Year of nostalgia

Next year features much anticipated movies to existing franchises

Kaylee Aguilar

In 2018, several anticipated films will hit the big screen for movie fanatics. These movies include Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, A Wrinkle in Time and Incredibles 2.

Anika Arutla, Staff Writer

Nothing is better than butter melting onto your tongue, the fizzy feeling in your throat as you take a sip of an ice cold Coke with adrenaline rushing through your body as you watch your favorite character escape death. Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough moments like these, but luckily, 2018 promises plenty.

 

January: The Maze Runner: Death Cure

 

Our favorite optimistic dystopian character, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), returns to the big screen to conclude the epic Maze Runner series. The series features a group of kids who are stuck in a maze and must escape to survive. During the end of the first movie, they escape only to find out their reality was much worse. Now they must choose between saving themselves and saving the world.

 

The movie was set to come out in February 2017, but O’Brien was injured in a stunt accident. This postponed production for a year. However, you can catch The Maze Runner: Death Cure running into theaters on Jan. 26.

 

February: Black Panther

 

Marvel introduced Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War. Now Marvel is taking his story and bringing it to life on the big screen with his own independent film. Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the new king of Wakanda, an advanced African society. There is not much Marvel has said about the plot of Black Panther but we can all safely assume it will be action-packed and full of moments that will have us more hooked on Marvel than ever before.

 

Black Panther claws into theaters on Feb. 16.

 

March: A Wrinkle in Time

 

I still remember the time my fourth grade teacher, Mr. Rice, read my class A Wrinkle in Time. I remember absolutely praising it and when I heard Disney was making it into a movie, I screamed. The story centers around a young girl, her brother and her classmate as they try to find their father, a scientist trapped on another planet. The movie casts prized actors including Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine.

 

This movie hits theaters on March 9.

 

April: X-Men: The New Mutants

 

April brings an addition to the X-Men fandom. The New Mutants is about a group of teenagers with superpowers who band together to escape the facility they are being held in. Actors, such as Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones and Charlie Heaton from Stranger Things, are featured as two of the teenagers. Whether you are into superheros or not, X-Men: New Mutants is one you can’t miss.

 

It soars into theaters April 13.

 

May: Avengers: Infinity War

 

The one movie I and millions more have been waiting for since it was announced is Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War. With two Avenger movies made in the Marvel universe becoming blockbusters, Infinity War will be no exception.

 

Unlike the other Avengers movies, this features every superhero Marvel has created including Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther and many more. The ending of Thor: Ragnarok introduces the plot to Infinity War. It is confirmed that Infinity War will be split into two movies.

 

Avengers: Infinity War smashes into theaters on May 4.

 

June: The Incredibles 2

 

Disney Pixar never fails to disappoint, especially when it comes to sequels. Fourteen years after the first Incredibles came out, Disney finally decided to put out a sequel for the movie that captured our hearts. The Incredibles are your average family, just with superpowers, and we can’t get enough of them. Although Disney has not released a definite plotline to this movie, we know it will be a good successor to the first movie.

 

The Incredibles 2 will sprint into theaters June 15.

 

July: Hotel Transylvania 3

 

Mix Adam Sandler and Dracula, and what do you get? A lovable and relatable vampire.

 

Hotel Transylvania was a hit right off the bat when it was released 2012, due to the actors behind the voices and the characters’ humor. Selena Gomez (NAME), Andy Samberg (NAME) and Sandler returns to play the voices of our beloved vampires and human. In Hotel Transylvania 3, the characters take a cruise for a vacation. There is a lot in store when it bites theaters on July 13.

 

August: Barbie

 

There is not much information on this movie so far – Amy Schumer was originally set to play Barbie but declined due to her busy schedule. Anne Hathaway will now step in to assume the role.

 

It is a live action movie about Barbie getting kicked out of Barbieland for not being perfect enough.

 

Barbie struts into theaters Aug. 8.

 

September: Robin Hood

 

Taron Egerton is taking up the role of the thief that stole with good reason in the upcoming Robin Hood. This movie features actors such as Jamie Foxx as Little John and Jamie Dornan as Robin’s half brother. In this version of the story, Robin is a crusader who joins in a revolt against the English crown. In addition, Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the producers.

 

Robin Hood steals theaters on Sept. 21.

 

October: The Jungle Book

 

After the successful adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book in 2016 by Disney, The Warner Bros. is making one in 2018. The Warner Bros. cast Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan and Christian Bale as Bagheera. The tale of a young boy growing up in a jungle and being raised by animals has been told countless times, but nonetheless, it will be exciting to see how The Warner Bros. portrays the tale.

 

The Jungle Book roars into theaters Oct. 18.

 

November: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald

 

The world can’t seem to get enough of either J.K. Rowling nor the world she has created within the books she has written.

 

After the beloved Harry Potter series ended, it felt as though Rowling would not be revisiting the world of Hogwarts until she introduced the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise.

 

I remember going to theaters the day it came out and watching it, completely awestruck. It was announced that there will be five parts to the franchise and all of them take place in the early 20th century.

 

The second movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, is about Dumbledore and Scamander fighting the evil Grindelwald. Newt Scamander will be played by Eddie Redmayne, Albus Dumbledore played by Jude Law and Gellert Grindelwald played by Johnny Depp.

 

The movie appears in theaters on Nov. 16.

 

December: Aquaman

 

In November, when Justice League came out, we were introduced to Aquaman and his world of Atlantis for a brief second.

 

In December 2018, we get a movie fully dedicated to him. Jason Momoa plays Aquaman. In the movie, Aquaman is torn between his people and the people on the surface. DC Comics doesn’t exactly have a perfect record for making blockbuster movies, with the exception of Wonder Woman, but this movie has potential and I have faith they can execute it correctly.

Aquaman swims into theaters on Dec. 21.

Follow Anika on twitter @AnikaArutla