If you’re someone who doesn’t like change or lights at the end of tunnels, then, boy, do I have good news for you.
Hollywood has lost all courage to market new ideas, and will be exploiting your nostalgia for what could very well be the rest of your life. Spontaneity is dead, so why not plan your foreseeable future right this very second?
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Here’s what to expect in your cinematic future.
Disney’s live action remakes
We’ve seen Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Up next month in South Africa is Beauty and the Beast — and up after that is Mulan and The Lion King.
The circle of life now apparently includes resurrection.
Disney recently announced that Donald Glover and James Earl Jones would be tackling the beloved roles of Simba and Mufasa in their adaptation of The Lion King. Jon Favreau is set to direct.
I just can’t wait to be king. #Simbapic.twitter.com/wUYKixMBJI
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017
Chances are you’ll be able to rewatch Mulan save China next year — and fans aren’t too excited. Hollywood has had a rough few years whitewashing Asian characters — from casting Emma Stone as someone with Hawaiian-Asian heritage in Aloha, to Scarlett Johansson as Major in Ghost in the Shell, to Nat Wolff as the lead in Death Note.
Disney has promised to cast Chinese actors in the roles, but it still has some worried.
After rumours of a potentially music-less adaptation, The Los Angeles Times reported that nothing had been set in stone yet. But the fact it isn’t a given that ultimate bop “I’ll Make a Man out of You” will be in the live action remake is astounding.
And even if there is music: there won’t be any Shang to sing it. A casting call has been circulating the web and hints that bisexual icon Li Shang will be replaced by a new soldier.
Wait a hot second, why is Captain Li Shang being replaced by this dude in the new #Mulan. First no music, now this. Grrr pic.twitter.com/tE17hM1G7p
— Jo-Anne Rowney (@JoAnne_Rowney) March 19, 2017
Classic remakes from the likes of Dumbo, Pinocchio, Peter Pan (which will focus on Tinkerbell) and Aladdin all have writers and directors attached to them. The Little Mermaid remake is also in the works.
Four films are slated for December 2017, November 2018, March 2019, and November 2019, but Disney has not let slip which they’ll be.
Star Wars
Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced “what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories,” according to The Verge.
Since acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012, the company has decided it will milk the cult franchise for all its worth.
Sequels to The Force Awakens have been announced up to episode 9, the prequel Rogue One was released last year, and a standalone Han Solo film is currently in production.
The flick is set to tell the story of Han Solo’s acquisition of the Millennium Falcon, as well as how he and sidekick Chewbacca met.
If all goes to plan, the studio will be producing Star Wars films into the 2030s. To put that into perspective: the Olsen twins will be 45, South Africa’s democracy will turn 37, and Robert Mugabe probably won’t be ruling Zimbabwe anymore.
Iger didn’t say anything more about what Disney has planned, but, considering the scale of the universe, anything is possible. Maybe even a starring woman who doesn’t look like every woman the franchise has ever starred?
DC’s Cinematic Universe
Cancel your dinner plans for 3 April 2020, because a new DC film is coming out.
And while DC have many films lined up, you might still be left wanting for fresh content. Justice League will be released this year, and the majority of films released in the next three years will be centred around the franchise.
Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg will all be getting their origin stories on the big screen between now and 2020. What you watch in June will hold weight three whole years from now. I don’t even know what I’m doing next weekend.
Among some fresh new faces, though, are Sandman, Shazam, Black Adam and Posion Ivy in Gotham City Sirens. They, at least, will provide some relief from the monotony of the past 40 years (I’m looking at you, Batman).
Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
Marvel has famously been winding up to Infinity War for years, but the big ending doesn’t mean we don’t already know what’s coming next.
This year we’ll be seeing Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 2 as well Spider-Man: Homecoming (which already has a sequel in the works) and Thor: Ragnarok.
Avengers: Infinity War will be out next year, as well as another Ant-Man film, and Black Panther.
2019 will bring us yet another Avengers film, the Spider-Man sequel and Captain Marvel.
Sony
Sony’s future looks a lot more varied than the others, but you can still plan on franchises that will be around until 2020.
This year you’ll be able to see another Smurfs movie, but next year seems to be the year for Sony sequels. The studio is releasing follow-ups like Hotel Transylvania 3 and Goosebumps 2. Horror movie Flatliners (1990) has been remade to release this year, and a new Jumanji will be out in December.
Two yet unnamed animations and their sequels are planned for 2019 and 2020.
So, cheers, to a future we’ve already seen.
