Look what’s coming our way

Watch out for a new crop of movies that will thrill moviegoers in 2018, writes

Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns.

WE bade adieu to 2017, a fairly eventful year in cinema both locally and internationally that gave us a high volume of films rooted in action, horror, superheroes and remakes — from Hollywood’s newcomer Tom Holland swinging his way across cinemas in

and Gal Gadot in her solo female empowerment movie, to Chris Hemsworth wielding his hammer and flexing his comedic muscles in

Let’s not forget the year came to a close with the major superhero movie —

Of course, the new chapter in the ongoing saga created some memorable moments that will forever be etched in the moviegoers consciousness, alongside exciting remakes such as

and

On a scarier note, Pennywise the Clown returned

to frighten the children Chad Boseman plays Black Panther. in the town of Derry, Maine while movies like directed by Jordan Peele thrilled and scared viewers with its hairraising plot, resulting in one of the most successful movies to date.

On our shores, we’ve had our fair share of success with action movies conquering the cinemas such as starring Zul Ariffin and Farid Kamil, as well as box office-breaking

Masked Sabahan hero Ejim and his adventure in also starring Zul Ariffin, was a hit in the local film industry, even making its way to the United States.

Though the year did see some cinematic lows with movies like and Pitch Perfect 3, overall it served a pretty good platter.

Now can its 2018 counterparts live up to the standards or exceed expectations? Here’s a look at what lies ahead...

SUPERHEROES

Since Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment jumpstarted some massive interconnected superhero movies a while ago, it has snowballed into a noteworthy trend.

So it probably comes as a no-brainer that movies such as War and are two of the most anticipated superhero movies to look out for.

We just can’t get enough of the Avengers. The film by Disney-Marvel brings together the Avengers,the Guardians Of The Galaxy team and almost everymajor Marvel hero on screen.

Here, the Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the

powerful Thanos who has arrived on Earth to collect the Infinity Stones which will give him immeasurable power.

Fans are in for a thrilling ride as they get to see their favourite heroes unite — from Robert Downey Jr returning as Tony Stark/ Iron Man, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers (formerly known as Captain America) and Zoe Saldana as Gamora to Bradley Cooper as Rocket along with many A-list actors.

On another note, the Black Panther character, who was introduced on the big screen to audiences in Captain America: Civil War, gets his own standalone film of the same name.

The film, which had been teasing fans with clips and trailers throughout last year, is slated to be released next month. Chadwick Boseman fills in the anchor role as T’Challa or Black Panther, a native of Wakanda, an African nation that is isolated from the world.

After the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, T’Challa returns home to take his rightful place as king, while trying to fight off enemies who seek to supplant him.

There’s a lot to be excited about here, with 90 per cent of the ensemble cast made up of African or African-American actors. Fans are excited to see an African superhero as a lead character for a change — something that is still uncommon in Hollywood.

Also, DC Entertainment together with Warner Bros will finally provide DC Comic’s lord of the seas, Aquaman, with his first solo feature.

Jason Momoa reprises his titular role after appearing in

(2016) and then again

(2017).

The film, directed by Kuching-born

in The Incredibles gets a sequel.