We continue our review of the most high-profile blockbusters to be released in 2021, this time focusing on sequels and film adaptations.

New Movies to Be Released as Part of the Film Franchises

The King’s Man – Premiere on March 12, 2021

The King’s Man is the third film about British secret agents fighting for all good against all bad. After the release of two films about Eggsy’s adventures, Matthew Vaughn presents a prequel about the creation of the secret organization “King’s Man”, thus essentially using the same scheme as in the first film.

Conrad (Harris Dickinson), a young agent is learning the basics of serving the Motherland. Since the action of the film takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, the audience will meet King George V, Emperor Wilhelm II, Tsar Nicholas II, Grigori Rasputin and other historical figures.

Boasting a top-notch cast, The King’s Man will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Daniel Bruhl, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ivans, Tom Hollander, Stanley Tucci, Djimon Hounsou, Oscar Isaac alongside Rafe Fiennes.

Remarkably, this is not the last film under the franchise – Kingsman 3 (unfortunately without Taron Edgerton), a spin-off about American agents of “Statesman” – and probably a TV series – will be released in the future.

No Time to Die – Premiere on April 2, 2021

As the 25th anniversary film about Agent 007, No Time to Die has come a long way before being released to the public. Sam Mendes, who directed “Skyfall” and “Spectre”, has been busy with his own projects for a long time. Although Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve and Danny Boyle have tried on the director’s chair for several years of post-production, the final choice fell on Cary Fukunaga, creator of the blockbuster “It”. After choosing the director of the film, a script problem arose – however, Daniel Craig himself solved it by hiring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, known for her successful TV shows “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve”, to write the script. Arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld played by Christoph Waltz will return in the new film, while Rami Malek will play another antagonist.

Various scandalous statements made by the filmmakers are fueling public interest in the new film. They first announced that an African American woman would be the new 007 Agent. Then rumors spread that the song performed by Billie Eilish will be the main theme song for the new film.

A Quiet Place: Part II – Premiere on April 21, 2021

With the premiere of A Quiet Place: Part II, the sequel to the low-budget, high-profile horror movie, a strange story has happened. Although the very first special screening of the motion picture happened on March 8, 2020, A Quiet Place: Part II was not released to the wide distribution due to the global lockdown. As a result, the film will premiere on April 21, 2021.

The plot of the new post-apocalyptic film returns to the Abbott family who decided to leave their habitable home and go to the outer world.

A Quiet Place: Part II, directed by John Krasinski, features his wife in the title role. With an accelerated development of the plot and a significantly expanded universe, it will show how the main characters meet not only other people, but also new monsters. A new character played by a brilliant actor, Cillian Murphy, is the highlight of the new film.

Paramount recently announced that there are plans to shoot a spin-off – however, there are no details about the new film yet.

Godzilla vs. Kong – Premiere on May 21, 2021

Godzilla vs. Kong is a crossover of two Godzilla movies and one King Kong film. The new movie will mark the apotheosis of the so-called “MonsterVerse”, co-produced by Legendary and Warner Bros.

The story of an ecosystem of titanic monsters that maintain a certain balance is at the center of the “MonsterVerse”. Apparently, King Kong and Godzilla will not confront each other (or quite a bit), and will unite their efforts in the fight against a certain hyper-monster.

Millie Bobby Brown, star of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, will also star in the new film, while the cast will be strengthened with the participation of Alexander Skarsgard.

It is not yet known what films will follow this crossover. However, the filmmakers said they would gladly merge the series with another franchise, namely Pacific Rim.

F9 – Premiere on May 21, 2021

The tenth film of the cool cars mega-franchise will be released exactly one year after the original premiere date.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is again the main character of the film. The villainess Cipher (Charlize Theron) dreams of punishing Dominic for everything he did to her in the last film. Jacob (franchise newcomer John Cena), Dominic’s brother, will be her main weapon of revenge.

As usual, we expect exciting races, various familiar actors of different skill levels and a little bit of drama.

As known, the filmmakers are not going to stop at this film: ahead of us are the F10 and F11 releases along with the sequel to the Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – Premiere on June 4, 2021

Introducing the eighth movie under the most expensive horror franchise in film history. With the previous seven films in The Conjuring universe grossing $ 1.9 billion, hardly anyone doubts that the new movie will only strengthen the success of James Wang, the creator of the horror film cycle.

The movie starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson who will return to their roles as spouses Warren. The plot is based on a true story that took place in 1981 when the Warrens expelled a demonic entity from 11-year-old David Glatzel. Having left the body of the boy, an evil creature settled in the body of a young man, Cheyenne Johnson, who committed murder a few months later. It is noteworthy that during the Cheyenne trial, defense lawyers built their defense line on the defendant’s innocence in connection with demonic possession, which is an unprecedented case in the history of the American legal system.

Apparently, a new batch of horror awaits us, in which the creators of the film franchise specialize – and have long since reached the highest level of skill in this.

Top Gun: Maverick – Premiere on July 2, 2021

Top Gun: Maverick featuring Tom Cruise as aging pilot Pete Mitchell aka “The Maverick” is the sequel to Top Gun from 1986. The new movie takes place 35 years after the release of the original film. Mitchell is now a flight instructor for young pilots, including Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller). Bradley is the son of Nick, Maverick’s friend in the first film who died during the training flights.

There is no doubt that Top Gun: Maverick is a very masculine and very patriotic American film with elements of drama and dizzying shots.

Mission: Impossible 7 – Premiere on November 19, 2021

Six months after Top Gun: Maverick is released, another blockbuster featuring Tom Cruise will premiere, which will be the seventh film about the adventures of Agent Ethan Hunt.

The new “Mission Impossible” clearly demonstrates how the film industry developed during the coronavirus pandemic. Started in February 2020, production of the film was suspended due to the imposition of a state of emergency in Italy, one of the first countries to be hit by COVID-19. It was the first time a Hollywood blockbuster was stopped. By the way, after the resumption of filming, Mission: Impossible 7 again hit the headlines – The Sun posted an audio recording of Tom Cruise scolding in a raised voice the filmmakers who violate social distance.

Christopher McQuarrie, the master of action films, will be a director for the third time, so the visuals of the movie are going to be amazing. By the way, along with the 7th Ethan Hunt movie, Mission: Impossible 8 was also announced, which will be released in 2022.

The Matrix 4 – Premiere on December 22, 2021

The Matrix 4, a blockbuster that raises doubts about its need, will be released on Christmas Eve 2021.

The shooting of the fourth film about the chosen Neo who found himself in the world of machines which immersed people in the matrix and feeding on their energy is already underway and the release is already planned. With Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the lead roles (however, without Laurence Fishburne), it will tell a story that is still kept in strict confidence. The cast also includes many young – and not so – actors including Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra and others.

Notably, only one of the Wachowski sisters (the Wachowski brothers before the transgender transition) is the creator of the new film. Lilly, the Wachowski’s second sister, has nothing to do with the new movie. David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas novel, based on which the Wachowskis sisters shot the blockbuster of the same name, is a co-writer.

So why is The Matrix 4 a dubious project?

First, filmed in the 1990s, the original movie became a cultural phenomenon of sorts that didn’t need a sequel to be filmed. Subsequent films under the franchise have become overly tortured ones, adding complexity to a concept that is beautiful in its simplicity.

Second, the public has long doubted the Wachowski sisters’ directing abilities, each of whose films have gone from bad to worse until 2015’s “Jupiter Ascending” which became a major film failure.

In any case, The Matrix 4 is a very interesting movie to watch.  We will only be glad to make mistakes in expectations.

Video Game Adaptations and Book-Based Films

Let’s forget about sequels, spin-offs and franchises for a while and look at blockbusters based on books and games.

Chaos Walking – Premiere on Marc 5, 2021

Chaos Walking is a film whose release has been constantly hampered by various circumstances – announced back in 2011, it has come a long way to the audience. The film, whose script has been rewritten countless times, began filming in 2017. Although the premiere was originally supposed to take place in 2019, after a while the movie was sent back to filming. The new release date of the Chaos Walking has been postponed to spring 2021.

Based on the novel by Patrick Ness, Chaos Walking follows the adventures of a guy named Todd living on a distant planet that is so similar to our Earth. The only – and very important – difference is that in this world all thoughts turn into Noise heard by other people. One day Todd met Violla, a girl who does not reproduce Noise. All adventures of the main characters begin from this moment. Having a great cast and some pretty good special effects, this film offers a very interesting plot. With Doug Liman who directed the excellent Edge of Tomorrow, we hope this film will not disappoint.

Uncharted – Premiere on July 16, 2021

The film is an adaptation of the Uncharted video game series, with first rumors date back to 2008. Fans of the game have long pondered who will play the role of the main character Nate Drake, a treasure hunter. As a result, the filmmakers chose an unexpected option, making a new film as a prequel to the plot of the game series of the same name. This is why Tom Holland, known to everyone as Spider-Man from the MCU, was chosen as the lead cast. The all-star cast of the new film also includes Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas. Ruben Fleischer, best known for his work on Venom and Zombieland, is the director of the Uncharted.

After so many years of waiting, we can confidently say that the Uncharted will really be released, since the film has already been filmed and now is in post-production.

Dune – Premiere on September 30, 2021

Dune is one of the most anticipated film premieres of 2021. Originally, the movie was supposed to be released on November 20, 2020. However, the executives of the Legendary Pictures studio were forced to postpone the premiere date by 10 months in advance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Too much has already been said about new blockbuster the Dune, so we can only wait for the release of this epic sci-fi film by visionary director Denis Villeneuve.

Other Films to Be Released in 2021

Shadow in the Cloud – Premiere on January 1, 2021

Shadow in the Cloud is a film that seeks to cover several topics at once. First, it touches on a historical issue, showing the actions that took place on board the American Boeing B-17 bomber during World War II. Second, with Chloe Grace Moretz as the protagonist female officer, Shadow in the Cloud touches on a feminist agenda. Thirdly, this is a sci-fi movie – the monster will be found on board the plane.

Introduced to the public in Fall 2020 at the Toronto International Film Festival, Shadow in the Cloud has been honored with one of the awards. The film will be released on major streaming platforms on January 1, 2021.

Free Guy – Premiere on May 21, 2021

Have you ever wondered about the peculiarities of the life of NPCs, video game characters that cannot be played as? Director Shawn Levy made a film that tells the story of one of these characters. Meet Guy, a bank employee living in a virtual world, by whom the characters of multiplayer games constantly rush. But one day Guy realizes that his life is just a collection of pixels and computer codes. However, at that moment he gets stuck in one very exciting story.

With an original idea and a great cast, Free Guy is a very curious film project. Ryan Reynolds, the audience favorite, is the lead actor, while “Killing Eve” TV star Jodie Comer plays his partner.

Cruella – Premiered on May 26, 2021

Previously released the Maleficent, Disney is making another original film about its another classic villain. The new film tells the story of Cruella De Ville, a fur-addicted fashionista from the Disney series about 101 Dalmatians.

Emma Stone, a great actress who successfully handles both comedic and dramatic roles, is the leading actress – so, we expect a very interesting development of Cruella’s character. In addition, Craig Gillespie, who directed the tragicomedy “Tonya Against All”, thereby proving that he is well versed in contradictory female characters, is the director of the new movie.

Cruella will premiere on the Disney+ streaming service.

So, our review of the most curious blockbusters whose premieres are scheduled for 2021 is coming to end. We hope that in 2021 the situation will change for the better and we will be able to visit theaters again to watch the films listed above on the big screen. More than 120 years old, the cinema has already witnessed tragedies worse than the coronavirus pandemic.

We wish you interesting movie premieres and a Merry Christmas!