The Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

Image via Warner Bros.

Director(s): Louis Leterrier

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, John Cena, Brie Larson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, Rita Moreno, and Charlize Theron.

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: May 19

Every installment in the Fast & Furious franchise has gotten bigger and better than the last—so buckle up, because Fast X is undoubtedly going to be a wild ride. Fast X will be the second-to-last film in the blockbuster franchise, and as Dominic Toretto’s story comes to an end, these next two adventures are set to be the biggest yet. (They went to space in F9, so there’s no telling how far they’ll take it this time around.) As always, new enemies will come into play and new challenges will surface that will bring the gang back together. Following the events of 2021’s F9, Cipher (Charlize Theron) and Dante (Jason Momoa) will come together in their fight against Dom and his squad, who are assisted by Tess (Brie Larson). Fan favorites Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, and Cardi B will return, and Rita Moreno is also set to make an appearance. As much as people say they are over these films, I’ve never seen anything less than a packed theater when these movies come out. So if you ask me, May can’t get here fast enough. —Karla Rodriguez

Director(s): Nia DaCosta

Starring: Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Parris, Samuel L. Jackson

Distributor: ​​​​​​​Walt Disney Studios

Release date​​​​​​​: July 28

The third MCU movie in an extremely busy year, The Marvels will star Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers; Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau (who becomes the second Captain Marvel in the comics); and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan. The movie will follow up on the end credits scene at the end of the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ when Kamala unexpectedly switched places with Carol. If we’re lucky, the movie will also follow up on the late-game revelation that Kamala is a mutant. X-Men, here we come! —Kevin Wong

Director(s): Luca Guadagnino

Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor

Distributor: MGM

Release date: Aug. 11

After dropping the coming-of-age cannibal drama Bones and All, director Luca Guadagnino surprises with his next project: a radical swing into the world of sports? The Zendaya-led Challengers is a romantic tennis comedy that features West Side Story breakout star Mike Faist and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor (aka young Charles). Zendaya’s character is the wife and coach to Faist’s struggling tennis pro, who signs him up for a “challenger event,” during which he’ll face her former lover. Quiet character studies are Guadagnino’s bread and butter, and the assembled cast is enough to cause a racket over. —William Goodman

Director(s): Andy Muschietti

Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Kiersey Clemons

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Release date: June 16

The Flash is complicated. Not only for the myriad of controversies surrounding the film’s lead, Ezra Miller, but also because it once upon a time was meant to serve as a way for Warner Bros. to have a soft reboot of the DC cinematic universe. But now, with new leadership in charge at DC Studios, it’s hard to know how much of Andy Muschietti’s multiversal story will end up sticking around under the tenure of Peter Safran and James Gunn. Nevertheless, The Flash remains compelling, as original Batman actor Michael Keaton will don the cowl for the first time since Batman Returns. That’s worth the cost of admission alone, regardless of whether or not this movie’s impact will matter in the future. —William Goodman

Director(s): Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Tim Blake Nelson, and Léa Seydoux

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Release date: Nov. 3

After the smashing success of Dune in theaters and on HBO Max, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two will pick up in the aftermath of Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) falling in among the Fremen as he works to avenge the death of his father and fight against House Harkonnen. For as epic in size and scope as Part One was, Part Two will up the stakes considerably with more action, drama, and cast members; the new installment will see a staggering amount of additions, including Florence Pugh and Austin Butler. Dune was once thought unfilmable, but Villeneuve caught lightning in a bottle. We’ll see if he can do it again later this year. —William Good

Director(s): Paul King

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins

Distributor: ​​​​​​​Warner Bros. Pictures

Release date​​​​​​​: Dec. 15

Starring Timothée Chalamet as a younger Willy Wonka, Wonka is a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it covers Wonka’s early history, from before he was the world’s most famous candymaker. What a lot of people don’t know is that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not the only Wonka-based book that author Roald Dahl wrote. He also wrote a sequel named Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. In it, Dahl expands Wonka’s universe quite a bit, with inventions such as the de-aging potion Wonka-Vite, his knowledge of Minus Land, and the monstrous aliens known as Vermicious Knids. There’s lots of original material to work from, and it’ll be exciting to see how director Paul King manages to incorporate some or all of it. —Kevin Wong

Director(s): Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser

Distributor: Apple and Paramount

Release date: Sometime in 2023

Marty. Back. Scorsese’s first feature film since 2019’s The Irishman is yet another expensive streaming project (the budget for this movie is roughly $200 million) and is an adaptation of the 2017 nonfiction book of the same name. Killers of the Flower Moon is an investigative look into a serial set of murders in 1920s Oklahoma, where members of the Osage Nation tribe were killed for the oil reserves found on their land, spurring the birth of the FBI in the process. Despite the presence of heavy hitters DiCaprio and De Niro, Jesse Plemons is the film’s lead. The last time Marty made a movie that involved con artists and law enforcers, it turned out pretty well, so let’s hope for the same here. Any Scorsese feature is an event in and of itself, so it’s worth keeping Killers on your radar. —William Goodman