If there’s anything we gleaned from 2022, it’s that the movies are back, baby. No more straight-to-streaming releases or delayed releases. We got to witness Jordan Peele’s brilliance with Nope in full IMAX quality, see the birth of Steven Spielberg’s love of cinema with The Fabelmans, and chuckle over all the Don’t Worry Darling drama when Harry Styles returned to the silver screen for the first time since Dunkirk. The best part? We get to do it all over again with a brand-new batch of films in 2023.
It’s not like TV went anywhere during the pandemic. (In fact, it felt like there was more of it, probably just because we were watching so much.) But there’s quite a number of new series heading our way in the new year, too. Of course, the typical Disney+ array of Marvel and Star Wars series will introduce us to a flurry of new adventurers. But there’s lots of exciting fare coming beyond the returning favorites, like Succession Season 4.
We’ve seen some teasers, heard some gossip, and witnessed the grand reveal of Ryan Gosling as Ken in the Barbie movie. Now, let’s dig into the most promising movies and TV shows heading our way in 2023.
THE LAST OF US (HBO, Jan. 15)
The massively popular video game series is heading to the small screen, filling the void that The Walking Dead recently left behind. HBO’s zombie apocalypse TV series comes with a strong pedigree: Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin is at the helm. Under his direction, the story of Joel (The Mandalorian’s Pablo Pescal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) promises to be as existentially terrifying as it is violent. But be forewarned: As they search for a cure to help save humanity from turning into zombies, The Last of Us will definitely slather on the gore too.
POKER FACE (Peacock, Jan. 26)
No, not the Lady Gaga bop. (Though we hope that’s a needle drop in this show.) Poker Face is a new comedy/murder mystery starring Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne and helmed by the king of whodunnits himself, Rian Johnson. The Knives Out mastermind is unveiling yet another puzzle for us all to unravel just a few weeks after Glass Onion drops on Netflix. This serial TV show will unpack a new mystery every episode—though Benoit Blanc isn’t involved.
MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE (Feb. 23)
Batten down the hatches and leave your boyfriends at home (unless he’s into this kind of thing too), because the Magic Mike franchise is bowing out with one final number. Channing Tatum is returning to Steven Soderbergh’s third film, body rolls and loose hips abound. Where the first film was an indie drama and the second a buddy road-trip comedy, it looks as though Magic Mike’s Last Dance will be a searingly sexy romance, with Salma Hayek joining the cast as Mike’s lover who convinces him to come to London to produce a sexy new show, one powerful enough to make the London Bridge go down.
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (Feb. 17)
Marvel is kicking off what’s known as Phase Five in its increasingly complicated storytelling machine with the third Ant-Man movie. Like the other post-Endgame flicks, Quantumania will take Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) right into the multiverse. Waiting for him there is Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), in his big-screen debut as the MCU’s new Big Bad. This movie will be a pivotal one for Marvel-heads to check out. For the rest of us, Rudd’s ageless mug is always delightful to look at.
SCREAM 6 (March 10)
Although Neve Campbell hasn’t officially signed on—apparently, Scream didn’t offer the queen enough money, and shame on them—we have a hunch we might get to see Sidney Prescott once more when Scream 6 releases. Last year, Scream (this was the title, though it was technically Scream 5) introduced us to horror icon Jenna Ortega, who’s gone on to star in Wednesday and X. Now, we’re back with some hall of fame Scream stars, including Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (April 7)
It’s been almost 30 years since the last time the brothers Mario appeared on the big screen—although we’d prefer not to talk about that movie. Instead, let’s focus on how delightful this animated feature looks. The creators of Minions are reimagining Nintendo’s iconic franchise with a fresh sense of humor, celeb voices (Jack Black as Bowser! Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach!), and a colorful CGI-animated world. Sure, Chris Pratt seems like terrible casting for Mario, but he’s never been the main draw anyway. We’re here for all the fan service-y touches in this take on the Mushroom Kingdom.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 (May 5)
When we last saw the Guardians, it was in last May’s Thor: Love and Thunder. The Asgardian joined their crew post-Endgame, but it turned out to be just a brief jaunt. Now our fave gang is down to seven. They’re still missing one crucial member: Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who died in Avengers: Infinity War, then time traveled to the present and joined the bad guys in Endgame. Will Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) be able to convince the love of his life to rejoin the gang? Will Nebula (Karen Gillan), Gamora’s newly redeemed sister, return to join her sister on the side of evil? Will Groot learn a new word? That last question is a definite “no,” but the jury’s out on the others until May.
FAST X (May 19)
What better way to kick off the summer blockbuster season than with some signature Fast and Furious road rage? We’ve reached a big number in the franchise with this installment, which is the tenth movie in Vin Diesel’s family action saga. We’ve got some newbies on the road, including Jason Momoa as this movie’s villain, as well as Brie Larson and Rita Moreno, who will play Dom’s grandma.
THE LITTLE MERMAID (May 26)
The teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid ignited a firestorm on Twitter, with racist trolls arguing that Halle Bailey’s casting was another move to diversify a property that didn’t need diversity. Isn’t it pleasant to live in a world where people argue about the “real” race of a fictional fish woman who gets her voice stolen by a malevolent sea witch? Despite all its controversy, the first glimpses of the film look stunning, with Bailey’s equally gorgeous voice enchanting us from the depths until early summer.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE PART ONE (June 2)
The first Spider-Verse movie was an incredible achievement: in animation, in superhero storytelling, and in franchise filmmaking. Hype for the Oscar-winning film’s sequel, the first entry in a two-parter, has only increased in the four-plus years since the first movie’s release. That puts a lot of pressure on Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy, our returning heroes, who already have bigger problems to deal with beyond satisfying fans. There are new multiverse-traveling Spider-Men to manage, with new threats popping up alongside them. Beyond the skyscraper-scaling action, expect an abundance of gorgeously comic book-inspired visuals and genuine laughs.
INDIANA JONES 5 (June 30)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is back. Sound the alarms. Call in the Hot Priest. Prepare the fourth wall to be broken. The Fleabag mastermind has been tapping into the adventure realm for quite some time now, playing a droid in Solo: A Star Wars Story and writing parts of James Bond movie No Time to Die. Now, she’ll play Harrison Ford’s goddaughter in Indiana Jones 5. Need more convincing? Mads Mikkelsen stars as Indy’s foe in this new chapter. Let him hold the whip!
OPPENHEIMER (July 21)
Oppenheimer is a Christopher Nolan epic about the conception of the atomic bomb. Enough said. You’ll probably want to see this on the biggest screen possible. With headphones, too, unless you want to blow your eardrums out. The trailer on YouTube is counting down the seconds to release date—how clever is that?
BARBIE (July 21)
On July 21, you’ll have a tough decision to make. Either you can see the aforementioned Christopher Nolan epic in grand display, or you can see the true movie of the year: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Maybe, as Little Women and Lady Bird diehards, we’re biased. But after seeing Ryan Gosling in Ken underwear and Margot Robbie roller-skating through Hollywood, this movie seems to be the most anticipated of 2023.
THE MARVELS (July 28)
The team-up movie brings Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Captain Marvel-fangirl Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) together for the first time, following the latter’s recent Disney+ series. Joining them is another familiar face to Disney+ viewers: Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who played a key role in WandaVision. While it’ll be fun to see three very different female heroes head up a Marvel movie, the contemporary storyline means losing the goofy 1990s setting of the first Captain Marvel movie. The good news is that Goose the alien cat will be back—we’ll happily take him in lieu of admittedly stale jokes about VHS tapes.
THE EXORCIST (Oct. 13)
In 2023, the 13th of October just so happens to land on a Friday. Time to unleash the creepiest horror of all time. The Exorcist will be a sequel to the original 1973 film of the same name, and though we don’t know much about the plot at this time, we can at least expect some super scary exorcisms and deranged little girls, right? One can only hope. Jason Blum has tapped in to produce the film, with Halloween’s David Gordon Green tapping in as director.
DUNE: PART TWO (Nov. 3)
Five prophets of the Bene Gesserit named Geri, Mel B., Mel C., Emma, and Victoria once told us, “Spice up your life!” And that’s exactly what we plan to do when Dune: Part Two rolls around next year. Continuing where Dennis Villeneuve’s epic left off in 2021, Dune: Part Two will see Timothée Chalamet reprising his role as Paul Atreides and Zendaya’s Chani joining the pack after being introduced at the end of Part 1. Plus, Florence Pugh reunites with her Little Women boyfriend. Aww! Now if only they can outsmart those pesky sand worms…
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES (Nov. 17)
The best YA dystopian fiction series will return—but this time, Katniss Everdeen won’t be making an appearance. Instead, the prequel series The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will focus on the upbringing of President Coriolanus Snow, including the fledgling Hunger Games he witnesses and a budding romance with a lass from another district, played by West Side Story star Rachel Zegler. We’ll miss Peeta Mellark, but hopefully more thrills await with this prequel installment.
WONKA (Dec. 15)
The Willy Wonka you all know and love—to hate!—is back with an origin story no one really asked for. Thank goodness everyone’s favorite highly capable twink, Timothée Chalamet, is in the candy king’s seat, otherwise this would be shaping up to be the can’t-miss disaster of next Christmas. Hell, it might be that anyway! There will be stagecoaches, there will be big hats, and there will be songs. For those of you still reeling (in a good way or a bad one) from Cats, mark your calendars accordingly.
TBD
SECRET INVASION (Disney+, Early 2023)
Somehow, it’s taken this long for Samuel L. Jackson to get his own Marvel project. He’s popped up in a dozen of these movies, often stealing the show as ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury. But Secret Invasion will put him in the spotlight at long last. This limited series adapts a beloved comic book storyline, in which Earth is invaded by the Skrulls, an alien race we first met in Captain Marvel. Fury’s been chilling in space working on repairing Earth’s relationship with the Skrulls for years now, but his diplomacy skills are now needed back home. Expect more of a political thriller than you’re used to seeing from Marvel with this one.
ECHO (Disney+, Summer 2023)
Echo will take the big Marvel summer TV show slot—this year’s was She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, love it or hate it—and focus on an MCU character we’ve only met a handful of times. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) will lead her own spinoff show, in which she’s set to head back to Oklahoma to reconnect with her Native American roots. Maya is Marvel’s second deaf character, following in the footsteps of Eternals’ Makkari (Lauren Ridloff). Echo will also see the return of Marvel fan-favorite Daredevil (Charlie Cox), who just reared his head in She-Hulk as well.
AGATHA IN THE COVEN OF CHAOS (Disney+, Late 2023)
Arguably the best part of WandaVision, Disney+’s first runaway hit series, was watching Kathryn Hahn slowly reveal her true nature as Wanda’s nemesis, the witch Agatha. In her own series, Hahn will get to dip into all of the campy, colorful chaos that her character brought in WandaVision, and continue to remind us that she’s one of Hollywood’s greatest assets.
AHSOKA (Disney+, Late 2023)
Ahsoka is one of the more impressive characters in Star Wars canon, not least of which is because she’s had one helluva trajectory. First introduced in the animated Clone Wars series, the character has fully crossed over to the marquee Star Wars universe. Rosario Dawson returns as the Jedi, whom we first saw back in The Mandalorian Season 2, as she embarks upon her own quest. Part of that journey will involve an appearance from Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), a.k.a. the Jedi who mentored Ahsoka before he broke bad.
LOVE AND DEATH (HBO, Late 2023)
Fans of David E. Kelley’s HBO hits Big Little Lies and The Undoing will be excited for his next series for the streamer, Love and Death. The show is based on the true story of Candy Montgomery’s infamous axe murder of her friend Betty Gore back in 1980. And if that sounds familiar to you, it’s because Hulu wrapped a five-part miniseries this year where Jessica Biel swung the ae. Even if rehashes the same story, we can’t wait to see Elizabeth Olsen in the titular role, with Jesse Plemons and Lily Rabe supporting.
LAND MAN (Paramount+, TBD 2023)
We’ll likely have at least four new seasons of Yellowstone and three spinoffs dating back to the mid 16th century in the new year. But before that, Taylor Sheridan is said to be coming out with another new series under his Paramount+ deal. That show is Land Man (what a name!), which is “a modern day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs.” This sounds like something a random generator might come up with if you asked it to unleash a new Taylor Sheridan show. Tell every dad you know.
THE IDOL (HBO, TBD 2023)
Do you like drugs, sex, money, and fame? How about a show that combines all of them and stars The Weeknd—and, like, 100 other familiar faces? In that case, the next great sexploitation L.A. noir is coming your way. Lily Rose-Depp is set to star as a fame-hungry pop star in Sam Levinson’s The Idol, falling into a doomed partnership with a smooth-talking wheeler and dealer played by The Weeknd. The Idol fancies itself the most sick and twisted new show of 2023, and, if it’s anything like Levinson’s Euphoria, you can forget watching this one within a 100-mile radius of your parents.
