The Mayans may be prepping for the worst in 2012, but movie fans can expect one of the most exciting summers in history. After last week’s Warner Bros./IMAX announcement and the recent G.I. Joe 2 target release date news, the 2012 movie schedule now includes five films that give superhero and sci-fi fans reason to salivate. As news continues to roll in and release dates shuffle, the list could get even bigger.
Between The Avengers and Batman 3, there’s already enough on the summer 2012 movie slate to inspire geekgasms, but the addition of some highly-anticipated reboots and sequels set it up nicely against an already filled-out summer of 2011, which features a slew of big-time superhero movies geeks have been dying to see .
Regardless of how awesome it may look in our summer movie trailer mash-up, in comparison to 2011 and 2012, summer 2010 is as feeble as Christian Bale in The Machinist. The expectations for 2011 and 2012 are already through the roof, as some of the most ambitious tentpole films ever imagined will be fighting for the hearts of geeks and fanboys everywhere. So you be the judge of which summer looks the most appealing.
Here’s a list of the major “geek films” being released during the next two summer seasons:
2011:
Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover 2, Mission: Impossible IV, Green Lantern, Transformers 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Captain America and Cowboys and Aliens.
2012:
Batman 3, The Avengers, Battleship, Star Trek 2, G.I. Joe 2, Spider-Man reboot and the Superman reboot (technically Supes would be released during the holiday season, but we’re throwing it in here anyway due to its high geek factor).
Let’s dissect these two summers and determine the best. It’s really up to you, but I’m here to help.
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MARVEL vs. DC
There is a fascinating DC vs. Marvel movie battle heating up. Two Marvel staples finally make their way to the big screen in 2011 with Thor and Captain America, while DC attempts to lure in the comic crowd with their own character new to the movie circuit, Green Lantern.
2012 is DC’s turn with two of the most adapted superheroes, Superman and Batman, revisiting the silver screen. For all the people wishing for a collaborative film between the two iconic characters, at least they’ll both have movies out in the same year. It’s a start. Marvel sneaks into the mix with what hopes to be a fitting reboot of the Spider-Man franchise.
But it is Marvel’s The Avengers, scheduled for May 4th, 2012, that claims the victor. Sure, Batman 3 is one of the most anticipated films in recent memory – but the fusion of multiple Marvel Movies all coming together for The Avengers is an unprecedented movie event.
SEQUEL HEAVEN:
If you are of the opinion that sequels never improve upon the original, the summers of 2011 and 2012 may not be for you. Between the two years there are eight major sequels, only two of which the collective audiences will likely scoff at.
2011
Jack Sparrow will continue his sensational adventures with some new sidekicks in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Rob Marshall will attempt to keep the ship afloat with newbies to the franchise Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane.
The three best friends that anybody could have will find themselves in ridiculous scenarios again in The Hangover 2. The entire cast will return, along with director Todd Phillips. What’s nice is the intention to create a sequel came from the artists, not the studio. So, instead of a rushed, studio-driven sequel to attract every last cent of the public’s money, we will get a genuine follow-up.
The final chapter in the Harry Potter franchise will release next summer, closing the book on one of the most revered literary adaptations in history. Warner Bros. has announced they will turn their focus almost entirely on DC superhero movies as their tentpoles after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. According to the 2012 schedule, they are poised to do just that.
Transformers 3 and Mission: Impossible IV close out 2011′s blockbuster sequels. The leads of both franchises return, but details on each film are few and far between. Though Transformers 3 begins filming in Chicago in early July, all we know about both movies is they continue two of the biggest blockbuster franchises out there.
2012
While 2012 has fewer sequels, they are still quite prevalent. The very existence of a G.I. Joe 2 is disappointing, almost giving the grand prize to the 2011 summer. But with the aforementioned Batman 3 and Star Trek 2, there is enough explosive power to keep geeks on the edge of their seats.
ALIEN INVASION(S)
Ironically, the two remaining tentpole films we need to discuss are pretty similar. Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens (2011) and Peter Berg’s Battleship (2012) will pit aliens versus mankind in some relatively original ways. The latter will give aliens a chance to take over the seas, while the former gives the western a makeover worthy of director Roland Emmerich’s approval.
Cowboys & Aliens - thankfully, the closest thing we'll get to a western directed by Roland Emmerich.
With more currently on the plate for 2011 (it’s still early for 2012 dates), and possibly one of the most expensive years of productions ever, the race is extremely tight. In terms of expectations, both summer 2011 and 2012 will have the potential to break box office records, but thanks to Batman 3 and The Avengers, 2012 gets the vote on my most anticipated ballot.
If you had your pick of summers to fast-forward to, which would it be? Summer 2011 or Summer 2012? Debate in the comments section below.
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Dont forget Deadpool in 2011
We went with the films that have concrete release dates. Deadpool is slated for 2011 but further details are needed.
Just being optimistic. He’s probably my favorite Marvel character (Alongside Iron Man of course).
I’m still so damn excited for avengers. And i honestly can’t see how it is gonna end ^^
I mean if that movie does not get a budget past the 200m$ for all the cgi stuff and the pure actian that should be going on… then they rather not make it xD
but yeah that movie is the clear winner. We have never seen anything like that. The fact to combine all the characters from big budget superhero movies into one even bigger budget movie…i mean holy cow! really?! xD
Yeah, 2012 is the winner right now for me. When I heard that the Avengers was being made, I think my brain had some type of dimensional breakdown for about a milisecond. That is by far the most ambitious film I have ever heard of being made, and definitely my most anticipated. But I am also liking Bats 3 and Superman (I’m hoping they finally realize that Sups needs a worthy adversary, which is not some meglomaniacal human billionaire).
Oh yeah, and 2012 will be soo awesome that the Earth will just wipe us out because nothing will be able to top it.
people keep saying it’s never been done before but it has. xmen was done three times with multiple heroes and villains. they just did it the other way. team up movie first and then individual movies.
It’s a little different because the X-Men is a household property as a team of mutants. If we took each of them separately, it wouldn’t work, beacuse their storylines are stronger as a team. And even then, they aren’t as famous as other characters from Marvel. The only exception being Wolverine. You can see it by the box office numbers. None of the X-Men films so far has grossed more than $500 million (worldwide). With The Avengers they’re putting these superheroes together, and all of them are very well-known, popular and can stand on their own separately, so in that sense it’s a really never before done project. And it’s clearly going to make a lot more money.
Hands down 2012 will ecilipse ANY year past in silverscreen profit. Don’t get me wrong, 2011 will be mind-blowing but some of the characters (Thor and Captain America) will be together with Hulk and Ironman to crush any opening weekend blockbuster EVERY. Not to mention Marvel and DC main posterboys all in one year, WOW.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Deadpool.
Jamie!
Yeah, that was pretty much our feeling – especially if GL does well.
when are Deadpool and Wolverine 2 “supposed” to be released?
Isn’t X-Men: First Class coming out 2011 also? Fox has it slated, right?
I won’t be watching movies those years for religious reasons.
Just kidding. Lets have back-to-back summers, and watch them all in a row. Well except for Harry Potter, I thinks the movies suck.
Compared to this Summer’s lack luster offerings…….. I predicted lower box office $$$ this Summer….(even with Twi-Tripe this year.) For me personally, my family and I will NOT be spending the usual jake…except for May where we have 4 weeks in a row for “must” viewings. So just in our household alone, an average of $112.00 will not be fed to the Cinema Gods in the form of purchased tix….as well as the rest of the year looks even worse in the form of Thanksgiving and Christmas, yet 2011 and 2012 will see a rebound in receipts at the box office and it is very exciting to see what is in the pre-production stage !
This is a pretty tight race. But I would have to go with 2012 mainly because DC will be finally releasing the Superman reboot which is my most anticipated film probably of my young life. Also the Avengers and Batman 3 will be out. I can’t wait to see what Nolan does with Batman 3 and what the future will be for Christian Bale. I am hoping he leaves (he looks too old to be in the Justice League. I am assuming most actors portraying the other DC superheroes will be around and/or look the age Ryan Reynolds does. Compared to him, Bale looks like he can almost be his father.)
It will also be interesting to see how Marvel incorporates their heroes in The Avengers.
Not to mention the Spiderman reboot. I don’t have much hopes for it but I am curious to see how this new direction they are taking will play out.
But I am excited for 2012 mainly for DC. They need to get their feet in the doors and these films must be epic!
Superman will be a Holiday 2012 release.
I wonder just how many films are releasing in 2012 that we haven’t been told about yet?
DON’T FORGET FAST FIVE FOR 2011
I think that The Avengers and everything leading up to it are the clear winners for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Batman movies and look forward to what they do with Green Lantern. I just hope that DC is able to unite all of their characters into one universe like Marvel has already done/is doing.
how are they clear winners?? They did what they needed to do with the first Iron Man in the ENDING CREDITS SCENE. Iron Man 2 was an infinite disappointment considering how damn good the first one was. Script/story was weak, villains were a joke, and the only saving grace was RDJ’s continuing great performance as Tony Stark. The race track sequence was the only good action sequence as well. You said you like what they’re doing tying things in right? .. Well it cheapens the film in its own franchise and serves as nothing more than a bridge to the Avengers, which I’m sure will happen with Cap and Thor. Everything they did right with Iron Man they screwed up in this one.
Big sequels for Summer 2011 missed: MiBIII and MI:4. For 2012 missed are: ID4-2.
M:I4 is in there. Independence Day sequel does not have a set release date yet. same with Men in Black III. nothing official.
2011 is shaping up to be big, but 2012 will win.
2012 has The Avengers which has 500M potential as does 3atman. John Carter of Mars which will likely be in the 300M-350M range, but could be higher. Star Trek 2 which will likely be a 350M mega hit. Also ID4-2 which will be in 3D that has the potential to be another 400M to 500M+ hit. While for 2011 I don’t see any 500M hits, but a few 400M ones.
I agree with you Mike, 2012 by a slim margin. But I want to see what other movies come out for summer 2012 before making a final call. Either way I think we’ll all win
Batman 3 is the only film that might be good we don’t know how the Avengers will come out it might suck and I don’t really care for the Avengers. But 2012 wins.
Dont forget the 2012 Ninja Turtles live action orgin story! Its the movie I’am most looking foward to.
2012 because of Batman. I’m a huge Thor and Cap fan but they just don’t compare to the Bats.
Well, I can almost guarantee that they won’t blow as much as summer of 2010. After ‘Iron Man 2′ and ‘Inception,’ what is there?
‘Marmaduke’?
I feel your pain personally but to be quite honest – what “big” film so far this year has been good?
The Wolfman was rubbish. Clash of the Titans was rubbish. Iron Man 2 is suppose to be a let down (although I haven’t personally gotten around to seeing it yet).
I’ve noticed the underdog films are doing a lot better (Kick-Ass, Shutter Island) so perhaps this summer will be a pleasant surprise as we’re not anticipating so much.
I have no worries for Inception though
A film that follows another that made a billion in Batman 3, 3 films that are almost guaranteed to go over $500 million in Avengers, Star Trek 2 and Superman, Ultimate Spidey? … No contest, 2012 = biggest year for comic genre films ever.
And the Godzilla Reboot surprise hit of 2012!!
Man, it’s a hard choice here. 2011 has 4 big winners for me: Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America and Harry Potter 7. 2012 has other 4 big winners for me: The Avengers, John Carter of Mars (I’m so excited for this one), Star Trek 2, and Batman 3 of course. Call me as you like, but I’m not rooting for Superman (even with Nolan supervising). I’ve just never the character that much. It’s iconical yeah, but it’s lame and we’ve seen it so many times before. So that’s a tie, even if I add Cowboys & Aliens for 2011 and Battleship for 2012, which so far take the 5th spot for each year. I guess I’m really excited for both 2011 and 2012. They should make up for the weak choices this year. (really, there’s only Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3 and Inception in the summer, then Tron Legacy later.)
Good article, Mike.
It’s hard but overall I think I’ll say 2012 because of Batman 3 and Spider-Man. I also think a Nolan Brothers Superman could be really exciting even though I’ve never been a Superman fan. But on the other hand 2011 has the final Harry Potter movie, Green Lantern and Cowboys and Aliens …
For me this isn’t even close 2012 by a landslide. Avengers, bat 3, superman I mean 2011 isn’t even competition to me 2008 was bigger than 2011 in my opinion tdk and iron man 1
I really hope that Edward Norton returns for The Avengers, if only for continuity’s sake.
The movies I am looking forward to the most in the next couple of years are Green Lantern, the Avengers and Batman 3. I really hope they make a Flash movie with Barry Allen. With Geoff Johns writing the new series with Allen and also with Johns being their big creative consultant for some of their lesser known properties, I am hoping they will announce something for the Flash. Maybe they have and I missed it.
Batman 3, pirates 4, green lantern, harry potter, spiderman reboot, superman reboot, avengers, hangover 2, transformers 3 and thor are all the movies im anticipating. I couldnt choose between the two summers even if i tried. These movies are going to break box office records
2012! All I want before the world supposedly ends in 2012 is to see Star Trek 2. I could die happy then.
I’m very excited for a Batman 3 movie and all, but I’m ready to see Batman against a real challenge. I want to see Batman go up against Killer Croc or Clayface. I wanna see him go up against a physical challenge. Not all these psychos.
I sort of agree with u ghost but I’m still holding out hope for Bain and Black mask in bat 3 if done right it could be great. Bain was not only a physical challenge but he was also smart. Just please no riddler, catwoman or penguin I want some more fresh villains done right. If riddler and cat woman pop up I can safely say I won’t be there opening day and if reviews are less than stellar I’ll rent it.
i can’t decide there are so many flantabulicious movies set for release…
harley quinn seems a fairly logical choice of villain for 3atman does she not?
Barely is not a main villain she could possibly work with a joker but by her self or with anyone else it would be a terrible idea to put her in the movie. Not to mention the obvious thing to do is go with a differant villaian type not a female joker.