A multitude of movies
A new film release season begins with a host of productions featuring sequels, prequels, remakes and adaptations
Bestsellers also provide inspiration for some of the upcoming blockbusters
Inevitably these days there are remakes among the new releases
Once again the new film release season is likely to be dominated by well-established Hollywood productions. This year will see the release of the first spin-off from the reborn Star Wars saga, Rogue One: a Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards. It will no doubt provide a small appetiser for the eighth instalment in the epic, expected by Christmas.
Bestsellers also provide inspiration for some of the upcoming blockbusters, such as James Foley's Fifty Shades of Darker, continuing the S&M adventures of Anastasia and Christian, while Tom Hanks again plays Robert Langdon in the thriller Inferno, the latest Dan Brown novel adaptation and a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Meanwhile, Tate Taylor's The Girl on the Train is based on Paula Hawking's bestselling mystery novel, and the highly-anticipated The Dark Tower, a fantasy/sci-fi western film based on the legendary Stephen King series of novels, is directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel. At the same time, a J. K. Rowling story returns to the screen in the shape of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Sequels and prequels
Inevitably these days there are remakes among the new releases. One such is Antoine Fuqua's version of The Magnificent Seven, revisiting the 1960s western classic with Denzel Washington in the lead role. Also well represented are sequels and prequels, such as Blair Witch, Adam Wingard's follow-up to the 1999 movie that revolutionised the horror scene and the return of Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. It is also a year for primates with War for Planet of the Apes, the the third instalment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series, and Kong: Skull island, a King Kong reboot.
Meanwhile, there will be new chapters in a number of movie franchises, such as Fast & Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean, World War Z, Transformers, Cars and even the Alien series, the latter seeing the directorial return of Ridley Scott.
Animated classics also provide the basis for a couple of films, such as Disney's live action version of The Beauty and the Beast, a musical directed by Bill Condon. Meanwhile, Ghost in the Shell is a live action film starring Scarlett Johansson based on the Manga cartoon and video game of the same name. Another video game, Assassin's Creed, also gets the big-screen treatment in a potential blockbuster starring Michael Fassbender due for release in December. Another cross-platform production features the movie version of the TV series Baywatch, while the trend for super-hero films continues with Doctor Strange, a new Wolverine, Galaxy Guardians 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and a new Thor adventure.
Big-name directors
Among the established Hollywood filmmakers with new films out soon is Tim Burton, with a new vision from his peculiar fantasy universe in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Director Oliver Stone will continue denouncing the mechanics of power in Snowden, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role of the wanted IT specialist, while Clint Eastwood tells the story of Chesley Sullenberger, a pilot who managed to prevent an airplane accident, played by Tom Hanks. Martin Scorsese, meanwhile, will release the highly anticipated period epic, Silence , starring Liam Neeson, and Robert Zemeckis puts Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard together in the romantic thriller Allied. M. Night Shyamalan makes a return with the psychological thriller Split, and Christopher Dolan makes his debut in war films with Dunkirk, while the Jim Jarmusch drama Paterson is also to come.
International prestige
Further afield, other prestigious directors will be releasing their latest projects, such as Dutch director Paul Verhoeven's psycho-thriller Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert. British filmmakers Ken Loach and Danny Boyle return to their comfort zones, the first with the social drama I, Daniel Blake and the latter with the sequel T2: Trainspotting. Meanwhile Guy Ritchie brings us his unique version of a medieval myth in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
The Great Wall is an epic historical fantasy super production from the hand of Chinese director Zhang Yimou, shot in English and starring Matt Damon, while the young Canadian enfant terrible Xavier Dolan has put together an excellent cast –Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux– in It's Only the End of the World, a Cannes prizewinner this year. Another Canadian director, Denis Villeneuve, takes a shot at a sequel to Ridley Scott's sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner, with a film that has yet to get a title.
Catalan filmmakers
Back at home, one of the most highly anticipated Catalan productions due out is A Monster Calls, a fantasy drama directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, with a cast featuring Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson. Along the same lines, will be the release of Mateo Gil's sci-fi production Proyecto Lázaro, and Oriol Paulo's thriller Contratiempo.