The year 2020 was a terrible one for all. The Coronavirus pandemic put a stop to several activities, including the favourite weekend activity - watching movies with friends at theatres. Movie halls were closed. Production stopped or shelved. Many big releases were indefinitely postponed as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. As we look ahead to 2021, we do so with as many questions as answers. Will people still watch movies in theatres, or will more and more movies go the way of Warner Bros entire 2021 slate and make their way to people via the TV sets in our living rooms? When will the masses feel safe enough to venture back to movie theatres, and how many more will close before they do? How will the year accommodate a slew of postponed 2020 blockbusters like Black Widow, Dune and Eternals crowding the calendar?
For now, here’s the list of top nine movies in the making that are due to hit the screen in 2021. While you may not get to hit the theatre yet, you can watch some of the new releases in the comfort of your home.
Fast and Furious 9
Release date: May 28, 2021
The series is a sequel to The Fate of the Furious (2017). The series has always been to promote the idea of “family”. But in the ninth instalment of Fast and Furious, directed by Justin Lin plot, there is a twist by making the new threat as Dominic forsaken brother, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew join forces to battle his forsaken brother, Jakob Toretto (John Cena) who came out to be the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered.
Black Widow
Release date: May 7, 2021
Black Widow aka Natasha Romanov’s work as a Russian spy landed up with some bad people. When the USSR breaks up, the government tries to kill Romanov as the action moves to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative. Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Black Widow for an origin story directed by Cate Shortland that casts Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour as the superheroes.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Release date: March 5, 2021 (Disney+)
Disney’s latest 3D animation film, Raya and the Last Dragon is directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada and Don Hall. The film is about the story of a land where long ago dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity from evil monsters known as Druun. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and a star-studded cast, featuring Kelly Marie Tran as Raya and Awkwafina as the last dragon known to exist, will have to find a way to stop the Druun for good.
No Time to Die
Release date: April 2, 2021
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond for the fifth and final time in No Time to Die, which is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga with an estimated $250-million budget. James Bond is recruited to rescue a kidnapped scientist with the new villain Safin (Rami Malek) who’s armed with a dangerous new technology putting the lives of millions at risk.
Mission: Impossible 7
Release date: November 19, 2021
News is Tom Cruise has resumed filming of the stalled Mission: Impossible 7, which filming was called off several times midway amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The forthcoming seventh instalment in the long-running action franchise sees Tom Cruise reprise his role as daredevil IMF agent Ethan Hunt alongside a number of returning co-stars, including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Vanessa Kirby, and newcomers Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham and Esai Morales. Rogue Nation and Fallout writer-director Christopher McQuarrie.
Last Night in Soho
Release date: April 23, 2021
If horror films are your favourite, you might love this one. Directed by Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho is an psychological horror film that revolves around the life of an aspiring fashion designer (Thomasin McKenzie of Leave No Trace) who travels back to 1960s London to meet her idol, a glamorous singer played by Anya Taylor-Joy, with disastrous consequences. “I’ve always liked films which have a slow burn into something else, and a lot of my movies have that feeling,” Wright told Empire. “Last Night starts in a more psychological realm and then starts to get increasingly intense as it goes along,” he said.
Minions: The Rise of Gru
Release date: July 2, 2021
Ever thought of the world’s greatest villain? Watch young Gru’s dream unfold in Minions: The Rise of Gru is the sequel to 2015 Despicable Me which grossed a billion dollars. It picks up where the original left off, as the yellow creatures help a young Gru whose dream is to become the world’s greatest villain by protecting him from the fallout from a supervillain group.
The Suicide Squad
Release date: August 6, 2021 (HBO Max)
Harley Quinn, Rick Flag and their team of assembled supervillains move further into more adventures. Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn is hitting the soft reboot button on DC's Suicide Squad with a ‘70s-inspired war film that sends Task Force X — Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and Peacemaker (John Cena) are among nearly 20 members — to destroy a Nazi-era prison on a South American island. Most of them will likely die in the process, Gunn reveals.
Resident Evil
Release date: September 9, 2021
The Resident Evil series will soon grip the audience to thriller moments. It will be an origin story set towards the end of the 20th century in Raccoon City. Resident Evil is a survival horror movie directed by Johannes Roberts. The cast includes Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner), Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp), Robbie Amell (Upload), Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy), Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap), and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone).
