From the Anti-Twilight games to the usual summer Super Heroes we’re used to see, 2012 promises to give us a few huge movies, with Peter Jackson returning to his LOTR antics by giving us The Hobbit and Christopher Nolan showcases the third and final part of his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises.
The Hunger Games
The Anti-Twilight? Call it whatever you like. Out on March 23, The Hunger Games is an adaptation of the first book in Suzanne Collins’ series which has led to three very successful books so far. The premise? Years into the future, North America as we know it is gone, instead is a the country of Panem. The ruling goes on from a city called the Capitol, with 13 poorer districts surrounding it.
Each district sends each year a boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18 to fight in massive televised battle, with only one survivor. A sequel is already in the works, scheduled for release in 2013. There will be a fourth book, and if the series keeps doing well, continuing with the recent trend, its filming will be split into two movies. Lets see how well the first one does.
Chronicle
If you haven’t seen the trailer, do it now. This is an independent science fiction movie, coming February 3. Three high school friends find something alien in a crater, granting them super powers. First it’s all fun and games, and then things take a darker turn. I was really intrigued by the trailer and I hope this doesn’t turned out to be too predictable, because it has a lot of potential.
The Avengers
Marvel really gambled all their chips on this one. Making 2 Iron Man movies, Hulk, Captain America and Thor and now merging ’em all into one mega star, mega Super Hero movie. Joss Whedon, you know, Buffy and Firefly, wrote the script and directed it. Plot? Doesn’t really matter, but there’s something about Loki and the Cosmic Cube. Coming out May 4.
Prometheus
The prequel to Alien? It was planned to be originally, but was altered into a separate story, unconnected to the Alien universe. The premise? Late 21st century, the crew of Prometheus goes out to explore and search for the origins of humanity through a civilization of an alien race. Trouble ensues. To me, it looks like some cross between Alien and Event Horizon, and Ridley Scott, who is directing, hasn’t made a Sci-Fi movie in 20 years. Lets hope he hasn’t lost his touch.
Looper
Time travel always makes for an interesting concept, and Bruce Willis has already been involved with 12 monkeys in the past. This time, the mob sends people they want to take out back in time, with a special hit squad in the past doing the dirty deed, eliminating any evidence. What happens when a hit man sees his future self as his next target? If done right, this could be really special. Coming out September 28, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt also starring.
Cloud Atlas
Based on a 2004 novel by David Mitchell, which I’m not sure how they’ll be able to adapt. The story is actually six storylines, set in different places in time. Beginning in the 1850’s, we move forward by the end of the novel to a post apocalyptic future and then back again. Each story is narrated by the next time-jump’s main character. The Wachowskis are directing, Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant are starring. Could be huge, and could be an epic flop.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Emo Spider-man, also known as Spider-Man 3 was such a mess, despite it’s huge financial success, that there was no way not to reboot the most lucrative comic book film franchise. Andrew Garfield will be Peter Parker, while Emma Stone will play Gwen Stacy, with no MJ this time. Marc Webb is directing, only his second feature film after years in the music video industry. Hit? It’ll be a hit for sure, and lets hope that the trailer, foreshadowing a bit of a darker take on the character’s origins, makes for a great movie. Out July 3.
The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
I don’t think I really need to explain this one, but in short, The Hobbit will be split into two movies. The early adventures of Bilbo Baggins, the prequel to Lord of the Rings, as he sets off with Gandalf (part of the way) and the Dwarves to the Lonely mountain and retrieve their treasure, with a few detours along the way. Peter Jackson is back holding the reigns, and this looks like a sure thing. First movie comes out December 14, second part comes out December 13, 2013. The most anticipated movie of the year, except for…
The Dark Knight Rises
The final of the Christopher Nolan trilogy and his reviving cinematic take on Batman, which has probably changed the standards for Superhero movies. Will Batman die this time? With Bane in the movie, breaking the bat comes to mind. The movie is set 8 years after the events in The Dark Knight, portraying and older, not in the best shape Bruce Wayne. Christian Bale has also announced this will be that last time he plays Batman. Movie is out July 20.
