Sequels
10 Things I Hate About You remains a strong film, bolstered by the lead performances from Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger. It's not the most obvious choice for a sequel though. However, it's getting one, by the name of 10 Things I Hate About Life, and Evan Rachel Wood has signed up to take the lead role. Gil Junger, director of the first film, is back for this one, which is scheduled for release in the UK in October.
21 Jump Street 2
Deals are in place for Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill to reprise their roles for a sequel to the terrific comedy 21 Jump Street. The first film set things up perfectly for a follow-up, and we'd hope that Chris Miller and Phil Lord will direct again. They need to finish off their Lego movie first, though.
Alice In Wonderland 2
We've yet to meet someone who genuinely really liked Tim Burton's live action take on Alice In Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp, but it certainly made a heavy impact at the box office. So much so that work is afoot on Alice In Wonderland 2, which presumably will dig back into the Lewis Carroll books for its story. Disney has ordered a screenplay from Linda Woolverton, and then it has the job of trying to lure Burton and Depp back. Don't expect this one too soon...
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Marc Webb is back behind the camera for Andrew Garfield's second adventure as the webslinger, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 shooting in 2013, ahead of its release in 2014. This time around, newcomers to the cast include Jamie Foxx as Electro, Shailene Woodley as MJ and Chronicle's Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. Once this one is done, don't expect The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to be too far behind...
American Pie 5
Whilst the fourth cinematically-released American Pie movie may have struggled in the US, it cleaned up around the world, and as such, there's talk that the Reunion won't have been the last outing for Jim, Stifler and the rest of the gang. Universal has hired Reunion writer-directors Hayden Schlossberg and Jon Hurwitz to put together the new film, although what direction they're looking to go remains to be seen. Expect Universal to try and get this moving while the proverbial iron is quite hot though.
Anchorman 2
It's finally happening, as the above trailer demonstrates. Adam McKay is directing again, while Will Ferrell will be reprising the role of Ron Burgundy. Also returning are Steve Carell and Christina Applegate, with Kristen Wiig likely to join the cast. The film is set for release in December, although just a few days ago, it was reported that Steve Carell hadn't yet seen the screenplay. Best get cracking, then...
Austin Powers 4
News is thin on the ground, but Mike Myers is believed to be keen to revive the character of Austin Powers for a new movie. The deal was reportedly done early last year, but nothing's been heard since. Myers may well be working on the screenplay, and it's unclear as of yet if Jay Roach is going to return to direct.
Avatar 2, 3 and 4
As he polishes off the screenplays to at least two Avatar sequels (with the possibility of a third), James Cameron is finally set to start production soon on the biggest film of all time at the box office. The current plan is to have Avatar 2 in cinemas in 2015, with Avatar 3 likely to follow the year after. Cameron will be shooting them both at the same time, with cameras set to roll before 2013 is out.
The Avengers 2
Joss Whedon has already started to put together elements of his already eagerly-awaited follow up to The Avengers. There's the small matter of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man sequels for Marvel to get through first, as well as Guardians Of The Galaxy and Ant-Man, and you can expect developments in at least four of those to make it into the new Avengers movie. Inevitably, details are light at the moment, short of the fact that the movie is definitely arriving in the summer of 2015.
Bad Santa 2
There's been slow progress on the Bad Santa sequel, but there does still seem to be interest in making it. It's apparently in the script rewriting stage, with Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) taking over the directorial reigns. Billy Bob Thornton will reprise the lead role, but there's still no confirmed start date in place.
Beetlejuice 2
Things have been quiet on the Beetlejuice 2 front of late, with the last we heard being that David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith were involved in developing a sequel to one of Tim Burton's finest movies. The plan would be for Michael Keaton to return to the lead role, and not in a cameo, or anything throwaway. That said, we suspect the chances of Beetlejuice 2 happening aren't that high...
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2
Presumably set to be called The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a follow-up is in the works to the surprise smash hit of 2012. Helen Mirren and Colin Firth are set to join the cast for the sequel, although further details on it aren't known at the moment. It's the kind of project that could come together really rather quickly though...
Bill & Ted 3
A script now appears to be in place, both Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are keen, and it might just be full speed ahead on the third big screen adventure for Bill and Ted. Encouragingly, Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot is set to direct the movie, once he's done and dusted with this summer's RED 2. Might Bill & Ted make it to the big screen by the end of 2014, we wonder...?
Black Dynamite 2
Michael Jai White's Black Dynamite 2 is set to be a comedy with a westerm theme, with a tip of the hat along the way to Blazing Saddles, he's said. Shooting could potentially start any minute, although further details aren't yet available.
Blade Runner 2
With Prometheus overcoming a fair amount of chatter to bring home a sizeable box office take last year, Sir Ridley Scott continues to pursue his plan to make a new Blade Runner movie. Details on this one have been scant so far, although it's believed that it's quite high up Sir Ridley's list of projects. Don't expect Harrison Ford to have much of a part in it though, if at all...
Bourne 5
The Bourne franchise stands at something of a crossroads now. The piss-poor Bourne Legacy scraped together enough cash to keep it live and kicking at the box office, but Universal will presumably do its utmost to get Matt Damon back for the next film. Thing is, to do that it needs to lure Paul Greengrass back to the director's chair, and it all sounds like something of a long shot. It's pretty certain that there will be another Bourne movie, be it a Jeremy Renner-headlined Bourne Legacy 2 or something else entirely. But what shape it's going to take remains unclear.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Chris Evans is returning to the role of Captain America in Marvel's inevitable sequel. Interestingly, Joe and Anthony Russo have been hired to direct, which given their work on Community is a promising choice. Joining Evans in The Winter Soldier are Toby Jones, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Frank Grillo is reportedly on board too. The film is set for release in April 2014.
Casablanca 2
One of the strangest sequel stories of 2012 was the news that Warner Bros was interested in developing a belated follow-up to the legendary classic, Casablanca. It would be based on Cass Warner's Return To Casablanca script, which in turn was based on a treatment that Howard Koch had written many decades before. It's still a project somewhat in limbo, but there does appear some interest in making it. Quite how they'd go about tackling it, and who would be brave enough to take it on, remains to be seen.
Chronicle 2
Max Landis is working on a screenplay for the follow-up to 2012's hugely impressive Chronicle. That said, with director Josh Trank had at work on rebooting Fantastic Four (which is due in March 2015), it's going to be tricky to fit the movie in. Furthermore, there had been word that Fox wasn't thrilled with the direction Landis' screenplay was taking Chronicle 2, with the studio preferring something closer to the original than the idea Landis was putting forward. Where that's all left Chronicle 2 remains to be seen, but we fear we won't be seeing progress on it anytime soon. Hope we're wrong.
Chronicles Of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew
The Narnia films seem to have been decreasingly successful as the movie franchise has developed, but Voyage Of The Dawn Treader still did enough money to retain interest in making a fourth. That said, we've not heard of any substantive progress on the project of late. It remains in development at Walden Media for the time being.
Clerks III
It's been a year or two now since Kevin Smith announced that he was going to direct just one more feature film. That was set to be his long-cherished ice hockey feature, Hit Somebody. Yet at the end of 2012, Smith revealed that Hit Somebody was now being developed as a mini-series for the small screen, leaving one more slot open for his last big screen directorial outing. And that slot has been taken by Clerks III. Smith is working on the script now, and on getting the cast back together. We suspect he might look to shoot Clerks III this year too.
Cloudy 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers
Original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord may not be at the helm this time (they're making the long talked about Lego movie), but they remain involved in Cloudy 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers. Directing this time are Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, and the film has recently had its release date moved forward, to September 2013. Looking forward to it...
Cloverfield 2
It feels like Cloverfield sequel details come through on an annual basis. As such, while promoting Cabin In The Woods last year, writer Drew Goddard revealed that he's still keen to make Cloverfield 2. It's the crowded schedules of director Matt Reeves and producer JJ Abrams that are holding things back. Given that Reeves is on the new Planet Of The Apes film until the middle of next year, Cloverfield 2 looks like it's going nowhere fast.
Contagion 2
Given that the original film grossed over $130m at the worldwide box office, it's perhaps not so much of a surprise that Warner Bros is considering a sequel to its movie where lots of movie stars die, Contagion. The follow up will be produced by Scott Z Burns, who penned the first one. It's unclear as of yet whether Steven Soderbergh will return to direct, but we wouldn't bet on it.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
There's been a chance behind the camera with the Planet Of The Apes franchise, as Rupert Wyatt, the man who delivered the hugely impressive Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, elected not to work to the tight schedule required of Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, and passed on the project. The baton has been picked up by Cloverfield director Matt Reeves, and Andy Serkis is back on board too. The film is due in May 2014.
Despicable Me
Two further Despicable Me projects are in the works. A full-on sequel is due later this year, which is cunningly going be the name of Despicable Me 2. But at the end of 2014, you can also expect a spin-off movie centred around the minions from the film. We'd expect a Despicable Me 3 to be added to the slate in due course, too.
Die Hard 6
Bruce Willis had suggested, before he embarked on A Good Day To Die Hard, that there was one more big screen adventure for John McClane - once a Lieutenant, now a world-saving powerhouse - on the cards. We don't know too much more about it than that at the moment, but unless Die Hard 5 dies a very painful death at the box office, then John McClane is likely to have one last outing in him.
Dumb And Dumber 2
After it looked like it all fell apart at one point, the Farrelly Brothers are moving ahead with a second Dumb And Dumber movie (we'll ignore the prequel, which they weren't involved with), going by the title Dumb And Dumber To. The usually sequel-averse Jim Carrey has agreed to star again, alongside Jeff Daniels, and a screenplay is already in place. Expect the film in 2014.
The Expendables 3
It's US box office take may have been down on its predecessor, but the global success of The Expendables 2 has meant that The Expendables 3 is certain to happen. Sylvester Stallone will presumably be starting work on it shortly, if he hasn't already, and Jackie Chan has already said that he'll be featuring this time around. Whether Stallone succeeds in bringing in the likes of Nicolas Cage and Harrison Ford remains to be seen, though.
Finding Nemo 2
If things had gone differently, we may well have been talking about an Andrew Stanton-directed John Carter sequel here. Instead though, after the heavily-reported financial struggles that beset John Carter at the box office, Stanton has elected to make a follow-up to Finding Nemo. He may have planned that anyway, to be fair, but it's become his next project. The film is in its early stages, and 2016 sounds about the right time to expect it.
Fast & Furious 7
The sixth chapter of the Fast & Furious franchise arrives in cinemas this summer, but already, plans are afoot for the seventh. Justin Lin is expecting to direct one last time, while you can expect the lead cast and some very fast cars to feature. Universal is likely to keep to the two year gap between movies, leaving Fast & Furious 7 in place for a summer 2015 release.
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