16 sequels, franchise films and more coming out in 2017
2017, even moreso than recent years, will be the year of the franchise.
Dozens of film tentpoles are due for release next year, from acapella musicals to superhero films — mostly superhero films, frankly. Some of these look very exciting! And then some of them make you wonder: Who wanted this?
To preview the upcoming film year, we've broken down 16 sequels, reboots, franchise extensions and more, along with two scores: how excited we are for them, and how much we expect to be disappointed. Spoiler alert: It's going to be a high-risk, high-reward kind of year.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Everything we've seen about the new Spider-Man reboot, from Peter Parker 3.0's appearance in Captain America: Civil War, played by Tom Holland, to the trailer for the new film, gives us hope this will be the version of Spidey's story that The Amazing Spider-Man should have been. Still, if that failed Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone franchise proves anything, it's that Spider-Man is not an infallible property. Things can still go wrong, even if they look all right.
Excitement level: 8
The Fate of the Furious
Here's the thing: Of course the trailer looks thrilling. Charlize Theron in some kind of Final Fantasy character hair? Sold. Already pre-ordered our tickets on Fandango. But keep this in mind: Since the franchise's reboot in 2009, the odd-numbered films have been far better reviewed than the even-numbered films. This is number eight. Can it break the streak?
Excitement level: 9
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty unabashedly wonderful, and there's no reason to think this one won't be, too. But keep in mind as individual and separate as the original movie was (to its immense benefit), we are almost at the point where this set of heroes will blend with the main group of Avengers. Apparently, the franchise's impact won't be strongly felt in this sequel, but that clock is ticking.
Excitement level: 7
Kong: Skull Island
The two points on the excitement level scale are solely for Brie Larson, who somewhat perplexingly chose this as one of her Oscar follow-up projects. Perhaps this adaptation will succeed where the 2005 adaptation, Peter Jackson's King Kong, fell short.
Excitement level: 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
To repeat from the introduction of this article: Who asked for this? Who needed yet another Pirates movie when every single one since the smart original has been a disappointment? We are in year 14 of this franchise; time to move on.
Excitement level: 1
Thor: Ragnarok
Thor isn't exactly the most exciting of the main crop of Marvel's Avengers, but the third film in his independent series is a bit more exciting than the previous. Why, you may ask? Cate Blanchett as a supervillain, that's why.
Excitement level: 4
Logan
Logan promises a far more introspective look at fans' favorite member of the X-Men, Wolverine, still played after all these years by Hugh Jackman. So there's reason to be at least a bit excited. On the other hand, the other two Wolverine standalone films have been disappointments. So prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
Excitement level: 5
Pitch Perfect 3
Pitch Perfect will never fail to get us at least a bit jazzed, largely because of its positive effect on Hollywood and its box office. But we'd be lying to ourselves if we said the significantly worse second installment didn't have us worried. Perhaps a new director will help freshen things up?
Excitement level: 3
Power Rangers
The young versions of ourselves are stoked that in 2017, we're getting a remake of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers story. But the young versions of ourselves take one look at those garbage suits and brace for this to be a major train wreck.
Excitement level: 10
Transformers: The Last Knight
It's Transformers. Cars turns into robots. Robots fights other robots. Nothing to be excited about; nothing to get disappointed by. Trust us, you know already if you want to see Transformers 5: Electric Boogaloo.
Excitement level: 0
Baywatch
Before we saw the trailer for Baywatch, we would've registered somewhere around a two on the excitement scale. Now? Well, color us surprised. This looks like it's going for a 21 Jump Street vibe, and we trust Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron with that. If it's bad, eh, we didn't expect much in the first place. But if it's great, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Excitement level: 6
Beauty and the Beast
We're sold. Yes, there are parts of this trailer that look like this is just trying to be a live-action, shot-for-shot remake of the animated film. If that's all it's going to be, it'll be a bit disappointing. But the animated version is wonderful, and thus such a remake would still be pretty great. Anything extra is just gravy.
Excitement level: 10
Star Wars Episode VIII
It's Star Wars. You're going to see it. Everyone is going to see it, if The Force Awakens' box office take is any hint. Will it be great? Who knows! Who cares! This movie is the closest thing to pure, solid gold as is produced in Hollywood these days.
Excitement level: 10
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Kingsman: The Secret Service was a surprise smash in 2015, with stars Taron Egerton and Colin Firth's charm bolstering the movie's natural strengths. If the movie isn't quite as good this time — understanding that sequel slumps are common — it'll still have its shining stars, making it at least somewhat worth it.
Excitement level: 7
Fifty Shades Darker
Somehow, no matter how much we're ready for Fifty Shades to be trash, everything about it still manages to be even worse than we expected.
Excitement level: 1
