Entertainment 35 Movies We Can't Wait to See This Fall

Thrillist/Frannie Jiranek

Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Goldfinch Release date: September 13

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Sarah Paulson

Director: John Crowley (Brooklyn)

Why we're excited: Sure, there's still no movie adaptation of The Secret History -- can we have one? please? -- but a different Donna Tartt novel has been adapted for the screen in The Goldfinch. The decades-spanning story follows a young man named Theodore Decker from boyhood. As a child, he was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during a terrorist attack, and in the chaos he took a 17th-century Dutch painting titled, of course, The Goldfinch. In the film, directed by John Crowley, Ansel Elgort plays Theodore, and he's joined by Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, and Sarah Paulson.

(Watch the trailer)

STX Entertainment

Hustlers Release date: September 13

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo

Director: Lorene Scafaria (The Meddler)

Why we're excited: This real life tale of strippers in post-recession New York scamming their clients out of thousands of dollars is far more than just the scandal of its logline. Lorene Scafaria's film is a tender story about friendship in the face of an unforgiving economy. Jennifer Lopez does her career best work.

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NEON

Monos Release date: September 13

Cast: Moises Arias, Julianne Nicholson, Sofia Buenaventura

Director: Alejandro Landes

Why we're excited: A group of hormonal teenage soldiers are left alone in a mountainous, unidentified South American landscape with an American prisoner. What could go wrong? Just about everything in this gorgeous and tense thriller.

(Watch the trailer)

Jaap Buitendijk / Focus Features

Downton Abbey Release date: September 20

Cast: Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith, Tuppence Middleton, Matthew Goode

Director: Michael Engler (The Chaperone)

Why we're excited: Everyone who stuck out all six seasons of PBS' very dramatic and fashionably dressed period show about a family of old-timey aristocrats in the early 20th century is getting their just reward: a whole feature film that brings us back to our favorite enormous English estate. Return to the good ol' days when the rich and the poor knew their place, and people quipped things like, "What is a weekend?"

(Watch the trailer)

20th Century Fox

Ad Astra Release date: September 20

Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler

Director: James Gray (The Lost City of Z)

Why we're excited: After playing a laid back stuntman in this summer's Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Brad Pitt gets considerably more ambitious in this epic-looking space drama about an astronaut (Pitt) searching the galaxy for his lost father (Jones). Judging from the emotionally heavy trailer, this should be a thrilling science-fiction weepie, more like the tear-jerking Interstellar than the problem-solving The Martian.

(Watch the trailer)

Lionsgate

Rambo: Last Blood Release date: September 20

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adriana Barraza

Director: Adrian Grunberg (Get the Gringo)

Why we're excited: Pissed-off Vietnam veteran John Rambo is back and this time he's… listening to Lil Nas X! (At least, he is in the movie's eye-opening first trailer.) It's perfectly reasonable to be skeptical about yet another bloody, explosion-packed Stallone sequel vehicle in 2019, but we're fans of 2008's often terrifying, haunting series reboot Rambo and this swan song for the character looks like it might cover similar territory.

(Watch the trailer)

Claudette Barius/Netflix

The Laundromat Release date: September 27 theatrical/October 18 streaming on Netflix

Cast: Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, David Schwimmer, Jeffrey Wright

Director: Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky)

Why we're excited: Steven Soderbergh loves a tale of scams, from Ocean's Eleven to The Informant! to Logan Lucky. In The Laundromat he tackles the Panama Papers, documents which revealed all kinds of wild things rich people were doing offshore to keep growing their wealth. He casts Banderas and Oldman as the sleazy lawyers running it all, and Streep as the woman trying to expose it.

(Watch the trailer)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Joker Release date: October 4

Cast:Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp

Director: Todd Phillips (The Hangover)

Why we're excited: How many portrayals of the Joker does the universe really need? After the absolutely ludicriousSuicide Squad, which found Jared Leto putting his tatooed spin on the comic-book villain, following the scene-chewing feature-film turns by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's Batman and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, the need for another star vehicle for the killer clown doesn't feel terribly urgent. But we're trying to keep an open mind. With The Hangover filmmaker Todd Phillips directing this Scorsese-inspired riff on the character starring Joaquin Phoenix, you can bet it'll be "twisted."

(Watch the trailer)

Fox Searchlight

Lucy in the Sky Release date: October 4

Cast: Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz

Director: Noah Hawley

Why we're excited: Rumor has it that TV show-runner Noah Hawley's directorial debut is at least somewhat based on the tabloid story of Lisa Nowak, AKA the astronaut who allegedly wore adult diapers to kidnap a woman that her ex-lover (also an astronaut) had been seeing. It's unclear how much Lucy in the Sky draws from real life, but it does feature Natalie Portman doing another wild accent so, basically, we're in.

(Watch the trailer)

FranÃ§ois Duhamel/Netflix

Dolemite Is My Name Release date: October 4 theatrical/October 25 streaming on Netflix

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson

Director: Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow)

Why we're excited: Eddie Murphy has mostly receded from the public eye in recent years, but he appears to be gearing up for a comeback. In December, he'll host SNL for the first time, ending his beef with the show he helped save in the '80s, and there are rumors that he could be returning to stand-up on Netflix's dime in the near future. But first he'll star in this biopic of Rudy Ray Moore, the influential comedian and creator of the iconic blaxploitation film character Dolemite. With a script by Ed Wood and People Vs. OJ screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, expect Dolemite Is My Name to playfully walk a line between broad comedy and surprisingly melancholy portraiture.

(Watch the trailer)

Paramount Pictures

Gemini Man Release date: October 11

Cast: Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong

Director: Ang Lee (The Life of Pi)

Why we're excited: Ang Lee is back in 2019 with a movie that is pretty much Looper, if Looper starred Will Smith. Henry Brogan is an assassin who wants to retire and start a new life, but he finds himself accosted at every turn by a younger, stronger clone of himself. We don't know too much else about it, but it sounds great, and it just goes to show: You can check out from the assassin business anytime you like, but you can never leave.

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NEON

Parasite Release date: October 11

Cast: Song Kang Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, Cho Yeo Jeong, Choi Woo Shik

Director: Bong Joon Ho (Okja)

Why we're excited: Bong Joon Ho's latest thriller is a stunning indictment of the stark Korean class divide disguised, at first, as a comedy of errors before a swift turn that morphs the film into a completely different experience. We can't reveal any more than that, but suffice it to say you'll probably forget to breathe until the very last shot.

(Watch the trailer)

Walt Disney Pictures

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Release date: October 18

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Juno Temple

Director: Joachim Rønning

Why we're excited: We can blame 2014's Maleficent with singlehandedly launching Disney's misguided notion that what the people really want are scene-by-scene live action remakes of Disney classics that nonetheless somehow make the experience a trial for everyone involved. The difference, here, is that Maleficent was actually kinda good, turning a well-known fairy tale on its head. It's one of Angelina Jolie's juiciest roles, and we're pumped that she's bringing her version of the evil fairy queen back to theaters again.

(Watch the trailer)

Sony Pictures

Zombieland: Double Tap Release date: October 18

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin

Director: Ruben Fleischer (Venom)

Why we're excited: When Zombieland hit theaters in 2009, the zombie genre wasn't quite as crowded and body-ridden as it is now. (The Walking Dead wasn't even a TV show yet!) After waiting so long to make a sequel, the creative team behind Zombieland: Double Tap will have to work double-time to make all those gags about rotting flesh feel fresh, but we've got faith in the charming cast, who are all returning to their roles for this trigger-happy follow-up.

(Watch the trailer)

Fox Searchlight

Jojo Rabbit Release date: October 18

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Sam Rockwell

Director: Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok)

Why we're excited: This film, set during World War II, is a self-proclaimed "anti-hate satire" directed by the filmmaker who brought his zany touch to the MCU with the pleasingly self-aware Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi, a Polynesian Jew, also plays Hilter, who is both, yes, Hitler, and the imaginary friend of the eponymous German boy (played by Roman Griffin Davis) who discovers that his mother (Johansson) has been hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home. It sounds both weird and wonderful and perfect for this shitty era.

(Watch the trailer)

A24

The Lighthouse Release date: October 18

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson

Director: Robert Eggers (The Witch)

Why we're excited: For starters, it's Eggers' follow-up to his 2016 instant horror classic The Witch. But, as we wrote in our review after seeing it at Cannes, Willem Dafoe also plays a salty sea captain tasked with manning a mid-1800s lighthouse on a remote island and Robert Pattinson is his new partner, primed for a brisk stint working for this waterlogged weirdo before he gets to go home. Needless to say, things don't go as planned, and the lighthouse, the sea, and something inhuman sink the two men deeper towards insanity.

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Paramount Pictures

Terminator: Dark Fate Release date: November 1

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna

Director: Tim Miller (Deadpool)

Why we're excited: Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun! That's the sound of the score for James Cameron's Terminator series rising in the background, signaling that the producers behind this franchise are going to take another shot at rebooting it in a satisfactory way after the super-messy Terminator: Salvation in 2009 and the nearly incomprehensible Terminator: Genisys in 2015. The latest entry in the series will feature Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Mackenzie Davis in the main roles, while Deadpool director Tim Miller steps behind the camera and Cameron returns in a producer role.

(Watch the trailer)

Netflix

The Irishman Release date: November 1 theatrical/November 27 streaming on Netflix

Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel

Director: Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Why we're excited: With a giant cast, a story spanning decades, and a possible 210 minute runtime, Martin Scrosese's The Irishman, which follows the violent misadventures of real-life mob hitman Frank Sheeran, looks like a gangster epic cut from the same bloodstained cloth as his classics like Goodfellas and Casino. With De Niro playing Sheeran and Pacino playing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, it's also the Heat reunion you always wanted. (Let's pretend 2008's Righteous Kill never happened.) Using digital de-aging technology and over $100 million from Netflix, Scorsese appears to be taking a huge creative swing here, and we can't wait to see what it looks like.

(Watch the trailer)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Motherless Brooklyn Release date: November 1

Cast: Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale

Director: Edward Norton (Keeping the Faith)

Why we're excited: This adaptation of writer Jonathan Lethem's breakthrough 1999 noir novel about a detective with Tourette's syndrome has been in the works for over a decade, with Edward Norton developing the material since the early '00s. Though we're a little skeptical about the decision to move the plot from contemporary times to the 1950s, it could be a compelling showcase for Norton, a gifted actor who hasn't taken on many leading man roles in recent years.

(Watch the trailer)

Glen Wilson / Focus Features

Harriet Release date: November 1

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Janelle Monáe

Director: Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me)

Why we're excited: After stealing scenes as a supporting player in last year's ensemble heist thriller Widows, Cynthia Erivo takes center stage for this biopic of American hero Harriet Tubman. The movie, which was co-written and directed by Eve's Bayou filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, will chart Tubman's journey towards freedom and her emergence as an abolitionist leader.

(Watch the trailer)

Netflix

Marriage Story Release date: November 6

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Julie Hagerty

Director: Noah Baumbach (The Meyerowitz Stories)

Why we're excited: Noah Baumbach returns to Netflix, following up The Meyerowitz Stories with Marriage Story. The comedic-drama follows a couple, played by Johansson and Driver, as they dissolve their marriage, thus bringing Baumbach into territory he covered with his breakout divorce hit The Squid and the Whale back in 2005.

(Watch the trailer)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Doctor Sleep Release date: November 8

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Bruce Greenwood

Director: Mike Flanagan (Gerald's Game)

Why we're excited: Doctor Sleep, based on Stephen King's sequel to The Shining, was written nearly 40 years after he published his masterwork, and the novel catches up with Danny Torrance, who is all grown up but still reeling from the after-effects of discovering his psychic superpowers in a haunted hotel as a child. As we saw in the trailer, this movie -- in which Ewan McGregor plays Danny -- has painstakingly recreated a number of scenes from Stanley Kubrick's adaptation, right down to the creepy geometric carpeting of the Overlook Hotel.

(Watch the trailer)

Amazon Studios

Honey Boy Release date: November 8

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Noah Jupe, FKA Twigs, Lucas Hedges

Director: Alma Har'el (Bombay Beach)

Why we're excited: In this emotional exorcism, Shia LaBeouf plays a version of his own father, working off a script he wrote. Still, as we wrote in our review from Sundance, Honey Boy is no ordinary biopic. It's an impressionistic retelling of his childhood in the spotlight with an erratic paternal figure who made him the mess he is.

(Watch the trailer)

Sony Pictures

Charlie's Angels Release date: November 15

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Noah Centineo

Director: Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 3)

Why we're excited: Everyone loves a badass lady team-up movie, and the Charlie's Angels movies scratched that itch in the 2000s. Now, the Angels are back, and their world has expanded, introducing a whole world of international espionage and jet skis and Bosleys on every continent.

(Watch the trailer)

Merrick Morton/20th Century Fox

Ford v Ferrari Release date: November 15

Cast: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts

Director: James Mangold (Logan)

Why we're excited: The quest to build an American-made car that was not only as fast, but faster than a Ferrari, the stylish, favored vehicle of European racing in the sixties, is a journey born of one crazy idea. What if a bunch of Yanks won Le Mans with a car they built themselves? Mangold has given one of the racing world's most exciting stories a slick, stylish flair, and Christian Bale finally gets to use his real voice. Count us in.

(Watch the trailer)

Atsushi Nishijima/Amazon Studios

The Report Release date: November 15

Cast: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Maura Tierney, Jon Hamm

Director: Scott Z. Burns

Why we're excited: Scott Z. Burns, a frequent screenwriting collaborator with Steven Soderbergh, offers a clear-headed indictment the U.S. government's use of torture post-9/11 in telling the story of how the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the C.I.A.'s tactics came to fruition. It's a tick-tock that eviscerates.

(Watch the trailer)

Walt Disney Studios

Frozen II Release date: November 22

Cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad

Directors: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee (Frozen)

Why we're excited: No one could have predicted the massive success of Disney's Frozen, the animation studio's first movie with dual female leads, and its sequel looks way richer and much more dramatic. The trailer features Elsa meeting a giant ice-seahorse? Hell, yeah.

(Watch the trailer)

Sony Pictures

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Release date: November 22

Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Waston, Enrico Colantoni

Director: Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

Why we're excited: Our tear ducts are ready for national treasure Tom Hanks to play national treasure Fred Rogers. Still, we're expected it not to be all sap, given that it's directed by Marielle Heller, who has hit the right amount of sweet and sour in films like Can You Ever Forgive Me? Matthew Rhys plays the journalist profiling Rogers, and the cardigan sweaters seem on point.

(Watch the trailer)

STX Entertainment

21 Bridges Release date: November 22

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, J.K. Simmons, Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch

Director: Brian Kirk (Middleton)

Why we're excited: Honestly, this looks like a pretty generic, meat-and-potatoes cop thriller, but the talent involved has us cautiously optimistic that this could be a good time at the movies. Black Panther star Boseman reunites with Avengers filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, who serve as producers here, for this gritty tale of a police officer investigating a cop-killing and effectively shutting down all of Manhattan in the process. No, it's not about a guy who builds 21 bridges.

(Watch the trailer)

Lionsgate

Knives Out Release date: November 27

Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis

Director: Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Why we're excited: Fresh off his controversial spin around the Star Wars galaxy, director Rian Johnson appears to be returning to familiar genre ground with Knives Out, an Agatha Christie-like ensemble mystery featuring Craig as a suave detective investigating the murder of a wealthy crime novelist. The stacked cast also includes Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, and Christopher Plummer. Prepare for twists!

(Watch the trailer)

Andre D. Wagner/Universal Pictures

Queen & Slim Release date: November 27

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Chloë Sevigny, Indya Moore, Flea

Director: Melina Matsoukas

Why we're excited: Lena Waithe wrote this edgy, intriguing romantic drama about a black couple whose date goes sour when they're pulled over by police. The two go on the run, Bonnie and Clyde-style, hiding with friends and staying out of reach of the law enforcement that wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Matsoukas makes her feature debut after directing episodes of Master of None and Insecure, as well as countless music videos, including Beyoncé's "Formation" video.

(Watch the trailer)

Universal Pictures

Cats Release date: December 20

Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift

Director: Tom Hooper (Les Misérables)

Why we're excited: The most ludicrous Broadway musical ever in existence arrives in inexplicable movie form. A punchline since the 1980s, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats is based on an intentionally nonsensical book of T.S. Eliot poems. How on Earth it gets transferred to cinema remains to be seen (will there be people in cat costumes? animation?), but Les Misérables director Tom Hooper thinks he has a strategy. He tapped a bunch of stars to be his Jellicles (Google it) including Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, and the most famous cat lady ever, Taylor Swift.

(Watch the trailer)

LucasFilm

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Release date: December 20

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac

Director: J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Why we're excited: As the culmination of the third Star Wars movie trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker is 2019's most anticipated movie and a guaranteed box-office giant. Whether you loved The Last Jedi or hated it, the (final?) misadventures of Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron are going to be the only thing anyone wants to talk about for a good portion of next year, so you might as well mark your calendar to pre-order tickets now.

(Watch the trailer)

Sony Pictures

Little Women Release date: December 25

Cast: Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh

Director: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Why we're excited: Greta Gerwig reteams with Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet for her first post-Lady Bird film: an interpretation of the oft-interpreted Little Women, also featuring Emma Watson, The Little Drummer Girl and Midsommar star Florence Pugh, and Sharp Objects' Eliza Scanlen as the rest of the March sisters. It's a top-notch row of young actors who are experts at breaking your heart.

(Watch the trailer)

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