Have you been waiting with bated breath over the next installments of your favorite movie franchises? With movie releases thrown into turmoil last year, there are a whole lot of highly-anticipated movies coming out this year, including some exciting sequels and spinoffs. Whether you are into superheroes, super detectives, horror, action, or movies for your kids, there is sure to be something below that excites you. Check out the list below. These are the most anticipated sequels coming out before the end of 2021.
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
Release Date: June 11
Another fun kids movie sequel coming out this year is Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway on June 11, 2021. We enter back in with Thomas and Bea married and living with the rabbits. To satisfy his boredom, Peter ventures into the city and causes all sorts of chaos. James Corden, Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Rose Byrne all reprise their roles. The only one missing from the lineup is Daisy Ridley, who played Cottontail in the first one. Aimee Horne will instead voice Cottontail. The film was already released in the U.K., where it earned solid reviews and has been dominating the box office since mid-May.
F9
Release Date: June 25
The latest installment in the Fast and the Furious series hits theaters on June 25, 2021, after being delayed last year. F9 is bringing back pretty much the whole family, including Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Jordana Brewster, and Nathalie Emmanuel. And as always, there are some new characters joining the fast family, this time, literally. The heroes will band together to battle Dom's brother; a super-spy determined to get his hands on a dangerous device that could change the world forever. F9 also promises #JusticeForHan, and sees the return of longtime franchise director Justin Lin, who previously helmed fan favorites like Tokyo Drift and Fast Five. And based on the trailers, they might finally be sending the family to space!
Black Widow
Release Date: July 9
Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, has gotten a lot of screen time in the Avengers films, but it's taken a decade for her to finally get her own movie. Black Widow, coming out on July 9, 2021, and will be simultaneously available to watch in theaters and on Disney+ via Premiere Access. The long-delayed film will feature Natasha Romanoff’s quests between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Secrets from her past begin to catch up to her as she is pursued by an unstoppable enemy set on bringing her down. We also get to meet Natasha's old family from her pre-Avenging days, introducing MCU newcomers Yelena (Florence Pugh), Melina (Rachel Weisz), and Alexei, aka The Red Guardian (David Harbour). After making her first appearance in Iron Man 2, this movie is Johansson’s eighth time playing this hero, and Avengers fans can look forward to finally seeing her take center stage - a bittersweet payoff after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Release Date: July 16
Back in 1996, you may have seen the original Space Jam, featuring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters combining forces to fight aliens. Over 20 years later, we finally get our sequel in Space Jam: A New Legacy, which comes out in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16, 2021. This time, Lebron James works together with the Looney Tunes characters to rescue his son from A1-G, played by Don Cheadle. Promising another mixture of live-action and animation, A New Legacy gives 80s and 90s kids an opportunity to share an old favorite with their own kids - or maybe an opportunity to tap into their inner-kid and take a trip down memory lane.
Escape Room 2
Release Date: July 16
If horror is more your thing, check out Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, coming to theaters on July 16, 2021. The sequel sees the return of both Zoey, played by Taylor Russell, and Ben, played by Logan Miller, who find themselves trapped in even bigger, more challenging life-or-death escape rooms alongside a group of fellow survivors from previous games. In an interview with BloodyDisgusting, returning director Adam Robitel promised the sequel will go bigger with the deadly escape rooms, explaining “We did fire, gravity, ice, cold, gas so we need to outdo ourselves now." And based on the first trailer, it certainly looks like they did. The film was delayed several times in the midst of the pandemic, but patient horror fans can finally look forward to more of Escape Room's creative carnage this summer.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Release Date: September 24
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is currently in post-production with an anticipated release date of September 24, 2021. While not much is known about the plot, it is the sequel of the 2018 film Venom and will be a continuation of that movie. Tom Hardy will be returning as Venom/Eddie Brock, and Michelle Williams will be returning as Brock’s ex-wife Anne Weying as well. The teaser trailer, which was just released, is visually exciting, giving us glimpses of Spider-Man and Venom while keeping most of the plot out of it. Andy Serkis directs the sequel, taking over for Venom director Ruben Fleischer, and if anyone knows a thing or two about a great motion-capture performance, it's him, so it should be a thrill to see what he and Hardy come up with for the sequel.
Halloween Kills
Release Date: October 15
Jamie Lee Curtis returns in another Halloween flick, Halloween Kills, arriving in theaters on October 15, 2021. The iconic actress first appeared in the 1978 original and Halloween Kills will mark her sixth appearance as Laurie Strode, following her long-awaited return as the character in 2018's Halloween, which side-stepped decades of existing canon and served as a direct sequel to John Carpenter's classic slasher. Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, who played her daughter and granddaughter in 2018’s Halloween, are returning as well, along with director and co-writer David Gordon Green. You can expect Michael Myers to go after the Strodes once again, after they locked him in a burning basement at the end of the last movie, but they won't be alone - Halloween Kills also sees the return of franchise characters Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Release Date: November 11
With the failure of 2016’s Ghostbusters, fans may be reluctant to give this sequel a shot, but the latest installment in the franchise isn't an extension of that movie, but a continuation of Ivan Reitman's original two films. Ghostbusters: Afterlife features a single mother with two children who realize they have some relation to the original Ghostbusters. It hits theaters on November 11, 2021, and is sure to pay tribute to the original. The most exciting thing about this movie is that Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts are all returning, alongside a fantastic cast of newcomers that includes Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd.
Top Gun: Maverick
Release Date: November 19
This sequel to Top Gun has been a long time coming. It has been 35 years since the original was released, but the long-awaited follow-up, Top Gun: Maverick, will finally arrive in theaters on November 19, 2021, following a series of release date delays amidst the pandemic. Both Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer will reprise their roles, which alone make this sequel worth watching. Cruise returns as Maverick, who is now one of the Navy's top aviators. He must confront the issues of his past while training new graduates for a dangerous mission.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Release Date: November 24
We are going back in time to 1998 for this origin story. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is currently in post-production with an anticipated release date of November 24, 2021. While we won’t see Alice, many of the characters from the original game and those introduced in Resident Evil 2 will make appearances. These include Chris Renfield, played by Robbie Amell, Claire Redfield, played by Kaya Scodelario, Albert Wesker, played by Tom Hopper, and others. This prequel is sure to hit on some unanswered questions about the franchise. It will work through storylines based on the Spencer Mansion and the Zombie outbreak in Raccoon City.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Release Date: December 17
This Spider-Man sequel is one of the most anticipated superhero movies coming out this year. It picks up where Spider-Man: Far From Home left off. Tom Holland reprises his role as a recently unmasked Spider-Man. Alfred Molina will be returning as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx as Electro as well. Spider-Man: No Way Home comes out on December 17, 2021. We've heard that other Spider-Man actors will also appear in the film, though Sony has not confirmed additional cast members yet. However, Peter Parker will once again be joined by his scene-stealing classmates, including Zendaya's M.J. and Jacob Batalon's Ned, and Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is also expected to appear.
The Matrix 4
Release Date: December 22
The Matrix 4 is one of the most exciting sci-fi movies coming out this year. Both Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss Trinity are returning as Neo and Trinity for this installment. Daniel Bernhardt and Jada Pinkett Smith are also returning. This one has been kept under very tight wraps so there is not a lot known about this sequel, but there's been a lot of talk about Lana Wachowski's visionary approach to action and technology, which would be a fitting follow-up to the original film's legacy as a game-changer. Franchise newcomer Jessica Henwick recently teased: "Lana is doing some really interesting things on a technical level in the same way that you know, she created a style back then. I think she’s going to change the industry again with this film." We'll see for ourselves when The Matrix 4 comes out in theaters and on HBO Max streaming on December 22, 2021.
Sing 2
Release Date: December 22
Sing was a unique kids movie released in 2016 that featured the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Taron Edgerton, Tori Kelly, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll, and Scarlett Johansson. All of these characters are returning for the second installment. Sing 2 is a continuation of the first movie, where the main character will try to persuade a reclusive rock star, played by Bono, to join them in a new show. This movie is sure to be on your kids’ wishlist, which is fitting since it arrives in theaters just in time for Christmas, on December 22, 2021.