With 2023 just starting, it is time to look ahead to see the various things that we know are coming our way this year. One of the few things that we can look at is the films that are going to be released this year. As usual, there are a ton of movies coming out, far too many for everyone to go see. So, I have decided to whittle down all of the films for this year into my personal top ten that look to be the cream of the crop! Please note that these films are in no particular order.

10: Rebel Moon

This project from Zack Snyder has been speculated about for years now. 2023 is the year that the film is supposedly going to come out, despite the fact that an official release date hasn’t been announced yet. Rebel Moon stars a talented cast that includes Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Anthony Hopkins, Jena Malone, Sofia Boutella, and many more.

The story is still cloaked in darkness, but we know that it will feature a woman finding warriors throughout the galaxy to combat an army that is threatening her colony. While this could be a film that gets pushed back to 2024, I personally believe that Rebel Moon will be a tentpole film for whatever year it comes out.

9: Knock at the Cabin

Based on the book ‘The Cabin at the End of the World’, M. Night Shyamalan is introducing us to a family that has to make an impossible decision to prevent the apocalypse! Starring Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Jonathan Groff, Ben Alrdrige, Kristen Cui, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Abby Quinn, this film looks to be another mind-bending and self-questioning film from one of the leading filmmakers of thrillers.

While Shyamalan has had a few rough patches in his career, I have confidence that this will be another great success that he can add to his impressive repertoire. Knock at the Cabin will release on February 3rd!

8: Oppenheimer

Next is a film that will probably be the talk of the town for the entirety of 2023. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer looks to be a major cinematic event! Featuring the life of Physicists Julius Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy will play the character throughout his adult life and show the turmoil during and following the creation of the first atomic weapon. Joining him in the cast are Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Jack Quaid, and many more. This explosive cinematic event will be coming to a theater near you on July 21st!

7: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Our first film entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2023 will probably be its best as we enter the Quantum Realm for a prolonged period of time. While this film will see the return of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer, we will be seeing a bunch of new faces join the cast. Bill Murray will be playing a reportedly pivotal character, while Jonathan Majors will be playing his second iteration of Kang the Conqueror.

On top of all these new faces is Kathryn Newton who will have huge shoes to fill as Cassie Lang, following the brilliant two performances of Abby Ryder Fortson in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and The Wasp, as well as Emma Fuhrman’s quick yet important performance in Avengers: Endgame. The family is getting back together on February 17th!

6: Star Trek 4 (Kelvin Timeline)

One of the shocking finds that I saw slated for 2023 is none other than the fourth Star Trek film in the Kelvin Timeline starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of the Enterprise crew. Reports seem to be all over the place as to if this film is indefinitely delayed, still coming out in 2023, or is going to be an entire reboot. My personal bet is that we probably won’t see this film come to fruition until 2025, but I tend to take everything entertainment-wise these days with a major pinch of salt.

5: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Zachary Levi and his costars are going head to head with Lucy Liu and Dame Helen Mirren in this sequel to the first Shazam! movie. While the DC movies have had a rough go of things for the last decade, especially with James Gunn and Peter Safran doing their best to tear apart what little love remains among the fan base for DC films, Zachary Levi and Asher Angel might be the heroes that the DC Universe needs.

Hopefully, this film will do well and allow for a potential third film, but it would not be surprising if this is the last stand of Shazam. Considering how Warner Brothers is currently canceling every other beloved storyline that they control, it’s not unlikely. We will have to see if Shazam lives or dies on March 17th!

4: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Only a few months away from us is the unexpected film, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I say unexpected because I don’t know of anyone who wanted a Dungeons & Dragons film of this type. However, the trailer seems to show that this film will be just as wild as the typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign!

To be honest, it seems like this was a film that would do just as well without the D&D name slapped onto the front of it. Regardless, we will have to find out if Christ Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis can pull this off on March 31st.

3: Harold and the Purple Crayon

I did not know that this film was happening at all, but apparently, it is and it has quite a cast. Based on the children’s book of the same name, it will feature the story of Harold who retreats into a fantasy world with his purple crayon. Soon enough, Harold must make things right when the fantasy and real-world begin to blend together. This movie will star Lil Rel Howery, Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, and Ravi Patel. I don’t know how they will turn this children’s book into a feature-length film, but we will all find out on June 30th.

2: Ghostbusters Afterlife 2

Another film that we don’t have a lot of information about is the sequel to Ghostbusters Afterlife. The film is supposedly coming out this year, with an expected release of December 23rd. How they will necessarily be able to pull this off remains a mystery, but it would be a nice treat to return to a haunted New York City with the brand new characters that we fell in love with in Afterlife. I just hope that they have a better official title than the working one of Afterlife 2.

1: Haunting in Venice

The third film in the recent Hercule Poirot film series, A Haunting in Venice, will be the first in the series to take place after the Second World War. While there has not yet been a trailer for this film, it has a current release date of September 15th. This film has a cast that includes Tina Fey, Jaime Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, Riccardo Scamarcio, and many more!

I have personally enjoyed the last two films and I will be shocked if this film proves to be anything less than brilliant! These are my top ten picks for the most anticipated movies of 2023. Now, I want to know what your most anticipated films of the year are, so make sure to leave them in the comments below!

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