FAN FAVOURITES
FIFTY SHADES FREED – 9 February Fans of author EL James’ erotic series are probably cracking their whips in anticipation of the third and final chapter in the trilogy starring Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey. In this movie Christian and Ana are happily married and believe they’ve left their shadowy past behind. But storm clouds gather, threatening to cut their fairytale short. Will Mrs Grey survive?
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY – 25 May This “space western”, set in the Star Wars universe, focuses on a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) before they join the Rebellion in Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). Like Rogue One (2016), this is a standalone film that doesn’t form part of the main series.
There have been a few hiccups during filming, with director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) taking over from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), who were apparently fired for making the movie too comedic.
OCEAN’S EIGHT – 8 June This spin-off of the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy features women in the lead roles. Debbie (Sandra Bullock), estranged sister of Danny Ocean (George Clooney), assembles a team to attempt a heist at New York’s annual Met Gala.
The other big names in the cast include Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter.
Initial reactions to the film’s first trailer indicate it’s going to be a hit.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD – 16 November Fans of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter were ecstatic when Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them – based on the textbook the students use at Hogwarts – was released in 2016.
In this sequel we rejoin the adventures of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he’s enlisted by Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to stop Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), a Dark Wizard almost as dangerous as Lord Voldemort.
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN – 20 July Abba fans, rejoice! Finally there’s a sequel to the 2008 movie that had audiences practically dancing in the aisles. Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Christine Baranski are all back. And this time they’re joined by Cher, who no doubt will put her distinctive voice to good use. The plot of the sequel is still a mystery.
M:I 6 MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – 27 July Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin and Sean Harris are all back for the sixth movie in the franchise.
Tom, who plays super-spy Ethan Hunt, took a tumble during one scene and broke his ankle, delaying filming for weeks.
For his part as the baddie, Henry Cavill was required to grow a moustache but he had to be clean-shaven for reshoots of Justice League (2017). Paramount, the studio behind M:I 6, refused to let Henry shave, which meant Justice League’s studio, Warner Bros, had to have the moustache digitally removed – making it the most expensive facial fuzz in movie history.
Expect to find out more about enigmatic Ethan’s personal history.