Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise stars in trailer
To read Part 1 of our 45 Unmissable Blockbusters (Jan-June) first, click here.
July
Top Gun: Maverick (July 9)
Over 30 years since the original outing and Tom Cruise is back for Top Gun 2, in which the aviator finds himself training the late Rooster’s son. Val Kilmer will also reprise Maverick’s rival Iceman in the action drama.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (July 9)
The MCU’s first Asian cast-led movie sees Simu Liu play skilled martial artist Shang-Chi. Drawn into the clandestine Ten Rings organisation, he is forced to confront his past.
Minions 2: The Rise of Gru (July 16)
The fifth instalment in the Despicable Me franchise is its second prequel. Set in the 1970s, a young Gru hatches an evil plan to join supervillain group the Vicious 6.
Space Jam: A New Legacy (July 16)
LeBron James stars opposite Bugs Bunny in this Looney Tunes follow-up to the Michael Jordan cult classic. Trapped inside a digital space, LeBron must lead the cartoon characters to victory in a basketball championship.
Uncharted (July 16)
Spider-Man star Tom Holland plays treasure hunter Nathan Drake from the popular video game franchise. Mark Wahlberg co-stars as Sully Sullivan, a fellow fortune seeker and mentor to the young Nathan.
Jungle Cruise (July 30)
Just like Pirates of the Caribbean, another one of Disneyland’s rides is getting its own film treatment. Set in the early 20th century, Dwayne Johnson stars as riverboat captain Frank, as he takes Emily Blunt’s scientist and her brother played by Jack Whitehall to find the Tree of Life.
In The Heights (July 30)
Hamilton star and scribe Lin-Manuel Miranda sees his first musical In The Heights get a movie adaptation. Crazy Rich Asians’ Jon M Chu directs a tale set in the Washington Heights and focused on bodega owner Usnavi, who saves every penny in hope of a better life.
The Green Knight (July 30)
Dev Patel stars as King Arthur’s headstrong nephew Sir Gawain in an epic medieval fantasy from A24. The tale sees him embark on a quest to confront The Green Knight, a huge green-skinned creature.
READ MORE: Express.co.uk’s Top 10 movies of 2020: From 1917 to Pixar’s Soul
2021 movies: 45 Unmissable Blockbusters Part 2 (July-Dec) Top Gun 2 to Elvis Presley movie (Image: WB/PP/SONY)
August
The Suicide Squad (August 6)
Following on from 2016’s Suicide Squad, the DC sequel from James Gunn sees a whole host of rogues gallery convicts set out on another sentence-easing mission. On a South American island, the likes of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Idris Elba’s Bloodsport are tasked with destroying a Nazi-era prison and lab.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (August 20)
Samuel L Jackson and Ryan Reynolds return in a follow-up to 2017’s action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard. But this time bodyguard Bryce has to assist assassin Kincaid by saving his wife Sonia, played by Salma Hayek.
Candyman (August 27)
A direct sequel to the 1992 supernatural slasher of the same name and penned this time by Get Out’s Jordan Peele, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as visual artist Anthony McCoy. Kidnapped by the mysterious Candyman as a baby, he now sees the vengeful ghost’s reflection as his own.
The Beatles: Get Back (August 27)
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson helms a revisionist take on The Beatles’ Let It Be sessions footage. With access to 56 hours of unseen material, the filmmaker hopes to prove the Fab Four didn’t want to break-up.
September
Death On The Nile (September 17)
Kenneth Branagh follows up his take on Agatha Christie’s Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express with another star-studded mystery. The film features Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright.
October
Dune (October 1)
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the 1965 classic is set on another planet in the far future. The sci-fi epic stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem and more.
Respect (October 8)
Jennifer Hudson plays Aretha Franklin in this new biopic of the late soul singer. Forest Whitaker co-stars as her father CL Franklin, a Baptist minister and civil rights minister.
Halloween Kills (October 15)
Having retconned every film in the slasher series other than the original 1978 original, the 2018 sequel of the same name is getting two follow-ups. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie will face Michael Myers once again in Halloween Kills before 2022’s Halloween Ends.
November
Elvis (November 5)
Austin Butler and Tom Hanks star as The King and manager Colonel Tom Parker in a career-spanning movie. Moulin Rouge’s Baz Luhrmann helms the long-awaited biopic of Elvis Presley.
Eternals (November 5)
The MCU’s third movie of the year sees an immortal alien race known as The Eternals, who have secretly lived on Earth for 7000 years, reunite to take on their evil counterparts The Deviants. Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjiani lead the all-star cast.
Mission: Impossible 7 (November 19)
Working title Mission: Impossible – Libra is the first half a two-film story from Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Christopher McQuarrie returns as director for the third time in the long-running spy franchise.
King Richard (November 19)
Will Smith stars as Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Perhaps this will finally win the Fresh Prince that Best Actor Oscar?
Gucci (November 26)
Ridley Scott directs Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who plotted to kill her husband played by Adam Driver. Jared Leto and Al Pacino are also rumoured for roles.
December
West Side Story (December 10)
Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited remake of the 1961 cult film sees Ansel Elgort play Tony in the classic musical. Set in 1950s New York City, teenagers Tony and Maria fall in love despite their connections to rival street gangs the Jets and Sharks.
Untitled Spider-Man 3 (December 17)
Tom Holland’s third MCU outing as the Web Slinger is set to be a multiverse mash-up of gigantic proportions. Untitled Spider-Man 3 co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and is set to unite former Sony Spider-Man leads Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield alongside a whole host of well-known villains.
The Matrix 4 (December 22)
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return as Neo and Trinity in Lana Wachowski’s fourth Matrix outing. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Neil Patrick Harris co-star.
The Nightingale (December 26)
Real-life siblings Dakota and Elle Fanning play sisters struggling to survive in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. The Nightingale is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah.
