With 2018 in the books, it's time to look ahead to 2019. There are already loads of movies we can't wait to see, and it was a challenge to whittle the list down to just 30 titles. But we're pretty happy with our movie preview even though we know there are also plenty of indie movies that are still flying under the radar, but right now these are the films that are must-sees for the year from giant blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: Episode IX as well as new titles from auteurs like Jordan Peele with Us and Greta Gerwig with Little Women. It's an exciting year, and we have high hopes for the films on this list.

Glass (January 18)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Director/Writer: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Sarah Paulson, and Anya Taylor-Joy

Why We're Excited For It: After some years in the wilderness, it looks like M. Night Shyamalan is firmly back on track. While I don’t know if there will be a mass evaluation of movies like The Last Airbender and The Happening, I do know that Split felt like Shyamlan back in his wheelhouse, and that was even before the ending where he revealed it was a sequel to Unbreakable. Now we’re getting a true follow-up to his 2000 movie, which was truly ahead of its time as it tried to breakdown superhero tropes for an audience that wasn’t quite there yet. Now we’re all on the same page, and I can’t wait to see how Shaymalan continues this story. – Matt Goldberg

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (February 8)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Directors: Mike Mitchell, Trisha Gum (co-director)

Writers: Michelle Morgan, Dominic Russo, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Matthew Fogel, Raphael Bob-Waksberg

Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Stephanie Beatriz, Channing Tatum, Tiffany Haddish, Nick Offerman, Will Arnett, Charlie Day

Why We're Excited For It: It’s been five years since the Oscar-nominated animated adventures of mild-mannered construction worker Emmet and his bric-a-brac friends, and even though we’ve had opportunities to see LEGO ninjas and Batman on the big screen since then, we want to see what our heroes have been up to while we were away.

Granted, Lord and Miller aren’t at the helm this time, so it’ll be interesting to see just how the sequel shapes up; will it be more like the original film and the duo’s recent hit with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, or closer to Mitchell’s previous features like Trolls and Shrek Forever After? Time will tell, but seeing the invading DUPLO aliens destroying everything Emmet and his pals have built promises to be a blast no matter what. – Dave Trumbore

Captain Marvel (March 8)

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Image via Marvel Studios

Director: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck

Writers: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Jac Shaeffer

Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Ben Mendelsohn, Lee Pace, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law

Why We're Excited For It: Marvel first female-led superhero movie has been a long time coming (sorry, Ant-Man and the Wasp, but co-leads don’t count), and they’ve certainly got a capable lead in Larson. But as they’ve shown with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel is incredibly comfortable going cosmic, so it should be neat to see that side of the story as well as going back in time to see this character in the 90s. Also, bringing back Clark Gregg to play Agent Coulson is a huge plus. – Matt Goldberg

Us (March 15)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Writer/Director: Jordan Peele

Cast: Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker

Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out was a veritable sensation in 2017, bringing horror to the Oscars and sparking all kinds of timely and necessary discussions about “post-racial America”. It was also a damn entertaining modern day spin on Twilight Zone style horrors that’s just as sharp and witty as you’d expect from the former Key and Peele co-creator. So obviously I was already excited for his second film Us, which he’s described another social-minded horror movie in the vein of Get Out, but then the trailer dropped. Holy shit, that trailer is amazing and so unnerving, a surreal spin on the home invasion genre that’s all about the way we become own worst enemies — literally, we’re talking creepy-ass dopplegangers here. If the trailer’s any indication, Peele is shaping up to be an essential voice in a golden age of horror. — Haleigh Foutch

Shazam! (April 5)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Director: David F. Sandberg

Writer: Henry Gayden

Cast: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Mark Strong, Djimon Hounsou

Why We're Excited For It: Warner Bros.' DCEU is on a bit of a creative upswing, at least tonally, with the sludgy mumblin' and grumblin' of Batman vs. Superman being left behind for more colorful affairs. Shazam! seems to be the peak of this new era, with trailers teasing a superhero romp bursting with heart and (literal) electricity. Zachary Levi is one charming SOB and Jack Dylan Grazer was a definite endearing standout from IT's ensemble. - Vinnie Mancuso

Pet Sematary (April 21)

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Directors: Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer

Writers: David Kajganich and Jeff Buhler

Cast: John Lithgow, Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz

Stephen King’s darkest book is getting new life on screen from Starry Eyes filmmakers Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. Pet Sematary weilds grief and the fear of mortality with the force of a truck, crashing through the illusions of safety or rationality we wrap around ourselves for comfort and stripping life down to its barest fragility. It’s a scary and deeply upsetting novel, one of King’s best, and it’s in the hands of two filmmakers who have proved they’re not afraid to get bleak and dark with their material. Then they went and cast the thing, and it’s honest to god perfection; Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and freakin’ John Lithgow as Jud Crandall. You really couldn’t ask for more. There’s a lot left in the mythology of King’s book that wasn’t touched in. Mary Lambert’s 1989 remake and I’m excited to see how deep and how dark Kolsch and Wydmyer decide to go with the material. If we’re living in a resurgence of King adaptations, Pet Sematary is one of the most exciting titles you can have on the lineup. — Haleigh Foutch

Avengers: Endgame (April 26)

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Image via Marvel Studios

Director: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Writers: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, and Josh Brolin

Why We're Excited For It: How could we not be? Last summer we got a massive cliffhanger in Avengers: Infinity War and now it’s time to finish the story. Aside from just finishing what we started, Endgame looks like it could have more focus than Infinity War since there are now fewer characters to service. Additionally, there’s the promise of some serious emotional moments as some of the actors say goodbye to these characters. But overall, this is the climax of three phases of the MCU. If you’ve been in for these movies, you’re all-in on Endgame. – Matt Goldberg

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (May 10)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Director: Rob Letterman

Writers: Nicole Perlman, Rob Letterman, Tomokazu Ohara, Haruka Utsui

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Ken Watanabe, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora, Karan Soni, Bill Nighy, Karan Soni

Why We're Excited For It: This premise is just so bonkers that it’s hard not to be excited to see how it all plays out. There have been a ton of Pokémon movies over the years, 21 and counting, but they’ve all been anime films … until now! The live-action aspect of the new film is curious enough, but the fact that Ryan Reynolds is voicing the title character is just too bizarre to pass up. I love that only Smith’s character can actually understand what the world-famous Pokémon is saying beyond his usual “Pika, pika!” and I’m sure audiences will, too. However, it’s the balance between cute and uncanny appearances of the other “live-action” pocket monsters that are scattered throughout this story that will be the true litmus test for moviegoers’ reactions. – Dave Trumbore

John Wick: Chapter 3 (May 17)

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Image via Lionsgate

Director: Chad Stahelski

Writer: Derek Kolstad

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Anjelica Huston, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Mantzoukas

Why We're Excited For It: Open up this photo of Keanu Reeves in bloodied clothing riding a horse majestically down the Brooklyn streets and tell me you're not hyped for John Wick: Chapter 3. No? How about the promise of "ninjas and shotguns", along with the return of noted badasses Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne, and the addition of Halle BerryAnjelica Huston, and Jason Mantzoukas playing a character named the Tick Tock Man. The John Wick movies emerged out of seemingly nowhere to become modern-day action masterpieces and Chapter 3

looks to be another perfect headshot. - Vinnie Mancuso

Aladdin (May 24)

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Image via Disney

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writers: John August & Guy Ritchie

Cast: Mena Massou, Naomi Scott, Marwen Kenzari, Billy Magnussen, and Will Smith

Why We're Excited For It: Disney’s track record with adapting their animated movies into live-action has been pretty good so far. At the very least, there hasn’t been anything that’s diminished those originals, and I’m interested to see if they can keep it going with Aladdin. While we’ll have Dumbo before Aladdin arrives, I’m more attached to the 1992 animated movie, so I’m eager to see what Guy Ritchie does with the material. While I’m sure he’ll probably be able to nail moments like “A Whole New World”, I’m curious to see how they’ll handle “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali” with Will Smith as the genie. – Matt Goldberg

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (May 31)

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Image via Warner Bros.

Director: Michael Dougherty

Writers: Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields

Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Sally Hawkins, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Charles Dance, Bradley Whitford, Thomass Middledtich, David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe

Sweet, glorious monster madness is upon us, from the director of Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus, no less. Apparently the folks at Warner Bros. took those “not enough monster” critiques to heart after Gareth Edward’s Godzilla and the King of monsters is getting some iconic company for his sequel. Mothra, Rodan, and mother-flippin’ King Ghidorah are coming out to play for the Kaiju-packed sequel, which also recruits a great new cast including Millie Bobbie Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. The trailers so far tease a Giant Monsters All-Out Attack style Kaju epic with gorgeous creature designs (including a little evolution in the design of Godzilla himself), and I’ve never realated to anything harder than Ken Watanabe wanting to be Godzilla’s pet. —Haleigh Foutch

Dark Phoenix (June 7)

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Director/Writer: Simon Kinberg

Cast: Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Kodi Smit-McPhee,

There are a lot of questions surrounding Dark Phoenix, namely whether it’ll mark the end of the two-decades-long 20th Century Fox era of X-Men movies in the wake of the sale to Disney, but the film itself remains of interest for a few reasons. For one, it marks franchise producer/writer Simon Kinberg’s directorial debut, taking over for Bryan Singer and injecting fresh blood into the franchise from a filmmaker standpoint. For another, Kinberg aims to rectify past wrongs in correctly adapting the titular comics arc, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. The cast that was first assembled in X-Men: First Class remains tremendous, and Fox’s past few Marvel adaptations have been wonderfully diverse, so here’s hoping that in the vein of Logan and Deadpool, Dark Phoenix is able to stand apart as a unique way to tell a comic book story. – Adam Chitwood

Men in Black: International (June 14)

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Image via Sony Pictures

Director: F. Gary Gray

Writers: Matt Holloway and Art Marcum

Cast: Tessa Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Rebecca Ferguson, Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emma Thompson

Why We’re Excited For It: The world probably doesn’t need another Men in Black movie, but if we have to have one, it’s hard to do better than Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth as the new leads. The duo have already showcased tremendous chemistry in Thor: Ragnarok, and if director F. Gary Gray can really hone in on that for Men in Black: International, this should be an enjoyable enough reboot/sequel. – Adam Chitwood

Toy Story 4 (June 21)

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Image via Disney

Director: Josh Cooley

Writers: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Will McCormack, Stephany Folsom, C.S. Anderson

Cast: Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, Tim Allen, Patricia Arquette, Keanu Reeves, Michael Keaton, Jordan Peele, Annie Potts, Laurie Metcalf, Kristen Schaal, Wallace Shawn, Bonnie Hunt, Keegan-Michael Key, Timothy Dalton, Jodi Benson, Jeff Garlin, Estelle Harris, Tony Hale

Why We're Excited For It: Toy Story is the rare animated feature film franchise that not only delivers quality movies each and every time but each installment manages to outdo the previous one in some aspect or another. (Rarer still, it’s one without an animated series component.) Pixar’s animation technology improves by leaps and bounds year after year, and today’s tech is an exponential improvement over the original film that released nearly 25 years ago. Like a child’s imagination, the storytelling possibilities for this franchise have yet to be exhausted, and the introduction of a new and very strange character named “Forky” will push the limits of what it means to be a toy.

Interestingly enough, it’ll also be one of two 2019 animated films (the other being Frozen 2) that John Lasseter has had a creative impact on, the last of such opportunities for the exec who exited the company in 2018 due to allegations of misconduct. It’s the end of an era, and the beginning of something new for Disney/Pixar. – Dave Trumbore

Untitled James Mangold (June 29)

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Director: James Mangold

Writers: Jez Butterwoth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller, and James Mangold

Cast: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Caitiona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Tacy Letts, Josh Lucas, and Noah Jupe

Why We’re Excited For It: This currently untitled drama serves as the next film from Logan writer/director James Mangold, so that in and of itself makes it noteworthy. Add in the starpower of Christian Bale and Matt Damon and a story involving car racing, and you’ve got yourself a stew goin’. The film tells the true story of the battle between car companies Ford and Ferrari to win Le Mans in 1966, and while Mangold’s diverse filmography gives little indication as to what kind of movie we’re in for (he directed Knight and Day, Walk the Line, and Identity), on paper this thing hums. – Adam Chitwood

Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 5)

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Image via Sony

Director: Jon Watts

Writer: Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei

Why We're Excited For It: Any Spidey movie starring Tom Holland—the most pitch-perfect on-screen Peter Parker—is going to be a good time. But Spider-Man: Far From Home occupies a singularly unique space in the MCU as the first film to premiere after Avengers: Endgame assumedly fixes the deadly mess Thanos made in Infinity War. So not only will we learn what a post-Snap world looks like, but the promise of Jake Gyllenhaal in a full-on Mysterio costume is worth the price of admission alone. - Vinnie Mancuso

The Lion King (July 19)

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Image via Disney

Director: Jon Favreau

Writers: Jeff Nathanson, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton

Cast: Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Alfre Woodard, Beyoncé, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Amy Sedaris, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric André, Florence Kasumba, John Oliver, John Kani, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph

Why We're Excited For It: Why wouldn’t we be? First of all, the gorgeously animated 1994 original, which took home two Oscars, is still one of Disney’s best-ever movies; seeing it again on the big screen in any form is a treat. Secondly, look at that stacked and incredibly talented cast. The earliest looks at the material may put more of a focus on the photo-realistic animation that brings the animal characters to life, but it’s the actors themselves who will breathe vitality into their furry and feathered alter egos.

Fans likely know this story like the backs of their hands by now, but the interesting thing will be to see how Favreau and this accomplished cast make the performances and the narrative their own. That’s worth the price of admission, and this thing is going to make a billion plus. – Dave Trumbore

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (August 9)

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Image via Sony

Director/Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, Timothy Olyphant, Scoot McNairy, James Marsden, Kurt Russell, James Remar, and many, many more.

Why We’re Excited For It: Each new Quentin Tarantino film is cause for anticipation, but Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is shaping up to be unique. For one, it’ll be Tarantino’s first film not produced and/or distributed by Harvey Weinstein, with Harry Potter producer David Heyman instead stepping in to steer the ship from a producorial standpoint. For another, it’s Tarantino’s largest, most star-studded cast yet, with two giant movie stars—Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt—taking the lead. And the story, which is set in 1969 and revolves around the changing Hollywood landscape, promises to be incredibly fruitful territory for Tarantino to explore. “Epics” come in all shapes and sizes, and from what we’ve seen and heard about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood thus far, this looks to be a true Hollywood epic about, well, Hollywood itself. – Adam Chitwood

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (August 2)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Director: David Leitch

Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza González, Eddie Marsan

Why We're Excited For It: The Fast and the Furious movies are fun enough on their own, and continue to be so even eight movies into the franchise, but it’ll be refreshing to step just a little bit outside of the main timeline and enjoy a new adventure. That adventure just so happens to feature two of the franchise’s fringe characters who are both fan-favorite additions to the core cast and outstanding actors/action-movie stars in their own right. Johnson is box office gold and pairing him with Statham is just extra insurance. They’re joined by talented newcomers to the series in Kirby and Gonzalez, both of whom have recent actioners under their belts, along with Elba, who should prove to be an imposing and interesting villain.

And behind the camera you have Leitch, an accomplished stunt performer and coordinator whose hard work and talent have culminated in directorial efforts like John Wick, Atomic Blonde, and Deadpool 2 over just the last five years. All the pieces are there, so this one should be something special. - Dave Trumbore

It Chapter Two (September 6)

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Image via Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema

Director: Andy Muschietti

Writer: Gary Dauberman

Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Skarsgard, Bill Hader, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Jay Ryan, Xavier Dolan, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jaeden Lieberher, James Ransone, Jeremy Ray Taylor

Andy Muschietti’s IT adaptation was a bonafide phenomenon 2017, raking in an insane $124 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend alone, and going on to earn the crown as highest-grossing movie in horror history. It was a pitch-perfect blend of nostalgia and coming-of-age drama, with some of the scariest creature designs and thrilling set-pieces of any studio horror in recent memory. Now, Muschietti has a major challenge ahead of him — live up to that, my dude. Fortunately he’s got a killer cast of newcomers to play the adult Losers, led by Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, and  James McAvoy, and I can’t wait to see how Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise interacts when he’s picking on people his own size. IT was one of the best King adaptation ever made, and there are many, and it’s going to be a thrill to see how Muschietti opts to handle the insanity of King’s cosmic ending. — Haleigh Foutch