Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther were the top two picks in a fan poll for the most anticipated movies of 2018.
Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity Warand Black Panthertopped Fandango's poll for Most Anticipated Movies of 2018. Following 2017 - a year in which Marvel Studios released three films to great critical/commercial success - the Marvel Cinematic Universe aims to celebrate its 10th anniversary in a big way, with a trio of projects that includes Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as the previously mentioned two MCU movies.
Starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular character, Black Panther will kick off Marvel's big year. The movie will explore the hidden nation of Wakanda, where culture and tradition meld well with high-technology and innovation. Based on what we have seen thus far from the film's promo materials, Black Panther is set to have political and spiritual undertones, along with all the comic book movie action that we've come to expected from the MCU. Infinity War, by comparison, will serve as the culmination of ten years' worth of storytelling in the MCU - pitting the many heroes in the franchise against their most dangerous opponent yet, the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin).
The official Fandango 2018 movie poll results were unveiled byUSA Today, as part of a special interview with Erik Davis, the online ticketing company's managing editor. According to Davis, moviegoers of all shades are very much pumped for Infinity War, given that the movie was a decade in the making and unites all of the MCU's biggest players for one massive spectacle. Davis also addressed why the masses are so excited to see the Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther too:
"People have been waiting for the entire Marvel Universe to appear onscreen for a long time. Fans love these combinations of heroes; seeing Guardians of the Galaxy characters interacting with Thor for the first time is going to be really interesting."
"Like Wonder Woman in 2017, Black Panther is going to be a film that will enhance a conversation that’s already happening. Audiences are demanding more diverse casts and stories."
Coming in third place in Fandango's poll isJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring which Chris Pratt (who also plays Star-Lord in the MCU) and Bryce Dallas Howard. Given the massive financial success of the first Jurassic World - itself a soft reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise - it only makes sense for a whole lot of people to be looking forward to the sequel. A Monster Callsdirector J.A. Bayona took over from Colin Trevorrow on the Jurassic World sequel, and the first Fallen Kingdom trailer is now showing in theaters.
The next four spots in Fandango's poll were filled by the Ryan Reynolds-led Deadpool 2, Ron Howard's spinoff film Solo: A Star Wars Story, Pixar's long-awaited sequel Incredibles 2, and Warner Bros.'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Meanwhile, landing at the eighth spot is Ava DuVernay's live-action adaptation of A Wrinkle of Time, followed by X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and finally the all-female spinoff film, Ocean's 8. It's interesting that 90% of the movies that fans are the most excited to see in 2018 are parts of bigger and well established Hollywood franchises.
Coming back to Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther - the fact they are the most anticipated films of 2018 shows that Marvel Studios' piecemeal approach to building the MCU has panned out. By now, not just comic book readers, but also casual moviegoers are either invested or at least intrigued by these stories of costumed superheroes.
