Early Oscar Buzz? New Trailers for 13 Highly Anticipated Films!
Beyond the previously highlighted The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Running Man and Hoppers, various studios have recently dropped trailers for several other exciting films in the past two months. Here are thirteen movies generating significant buzz:
Eddington, Canadian Release Date: July 18th
Directed and written by Ari Aster, known for his horror films Hereditary and Beau is Afraid. This time, Aster ventures into a neo-western, dark comedy genre. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival two months ago to polarized reviews. Its star-studded cast includes Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), Pedro Pascal (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), Luke Grimes (Fifty Shades series), Deirdre O'Connell (The Penguin), Micheal Ward (Empire of Light), Golden Globe winner Austin Butler (Elvis), and Oscar winner Emma Stone (La La Land, Poor Things).
In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.
Weapons, Canadian Release Date: August 8th
Written and directed by Zach Cregger, known for Barbarian. The film stars Marvel villain Thanos actor Josh Brolin, three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Austin Abrams (Euphoria), Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), and Golden Globe nominee Amy Madigan (Roe vs. Wade). Cregger's previous work, Barbarian, was lauded for its creativity and surprises, making his new project highly anticipated and subject to a fierce bidding war among studios. From the trailer, this story promises another bizarre tale, leaving audiences eager to see what surprises the director has in store.
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, North American Release Date: September 19th
Directed by Kogonada (Pachinko), this film stars Margot Robbie (Barbie), Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), two-time Tony winner Kevin Kline, and Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag). Kogonada's previous two films, Columbus and After Yang, were critically acclaimed independent features. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey will be his largest-scale film to date.
What if you could open a doorway and walk through it to re-live a defining moment from your past? Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present…and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
One Battle After Another, Canadian Release Date: September 26th
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who has won Best Director awards at three major film festivals for Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and The Master. The film stars Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn (Mystic River, Milk), Oscar winner Benicio del Toro (Traffic), Regina Hall (Scary Movie), singer Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti (Presumed Innocent). Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead guitarist and frequent collaborator with Anderson, wrote the score. This film reportedly has a production budget of up to $140 million, making it Anderson's largest-scale work to date.
After the Hunt, North American Release Date: October 10th
This new film is directed by Luca Guadagnino, acclaimed for films like Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, which earned him Silver Lion awards at the Venice Film Festival. The cast features Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich), Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), former Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield, and two actors who previously worked with Guadagnino on Bones and All: Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny. The Oscar-winning composing duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, Soul) are once again collaborating with Guadagnino to score this film, continuing their partnership after Bones and All, Challengers, and Queer.
A college professor (Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star student (Ayo Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Andrew Garfield), and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come into the light.
Tron: Ares, Canadian Release Date: October 10th
This highly anticipated sequel to Tron and Tron: Legacy is directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil). The screenplay is crafted by Jack Thorne (Wonder) and Jesse Wigutow. Adding to the film's creative powerhouse, the Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network and Soul) will score the movie under their band name, Nine Inch Nails. The editor, Tyler Nelson, served as an assistant editor on The Social Network, and the director of photography, Jeff Cronenweth, was the cinematographer for The Social Network. Parts of the film were shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras.
While the previous Tron films saw protagonists enter the digital game world, this installment will bring elements of the game world into reality. The film features a star-studded cast including Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Greta Lee (Past Lives), Golden Globe winner Evan Peters (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), comedian Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith (The Acolyte), Arturo Castro (Narcos), Cameron Monaghan, Emmy winner Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), and Sarah Desjardins (The Night Agent). Original Tron star Jeff Bridges will also return for this sequel.
Black Phone 2, North American Release Date: October 17th
Scott Derrickson, the director of the first film, and C. Robert Cargill, the screenwriter, both return to direct and write this sequel. In addition to returning stars Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Miguel Mora, and Jeremy Davies, new cast members include Demián Bichir (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Arianna Rivas.
Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again. The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.
Bugonia, North American Release Date: October 24th
This film, an adaptation of the South Korean movie Save the Green Planet!, is directed by Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), with the screenplay written by Will Tracy (Succession). The film's two leads, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, have both collaborated with Lanthimos before, winning an Oscar for Best Actress (Poor Things) and the Cannes Best Actor award (Kinds of Kindness) respectively for his previous works. This makes their performances in Bugonia highly anticipated for potential awards. Other cast members include Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless). The original film is considered a South Korean cult classic, and Lanthimos's previous works are known for their absurd and dark comedic tones, making his reinterpretation of this story eagerly awaited.
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Canadian Release Date: October 24th
Written and directed by Scott Cooper, who rose to prominence with Crazy Heart. Since then, Cooper has directed films like Black Mass and Antlers, challenging various genres including crime, horror, and thriller. This time, he returns to the music drama genre to adapt the biographical story of legendary American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. Two-time Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) will portray Bruce Springsteen, while Emmy winner Jeremy Strong (Succession) will play his manager, Jon Landau. Other cast members include Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird), Stephen Graham Adolescence, AACTA winner Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffmann (Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty), Marc Maron (GLOW), and David Krumholtz (Num3ers). Jeff Bridges won an Oscar for Crazy Heart; it remains to be seen if Jeremy Allen White can win an award for this film.
The film chronicles the making of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 “Nebraska” album when he was a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggling to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past. Recorded on a 4-track recorder in Springsteen’s New Jersey bedroom, the album marked a pivotal time in his life and is considered one of his most enduring works—a raw, haunted acoustic record populated by lost souls searching for a reason to believe.
Sentimental Value, North American Release Date: November 7th
Directed by Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World), this film stars Cannes Best Actress winner Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), Golden Globe winner Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl), Elle Fanning (Maleficent ), and Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night). The film won the Grand Prix, the second-highest award, at this year's Cannes Film Festival and is considered a strong contender for next year's Oscars.
Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father — and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
Wicked: For Good, North American Release Date: November 21st
The first part of Wicked premiered last November to good reviews, winning Oscars for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, as well as a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director. It also ranked fifth globally last year with over $750 million at the box office. This second chapter was filmed concurrently with the first, with the same cast and crew, suggesting a similar level of quality. It remains to be seen if it can achieve similar success.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
The Lost Bus, Apple TV+ Streaming Date: 2025
Directed by BAFTA Best Director winner Paul Greengrass (United 93), and written by him and Brad Ingelsby, creator of the Critics' Choice Awards-winning limited series Mare of Easttown. The film stars Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Emmy winner America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Yul Vazquez (The Outsider), and Ashlie Atkinson (Mr. Robot).
The film is a white-knuckle ride through one of America’s deadliest wildfires as a wayward school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a dedicated school teacher (America Ferrera) battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno.
Project Hail Mary, North American Release Date: March 20th, 2026
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), with a screenplay by Drew Goddard (The Martian, Golden Globe winner for Best Comedy Film), adapted from the sci-fi novel of the same name by The Martian author Andy Weir. The film stars Golden Globe winner Ryan Gosling (La La Land), two-time European Film Award winner Sandra Hüller (Toni Erdmann, Anatomy of a Fall), and Milana Vayntrub. Greig Fraser, who won an Oscar for Dune, serves as director of photography. This marks Lord and Miller's return to directing a feature film after eleven years since 22 Jump Street in 2014. The duo initially directed Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 but were fired during production, with Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (The Da Vinci Code series, A Beautiful Mind) taking over. In recent years, their Spider-Man animated series have garnered widespread acclaim, with the first installment, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Now, they finally return to direct the live-action film Project Hail Mary.
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction…but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
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