For those unaware, CinemaCon is an annual convention in Las Vegas that showcases the various new technology for theaters, camera and film equipment, and of course lots of movies. This year was a doozy and while we have yet to see every little thing that was revealed this year, here are some of the highlights of what was shown, along with some announced films currently in development.
'A Quiet Place' was the big sleeper hit of 2018 so far, grossing over $240 million worldwide so it was only natural that Paramount Pictures would want to pursue a sequel. Quickly announced just last week, it's unknown at this point when we'll see the sequel but I wouldn't expect us to wait too long before we return to this sinister world.
Superhero films are in full swing this year, starting with 'Black Panther' and now 'Avengers: Infinity War' but that's far from the end of 2018 superhero films. 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' and 'Deadpool 2' may be getting the most attention at this point, but come October the Tom Hardy vehicle 'Venom' will be turning heads. The character in the comic books doesn't mess around, even resorting to cannibalism at times to dispense his version of 'justice'. Let's pray they can wash our mouths of that 2007 Venom with this exciting horror film.
The film we've been waiting far too long for, Shane Black's 'The Predator' will be a follow up to the 1987 classic despite its confusing title. A lot of issues have been seemingly plaguing the production, from re-shoots to delays but at CinemaCon, folks finally got to catch a glimpse at the upcoming film. While not much was shown, the strong reaction from the audience seems to hint that 'Predator' is going in the right direction but the general audience will have to wait until September before we can decide for ourselves.
Lady Gaga is getting her chance at fame on the silver screen in this remake of the Barbara Streisand film, which itself was a remake of the Judy Garland film, which was a remake of the 1937 original. That's four film adaptations of the same story, so while that would normally signal a big red flag the audience reactions were surprisingly strong, with particular praise going to Gaga and her co-star Bradley Cooper. I would keep an eye out for this one, it may well surprise us with a few award nominations.
Jamie Lee Curtis took the stage to show off the first trailer for the upcoming 'Halloween' sequel and it got some of the strongest reactions of the convention, with many citing it as "absolutely terrifying". It sounds like a good response despite the many rumors of negative feedback during test screenings (which at this point are still unproven). The strong response here along with the obvious love and care that director David Gordon Green and writer Danny McBride have shown for the 'Halloween' franchise gives me hope that this could be the best sequel in years. Be sure to witness the homecoming of The Shape on October 19th.
Actor Rami Malek is one of the finest young actors today, starring in the excellent 'Mr. Robot' along with one of my favorite video games 'Until Dawn'. He will now take on his biggest role yet as Freddy Mercury in the biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which will chronicle the famous singer of Queen from the beginning to the tragic end. One look at this photo of Malek as Mercury and you really can't tell the difference. It's so convincing, and if the preview at CinemaCon are any indication this film is going to be an Oscar contender for sure.
M. Night Shyamalan seems to be coming back strong with hit after hit and his 'Unbreakable' trilogy will finally come to fruition with the upcoming 'Glass'. The film will see the return of Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis from the 2000 gem 'Unbreakable' and will be a continuation of 'Split'. It will be quite something to see these characters interact together and one can only wonder what kind of horror and chaos will happen. Look for this one sometime in 2019.
The last and biggest surprise of CinemaCon 2018 came from the most unlikely of places and that is with the upcoming remake of Dario Argento's 'Suspiria'. The film is from the director of last year's Oscar contender 'Call Me By Your Name' which makes it all the more shocking to see his follow up film, which shows graphic imagery such as the one above and a clip from the movie shown deliberately after everyone had enjoyed a nice meal laid out for them as a wicked joke. The clip in questions depicted a young woman being torn apart as the young dancer Susie (Dakota Johnson) practices her moves. It sounds like a film that doesn't mess around and we'll have our chance to see 'Suspiria' this September through Amazon Studios.
Those were the highlights of the con, but there was so much more to check out and below we'll try to go through as many as we can.
'Alita: Battle Angel' returned with a fairly luke-warm reception. The film seems dead on arrival but only time will tell.
Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' was shown off, and I can't tell if this is cute or creepy. I guess that's Burton though.
'The Lion King' returns after D23's brilliant showcase and this time around they showed off a live-action recreation of the famous opening. Sadly, we still get no footage ourselves but hopefully we'll see something later this year.
Our final Disney film is a live-action 'Aladdin' which stars Will Smith as Genie. Clips of Smith in action were shown and reactions seem to be positive enough but really, we all know this is going to make money right?
Valentine's Day will see the return of the X-Men with 'Dark Phoenix'. The story is to continue from 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and of course involve Jean Grey who comic fans know becomes an evil entity known as Dark Phoenix. We should be in for an intense film come 2019.
Paramount Pictures came out swinging with a lot of films on their roster this time but they may be a little too ambitious with some of these properties. Case in point is 2019's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' a live-action/CGI mix which is to take elements from the Dreamcast games 'Sonic Adventure' 1 & 2. While it's naive to hold out hope for a video game movie, I will likely be giving it a chance come Christmas 2019.
Paramount comes back however with not just one, but TWO 'Star Trek' films currently in development. It's sad to see this beloved series stay so long in development hell but thankfully we'll be boarding the Enterprise again soon.
Stephen King's 'IT: Chapter One' was one of the biggest horror films of all time, making loads of money and gaining both critical and audience acclaim so it was only natural that one would wish to bring back any King property possible. 'Pet Sematary' had been in development hell for years and only after the sinister Pennywise graced screens that we'll finally see this remake. It is said to be closer to the novel than the 1989 film which was already pretty well done so one can only hope that this will be a truly twisted experience.
Finally, fans of 90's horror shows like 'Goosebumps' and...well 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' will be jumping for joy come next October. At this point, it is unknown whether this is a theatrical or television film but either way, I just hope Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures remember what made the show great while adding some darker and scarier elements for the older crowd.
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