While 2019 seems like the year of reboots/remakes (“The Lion King”, “Aladdin”, “Dumbo”, “Hellboy”, “Pet Sematary”, “Child’s Play”, “Joker” and many others come to mind), Hollywood hasn’t forgotten about sequels either. In fact, there are enough sequels getting released this year that one might miss some of them on the way.
For this list, we’ve ordered by their USA release date 10 of the most promising sequels which you might not know are soon getting a release. Let us know in the comments what other sequels are coming in 2019 and we might not have heard about.
1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (May 17th)
The third film in the “John Wick” series is set to be released this month and will see Keanu Reeves returning as the titular character. This time, the legendary hitman will have to fight his way out of New York after a 14 million dollars price tag which is put on his head makes him the target of some of the most dangerous assassins around the world.
Stylish, action-packed and wildly entertaining, the first two “John Wick” films have been among our favorite action thrillers of the last years. Recently, “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” was screened to members of the press ahead of the film’s release and the reactions have been positive, with viewers describing it as awesome and a film which will please the fans of the franchise. So far, it looks like the third “John Wick” movie won’t disappoint.
2. Godzilla: King of The Monsters (May 31st)
The plot for “Godzilla: King of Monsters”, the sequel to 2014’s “Godzilla”, reads as follows: “The heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.”
While our expectations aren’t set too high for this movie, based on the trailers we’ve got so far, “Godzilla: King of Monsters” doesn’t look too bad for a popcorn movie featuring giant monsters.
The CGI and cinematography are pretty good, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Charles Dance, Sally Hawkins, and Kyle Chandler are all part of the cast and the director is Michael Dougherty, whose 2007 horror-comedy “Trick ‘r Treat” is one of our favorite Halloween films, while his 2015 Christmas horror “Krampus” is somewhat of a guilty pleasure.
3. The Secret Life of Pets 2 (June 7th)
The sequel to 2016’s “The Secret Life of Pets” is going to be released this summer and will continue the adventures of Max and his pet friends. This time, Max (now voiced by Patton Oswalt) and his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) go on a countryside family trip where Max meets Rooster (voiced by Harrison Ford), a farm dog which will help him overcome his fears.
Meanwhile, Gidget the Pomeranian (Jenny Slate) ventures in an apartment filled with cats trying to rescue Max’s favorite toy and Snowball the bunny (Kevin Hart) is convinced that he is a real superhero after his owner starts dressing him in superhero pajamas.
Entertaining, funny and probably the cutest animated film we’ve seen lately, “The Secret Life of Pets” was one of 2016’s biggest box-office hits. We hope that “The Secret Life of Pets 2” won’t disappoint.
4. Toy Story 4 (June 21st)
Wait, what? The “Toy Story” franchise hasn’t ended? Well, it seems not. After the huge success of 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, which revolved around a 17-year-old Andy who nearly forgot about his favorite toys Buzz Lightyear, Sheriff Woody and their friends, Disney/Pixar decided to continue the toys’ adventures with their new owner Bonnie, the girl who received Andy’s toys at the end of the last film.
“Toy Story 4 ” will be set some years after the events of the third film, when Buzz, Woody and the rest of the toys are faced with a new problem after Bonnie builds Forky, a new toy who doesn’t want to be a toy and has an existential crisis.
It’s been 10 years between “Toy Story 2” and its 2010 sequel “Toy Story 3”, and now – as crazy as it sounds – another 9 years have passed. Back in 2010, we thought that animations couldn’t get more realistic, but the fast advancements of CGI are visible in the trailer for “Toy Story 4”. From what we’ve seen, the film looks amazing and nearly makes the 2010 third installment in the franchise look dated. We can’t wait to see the new “Toy Story” on the big screens.
5. Annabelle Comes Home (June 28th)
The first “Annabelle” film wasn’t good at all, but “Annabelle: Creation” was a huge step-up and a perfectly fine horror film. We really hope that the upcoming “Annabelle Comes Home” will not disappoint.
This new entry in “The Conjuring” franchise is directed and written by Gary Dauberman, the man who also wrote the scripts for the previous “Annabelle” movies, the 2017 “It” film, the upcoming “It: Chapter 2” and last year’s “The Nun” (but that is nothing to be proud about).
The film’s synopsis released by Warner Bros reads as follows: “Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing. But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target – the Warren’s ten-year-old daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace), and her babysitters (Madison Iseman and Katie Sarife)”.
It doesn’t sound like something we haven’t seen before, but frankly, we aren’t expecting originality from a film about a possessed doll. If it will have a coherent script, good acting, and some decent scares, it’s fine by us.