Deadpool is set to premiere Friday, Feb. 12, and the excitement is at an all-time high for fans of the movie about the “mercenary with a mouth.”
After a slew of inventive trailers and promotions, including a Snapchat filter released this past Sunday catering to Super Bowl fans, the success of the movie is ultimately in the hands of how many fans will see this comic book fan favorite.
(AP Photo)
In my opinion, there is a chance for numerous box office records to be broken here. Given that this is the first superhero blockbuster to come out this year, it will be very interesting to see how this X-Men film fares, as the marketing has been excellent.
Given that Star Wars: Episode VIII has been pushed from a May 2017 premiere date to December 2017, disappointed many fans must be. However, this move makes sense considering The Force Awakens’ excellent performance in the December block, having overtaken Titanic as the second highest grossing film of all time behind Avatar. Speaking of Avatar, the sequel to James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic has been pushed back from December 2017 to a later, unknown date, most likely due to avoid competition with Star Wars. One must wonder if we will ever see this Avatar sequel, as it has been pushed back countless times.
It has also been confirmed that Gwendoline Christie will return for Episode VIII, reprising her role as Captain Phasma, the chrome-plated Stormtrooper commander. Phasma had a surprisingly small part in The Force Awakens, considering she was featured all over the posters and merchandise as though she were a main character. Perhaps they should have brought back the “Traitor!” storm trooper that has been so popular on social media.
It has been announced that Michael Sheen, known for his work in Underworld and Frost/Nixon, is one of the cast members of the upcoming Pixar movie Finding Dory. Coming out on June 17, the long awaited sequel to the 2003 hit Finding Nemo will also feature the voices of other talents like Ellen DeGeneres, who voiced Dory in the original Finding Nemo, and Modern Family’s Ty Burrell. Not much is known about the plot, yet with returning talents, like DeGeneres and Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton, who also voiced the character “Crush” in the first film, hopefully this sequel will be just as good as the first.
Moving right along, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set to come out on May 5, 2017. Returning director James Gunn has confirmed that the film’s latest villain, as well as the father of Starlord (played by Chris Pratt), have been cast, although he did not reveal exactly who will be playing them. The film will surely build upon the team established in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and set things up for the upcoming, two-part Avengers: Infinity War film.
Bryan Singer has confirmed that he will be directing the upcoming remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. After Singer is done with the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, it’ll be full steam ahead for this Jules Verne adaptation, with no release date confirmed yet.
Despite losing one of its biggest characters in the death of Paul Walker, The Fast and Furious series is far from over, as Vin Diesel has just announce the release dates for the next three movies in the action saga. The eighth, ninth and tenth films will come out on April 14, 2017, April 19, 2019, and April 2, 2021, respectively. We shall see if audiences are not yet fatigued, as any car action will be hard to top after this year’s Mad Max: Fury Road.
