The 15 Most anticipated movies of 2016

            Now that 2015 is reaching its end, it’s time to look forward. This year gave us so many great movies for us to obsess over, but judging by the lineup for 2016, it was nothing more than a warm up! Who among us can deny the enticing allure of superheroes at war, supreme sorcerers, finding fantastic beasts, epic game adaptations, or sequels that took their sweet time to get made? Here are the most anticipated movies of 2016 and why they’ve got us so excited:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies- February 5

            The adaptation of Seth Graham-Smith’s (author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) period piece horror about the zombie apocalypse in Victorian England and one aristocratic girl’s struggle to find love in a world cloaked in death. Starring Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), and Lily James (Downton Abbey).

Deadpool- February 12

            The Merc with the Mouth debuts in his first solo film since his first appearance in the virtually unwatchable, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. An R rated action comedy taking place in the new X-Men universe (courtesy of Days of Future Past) starring Ryan Reynolds, comedian T.J. Miller, and Morena Baccarin (Gotham, Firefly).

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice- March 25

            The long awaited battle will come to pass between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel…and also Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor, and apparently Doomsday, and possibly Darkseid. The second installment in Warner Bros’ DC Cinematic Universe stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and somehow Jesse Eisenberg.

Captain America: Civil War- May 6

            Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicks off with the final chapter in the Captain America series. New laws divide the heroes of the world in a war for the ages…that is, until the Infinity War makes it look like a practice round. Civil War stars Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr, as well as newcomers Tom Holland and Chadwick Boseman as Spider-Man and Black Panther.

X-Men: Apocalypse- May 27

            When a powerful being acknowledged as the first mutant, En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse, threatens the world, the newly assembled X-Men must end his reign. The sequel welcomes Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, Oscar Isaac, as the titular tyrant and former G4 vixen, Olivia Munn, as the telepathic ninja, Psylocke.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows- June 3

            Finally utilizing some of the original lore, Out of the Shadows introduces our heroes in a half shell to classic villains, Bebop and Rocksteady. The sequel also features Arrow star, Stephen Amell, making his big screen debut as hockey mask wearing vigilante, Casey Jones.

Warcraft- June 10

            After years of waiting, Legendary Pictures is gracing us with the adaptation of the classic role-playing game, Warcraft, from Blizzard Entertainment. Travis Fimmel and Toby Kebbell star in the epic saga surrounding a massive war between the humans and the orcs set in the fantasy world of Azeroth.

Independence Day: Resurgence- June 24

            20 years after the original sci-fi adventure, the human race has adapted alien technology to defend against the impending alien scourge seeking revenge. Resurgence marks the return of original cast Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, and releases…NOT the weekend of the fourth of July?!

Ghostbusters- July 15

            No sequel has beat around the bush to get made more than Ghostbusters. After getting scrapped, altered, turned into a subpar video game, and scrapped again, we’re finally getting a new movie with a new story and an all-female cast starring Melissa McCarthy and SNL’s Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.

Star Trek: Beyond- July 22

            The third installment of the rebooted Star Trek series, the crew of the Enterprise must take down the villainous alien, Krall, played by Idris Elba. This adventure in the final frontier is co-written by Scotty himself, Simon Pegg, and directed by The Fast and the Furious’ Justin Lin, now that J.J. Abrams has been called off to “war”.

Suicide Squad- August 5

            The second movie of the year to take place in the new DC Cinematic Universe, a rag-tag team of mercs and freaks are forced to band together. Suicide Squad boasts the first big screen interpretation of fan favorite femme-fatale, Harley Quinn, as well as Jared Leto’s take on the classic Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker.

Doctor Strange- November 4

            A brilliant surgeon destroys his hands in a tragic accident and searches the globe for any treatment that will help, eventually leading him to the world of the mystical. Doctor Strange will finally introduce the concept of demons and magic to the MCU in what promises to be an epic tale, starring Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch as the legendary Sorcerer Supreme.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them- November 18

            Taking place in the “Potterverse”, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name. Beasts stars Eddie Redmayne as creature adventurer, Newt Scamander, in New York City a full 70 years before the exploits of the boy who lived.

Star Wars: Rogue One- December 16

            Keeping true to their plan to release a Star Wars movie every year through 2020, Disney will be releasing not the next Episode in the saga, but the very first in their series of spin-offs. Despite the word “prequel” now considered a swear word in the Star Wars universe, Rogue One takes place before A New Hope and centers on the Rebel crew that stole the plans for the original Death Star.

Assassin’s Creed- December 21

            Rounding out a year of quite a few video game adaptations, Assassin’s Creed is an action-packed adventure set in 15^th century Spain. Michael Fassbender stars as Callum Lynch, a man trying to take down the oppressive regime, The Knights Templar, by Quantum Leaping from the future into one of his ancestors and waging war from the past.