10 Movies We Are Dying To See in 2024

As we send off 2023, we can’t help but look at the year ahead and dream of the movies we are most eager to see. We have already scanned the Sundance Film Festival program to pick up our Art House favorite coming attractions. You know we love to watch indie movies, and we belong to the church of low budget film. But we are not snobs - really! -so we also look forward to multiplex-ready fare. Heck, we even have a few sequels on the list. So, check out our list of the ten movies we are most excited to see in 2024.

Dune: Part 2

Denis Villeneuve’s second installment of his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic was one of the casualties of Hollywood’s actor strike. The opening was delayed to 204, allowing the studio to wait for the moment when stars Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya can walk down the red carpet. You would think this movie sells itself, but no. Florence Pugh joins them, on-screen and off, after taking the role of Princess Irulan. Fans can take solace in the news a third movie has been green-lighted. Alas, you will have to wait a few years to catch it since Villeneuve first will have to finish another adaptation of a sci-fi classic, Arthur C. Clarke’s "Rendezvous with Rama.” Set for release in February.

Challengers

Another strike casualty. Luca Guadagnino’s romantic comedy was ready to open the 2023 Venice Film Festival, but MGM balked when they saw no chance of cast members attending the premiere. After all, this particular genre depends on stars more than any other. They had supernovas in store: Zendaya, Mike Feist on his first lead role after the breakthrough of “West Side Story” (Steven Spielberg, 2021), and Josh O’Connor - post rehabilitating Prince Charles in Netflix’s “The Crown” - are three tennis pros in a thorny love triangle. The bet is to have Zendaya taking fans of teen drama “Euphoria” and “Spider-Man” into the territory of adult relationships. Opens on April 26, 2024.

Civil War

Writer-director Alex Garland experienced the roller-coaster of a career in film circa the XXI Century. He struck gold writing the scripts for "The Beach" (2000) and "28 Days Later" (2002), two hits helmed by Danny Boyle. He cashed in his chips to debut as a director with "Ex Machina" (2014). Solid reviews and a rabid following could not help follow-up "Annihilation" (2018) from getting dumped on Netflix. His TV series "Devs" (2020) fell into the black hole of streaming content. By the time the gender horror of "Men" (2022) died at the box office, he seemed spent. What to do for a follow-up? By the trailer, "Civil War" looks like a lean-and-mean action movie, trafficking on the political polarization of the day. And just in time for the 2024 election! How timely is that? The intriguing cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons, Wagner Moura, Nick Offerman, and Cailee Spaeny in her first role after hitting it out of the park with "Priscilla" (Sofia Coppola, 2023). Coming from the cool kids at A24 on April 26.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Director George Miller returns to the apocalyptic Australian outback he loves so much for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” We were disappointed when Charlize Theron passed on the sequel to the epic “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) but we went over it when we learned Ana Taylor-Joy would play a younger version of the iconic character. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke complete the lead roles. Some reactions to the teaser trailer decried the quality of the CGI, but we assume the troublesome shots will be improved for the final cut - then again, as it commonly happens, they might not even make it to the final cut. The release is programmed for May 24, 2024.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

If you think about it, it’s a no-brainer to revive the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. Under all that CGI-ed fur, the actors are unrecognizable, and the real stars are the special effects. This movie picks up years after the events in “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017). It looks like Caesar’s revolution led to a monarchy! Oh, well…Wes Ball, helmer of the “Maze Runner” franchise, steps behind the camera. The primate wars rekindle on Memorial Day, May 27.

Ballerina

As much as we enjoyed “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Chad Stahelski, 2023), we could not shake off the feeling that the concept was spent. The TV mini-series “The Continental” premiered to crickets. Alas, we are looking forward to this female-led spinoff for two reasons. First, Ana de Armas. She walked away with “No Time To Die” (2021), stealing Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond right under his nose. Damn, she would be a great 007 if you stop to think about it. That will not happen. But what might happen is that “Ballerina” can become her action franchise. The cast includes Keanu Reeves reprising his role - we are betting on nothing more than a cameo - and regulars Angelica Huston, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick. We appreciate the filmmakers recruiting Frech actress Anne Parrillaud for a role. With “La Femme Nikita” (1990), she singlehandedly turned the archetypical spy world glamour gal into a kick-ass heroine. Set for release on June 7, 2024.

Beetlejuice 2

Sure, Tim Burton has burned off a lot of goodwill with too many mercenary Disney live-action remakes. Still, we’d be lying if we said we are not looking forward to this belated sequel to his 1988 box-office breakthrough. At the time, a franchise seemed inevitable. Still, not one, but two scripts failed to go through the Hollywood pipeline: “Beetlejuice in Love” and Beetlejuice Goes To Hawaii” Michael Keaton is coming back as the troublesome demon dedicated to exorcising pesky humans from haunted houses. Also returning are Wynona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara as Lydia and Delia Deetz. Newcomers include “Wednesday”s Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife. Sorry, ladies. He is taken. September 6, 2024.

Venom 3

It's the only Marvel franchise we care about, perhaps because it's less interested in fitting into a mercenary narrative "universe" whose only motivation is to make viewers pay for more "content" across platforms. There is little information about it, except that Tom Hardy is returning as the journalist infected by a mysterious organism that gives him superpowers and a bad attitude to match. Chiwetel Ejiofor also stars. There is no word on whether Michelle Williams will return as the main female lead, which is crucial information for us. Screenwriter Kelly Marcel, who penned the two previous installments, has been promoted to director. November 8.

Nosferatu

Old vampire movies are in again. We are on the record as fans of “Nosferatu,” the silent horror classic directed by Fritz Lang - you can watch it now, for free, on Popflick. Sure, it’s an unauthorized adaptation of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” but we won’t hold that against it. Let the Stoker state sweat that one out. If somebody is going to remake it again - Werner Herzog did his take in 1979 - Robert Eggers is the best director to do it. He made killer colonial period horror out of the gate with “The Witch” (1916). His dark comedy of gothic toxic masculinity, “The Lighthouse” (2019), was an intricate black-and-white marvel. “The Northman” (2022) brought Nordic myth to mud and blood. So, we are intrigued, and that’s even before learning that the cast includes Bill Skarsgård as bloodsucking Count Orlok, Willem Dafoe as vampire hunter Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, and Emma Corrin and Lilly Rose Depp as the chaste damsels that awake the fiend’s lust. Christmas Day 2024 can’t come soon enough.

The Shrouds

The Old Masters of our generation are on a roll. Martin Scorsese gave us the epic “Killers of The Flower Moon,” Michael Mann excelled with “Ferrari.” We should add David Cronenberg to the list of veteran directors making amazing late-career movies. This year, we’ll be blessed with his follow-up to “Crimes of the Future.” Vincent Cassel - the evil mob prince of “Eastern Promises” (2015) - is a moneyed inventor who comes up with a product that allows people to interact with death through a burial shroud. Man, those tech-bros have to disrupt everything, even death. Guy Pierce and Diane Krueger costar. No release date has been announced, but this one has “Cannes Film Festival Official Selection” written all over it.