This year has been a big one for films as each season so far has had amazing films back-to-back. Even this summer is about to be one of the most generational for moviegoers. Recently, there was a convention in Los Angeles called CinemaCon, where major film studios came together to either tease upcoming films or announce movies in development to excite audiences. Now, there have been tons of announcements from each studio about upcoming films that have gotten me excited, though there have been a few that have either left my Letterboxd watchlist or I’ve been debating whether to keep or remove. So, I wanted to share my list of movies that will either remain on my watchlist, be up for debate, or have been taken off.
Staying and Never Leaving
- Dune: Part Three
As I’ve already written before, I’ve never been more excited for the epic conclusion of Dune. The visuals from the teasers we’ve gotten have continued to pique my interest more and more. What’s even more insane is when they decided to drop the IMAX 70MM tickets eight months in advance, they were automatically sold out. Sadly, I was not one of those people, but I definitely will be seated in that theater one way or another.
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Again, Spider-Man is in my top five favorite superheroes. The fact that Tom Holland was able to get a fourth film is insane to me. Besides that, after seeing the trailer and the two new posters that were released, I’ve never been more satisfied. I’m very curious about who will play who in the cast, besides Spider-Man and MJ, of course.
- Avengers: Doomsday
Now, while I am a Marvel fan, I will say these past two phases have not been the best. Besides the point, there has been so much hype around the new Avengers: Doomsday. Not only because of the amazing teams like the Fantastic Four and the New Avengers, but also because of the amount of team-ups that’ll be happening. During CinemaCon, Disney gave audiences the chance to see the official trailer twice (yet not one leak, but okay). Lots of reports came out about the trailer, like Gambit, from the X-Men, and Shang-Chi fighting each other. Another was Doctor Doom and Thor fighting. This film will definitely be one of the greatest Avengers movies, maybe even up there with Infinity War, but who knows.
- The Odyssey
If I’m being totally honest, I only remember some of The Odyssey because I read a portion of it in high school. So, I was never able to get into the story as a whole. That being said, this film is definitely going to stay on my watchlist because of the stacked cast, from Anne Hathaway to Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Tom Holland, and more. Not only that, but this film is also going to be directed by one of the greatest, Christopher Nolan. I’ll definitely have to reread the story before I go see the film, but I’m so excited for the storybuilding that we’re about to get.
Debating on Staying or Leaving
- Toy Story 5
Okay, before everyone steps on my neck, I love the Toy Story franchise, especially since I’ve grown up with these films. Now, that being said, in my humblest opinion Toy Story 4 was something that shouldn’t have been made. I think the story of Andy growing up, going to college, and finishing his time with Woody and the gang was perfect. Then, when Toy Story 4 came out, and Woody decided to leave the gang, I was heartbroken. At the same time, I understood why: he didn’t have Andy anymore; he was with a different kid who didn’t play with him as much. Still, in my opinion, it wasn’t needed. Now, we’ve gotten news of a Toy Story 5 happening, and the storyline seems interesting. This time, it’s toys vs. electronics, which honestly seems very fitting for how kids spend their time nowadays. Besides that, this film may stay on my watchlist, but as we get closer to its release date, June 19, it may leave my watchlist.
- Disclosure Day
Look, I really love Steven Spielberg’s directing. I think he’s also one of the best. His vision of West Side Story was beautiful. Now, with his new film, Disclosure Day coming out, it will revolve around the question of whether aliens are real. Also, this cast is stacked as well, with Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, and Josh O’Connor. Like, this cast has definitely gotten my interest, but with the trailers coming out, I’ve been kind of debating whether to see it on opening night or just wait a few days. I’m all for a sci-fi film, so I’ll probably keep this film on my watchlist.
- Children of Blood and Bone
Now, for those who don’t know, this film is based on a young adult fantasy series written by Tomi Adeyemi, also titled the same. This series centers around two children and a runaway princess who fight to restore magic within their kingdom. The novel’s cast is predominantly African-American, which is something very refreshing to see. Now, the reason this film falls under this category is the casting of one of the main characters. Amandla Stenberg, who is known for her lead role in the Star Wars series, The Acolyte. As someone who has read all of the novels within the series, I was relatively disappointed when Stenberg was cast as the runaway princess. Obviously, Stenberg is a rising star who deserves her flowers, but the character she will be playing has darker skin than Stenberg. As I’ve written before, when a character’s race is an important factor in their character development, it becomes a problem. And again, I’ve read all three of these novels, so I understand the character and her arc. Safe to say, this film will probably stay in my watchlist, but it’s still up for debate.
- Focker-In-Law
If I’m gonna be honest, I just recently began watching the Meet the Fockers franchise so I can be prepared for the new one. This new one features the one and only Ariana Grande, who plays Olivia, the new fiancé of Skyler Gisondo’s character, Henry. She goes to visit his family before they marry, and Ben Stiller’s character, Gregory, becomes suspicious of her due to the feeling of losing his son to her. This seems like a cute film, but it may not be the best, since the ratings of the other films suggest most audiences aren’t big fans. This film may seem like a good time to see it once, and that’s that. This film may leave my watchlist, but we’ll see.
Leaving In A Heartbeat
- Live-Action Moana
Many audiences, including myself, have not been the biggest fans of live-action films. But studios, meaning Disney, never seem to listen and just keep creating them left and right. Now, another princess has been turned live-action, Moana. While the sequel just came out two years ago, and it hasn’t even been more than 10 years since the first one came out, Disney decided that because of the success of the Lilo and Stitch live-action, Moana is the best choice. I’ve written about this in the past, but I cannot get over the fact that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be playing Maui in the live-action. Especially now that we’ve gotten a glimpse of what he will look like, it just keeps getting worse. Best to say, this film is off the watchlist and will stay that way.
- Ice Age 6
In all honesty, I didn’t even know an Ice Age 6 was even being made until I kept seeing posts about the clips shown at CinemaCon. I did enjoy the Ice Age movies up till the third one. I do know that the fourth one had Drake and Nicki Minaj, which is insane. Besides that, I kind of gave up on the franchise and maybe just grew out of it. So, this film is definitely being kicked off the watchlist, unless we get a trailer and it changes my mind, but probably not.
- Jumanji 4
Now, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t mind the first remake of Jumanji with Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, and Karen Gillian. It was very entertaining, and the jokes did hit and made me laugh. But when they announced that a fourth one was happening, I was very confused. I knew there was a second one, but when they said fourth, when did the third happen? Was there a third one that happened that I was never made aware of? Besides that, the news about this film never really hooked me. I’ll probably see it with my parents as a fun family day, but it’s definitely kicked off the watchlist.
All in all, I think this year has been one of the greatest for moviegoers like me. This year won’t be the only memorable one; 2027 will also have one of the greatest runs, and hopefully there will be more like that down the line.