping, Hollywood effectively shut down for roughly half the year, delaying or otherwise impacting dozens of film and television projects. As of November, both strikes have ended, and many of the affected productions are on track to hit theaters in 2024.

Marvel, which originally planned for a record-breaking six new films to come out in 2024, is now expecting only four. Among those 2024 releases are Madame Web, the first-ever female-led Spider-Man spinoff film, and the third installment of the Venom franchise. Renowned production company A24 has a full 2024 slate, including Mia Goth’s return to horror in MaXXXine, Ti West’s follow-up to X and Pearl. New offerings from renowned directors like Luca Guadagnino and George Miller are also forthcoming.

The pressure is on for the 2024 box office to restore Hollywood to financial stability after the combined challenges of the pandemic and the fight to give its workers fair wages. The first four months of 2024 are fairly sparse on new releases, in large part because prolonged labor negotiations set timelines back for films scheduled in the early part of the year. There are, however, a few prospective big hits in those months, including high-profile films like Argylle and Dune: Part Two. The Mean Girls musical, which premiered in January 2024, lived up to its anticipation—garnering a $28M box office debut and the number one spot after just three days.

Suffice it to say, 2024 is not only an incredibly important year for the future of the film industry but also quite an exciting one in terms of its cinematic offerings. To give audiences more insight into what to expect, ‘Casino Bonus CA’ looked ahead at movies coming out in 2024 and highlighted the most buzzed-about titles.

Blitz – director: Steve McQueen

Blitz takes its name from the World War II German aerial bombing campaign known as the ‘blitzkrieg,’ following a group of civilians in London during the years 1940 and 1941. The film is written and directed by Steve McQueen, the British filmmaker best known for his Academy Award-winning drama 12 Years a Slave. Blitz marks McQueen’s first narrative feature film since 2018’s Widows, and stars acting talents like Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham, and Harris Dickinson.

Trailer: youtu.be/JtOAbbGV6lo?si=glPVTBHhf0zUAEUJ.

Borderlands – director: Eli Roth

Borderlands is based on the popular video game of the same name, which follows a team of hunters as they travel to the dystopian planet Pandora in search of mysterious alien vaults. The feature film adaptation has horror filmmaker Eli Roth at its helm, and follows up his 2023 slasher Thanksgiving. While many plot details are still hidden, Roth has said that the film will loosely adhere to the Borderlands game, but isn’t precious about the specifics.

Trailer: youtu.be/lU_NKNZljoQ?si=itqulIX5uciDVKkF.

Challengers – director: Luca Guadagnino

Originally slated to premiere on the opening night of the prestigious Venice Film Festival in 2023, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is now set for theatrical release on April 26, 2024. Challengers is a romantic drama that follows three young tennis stars as they contend with the price of winning and continued relevance. The film stars Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor in a convoluted love triangle that caused an internet meltdown after the release of the trailer.

Trailer: youtu.be/AXEK7y1BuNQ?si=Klfbh78QBYMMXi7M.

Civil War – director: Alex Garland

Civil War marks Alex Garland’s third directorial collaboration with A24, following 2022’s Men and 2014’s Ex Machina. The film depicts a desolate and divided near-future United States, caught in the midst of a civil war after 19 states secede from the Union. Kirsten Dunst stars as a journalist trying to survive alongside her family. Civil War also features rising star Cailee Spaeny, whose performance in Sofia Coppola’s 2023 film Priscilla won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.

Trailer: youtu.be/cA4wVhs3HC0?si=MDqkcdU4v_BPVX-4.

Deadpool & Wolverine – director: Shawn Levy

One of the Marvel films impacted by the Hollywood strikes, Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theaters on July 26 after getting pushed back from its original May 2024 release. With filming happening as recently as November 2023, Ryan Reynolds will reprise his role as Deadpool. This installment will also include Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Emma Corrin as the new lead villain, and Succession star Matthew Macfadyen in a still-unknown role.

Trailer: youtu.be/uJMCNJP2ipI?si=hXPsGqGA1yyrWAYd.

Dune: Part Two — director: Denis Villeneuve

The first installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune project in 2021 was a massive success, earning over $400 million in the global box office—and if Villeneuve has anything to say about it, Dune: Part Two will be even bigger. At a press conference, the director was quoted as saying that the sequel is a “much better” movie than ‘part one,’ reaching “an intensity and a quality of emotions” that he hadn’t quite attained in the first film. Like several films on this list, its release date has been shuffled due to the strike but is currently slated for March 1.

Trailer: youtu.be/U2Qp5pL3ovA?si=q2ERjoR7GiImJ9lN.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga —director: George Miller

Charlize Theron originated the character Furiosa in 2015’s critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road, a spinoff film of the classic Mad Max series starring Mel Gibson. In Furiosa, Anya Taylor-Joy will play the titular role in the Fury Road prequel, following a younger version of the character on an odyssey to get back home after being kidnapped by Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). With George Miller once again at the helm, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has an expected release of May 24.

Trailer: youtu.be/XJMuhwVlca4?si=XuwBqOqrdsnK3mnn.

Here —director: Robert Zemeckis

Robert Zemeckis is the director behind blockbuster hits including 1985’s Back to the Future, 1994’s Forrest Gump, 2000’s Cast Away, and 2012’s Flight, so it is safe to say there’s buzz surrounding his upcoming film Here. Starring frequent collaborator Tom Hanks, reuniting with his Forrest Gump co-star Robin Wright, Here follows the lives of people who occupied the same room at various points over the course of centuries. The film harnesses Metaphysics Live, an AI tool, to de-age actors on set in real time without the need for postproduction digital effects. The film is based on a graphic novel of the same name written by Richard McGuire.

Trailer: youtu.be/Tp6b9-YuMxE?si=zm09ImdBwqG5Fxz4.

Horizon: An American Saga — director: Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner is no stranger to Westerns. He’s the star of the hit television show Yellowstone, as well as 1990’s Dances with Wolves, 1994’s Wyatt Earp, and the 2003 film Open Range, among numerous other films. Now, the actor is writing and directing his own series of Western films titled Horizon: An American Saga. This two-part film project is said to explore the topic of Westward expansion, centered around the years before and after the Civil War.

Trailer: youtu.be/V1KaJvDMlNc?si=Q2dMCFSr6KpDIPFC.

Inside Out 2— director: Kelsey Mann

In 2015, Disney and Pixar’s animated film Inside Out was released to great critical and commercial acclaim, snagging the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2016. Where the first film explores the mind of 11-year-old Riley, the sequel promises to explore her teenage emotions, which includes the addition of Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke. While Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black will return as Joy, Sadness, and Anger, respectively, Bill Hader’s Fear and Mindy Kaling’s Disgust have been replaced.

Trailer: youtu.be/WVN2COI5qk8?si=8BmZAkHlgH_QhqpP.

Joker: Folie à Deux — director: Todd Phillips

While Batman adaptations abound, Joker: Folie à Deux promises an entirely new look into the world of Gotham. Following the box office success of 2019’s Joker, which starred Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, joined by Zazie Beetz and Robert De Niro, the sequel introduces Lady Gaga as notorious Batman villain Harley Quinn. Gaga’s portrayal will no doubt differ significantly from previous depictions of the character, such as Margot Robbie’s, particularly because Joker: Folie à Deux will be a musical.

Trailer: youtu.be/p6CEDp4vzBI?si=a_Jx2SoeD7bV0K8q.

Maria — director: Pablo Larraín

Pablo Larraín has established himself as director of some of the most high-profile biopics of the last decade, including 2016’s Neruda and Jackie, as well as 2021’s Spencer, which featured Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. His next film, Maria, will follow legendary Greek American opera singer Maria Callas, played by Angelina Jolie, in the last few days of her life. Even though the production signed an interim SAG agreement in order to begin filming during the strike, there is no set release date. Maria is reportedly still in postproduction.

Megalopolis — director: Francis Ford Coppola

As the title indicates, Megalopolis features an impressive roster of megastars including Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LaBeouf, and Aubrey Plaza, just to name a few. Not much information about the film’s plot and characters is publicly available, but it is rumored to explore a destroyed New York City and an architect determined to rebuild it. Megalopolis is apparently a passion project for Coppola (so much so that he self-financed most of the nearly $100 million production) and he’s taking his time to get it right, pushing the film back from its initially expected 2023 release date.

Mufasa: The Lion King — director: Barry Jenkins

Barry Jenkins is best known for his Best Picture Oscar-winning drama Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. Now he’s lending his talents to Disney for the upcoming film Mufasa: The Lion King, which will serve as a prequel to Jon Favreau’s 2019 remake of The Lion King. The 2019 movie broke ground with its photorealistic animation style, an aesthetic Mufasa will also adopt. In the aftermath of the Hollywood strikes, the release date was pushed from July to Dec. 20.

Trailer: youtu.be/RaSDb5iyw9w?si=xaR1FT9_nR2L_qbG.

Nosferatu — director: Robert Eggers

The first-ever Nosferatu came out all the way back in 1922 as a silent film directed by F.W. Murnau. The film centers around the evil vampire Count Orlok as he terrorizes an unsuspecting young couple. The new Nosferatu is written and directed by Robert Eggers, whose past films (including 2015’s The Witch and 2019’s The Lighthouse) showcase the director’s aptitude for eerie horror. Starring Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp, Eggers’ Nosferatu is slated for a Christmastime release.

They Follow — director: David Robert Mitchell

David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 film It Follows was the low-budget indie horror hit that no one saw coming, garnering over $20 million at the global box office. Nearly a decade later, the sequel, They Follow, was announced, with lead actress Maika Monroe committed to return. While there are no plot details available, it’s likely that the sexually transmitted monster capable of shifting its appearance at any time will return as an antagonist. Additional research is by Luke Hicks; story editing by Eliza Siegel; copy editing by Tim Bruns.  This story originally appeared on Casino Bonus CA and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

(From Borderlands to Megalopolis: Sneak Peek at 2024’s Biggest Films appeared first in The Cincinnati Herald.)