In Part I, we highlighted the five sequels and prequels to look out for in 2020. (You can find them here, if you missed the post.) We continue to sift out upcoming stand-alone movies that should be on your radar.
Birds of Prey
No doubt about it, Margot Robbie brilliantly brought the Harley Quinn character to life in the 2016 hit Suicide Squad. To build on that, DC Universe (DCU) has been working on Birds of Prey. DCU’s eighth film — the first to be directed by an Asian female director, Cathy Yan — will not be an origins movie like Man of Steel (2013) though. Rather, it goes forward in time. The new film is about events after Quinn has ended her relationship with the Joker (Jared Leto) and left the Suicide Squad. Quinn has now formed her own all-female team to go up against Black Mask.
Release Date: 6 February 2020
The New Mutants
Disney/Marvel has acquired the rights to X-Men characters from 20th Century Fox. This means The New Mutants will be Fox’s last X-Men movie. Unlike X-Men: First Class, Dark Phoenix and et cetera, Fox is concluding their relationship with X-Men via a new approach. And that is by incorporating the element of horror into the usual good-versus-evil theme.
The movie follows the lives of five young mutants — Magik, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot and Mirage — who have to fight their way out of a facility after being held captive. Cannonball, a mutant who can fly at fast speeds while surrounded by an impenetrable force field, will be played by Netflix’s Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton.
Release Date: 2 April 2020
Candyman
If you enjoyed director Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, you’ll be in for a treat. Peele is screenwriting the new thriller Candyman. This time around, he tackles the urban legend of an evil being who can be summoned when someone calls out his name while looking in a mirror.
As of now movie details are scanty. What we do know is that Candyman will be a reboot of the 1992 version, and that Tony Todd will reprise his role as the film’s antagonist. We do hope, however, that with today’s filmmaking technology, Todd won’t be having to put honeybees in his mouth like he did in the 1992 film. Spare the bees, please.
Release Date: June 2020
Tenet
Call us biased, but we reckon anything that Christopher Nolan touches is Oscar-worthy. Just look how well the Dark Knight trilogy and Dunkirk panned out. And come July, we can expect to see what Nolan does best with Tenet. Without giving away too much, the new film has to do with time travelling and preventing World War III.
In addition to performances by John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) and Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse), look forward to Nolan’s stunning cinematography. Specifically, a car crash scene in slow motion and in reverse effect.
Release Date: 16 July 2020
Morbius
Jared Leto fans continue to lament the fact that he lost out the Joker role to Joaquin Phoenix. Who knows, given the chance, Leto could have won an award at the 77th Golden Globes too. But Leto hasn’t been sour grapes about the snub. He’s moved on to better things. Alongside Adria Arjona (TV’s Good Omen) and Tyrese Gibson (Fast and Furious franchise), Leto will play the titular character Morbius. In a nutshell, Morbius is a scientist with a rare blood disease, and his attempts to cure himself, results in a form of vampirism. For the fun of it, compare this movie to Venom (2018).
Release Date: 31 July 2020
Other notable mentions: Sonic the Hedgehog (27 February 2020), Mulan (26 March 2020), Black Widow (30 April 2020) and Top Gun: Maverick (25 June 2020).