Blockbusters coming to a screen near you in 2023

Popular playroom superheroes and new blockbuster buddies are waiting to welcome us at the cinema in 2023. Their respective success will provide answers to fundamental questions on licensing and the future of Hollywood franchises.

The return of popular superhero franchises

2023 will bring back many popular superhero franchises. Marvel Studios are kicking off cinema season with a third instalment of the Ant-Man franchise titled "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (coming to US cinemas on 17 February 2023). In spring, the American film production company will send Star-Lord and his crew on their third galactical adventure in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (coming US cinemas on 5 May 2023). And in "The Marvels", Ms. Marvel will meet Captain Marvel for the first time (coming to US cinemas on 28 July 2023). The Marvels is a sequel to the Captain Marvel movie (2019) and the continuation of the Ms. Marvel TV series (2022). However, whether this release schedule is realistic remains to be seen. Marvel’s "Blade" reboot was scheduled to start shooting this year, yet has been postponed until further notice. However, Marvel movies tend to build on one another. The movies contain cross-references to various other Marvel projects and so-called easter eggs (subtle references to other films). This means that the postponed start to shooting "Blade" may delay the entire release strategy and schedule for Marvel.

Next to the Marvel characters, many other toy superheroes are coming to the big screen, including franchise treasures like the Transformers ("Transformers: Rise of the Beasts", coming to US cinemas on 9 June 2023); Vin Diesel and his Fast & Furious crew in "Fast & Furious 10" (coming to German cinemas on 18 May 2023, and US cinemas on 19 May 2023) and the much anticipated sequel to "Dune" (coming to US cinemas on 3 November 2023). Harrison Ford’s final adventure as a bullwhip-bearing Indiana Jones in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (coming to  US cinemas on 30 June 2023) rings in the end of a cinema legend.

New production of long-lost friends

2023 is the year in which many a merchandise will reinvent itself. This trend is spearheaded by Mattel, which will bring the long publicised live-action Barbie movie to the screen. Barbie has been the headliner of 40 cartoons and animated movies. The life-action premier of "Barbie" (coming to  US cinemas on 21 July 2023) will be directed by non-other than Greta Gerwig. With "Ladybird" and "Little Women", the director already demonstrated her outstanding talent for telling stories about women that attract and inspire large audiences. Male-dominated Hollywood, where only around 10% of all directors are female, tends to forget this at times. In 2023, Gerwig will be dedicating her directing talent to Barbie – a concept frequently viewed critically by feminists. The cast includes Margot Robbie – herself a self-proclaimed feminist – and promises an exciting and new, modern take on the iconic doll as well as a critical analysis of her role in the past. The teaser already makes this clear. Gerwig chose a shot-for-shot remake of the famous scene from the "2001: A Space Odyssey" science fiction movie, where humanity discovers violence.

In "Wonka" (released in  in the US on 15 December 2023), the prequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the story focuses on a young Willi Wonka and how he came to build his chocolate factory. Timothée Chalamet is the actor who will be stepping into the footsteps of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp, who both had previously put their incomparable mark on the character.

The trailer to the live-action adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" (in cinemas in the US on 26 May 2023) has been creating quite a stir even prior to its release. For the first time, Disney gave this role to a woman of colour. With this choice, the US media enterprise raised the question of how much viewing habits of white audiences are defined by internalised racism and a sense of entitlement to iconic characters.

New scary little friends

Film producers have recognised that grown-ups are the main audience that feel attracted to franchise characters. At the end of this year, a movie version of the "Five Nights at Freddy’s" horror media franchise is to hit cinemas. So far, the series was best known for its video games. The fact that this concept works is best demonstrated by the release of "M3GAN", a movie about an AI doll that takes its role as a protector a touch too seriously. The trailer uses a Taylor Swift tune as an ironic background score for a dance routine by the namesake doll and quickly achieved cult status on the internet. However, the question remains whether the persistent exclusion of children from the target group for merchandise will prove financially worthwhile.

Problem child

Next to the delay in shooting "Blade", there are a few other projects which most likely will cause a headache or two for everyone involved. A decisive question will be answered this year, notably to which extent personal scandals and headlines of actors impact the success of merchandising. Last year, DC Studios were faced with the decision on how to deal with "The Flash", after its main protagonist, Ezra Miller, went on a scandalous trip of Hawaii, creating many controversial headlines in 2022. In the end, even the police were looking for him. One excuse later, and the movie’s lead actor will now come to cinemas a little later than scheduled (coming to German cinemas on 15 June 2023 and US cinemas on 16 June 2023). Time will tell whether the predicted success will still come to fruition.
It also remains to be seen how, if at all, the very public court case against Amber Heard will impact her role in the DC sequel "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" (release date for Germany still unknown; coming to US cinemas on 25 December 2023). A petition was started in 2020 calling for her role to be recast, and by 2021 almost 4.5 million people had signed it. However, so far, her role and the related time on screen has merely been drastically shortened, according to DC.

Childhood friends are back on screen

This year, audiences can look forward to seeing their long-lost childhood friends on the big screen again. "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom" (release date for US cinemas on 18 May 2023), "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" (coming to US screens on 4 August 2023) or "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" (available on Netflix as of 10 November 2023) promise to be a lot of fun for the kids. The movies also bring back childhood memories for the grown-ups. Cosy and exciting movie evenings for the entire family are a sure thing in 2023.