My Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2020

The Movie Buff
Jan 29, 2020
7 min read

#10 Wonder Woman 1984

Okay so you're telling me I can get my superhero fix to help me move on from Avengers: Endgame AND my 80's nostalgia fix to hold me over until Stranger Things season 4. At the same time? Bet.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 acts of the first Wonder Woman film. We will not discuss the third act CGI slug-fest where the most average-looking British man tries to convince you he's the god of war and yells video-game level dialogue. Luckily, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman helped yank DC out of the gutter with a hit after almost completely striking out following some excruciating misses - *cough* Suicide Squad *cough* - Pardon me, it's flu season.

The plot is currently unknown and the trailer doesn't shed light on it at all, but that's for the best. I, however, was sold by the trailer and if anything I'm just glad Chris Pine is returning so he can retake his lead in the great Hollywood Chris-off (I believe Chris Evans is currently number one in the standings).

Release Date: June 4th, 2020

#9 Soul

I swear to god, Pixar is about to give us all an existential crisis with this one. Remember when they tackled the concept of emotions with Inside Out? Well now they're about to tackle the concept of death.

PLOT: Joe, a middle school jazz teacher, experiences an untimely accident that results in his soul being separated from his body and transported to the "You Seminar", a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transferred to a newborn child.

I am so excited to see Pixar back with another original and with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey bringing their voices into the mix, I am convinced this might go down as one of Pixar's best. I mean, their track record is nearly flawless (with exception to Cars 2, but we just forget that happened) and I predict copious crying to occur in the theaters from adults and giggles to echo from kids who don't know why dad and mom are crying at a kid's movie again.

Release Date: June 19th, 2020

#8 Eternals

After Avengers: Endgame, we all took a step back and reexamined our lives and commitment to the superhero genre. How did we allow ourselves to get so attached to fictional people and a talking tree? Marvel needs to kick off their phase four with a hit, and we could very well have one with Eternals.

PLOT: The Eternals are an immortal alien race created by the Celestials, who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years as they shaped its history and civilizations in secret. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, they reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

So this is going to be Ancient Aliens meets Marvel Comics. You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention. Both the directors and the screenwriters don't have much experience to their names, but that's usually the risk Marvel likes to take. It's the cast that's blowing my mind. Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Kit Harrington, Brian Tyree Henry, and Gemma Chan. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We get Robb Stark and Jon Snow in a Marvel movie, AND they made another goofy comedian get jacked for no reason? Inject it into my veins.

Release Date: November 6th, 2020

#7 Mank

I have already made a blood oath to watch literally anything David Fincher makes, and this is no exception (for reference, he's made The Social Network, Gone Girl, Se7en, Zodiac, and Mindhunters).

PLOT: The story follows Herman J. Mankiewicz and his battles with director Orson Welles over screenplay credit for Citizen Kane (1941).

I won't be the last annoying film nerd to tell you that you should watch Citizen Kane, a film that's widely regarded as the greatest film of all time. But like, you should watch it. I, for one, am ecstatic about the fact that David Fincher is telling the story about the making of one of the most prolific stables in film history.

To those of you who are thinking, "Wow, this plot sounds boring as hell," then consider this: David Fincher managed to make the creation of Facebook a dramatic Shakespearean drama full of greed and betrayal. That movie was literally just dorky college kids yelling at each other and lawyers talking in rooms and you were glued to the screen. That's what this could be.

Release Date: TBD

#6 The Trial of Chicago 7

Aaron Sorkin is writing and directing a movie. AARON SORKIN IS WRITING AND DIRECTING A MOVIE! I may have secretly also made a blood oath to watch anything that has Aaron Sorkin, the greatest screenplay writer of all time, on it (for reference he wrote The Social Network, The West Wing, and A Few Good Men).

PLOT: Based on the story of the Chicago Seven, a group of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam War and counter-cultural protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois, on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

So, you're telling me I'm getting a true-story court drama written by the same guy who write the line, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH," and it's studded with an all-star cast with Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, and Mark Rylance? I've already cleared my schedule, because there is no way I am missing this.

Release Date: September 25th, 2020

#5 Those Who Wish Me Dead

Angelina Jolie is back, baby. I thought this looked like it could be a dud until I saw who was directing and writing the movie: Taylor Sheridan. TAYLOR SHERIDAN. Arguably my favorite rookie director, this man has proven himself to be a master storyteller with hits like Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River.

PLOT: A female-driven neo-Western set against a wildfire in the Montana wilderness. A young murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him -- and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.

First of all, what a badass plot. Assassins fighting each other as a forest fire rages around, slowly encompassing them - sounds like Fortnite: The Movie. I mean this has Sheridan written all over it: set in Montana, themes of man vs. nature, assassins, survival, I mean the list goes on. This movie looks like it's going to be a thrill ride and I'll be setting aside all adult responsibilities to see it thank you very much.

Release Date: October 23rd, 2020

#4 Last Night In Soho

You may know director Edgar Wright from awesome and quirky movies like Baby Driver, Shawn of the Dead, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. He has sharp dialogue and a cool style of film-making that makes for fun movies. Well now he's created a response around one of the greatest dilemmas of the modern era: why people are "nostalgic" for past decades that they never lived in?

PLOT: A young girl, passionate in fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960's where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960's London is not what it seems, and time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.

That's right, a psychological horror of what happens when a girl says, "Ugh, take me back to the 1960's" and takes it very literally. I cannot wait to see how time travel plays into this and how Wright is going to mess with our minds.

Release Date: September 25th, 2020

#3 The King's Man

Okay, so I may still be coming off my WWI high I got from watching the recent masterpiece, 1917. I shan't apologize.

PLOT: As a collection of history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man and his protégé must race against time to stop them.

If you can't tell from the text of the title, this is a sort of prequel to Matthew Vaughn's funny yet awesome spy series, Kingsmen. Though, from the trailer, this looks like it will be more serious than the other two Kingsmen movies. The first Kingsmen movie was one of the biggest surprises I've ever had in a theater and the second was less-so but nonetheless entertaining. I put this high on my list because I am a sucker for war movies even if they're a wacky spy thriller disguised as a war movie.

Release Date: September 18th, 2020

#2 Dune

Somebody slap me, I'm dreaming. The best sci-fi director working today who created the best two sci-fi movies in the past decade, Denis Villeneuve, is re-adapting one of the most infamous sci-fi book series of all time? Inject it into my veins.

PLOT: In the far future of humanity, Duke Leto Atreides accepts stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, "the spice", a drug which extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes foldspace travel possible. Though Leto knows the opportunity is an intricate trap set by his enemies, the Harkonnens, he takes his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica, young son and heir Paul, and most trusted advisers to Arrakis, also known as Dune. Leto takes control of the spice mining operation, which is made perilous by the presence of giant sandworms. A bitter betrayal leads Paul and Jessica to the Fremen, natives of Arrakis who live in the deep desert.

Did that plot confuse you? I bet if I gave you the plot of Star Wars for the first time you'd think the same thing, so quit whining, peasant. Director Denis Villeneuve has stated that he intends this to become the next Star Wars and believe me it can. I did not read the books but I invested an ungodly amount of time into researching the plot and this series is essentially Game of Thrones in space, with enough lore and history to make a hundred movies.

Oh, and it's starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. Prepare to get blown away because I'm betting this will the next big epic to grace the big screen.

Release Date: December 18th, 2020

#1 Tenet

You ignorant fools, did you really think that the latest film from the internet's god of cinema would not be my number one? Think again, because Christopher Nolan is back with his latest project, Tenet.

PLOT: A secret agent is tasked with preventing WWIII through the use of time travel.

Me: "What role will time play in your movie?"

Christopher Nolan: "Yes."

Watch the trailer and see for yourself, this movie looks like it's going to follow suit with every other Nolan masterpiece and mess with our minds. It stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Michael Caine (hell yeah). The plot, as is the case with most Christopher Nolan movies, is kept secret and probably will remain that way until the release. I am such a Nolan fanboy that I am 100% sure I am going to believe this is going to be the best movie experience this year. Yeah, I am apart of a really annoying fanbase, the Christopher Nolan fanclub. But at least I'm not a New Orleans Saints fan.

Release Date: July 17th, 2020 (you damn know where I'll be the night of my birthday)