Sequels, superheroes, sci-fi and so much more: movies to look forward to in 2023 Premium

The new year is to a good start cinematically with releases such as the slick comic thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and horror flick M3GAN. Here is a list of movies that hold promise and which one can look forward to in the coming year

The early theatrical releases of 2023 augur well for the rest of the year. There was Guy Ritchie’s slick spy comic thriller, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, with scene-stealing turns by Aubrey Plaza and Hugh Grant. The muscular, adrenaline-charged Plane harked back to lean, mean, fighting machine action movies of old. M3GAN, was the happiest kind of horror movie — smart, silly and scary.

With such delicious starters, the banquet cannot fail to delight. Let us first get the sequels out of the way. There is John Wick: Chapter 4 coming out on March 24. A sequel to 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the fourth instalment finds the well-dressed hitman played by Keanu Reeves continuing his run-ins with the high table. Chad Stahelski returns as director as do a fair number of cast.

Then there is the John Wick spin-off/sequel — Ballerina, directed by Len Wiseman. Ana de Armas does the dance of death as Rooney, a ballerina and an assassin — surely she must be having Hermione’s time-turner to be able to train as both! And there is the mini-series, Continental. The year is proving to be a packed one for assassins.    

There are sequels and there are sequels and this is one we have been waiting for forever, at least since 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Steven Spielberg does not return to direct Indy’s latest adventure, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Helmed by James Mangold, the writing credits are shared by brothers, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and Mangold after some back and forth with David Koepp and Jonathan Kasdan.

Releasing on June 30 , Dial of Destiny is set in 1969 at the height of the space race. Harrison Ford picks up his bull whip and fedora one final time as Indiana Jones, with his good friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) for company. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Helena, Indy’s goddaughter — no mention of Mutt and Marion. Antonio Banderas plays another of Indy’s friends, Renaldo. Mads Mikkelsen plays a former Nazi doing many a dastardly deed. It is definitely not the years, it’s the mileage...

Talking of mileage, there is Fast X, the 10th and supposedly final instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise which morphed from petrol-heads hijacking trucks to spies dealing with James Bond-ian megalomaniacs. Fast X sees the return of practically everyone from Vin Diesel to Charlize Theron, except for Dwayne Johnson. Jason Momoa plays the antagonist. There will be all sorts of automobiles naturally, but this is the first movie in the franchise to feature electric cars. The film opens on May 19.

The superhero tsunami continues unabated. Bookended with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17) and the James Wan directed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25), there is Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17), Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (May 5), Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (June 2), The Flash (June 16), The Marvels (July 28), Blue Beetle (August 18) and Kraven the Hunter (October 6) providing for regular doses of spandex shenanigans throughout the year.