10) The Fantastic Four
This one is a bit of a weird entry for most anticipated. Whereas the remaining nine films on my list are here because I'm sure they'll be astounding, 'The Fantastic Four' is here rather because I'm just so eager to see whether or not Fox will manage to pull it off. It is also intriguing that we have absolutely nothing official to go from on what the film will look like. We have no officially released posters, stills or trailers. The only thing we do have are a couple of leaked set photos depicting what we can expect The Thing and Doctor Doom to look like. Also this will be the fourth attempt at a film adaptation of the FF after the infamous Roger Corman attempt from the '90s which was apparently so bad it remained unreleased, and the 2005 and 2007 Tim Story features which probably should have remained in the same vault as the Corman feature. But with a solid director and cast, maybe the fourth time will be the charm for this particular property.
9) The Hateful Eight
Let me make this perfectly clear. The only reason that The Hateful Eight isn't in the top five of this list is because of a lack of information about it; specifically a solid release date. Nevertheless I decided to remain optimistic and include it on the 2015 list anyway, because Quentin Tarantino is a director who should always be kept in mind. After the beautifully directed 'Django Unchained', the idea of Tarantino returning to the Western genre is just too good to resist. Coupled with the recent news of a cast list that includes longtime Tarantino collaborators Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth, I have no doubt that this film will be a fantastic one, and I anticipate hearing more news about it.
8) The Jungle Book
I'm a huge fan of the original 'The Jungle Book' by Disney. And I also love Jon Favreau's work. He's proven that he can make a solid family film, from 'Elf'' to 'Zathura', and even through his work on 'Iron Man'. I haven't seen his latest feature, 'Chef', yet, but I've heard that it's good enough to prove the disappointing 'Iron Man 2' and 'Cowboys and Aliens' films to be unfortunate flukes. But even if you put the director aside, just consider the cast list of this feature. Scarlett Johansson voicing the hypnotic snake Kaa, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, the fearsome tiger and antagonist. Bill Murray (Bill frickin' Murray!) as the lovable bear Baloo! Ben Kingsley as the wise panther Bagheera. Christopher Walken as the orangutan, King Louie! These are some of the most inspired voice acting casting calls I've heard in a long time, and while we have yet to see footage from the film here's hoping the blend of CG and live action works out in the film's favor.
7) Inside Out
Pixar really need a win. They have a lot of timeless classics under their belt and for many years we believed them to be the undisputed kings of animation. But since 'Toy Story 3', we haven't really seen them release anything noteworthy. 'Brave' was okay and 'Monsters University' was fun enough, but they don't reach the quality of Pixar's classics. And in the same time period, every other animation studio have been picking up their game. Disney released 'Wreck-It Ralph', 'Frozen' and 'Big Hero Six'. Dreamworks released the 'How to Train Your Dragon' films. Even Warner Bros. shocked everyone this year with 'The Lego Movie'. So Pixar really, really needs 'Inside Out' to knock it out of the park. And from the footage in the recently released trailer (embedded below), it looks like it has a strong chance of doing just that. Pixar also have 'The Good Dinosaur' releasing in November 2015, so hopefully they can pull a one-two punch to once again establish them as the kings of animation. And I have a very strong feeling that 'Inside Out' will be a step in the right direction.
6) Jurassic World
"You just went and made a new dinosaur? Probably not a good idea.". Wise words from Chris Pratt in the trailer for the new installment for the 'Jurassic Park' series probably summarizes the plot better than I ever could. I love the idea that Jurassic World is a thing that has become boring to the consumers within this new film. Because that's exactly what would happen. No matter how good something is, we always get bored of it eventually and go on to the next thing. I also love the absolute absurdity of humans splicing together dinosaur DNA just because they can, because again it's exactly what we would do. I can guarantee you right now if I had the ability to, I'd make a T-Rex with wings. For science! Either way, this new film looks freaking fun. Chris Pratt's dialogue seems a little stiff and wooden in the trailer, but it seems the film will set him up for enough fun action to prove once again to use why he deserves to be an A-List star after he already blew us away with 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. Hopefully 'Jurassic World' can strive near the heights that the awesome original has set up, but if not it at least looks like it'll be an extremely fun way to kill a couple of hours.
5) Mad Max: Fury Road
This film looks fucking insane. Described by director George Miller as a "western on wheels", 'Mad Max: Fury Road' stars Tom Hardy as Max, joined by Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult in lead roles. Not much of the film's plot is known beyond Tom Hardy's Max aiding Charlize Theron across the desert as they are chased by Hoult's Nux. But the plot isn't really what sells the film, nor are the three admittedly strong lead actors. It's the utter carnage that the film promises through it's action sequences, coupled with the stunning visual style that Miller has recreated in the trailers. There isn't much I can say here to sell you on the film more than what the trailer itself can do, but if the film lives up to the promotional material it might be one of the best action films in recent years. Check out the trailer below and see for yourself!
4) Ant-Man
'Ant-Man' has had it's fair share of issues. Most notably was the departure of Edgar Wright from the project, apparently due to creative differences. Marvel quickly replaced Wright with Peyton Reed however, and the film has lost no steam with it still currently on course for a July release. We haven't seen any official footage from the film yet beyond old test footage from when Wright was still attached to direct, and other content we have seen from the film has been minimal, with the above banner (picturing what we can assume is Scott Lang's Ant-Man costume on the left, and the villainous Yellowjacket on the right) only just being released recently. The film follows young thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) stealing the Ant-Man technology from an elderly Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), but not much is officially known from there. A trailer was just recently classified however, seemingly indicating the first footage is on its way (possibly with the Agent Carter premiere next week?). But I'm still extremely excited for this film. This will be the 12th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and beyond the odd slip-up such as 'Iron Man 2', Marvel have done a fine job of all their films thus far. And though people may cite his ridiculous set up as a reason that Ant-Man may fail, last year's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' proved that if you handle it right, anything can work on the big screen. Hopefully the trailer will drop soon and prove my suspicions right and help everyone else get anticipated for 'Ant-Man', because I think we're in for a delightful Marvel-styled surprise with this property.
3) Spectre
I'm not the biggest James Bond fan in the world. I find quite a lot of the older films to be a little bit too cheesy and ridiculous to be taken seriously beyond anything other than mindless fun. But Daniel Craig's new gritty Bond has really changed my perspective on the franchise. For quite a while I considered 'Casino Royale' to be a fluke since it was one of the few Bond films I truly enjoyed, and since the follow up 'Quantum of Solace' did not appeal to me at all. But then Sam Mendes ('Road to Perdition') came along and released 'Skyfall' and hit the highs that I thought would have been a one off with Craig's first Bond outing. It provided a fun yet gritty story that also paid tribute in spades to Bond's rich 50 year legacy. So you can only imagine how excited I was to hear Mendes had decided to return to direct Craig's fourth Bond film 'Spectre'. The title alone seems to indicate that Mendes will continue to respect the Bond legacy and incorporate it into modern adventures as to not alienate the fans but instead both appeal to them and newer fans like myself. Throw in the fact the incredibly talented Christoph Waltz is joining the production and 'Spectre' certainly deserves a top five spot on the list.
2) Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Holy shit, it feels good to write that title! The entire concept of a new Star Wars film feels incredibly real now we have a title and footage to work with. The last two entries on this list should cause no surprise to anybody (most similar lists I've read have these pegged as the top two as well, in various order), but the obvious picks are sometimes the right ones. Yes, it'll technically have only been 10 years since the last Star Wars film by the time 'The Force Awakens' releases, but it will have been 32 years since the last true Star Wars film was released, and from what we've heard JJ Abrams say, this installment definitely feels like it should rank among the original trilogy. The short teaser Disney released for the film was recently revealed to have only been released to satisfy the huge fanbase. And you can definitely sense how satisfied that fanbase was with the internet erupting with comments about the film after the teaser hit the net. I applaud Abrams and Disney for comprising the trailer mainly with shots of new material such as the characters portrayed by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac over the obvious fan pleasing shots they could have included of Luke, Leia and Han. And while they may not count as original characters, that final shot of the Millennium Falcon going against the Tie Fighters was incredibly gratifying. I'm extremely glad I've seen the trailer twice in IMAX now, and the thought of being in a galaxy far, far away once again on the big screen is extremely exciting! So exciting, in fact, that there's only one other film coming out next year that manages to have me more anticipated.
1) Avengers: Age of Ultron
Yep, no surprises here. While Star Wars may promise us an exciting return to form, the lackluster stench of the prequels coupled with the fact that it's a whole year away admittedly has my anticipation for it slightly lower than most others have ranked it. But Marvel are on a hot streak right now. And 'Age of Ultron' is only four months away (in fact, it's the earliest release on this entire list). The Marvel Cinematic Universe is like this huge self-sustaining hype machine too. Every time a new installment comes out and people like it, they only get even more excited for the next one. Even beyond the hype that the solo films create, this is the sequel to the third highest grossing film of all time, so you can guarantee there's going to be a lot of noise come release day. With Joss Whedon back at the director's helm and the original cast joined by new talent such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and of course James Spader giving a delightfully sinister turn as antagonist Ultron, the film promises to elevate the stakes from the first installment to new heights. If you loved seeing the fan pleasing moments of the first like Thor brawling with the Hulk on the Helicarrier, Whedon shows in the trailer that he's not out of tricks yet with Iron Man donning his Hulkbuster armour to tackle the Green Goliath. And strangely enough, I'm also excited for the ramifications of 'Age of Ultron' to hit the MCU almost as much as I am for the film's events itself. Hopefully Marvel have managed to create the 'Empire Strikes Back' of the Avengers, and hopefully a year from now when we're all discussing what films astonished us and what disappointed us, 'Age of Ultron' manages to hit all the right notes and become one of the best films of the year, and not one of the most overhyped disappointments of all time. For now though, we've still got this incredibly awesome trailer to help pass the time with until April 24th!
That's the ten films I'm anticipating the most in 2015, then. Not necessarily the best of the year, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of films I missed out that I'm not even aware of yet that'll knock it out of the park, but there's enough potential here to indicate 2015 may be the best year for films yet! Honorable mentions to 'Chappie', 'Tomorrowland', 'The Good Dinosaur' and 'Mission: Impossible 5', all of which I wanted to include on the list but I need to see a little bit more to secure them as my most anticipated. Again, just because I say these are my most anticipated, it doesn't mean it's what I think it'll be the best. For example, I think Brad Bird is going to knock it out of the park once again with 'Tomorrowland' like he did with 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' and 'The Incredibles', but I haven't seen enough from it yet to anticipate it more than these ten films.
But what ten films are you guys anticipating most? Comment below and let me know how our lists deliver. And for more on film throughout the new year, make sure to check back here!
