5 Years, 3 Studios, 32 Movies!: 2018

So here we are, where things get interesting! I previously let ya'll know that Marvel Studios made an announcement about a new movie in 2018 (along with three unnamed films in 2010), which shifted other film dates around!

2018 is a big year for Marvel, FOX, and DC/WB. Five out of the seven films coming out that year are new properties, so this will be the big test for these studios to create films that will aid in future success past their 2020 releases. Plus, each week of July will see a new film be released! That is a busy month! Here's to hoping that fatigue in the genre won't have kicked in, yet!

So here we go!

Black Panther (February 16) Director: ?
Not much is known about this movie, other than it stars Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero, T'Challa/Black Panther. The character would have already made his debut in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War, but this solo film promises to flesh out who the character is and delve into the politics of his secretive country, Wakanda. Expect to see Andy Serkis in the film as Ulysses Klaue (who previous appeared in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron), as it is his character that forces T'Challa to lead his country and take up the mantle as Black Panther. Director wise, this film has struck out twice now. Originally, Selma director Ava DuVernay was in talks to direct this film, but she ultimately passed. Then rumors circulated that Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray was being sought to direct, but he just signed on to direct Furious 8 for Universal. He could still hypothetically come on to direct Black Panther, but scheduling would definitely be tight.

The Flash (March 23) Director: Seth Grahame-Smith
Not to be confused with the highly successful CW show of the same name, this will be first DC/WB stand-alone film that doesn't revolve around one of the big three. All that is really known up to this point is that it stars up-and-comer Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, and that his suit might be more technical similar to that of the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (May 4) Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
So here we go! Everything the MCU has been leading to pretty much since the first Iron Man film in 2008, ten years later will culminate in an epic saga! (can you tell I'm excited?!) Thanos (played by Josh Brolin), has been scouring the universe for the Infinity Stones (the McGuffin's scattered throughout Marvel films) and his reign of terror will lead him straight to Earth. Now being that this is the first of two films, expectation is that not all the Avengers will unite in this one. Also, expect a HUGE cliff hanger, because how else will it lead into Part 2?! Finally, it has been announced that the Russo Bros. will direct this film entirely with all new IMAX digital cameras, which will create a film-going experience that will only be fully realized in theaters. Everyone wins! (except the Avengers, they're probably get their asses kicked this film...)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6) Director: ?
The follow up to the successful 2015 solo film stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp. That is all we know. I sort of expect either Ant-Man director Peyton Reed to return for the follow up, or that Adam McKay will take over after turning down the first (but writing most of the script with buddy Paul Rudd). Being that this is one of two "solo" films in between the Infinity movies, expect part of the story to deal with the aftermath of Part 1. Or not! Nobody knows right now!

Untitled Marvel/FOX Film (July 13) Director: ?
Absolutely nothing is known about this film at the moment aside from it's release date. Expect this movie to be a new property set in the existing X-Men universe FOX has created. Rumors are that it will be a New Mutants film directed by Josh Boone. Another rumor is that it will be an X-Factor film. Both teams are separate from the regular X-Men team, but are fully comprised of mutants. This movie, regardless of the property, will be very important for FOX, as X-Men: Apocalypse looks to be the end of the trilogy starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult. Any or all of those stars may return for future films, but, starting with Gambit, FOX is looking to expand its universe past the normal X-Men team.

Untitled Animated Spider-Man Film (July 20) Director: ?
Independent from the live-action film world, SONY is developing an animated Spider-Man film. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are writing a treatment and are producing, but they probably will not direct due to scheduling conflicts (they are scheduled to direct a young Han Solo Star Wars film). That is all we know.

Aquaman (July 27) Director: James Wan
This won't be the blonde, orange and green superhero you know from the comics! Jason Momoa will be playing the title character (previously appearing in Batman v Superman and The Justice League Part One), and his take promises to be, for lack of a better term, bad ass!

Now originally, Marvel's Captain Marvel was supposed to be released in November of 2018. However, when the Ant-Man news was announced, it was also announced that Captain Marvel was moving to 2019. Because of this, and because there are so many films releasing in July, I expect one or two of them to budge and move to later that year. My money is that they will be the X-Men spinoff and animated Spider-Man movies, because neither are fully fledged out and could use the extra time. Plus the other two properties, Ant-Man and Aquaman (what a crossover that would be!) are known properties with characters that have already appeared so the studios will expect success from them. Also, this is three years from now! So anything could happen!

Up next 2019, so Stay Tuned!