Top 9 Hollywood blockbusters to watch out for in 2021

Dune (September 23): The influence of Frank Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi epic ‘Dune’ is undeniable: Think George Lucas and ‘Star Wars’. And while many studios and filmmakers have chased the delectable IP, auteur Denis Ville-neuve’s stab at the 1965 novel has been awaited with bated breath. The film (the first half of a planned two-part series) stars Timothy Chalamet in the lead role as Paul Atriedes in a tale about clash-ing noble families, religious symbolism and massive desert creatures. It’s also interesting to note that with a lot of the action set on the planet of Arrakis, a desert land, some of the shooting for the film was also done in Abu Dhabi. ‘Dune’ also stars Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard in lead roles.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (September 30): After the runaway success of 2018’s ‘Venom’, fans can finally get ready to welcome back Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his alien symbiote friend to the cinemas. The film picks up a year after the events of the original film: Brock is slowly getting is used to being the human host to a dangerous symbiote who gives him superpowers and also lets him moonlight as a vigilante. But if trailers are to be believed, domestic bliss is around the corner and the two are learning to get along. In a desperate attempt to re-vive his failing career, Brock decides to interview serial killer Cletus Kassady, who becomes the host to symbiote Carnage, and proceeds to break out of prison after a failed execution. Expect unlimited gore, action and laughs to boot.

Halloween Kills (October 14): “Evil dies tonight,” Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) promises in the trailer. Get yourself ready for the season of spooks as an injured Laurie Strode leads a vigilante mob to hunt down unstoppable killer Michael Myers and end his reign of terror once and for all. A sequel to the 2018 sequel that recycled the title of John Carpenter’s 1978 original, ‘Halloween Kills’ will also feature Judy Greer and Andi Mati-chak. David Gordon Green, who directed the 2018 movie, returns.

Eternals (November 4): Chloe Zhao, coming off a best director win at the Oscars for ‘Nomadland’, brings her indie sensibilities to Marvel to tell the story of a group of peaceful immortals. After the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, these Eternals — who have lived on Earth in secret for 7,000 years — are forced to come out of hiding to protect Earth. The star-studded cast includes Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry and Salma Hayek. In an interview with Total Film, director Zhao said about the film, “I think we stand alone as a film for sure. But I do think we will have a very big effect on the future of the MCU with what happens in this film. Which, you know, as a fan, is really satisfying for me! I geek out”.

Ghostbusters - Afterlife (November 18): Director Jason Reitman takes charge of reviving the franchise originated by his father, Ivan Reitman, by going in a different direction. Carrie Coon plays a single mother who moves her children to a farmhouse where, judging from the trailer, the equipment from the old New York firehouse appears to be stored. The family soon discovers they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s secret legacy. Cats includes Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace and the ‘Ghostbusters’ veteran Annie Potts.

West Side Story (December 9): Will the new ‘West Side Story’ hold a candle to the original 1961 Oscar-winning version? We’ll find out come December as legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg makes the second film adaptation of the Broadway musical. The period film will see teenagers Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler), despite having affiliations with rival street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, fall in love in 1950s New York City.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 16): The multiverse has been inching ever so closer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with ‘Spider-Man: no Way Home’, the gates to parallel universes will be flung wide open. After Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) identity as Spider-Man was exposed by Mysterio at the end of ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019), Parker’s life and reputation are turned upside down. He asks Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to help restore his secret identity with magic, but this has dangerous repercussions (aka the multiverse knocking on your front door) that force Parker to learn what it really means to be Spi-der-Man. Rumour has it that previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will also return, so this one’s not to be missed. Also starring in the film are Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Wong, Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx.

he King’s Man (December 21): The much-delayed third movie in the ‘Kingsman’ series, centred on an organisation of dapper British spies, is a prequel that stars several actors new to the series, including Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arter-ton and Matthew Goode. One man must race against time to stop history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds as they get together to plot a war that could wipe out millions of people and destroy humanity. The director Matthew Vaughan returns.

The Matrix Resurrections (December 21): Eighteen years after the last movie, Lana Wachowski (directing without Lilly Wachowski) reloads ‘The Matrix’. How deep will the rabbit hole go? The specifics are under wraps, but we do know that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will return as Neo and Trinity. In an unexplained twist, actor Yahya Ab-dul-Mateen II plays Morpheus, a role originated by Lawrence Fishburne in the original trilogy. Other newcomers include Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Jessica Henwick.