Spider-Man 3 (2007)
You probably don’t need to watch the third and mostly hated installment of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, but it does feature a portrayal of the titular villain-turned-antihero character of next year’s sort of standalone Venom.
Due Date: October 5th
A Star is Born (1937)
Before the latest, upcoming remake with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, before the previous remake with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in 1976, and before the first remake starring Judy Garland and James Mason in 1954, this original A Star is Born featured Janet Gaynor and Fredric March about a rising star’s relationship with a fading one. There are other related movies, such as the earlier similar What Price Hollywood? and the Bollywood classic Abhimaan.
Due Date: October 5th
Goosebumps (2015)
Jack Black is expected to reprise his role as author R.L. Stine in the sequel Goosebumps: Horrorland, which follows this movie based on Stine’s scary novels for children.
Due Date: October 12th
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009), and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest (2009)
Since The Girl in the Spider’s Web isn’t really connected, at least not by cast, to David Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, go back further and watch the original Swedish adaptations of the first three “Millennium” books ahead of the new movie based on the fourth.
Due Date: October 19th
Halloween (1978)
Forty years after John Carpenter’s original slasher masterpiece, a sequel with the same name is arriving that ignores all other sequels and remakes made since that first film. Jamie Lee Curtis is reprising her role, and Nick Castle is even back under the mask as horror icon Michael Myers. Carpenter is also on board for a new score.
Due Date: October 19th
The Jungle Book (2016)
There are many adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s stories that can serve as primers before the release of the Andy Serkis-helmed Mowgli, but Disney’s recent live-action remake of its animated classic is the one to which it will be compared since it also involved performance capture for all the non-human characters.
Due Date: October 19th
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
Of all the excellent portrayals of Mary Stuart out there, this one is most significant in relation to the upcoming movie of the same name starring Saoirse Ronan. In the earlier film, Mary is played by Vanessa Redgrave, who shared a role with Ronan in Atonement. If you don’t care about such a trivial connection, there’s also the one from 1936 with Katherine Hepburn in the role and others going back to 1895.
Due Date: November 2nd
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986)
Like Disney’s upcoming The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, this version of E.T.A. Hoffman’s fairy tale is also based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet version of the story. Its notable for being adapted from a stage production featuring design work by legendary children’s author Maurice Sendak, and the movie involved future famed animator Henry Selick as second-unit director.
Due Date: November 2nd
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
You’ve already been assigned X-Men: Days of Future Past, now you have to see the even worse X-Men: Apocalypse before continuing onto X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Sophie Turner makes her debut as Jean Grey, who becomes Dark Phoenix, in Apocalypse.
Due Date: November 2nd
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
For you to properly appreciate a comedic take on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, you need to appreciate the best of the characters’ movies, and this first adaptation of many with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce gave us the most iconic representation of the duo. Once you’re familiar with the best serious version, also feel free to look for another comedic take, like Without a Clue.
Due Date: November 9th
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
If there’s one remake in 2018 that’s absolutely unnecessary, it’s the animated feature The Grinch. This classic short film (or TV special) is so iconic that I know for a fact very young kids already love it and don’t need a replacement. At least the terrible 2000 live-action version had a purpose in being a live-action version.
Due Date: November 9th
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
The follow-up to this movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, continues the new prequel series spun-off from the Harry Potter franchise. The sequel also introduces a young Albus Dumbledore as played by Jude Law, so also being familiar with the Harry Potter franchise as a whole is recommended.
Due Date: November 16th
Widows (1983)
Technically this is a six-part TV miniseries, but let’s just pretend it’s one very long movie so that we can highlight how Steve McQueen finally has a follow-up to 12 Years a Slave on the way. The story of wives of criminals who finish a heist when their husbands die spawned two sequels and was also remade as a miniseries in 2002.
Due Date: November 16th
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Disney’s other major animated feature release of 2018 is another sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, meaning there’s another original animated feature in need of watching.
Due Date: November 21st
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Sony already has a new Spider-Man film series starting next year, this time an animated project focused on the Miles Morales version of the superhero. Although not connected to this recent live-action reboot that’s part of the MCU, there is some speculation that its Spidey actor, Tom Holland, is voicing the Peter Parker version of the character there. Also, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the first movie to make reference to Morales.
Due Date: December 14th
Justice League (2017)
There aren’t many reasons to bother with this year’s DC superhero team-up, but one of them is for the introduction of Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, aka the title character of the upcoming solo spin-off Aquaman.
Due Date: December 21st
Transformers (2007)
The next installment of the Transformers franchise is the solo spin-off prequel Bumblebee, focused on the titular Autobot character. Get somewhat acquainted with him in Michael Bay’s first movie that started it all. You can also get a tease of Bumblebee’s past with the previous release, Transformers: The Last Knight, but that’s just just extra credit, particularly if you can actually get through the whole thing.
Due Date: December 21st
Mary Poppins (1964)
It has taken 54 years, but Disney has found a reason to make a sequel to this classic musical family film. In the follow-up, titled Mary Poppins Returns, Emily Blunt takes over the title role made famous by Julie Andrews.
Due Date: December 25th
Queen Live at Wembley ’86 (1986)
Before watching Rami Malek portray Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, you must see the real deal in this video concert film of what’s widely accepted as being the best performance ever of Mercury and his band, Queen.
Due Date: December 25th
Related Topics: 2018 Preview
