This year has already been an impressive one at the movies, from new horror stories likeM3GAN,Infinity Pool, andKnock at the Cabin, to continuations of major franchises likeMagic Mike’s Last DanceandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 2023 started off with some heavy hitters, and the next few months show that this year shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. This spring, we get the return of Adonis Creed, Shazam!, John Wick, and Ghostface. We’ll see Mario exploring the Mushroom Kingdom, the demons ofEvil Deadrising once more, andAdam Driverfighting dinosaurs. What more could you want??
Let’s take a look at some of the new releases coming out this spring.
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Creed III (March 3)
Despite being around for nearly fifty years, theRockyfranchise proved there’s still plenty of gas left in this tank with theCreedseries, which putMichael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, at the center of the story. While this new angle on this boxing story has been quite a revitalization of this series,Creed IIImight be one of the most fascinating installments in this franchise, as this will be the first film in this series withoutSylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa. Also fascinating is thatCreed IIImarks the directorial debut of Jordan, and it will be exciting to see if Jordan has learned from close friend andCreeddirectorRyan Cooglerfor his first time behind the camera. But, oh yeah, there’s a story toCreed III! This time, Jordan’s Creed will face off against his childhood friend Damian Anderson, played byJonathan Majors—who is already clearly claiming 2023 as his year. With Stallone out, and Jordan as director, it’s going to be very interesting to see how this series moves out of the past and into the future.
Scream VI (March 10)
After eleven years away,theScreamfranchisereturned last year, killing off long-time franchise favorites, and setting up new characters who have a past deeply ingrained with the stars of the previous films.Scream VIcontinues this beloved horror series’ breaking the mold of what worked before, as we find our cast coming against Ghostface in New York City. It will also be curious to see how this series explains the absence of series-lead Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell)—an integral part of these films up to this point.Screamhasn’t had a shortage of characters obsessed with the past, and the murderer inScream VIseems to be taking it even further than previous killers, complete with a museum dedicated to past Ghostfaces. Will the series’ new directorsMatt Bettinelli-OlpinandTyler Gillett’s attempts to change up the formula in a new location and shifting cast help or hurt this series?
65 (March 10)
Really, all you probably need to know about65is that it involvedAdam Driverand dinosaurs. Driver stars as Mills, a pilot who crashes on an unknown planet and finds he’s on the Earth 65 million years ago (hence the name), and he and the other survivor of the crash, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt) have to find their way to safety.65comes from writer/director teamScott BeckandBryan Woods—best known for writingA Quiet Place—and is produced bySam Raimi. In a year that has already given us the killer doll ofM3GANand the cocaine bear ofCocaine Bear,65seems like another excellent addition to 2023’s list of weird-as-shit movie ideas that work.
Champions (March 10)
It has almost been a decade sinceBobbyandPeter Farrellyhave made a movie together, and in that time, Peter has gone on to write and direct the Oscar-winningGreen Bookand last year’sThe Greatest Beer Run Ever. However, Bobby will be making his solo directorial debut withChampions, about a minor-league basketball coach (Woody Harrelson) who as part of a community service requirement, ends up coaching a team to prepare them for the Special Olympics. A remake of the 2018 Spanish film of the same name,Championssounds more in line with the types of comedies that the Farrelly brothers used to make together, and it will be interesting to see how Bobby’s solo work differs from that of his brother.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17)
Shazam! Fury of the Godswill be the first film from DC sinceJames Gunnannounced the upcoming plans for where this universe is heading, and whileFury of the Godswas filmed prior to Gunn andPeter Safrantaking over as the co-chiefs of DC Studios, who knows what threads the latest DC film will be setting up for the future.Zachary Leviwill return as Billy Batson/Shazam, and thisShazam!sequel will also introduce the Daughters of Atlas, played byRachel Zegler,Lucy Liu, andHelen Mirren.Fury of the Godsseems to exist in this weird middle ground, likeThe Flash, where it’s borne out of the DCEU, but could mean important things for the future of DC’s upcoming plans.
Boston Strangler (March 17)
Who doesn’t love an intense and engaging crime drama, as well as a story about great reporting?Boston Stranglerchecks both of those boxes, exploring the story ofLoretta McLaughlin(Keira Knightley), the reporter who broke the story of the Boston Stranger in the 1960s. In addition to Knightley, the cast includesCarrie Coon,Alessandro Nivola,Chris Cooper, andDavid Dastmalchian.
The Magician’s Elephant (March 17)
Netflix has been on a roll with their animated original films lately, last year alone giving us films likeApollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,Wendell & Wild, and earning two nominations in the Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards withThe Sea BeastandGuillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Netflix will hopefully continue this trend with their first animated original of 2023,The Magician’s Elephant, based on the belovedKate DiCamillobook of the same name, which follows Peter (voiced byNoah Jupe), who is trying to find his sister Adele (Pixie Davies). to do so, a fortune-teller gives Peter advice to find a magician with an elephant (hence the name!).The Magician’s Elephantalso featuresBenedict Wong,Brian Tyree Henry,Mandy Patinkin, andWhat We Do in the Shadows’Natasia Demetriou.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 24)
“Yeah, I’m thinking I’m back” is an understatement at this point. Not only do we have theBallerina, a TV show set in the Wickiverse coming in the near future, butJohn Wick: Chapter 4seems like it’s going to be the biggest adventure for John Wick (Keanu Reeves) so far. Not only is the upcoming fourth installment close to 3 hours of Wickified adrenaline, but this cast continues to grow, with this latest film addingDonnie Yen,Scott Adkins,Hiroyuki Sanada,Shamier Anderson,Rina Sawayama,Clancy Brown,Mark Zaror, andBill Skarsgård. It’s been almost four years since we’ve seen Wick kick an absurd amount of ass, but yeah, we’re thinking he’s back.
A Good Person (March 24)
Nearly twenty years ago,Zach Braffbecame an immediate icon of indie cinema, and for better or worse, quirk, after writing and directing his 2004 debutGarden State. A decade later, he upped the eccentricity with his 2014 filmWish I Was Here. But in this decade’s film,A Good Person, it looks as though Braff has taken on a much more serious approach to his latest project.A Good PersonstarsFlorence Pughas Allison, who was part of a fatal accident, and years later, begins an unexpected relationship with the man who would’ve been her father-in-law (Morgan Freeman). It will be interesting to see how Braff and Pugh worked together, but also to see a Braff project written and directed by him, but without him starring. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a new side to Braff with his newest film that takes him out of the shadow ofGarden State?
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (March 31)
We’ve seen attempts to bringDungeons & Dragonsto the screen before, butDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesmight actually be the film to bring the role-playing game to life effectively. Directed byGame Night’sJohn Francis DaleyandJonathanGoldstein,Honor Among Thieveslooks to be just enough of an action-adventure comedy to lure in D&D beginners, but with plenty of references to keep the diehard fans content. Plus with a cast that includesChris Pine,Michelle Rodriguez,Regé-Jean Page,Justice Smith,Sophia Lillis, andHugh Grant, that’s quite a group to bring this fantasy world to the big screen, and maybe even turn some viewers into potential players.
