10 Upcoming Major Movie Performances We Absolutely Cannot Wait For

Among all the upcoming 2023 movies, there are 10 performances in particular that are highly anticipated. After the COVID-19 pandemic, which took its toll on the film industry and significantly slowed film production, 2023 is set to prove that things are now returning to normality, in part thanks to the many upcoming releases scheduled for this year. As the anticipation around these films builds, so does the interest around the performances of the actors playing the lead role in some of the most exciting 2023 releases.

There are many anticipated movies coming up in the 2023 releases, including Wonka, Barbie, and the much-awaited Little Mermaid live-action adaptation, to name a few. With many different production companies and a range of different genres, the most anticipated 2023 releases are varied and exciting, particularly for those actors whose performances naturally may create a lot of buzz and interest around their respective films. In fact, in some cases, early promotional material and hype around certain performances have already raised the excitement levels, even if none of these films has been yet released. Here are the year's most-anticipated performances.

10 Timothée Chalamet In Wonka

After an Oscar nomination in 2017 for Call Me by Your Name, Timothée Chalamet is arguably one of Hollywood's biggest rising stars. In 2023, audiences will see Chalamet in different roles as he is associated with what may be some of the most anticipated movies of 2023, namely Wonka and Dune 2. In particular, his upcoming performance as a young Willie Wonka in Wonka is going to be an exciting one as viewers will get to see Chalamet in yet another challenging role, one that many may be familiar with thanks to the previous adaptations of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

9 Margot Robbie In Barbie

Barbie lowering her glasses in Barbie teaser trailer

Another big 2023 release is Greta Gerwig's Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as the titular character, Barbie. The excitement surrounding Barbie's upcoming release is not only focused on Gerwig's directing but also on Robbie's role, thanks to her track record of fully-committed performances. While the actor does seem like the perfect match for such a character, even before she was cast in Barbie, the teaser trailer for the movie has already confirmed how suited she is to the part. As such, many are looking forward to seeing Robbie's take on the character in the full feature-length movie.

8 Halle Bailey In The Little Mermaid

Halle Bailey smiling at Flounder in The Little Mermaid

Coming directly from Disney studios, one of Disney's main 2023 releases is the live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Halle Bailey was cast in 2019 to play Ariel in a more progressive The Little Mermaid. In fact, The Little Mermaid took years to make, as its original 2020 production schedule was stopped by the pandemic. After all the wait and witnessing her stellar singing in the newly-released teaser trailer, it is safe to say that audiences cannot wait to see Bailey's performance as the beloved Ariel on the big screen.

7 Rachel Zegler In Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

Lucy, played by Rachel Zegler, has her had on Snow's lap, played by Tom Blyth in The Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

In a return for another iconic franchise, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is also scheduled to come out in 2023. Set more than 50 years before the events of Hunger Games take place, its prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, will star Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Ballard. Zegler's singing and acting talent, proven in Spielberg's West Side Story, will most likely shine through in her performance as one of the main characters of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, thus bringing the audience back into the Hunger Games world through a character many will love and root for.

6 Robert Pattinson In Mickey 17

From Academy Award winner director Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17 will feature Robert Pattinson as the lead character. Adapted from the homonymous novel by Edward Ashton, Mickey 17 will follow its main character, Pattinson's Mickey Barnes, a disposable employee on an expedition sent to colonize the ice world Nilfheim in the science fiction universe the novel is set in. After Pattinson's recent successes on the big screen, his performance in this role is intriguing as it promises another departure from previous hits like The Batman.

5 Florence Pugh In Dune: Part Two

Another example of a resurgent science fiction genre, Dune: Part Two will also come out in 2023. After the success of Dune in 2021, the second installment of the series directed by Denis Villeneuve will add new actors in Dune: Part Two to its already impressive cast. One name that stands out among many is Florence Pugh, who is confirmed to play Princess Irulan Corrino in the movie. Given Pugh's previous roles, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Little Women, her performance in Dune: Part Two is likely going to be a scene stealer that many are excited to watch in 2023.

4 Austin Butler In Dune: Part Two

Dune-2-Paul-Feyd-Rautha-Timothee-Chalamet-Austin-Butler

As well as Pugh, Dune: Part Two is also going to feature Austin Butler, who is nominated for an Oscar for his critically acclaimed performance as the titular character in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis. Butler will play Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgård. Feyd-Rautha is instrumental in the source material's climactic showdown, which would bring Butler into the spotlight once again, and perhaps into the award's radar as well, in the upcoming 2023 movie season.

3 Cillian Murphy In Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer looking down at a light source

Director Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer may very well result in a box office success, possibly one of the biggest in 2023. Releasing in July 2023, Oppenheimer will feature Irish actor Cillian Murphy in the lead role. Widely known for the television show Peaky Blinders, Murphy's performance as Thomas Shelby in the show soon led to critical acclaim. He previously worked with Nolan on Dunkirk in 2017, when he marvelously played a shell-shocked soldier, as well as Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy. His upcoming performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biopic Oppenheimer will certainly be one many viewers wants to keep their eyes on as a result of these previous collaborations.

2 Nicolas Cage In Renfield

Count Dracula menacingly smiles in Renfield

As part of what already looks like a memorable cast, Nicolas Cage will play Count Dracula in Renfield. The American comedy horror film directed by Chris McKay will follow the titular character Nicholas Hoult's Renfield as he aids his boss Dracula for centuries of servitude. As one of the major incoming 2023 horror films, there is naturally a lot of excitement surrounding Renfield and Cage's performance as such an iconic character. Dracula's stories have been adapted to the screen virtually from the very beginning of cinema, so it is going to be interesting to see how Renfield, and Cage's role within it, plays out.

1 Joaquin Phoenix In Beau Is Afraid

Beau is at the hospital in Beau is Afraid

A previous Academy Award winner, Joaquin Phoenix will star in Ari Arister's upcoming film Beau is Afraid. The film will follow Phoenix as he plays the titular character Beau, an anxiety-ridden man, throughout various periods of his life in this surrealist horror film from the same director of Hereditary and Midsommar. Phoenix's role as Beau has the potential to be a heartbreaking performance that showcases the actor's talent, thus possibly becoming one of the most exciting performances in 2023 movies that audiences will most likely remember and look forward to.

More: Every Movie Releasing In 2023