5. The House That Jack Built (Lars von Trier)
Lars von Trier’s oeuvre is a cinematic ode to the dark realms of the human soul. Suffering from depression, the Danish director made himself a name with movies about addiction, madness, loss and nihilism, just to name a few features.
Originally developed as a television series, his upcoming movie “The House That Jack Built” visualizes the story of an extremely intelligent serial killer over the course of 12 years, who celebrates every murder as a work of pure art. The acting ensemble is excellent with Matt Dillon playing the lead part and the other roles are embodied by Uma Thurman, Bruno Ganz and Riley Keough. Von Trier’s purpose behind the movie is to celebrate “the idea that life is evil and soulless“.
The production on this film has been completed. Despite the fact that he has been banned from the Cannes Film Festival because of a questionable statement in a press conference where he admitted to having sympathies for Adolf Hitler, von Trier is in pacifying negotiations for a premiere at the renowned festival. Given that his movies often are tragic and depressing as well as highly controversial, one can be highly curious about his upcoming production and his take on the mind of a serial killer.
4. Mad Max: The Wasteland (George Miller)
After the huge success of “Mad Max: Fury Road” (the movie received great feedback by critics and audiences alike as well as six Oscars in 2016) it was just a matter of time until a new installment of the legendary action saga went in production.
George Miller confirmed the fact that there will be numerous Mad Max movies to come. The screenplays for two follow-ups are written and Tom Hardy had already signed for his return as the franchise’s hero.
Regarding the huge impact of “Fury Road” and the movie’s tremendous surprise factor, it will be challenging for the production team to move up the vast success. But given that the 2016 movie was in the making for more than 15 years, eventually the next installment will be a long time coming and may take the cinema world by surprise once more.
3. Dune (Denis Villeneuve)
The Canadian director’s sixth big budget production confirms his trend of specializing in science fiction. After “Arrival” and the upcoming “Blade Runner 2049”, this is his third contribution to this genre. Aside from the director’s huge kudos, it’s the highly painted past of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel and diverse ambitions of transferring it into a cinematic narrative, making this production one of the most anticipated science fiction movies of the near future.
The first attempt of a picturization is dated in 1973. After the death of producer Arthur P. Jacobs, who bought the film rights, it was mastermind Alejandro Jodorowsky who prepared for his adaption of the cult classic novel. He created a star-and talent-exuberant crew including Mick Jagger, Pink Floyd, Orson Welles, Udo Kier, H. R. Giger and Mike Oldfield, just to name a few. Unfortunately, the project died because of financial shortage (the 2013 documentation “Jodorowsky’s Dune” by Frank Pavich takes a detailed look on this project).
In 1982, it was Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis who handed the project to David Lynch. His version of “Dune” was released in 1984, receiving mixed reviews by critics and audiences alike. Regarding its highly mixed past, the cinema circles are excited to see the world of “Dune” coming to life in Villeneuve’s modern trademark style.
2. Untitled Movie About Manson Family Murders (Quentin Tarantino)
After 2012’s “Django Unchained”, Quentin Tarantino mentioned his will of making a family movie in numerous interviews. Back then, one could barely imagine what the director who is known for his explicit visualization of violence and dialogues full of adult-only language meant by that. But in July 2017, information leaked out about his upcoming movie, thematizing the infamous Manson family and the murders they committed in 1969 (2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the brutal events). Thereby the term “family” gains a totally new meaning.
There are no final acting confirmations but Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Samuel L. Jackson (nobody would be surprised about his appearance) and Margot Robbie are under the names linked to the project. The beginning of shooting is scheduled for 2018.
The project marks his first expedition in true-events narratives (“Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained” were both fictional stories set in a historic setting). For a controversial filmmaker like Tarantino, the highly disturbing and common events from Charlie Manson and his allegiance might be an explosive combination.
1. The Irishman (Martin Scorsese)
The man behind “Casino”, “Goodfellas” and “Mean Streets” returns in the mafia genre with “The Irishman”. The $100 million production made for a huge media response with its judicial differences, several re-terminations and production issues. Turned down by Hollywood studios, the film is now funded by video streaming giant Netflix.
The movie is about mafia hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran who is rumored to be responsible for over 25 murders by order of the Cosa Nostra.
Martin Scorsese’s new movie might be the most ambitious production on this list. Via state-of-the-art technology, the actors will embody their roles in three different ages. The acting ensemble is a sublime mixture of Scorsese veterans such as Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel (eventually Joe Pesci will join the cast) and two of his recent “Vinyl” actors Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano. In addition, Al Pacino will intensify the cast with his proven ability for embodying goodfellas.
Author Bio: Berlin-based Luc Hinrichsen has a bachelor’s degree in audio engineering and plenty of experience in scoring movies on his own, while working for a film distribution company. Besides that, he’s an aspiring screenwriter and director always curious about enlarging his knowledge about film and its history.