The French Dispatch & 9 Other Original Movies To Look Forward To In 2021
With The French Dispatch looking like it could be Wes Anderson’s magnum opus, full of his recurring collaborators, different timelines, and beautiful design, there's more than enough to keep cinephiles excited to go to the cinema in the streaming age. In fact, after a year of tumbleweeds rustling through Hollywood, 2021 sees the release of not just the new Wes Anderson movie, but a lot of promising original movies.
Between mysterious M. Night Shyamalan thrillers, sci-fi movies starring some of Hollywood’s best actors, and some extremely strange, left-field choices that audiences would have never have expected to be green-lit, there’s a lot for cinema-goers to be excited about.
10 The French Dispatch
As Wes Anderson’s last movie was the stop motion animated flick Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch marks the director’s first live-action movie since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
It’s based on three stories that are told by the titular French newspaper, which is just one of the things you need to know about the movie, and the film looks typically Anderson, as every frame is perfectly symmetrical and stars his typical collaborators, including Adrian Brody, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson.
9 Nobody
The reasons to be excited for Nobody are endless. First of all, the movie stars Bob Odenkirk, and it’s his first leading in role in a big movie.
The actor plays a man who protects his family and confronts two men who try to rob his home. On top of that, the screenplay was penned by Derek Kolstad, who has also written all three John Wick movies, and if that’s anything to go by, then Nobody is set to be an exciting thrill-ride, let’s just hope the dogs are spared.
8 Cherry
Being the first directorial effort after their tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony and Joe Russo delve into the crime drama genre with Cherry.
But this isn’t like a Marvel movie where the high stakes are subdued with jokes about ice cream and pop culture references. The subject matter is deep as it follows an Iraq war veteran with PTSD who becomes addicted to opioids. The movie stars Tom Holland, and it’s one of the many upcoming Tom Holland movies fans are excited about.
7 The Tomorrow War
Following his work on The Lego Batman Movie and Dolittle, The Tomorrow War sees another director (Chris McKay) going against type as he jumps into science fiction.
The Tomorrow War was one of the most anticipated movies of 2020 before it got delayed, as it stars Chris Pratt and is about a war between humans and aliens where scientists have found a way to draft soldiers from previous wars.
6 Old
If this was five years ago, there’d be absolutely no reason to be excitied for Old, the new M. Night Shyamalan movie, but given that the director has somewhat returned to form with his most recent movies Split and Glass, this could be another success.
As there usually is with any Shyamalan movie, Old is shrouded in mystery, and what the movie’s about is anyone’s guess, but the fact that it’s another original thriller movie from the creator is reason enough to get excited.
5 The Asset
Not much is known about The Asset, but looking at several things about the production of the movie gives a sense of how excited everyone should be for its release.
Not only does the action-thriller star Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, but it is also directed by Martin Campbell, who is responsible for the more realistic approach the studio brought to James Bond, as he directed Casino Royale.
4 Bios
Though Tom Hanks is usually a huge box office draw, his new movie might be one of the biggest box office risks of the year. However, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting sci-fi movies to look forward to in 2021.
Bios seems to be almost like a spiritual successor to Cast Away, as it sees Hanks as the last man on earth and, living in solitude, he creates an android to keep him company.
3 The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent
Nicolas Cage has played a lot of wild characters in many great movies, which is what makes The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent so exciting.
Being possibly the most meta and self-aware movie of 2021, Unbearable Weight sees Cage play himself, but he finds himself in unimaginable scenarios where he has to use the knowledge he required from playing various characters to get himself out of them. It might sound strange, but at the same time, it’s the most Cage-sounding project ever.
2 King Richard
The movie isn’t about that King Richard, but it is instead a biographical drama about a tennis coach starring Will Smith. Every now and then, Smith throws his hat in the ring to contend for an Academy Award, and his role in King Richard is shaping up to be one of those very performances.
Another reason to be excited for the movie is that it caused movie studios to literally get into a bidding war for the rights to the movie, in which Sony finally won.
1 Last Night In Soho
Edgar Wright has always exceeded the limites of what people believed he was capable of with each consecutive movie that he has released, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change with his new feature, Last Night In Soho.
The movie is a horror, but unlike the director’s Shaun of the Dead, it isn’t remotely funny, instead densely psychological, and it’s one of the most anticipated horror movies of 2021.