While Marvel films may be ruling the box offices as far as are action movie ticket sales are concerned, there are plenty of new and adrenaline-filled films and franchises that will be coming out later this year.
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So before you get caught up in all the hysteria surrounding Avengers: Endgame or Spider-Man: Far From Home, remember that there are other upcoming films that are set to deliver you that adrenaline fix without being attached to the ubiquitous Marvel brand name. Hell, a few of them aren’t even reboots or sequels, so if we’re lucky we might see something entirely different than what we’ve come to expect from the standard superhero flick.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
While Marvel films certainly art the only action-oriented blockbusters being released this year, they certainly can’t be ignored. Captain Marvel is not only the first female-led Marvel film (get it, Brie Larson), but it’s also the first film to depart from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s linear timeline.
Captain Marvel will transport audiences back to the mid-90s and give audiences a look at what will potentially set up a whole new branch of the Marvel Universe. We already know that the plot of the film involves the Kree-Skrull war, two races that play a major role in the comics. We can only guess what doors this will open going forward in the MCU, but you can definitely bet they’re going to lead somewhere marvelous.
STAR WARS: EPISODE IX
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, which I’m assuming you haven’t been, then you’re aware that one biggest movie franchises in history is about to wrap-up it’s third, and possibly final, trilogy following the gifted Skywalker family.
While Disney seems to be keeping any details of the film under tight lock and key, we do know that we’ll be seeing more of Kylo Ren and Princess Leia, potentially the last of the Skywalker family, as well as some more of Chewie, Rey, and Finn. Whatever happens in the final chapter of the most recent Star Wars Trilogy, you can bet fans will be piling into the theater to witness what should be a stunning conclusion 4 decades in the making.
SHAZAM!
While Marvel films have been utterly dominating anything DC Films has put out for the past ten years, but with a sudden turn in the form of the Aquaman film, maybe just maybe, DC Films is beginning to turn things around. We can only hope. And with Shazam!
Releasing later this year, Shazam! hopes to continue with DC Films’ recent success and with Zachary Levi taking over as the titular character (no longer Captain Marvel, for obvious reasons), it seems to almost guarantee that audiences will have a good time watching the beloved character come to life on the big screen.
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to separate summer blockbusters from comic book films or superhero movies, and this summer is no exception. Spider-Man: Far From Home will be the second Spider-Man film in the MCU starring Tom Holland’s brilliant portrayal of the famous web-slinger Peter Parker.
For the first time in a Spider-Man film, we will see Peter Parker leave behind his beloved New York in favor of hopping across the pond to visit some of Europes most vibrant locations. That’s not the only first, however, for the first time in a live action film, fans will get a look at classic Spider-Man villain and Sinister Six founding member, Mysterio. Seems like Spider-fans have plenty of reason to be excited about Spidey’s international travels.
HELLBOY
It’s been a while since the last time fans got to see Hellboy live and in action, but with the reboot starring David Harbour coming out later this year, hardcore fans will be getting a much more comic-accurate version of their favorite hellspawn. Neil Marshall, the director of this version of Hellboy promises the film will be everything fans of the comics were missing in Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of the rock-fisted harbinger of the apocalypse.
So you can bet that the R-rated version of this beloved character will be bringing all of the violence and horror that fans of the comics have been expecting for a long time coming. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see Hellboy swinging around the legendary sword Excalibur?
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Oh, man. Alita: Battle Angel is a film that has been a long time coming for many fans of the original manga. Alita: Battle Angel has a lot of things going for it. First off, there’s the brilliant cast, which includes Rosa Salazar as the titular character, Christopher Waltz, and Mahershala Ali. Next, there’s the fact that it’s directed by living legend Robert Rodiguez, who seemingly can’t create a shoddy film.
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Should either of those things not be to your liking then there’s simply no pleasing you, and it seems rather pointless to even try, but the last things there is to offer is that fact that film looks absolutely stunning. The effects, the action, the battle sequences, if the trailer is to be believed Alita: Battle Angel is certainly going to getting any adrenaline junky at the edge of their seats.
MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL
Here come the men in black. Back for the first time in nearly a decade and with an entirely new cast in an entirely different country. Men In Black: International is set to expand the Men In Black mythos and take the franchise to somewhere it’s never been before, London.
While the last two films had a hard time measuring up to the success of the original film, with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson teaming up again for the first time since Thor: Ragnorak you can bet they’ll help push the red button on the franchise and kick it into turbo gear.
HOBBS & SHAW
The film may be called Hobbs & Shaw, but they may as well have titled it “Testosterone & Cars: The Movie”. The first spin-off film of the Fast and Furious franchise since Fast And Furious: Tokyo Drift, Hobbs & Shaw is sure to deliver the same intense, heart-pounding, and improbable piston-powered shenanigans that the series is famous for.
This time, however, the focus of the film narrows down it’s two titular character Agent Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson, and Owen Shaw, played by Jason Statham. The crew may have gotten smaller but you can bet that the action and the stunts are only going to get bigger and bigger. Just like agent Hobbs.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
With the release of Avengers: Endgame later this year Marvel is set to put the cap on a series of interwoven films that have spanned over a decade.
And with Marvel hinting that even more long-lasting consequences of the snap heard 'round the universe, you can be sure that fans of the MCU will walk out of the theater after the three-hour finale is over even more distraught, but hopefully somewhat more satisfied, then when they walked out of Avengers: Infinity War last year. One thing’s for sure, the MCU is certain to be making some massive changes by the end of the film.
ZOMBIELAND 2
Another film just over ten years in the making is the recently announced Zombieland. Fans have been waiting for over a decade to hear from Wichita, Little Rock, Columbus, and Tallahassee again, and later this year they’ll finally get their wishes granted.
It’ll be exciting to see exactly where the group has ended up after successfully surviving the Zombacolypse for over a decade. Did they manage to stick together the whole time? How was the world of Zombieland changed since we last saw them? And for the love of all that is good, has anyone found anymore gosh dang twinkies?