Top 10 Most Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies of 2013
Posted 12.26.12 by BrentJS
"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards...you will help them accomplish wonders."
This has been an incredible year for sci-fi and fantasy fans alike. Blade Runner and Alien director Ridley Scott returned to sci-fi after a 30-year hiatus with the visually stunning and highly divisive Prometheus, while the superhero sub-genre of sci-fi continued its ascension, with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises claiming the first and second spots on the list of the highest-grossing movies of the year. Fantasy fans had fewer options in 2012, but they flocked to theaters to see two Kristen Stewart-led movies — Snow White and the Huntsman and Breaking Dawn: Part 2 — and to return to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The coming year in movies promises to be just as epic for genre fans, filled with dozens of big budget movies populated by superheroes, zombies, wizards, knights, robots and monsters. We don't want you to miss out on any of the wondrous adventures that await you next year, so we've compiled a list of the big ones, the must-see movies that fans simply can't stop talking, blogging, and tweeting about, the Top 10 Most Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies of 2013.
The first and greatest superhero of them all, Superman, finally gets the reboot fans have been waiting for, courtesy of visionary director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises). Henry Cavill (Immortals) stars as Clark Kent, an orphan from the doomed planet Krypton raised by a kindly rural Kansas couple (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) who struggle to make sense of the fantastic powers that he develops. When a threat from Krypton (Michael Shannon) arrives on Earth, Clark becomes Superman to safeguard the only home he has ever known. The cast includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White.
Man of Steel | Amy Adams | Henry Cavill | Movie Trailer | Review
Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013
After Marvel went full-blown alien invasion in The Avengers, they decided that it would be foolish to try to top that level of threat in the third Iron Man movie, instead taking the franchise back to its "gritty, intense...techno-thriller root." Co-written (with Drew Pearce) and directed by Lethal Weapon creator Shane Black, Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) facing his greatest threat yet, as the diabolical Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) destroys Stark's world, forcing him to rely more on his intelligence and gut instincts than on his gleaming suit of armor. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle return as as Pepper Potts and James "Rhodey" Rhodes, with Guy Pearce joining the cast as Aldrich Killian.
Iron Man 3 | Guy Pearce | Gwyneth Paltrow | Robert Downey Jr. | Movie Trailer | Review
Iron Man 3 opens May 3rd, 2013
What do you do when you're Guillermo del Toro and you can't commit to spending years in New Zealand as the director of The Hobbit trilogy and Universal won't flip the bill for your dream project, adapting H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness? You make a movie about "giant f*cking monsters [fighting] giant f*cking robots." Written by del Toro and Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans), Pacific Rim is set in a future beset upon by monstrous creatures called Kaiju that are capable of leveling cities. The last chance for the human race lies in the creation of gigantic fighting robots called Jaegers and the fearless human pilots that ride them into battle. Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman star.
Pacific Rim | Guillermo del Toro | Movie Trailer | Review
Pacific Rim opens July 12, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness
The director who had the audacity to reboot an entire crew of iconic characters known nearly as much for the actors who played them as for their roles in sci-fi history, J.J. Abrams, returns for a second instalment of the rebooted Star Trek universe [technically, it's an alternate timeline]. Now that James T. Kirk's (Chris Pine) rightful destiny as Starfleet Captain has been restored, he has developed a new love interest in Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), but also a deadly new enemy in John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a terrorist with a beef against Starfleet. Zachery Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg reprise their roles from the first movie.
Star Trek Into Darkness | Chris Pine | Zachary Quinto | Movie Trailer | Review
Star Trek Into Darkness opens May 17, 2013
Zombie fans have been chomping at the bit to see director Marc Forster's (Quantum of Solace) beleagured adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling novel and they will finally get their chance in June. Brad Pitt produced and stars in World War Z as Gerry Lane, a U.N. employee who manages to save his family from the initial zombie outbreak, but is forced to leave them so that he can travel the world in an attempt to stop the pandemic from destroying humanity. Matthew Fox, James Badge Dale, Mireille Enos, Elyes Gabel and David Morse also star.
World War Z | Movie Trailer | Review
World War Z opens June 21, 2013
After losing Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) as a director and then having the production delayed by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, it seemed as if the non-sequel sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine that Hugh Jackman has been hyping for years would never get off the ground, but the X-Men's most popular mutant will finally slashing his way into theaters in the summer. James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) directed the movie, which is loosely based on the seminal Marvel Comics limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller that found Logan in Japan, squaring off against ninjas and the mutant Silver Samuarai (Will Yun Lee). Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi and Brian Tee also star.
The Wolverine opens July 26, 2013
Writer-director Neill Blomkamp follows up District 9 with this original movie set in a future where the very wealthy live on a pristine space station called Elysium, while the rest of humanity lives on the overpopulated Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster) vehemently enforces Elysium anti-immigration laws, but an unlucky ex-con named Max (Matt Damon) could throw the entire system into disarray.
Elysium | Hollywood Dailies | Movie Trailer | Review
Elysium opens March 1, 2013
This spot was going to be held by The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, but it's such a given that we decided to give it to Russian director Sergei Bodrov's (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) new movie because it promises to be just as imaginative and fantastical as the Tolkien tale. Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) stars as an aging knight named Master Gregory who must train a seventh son of a seventh son (Ben Barnes) to be his appentice in preparation for his final battle against the evil witch Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore). Alicia Vikander, Olivia Williams, Kit Harington and Antje Traue also star.
The Seventh Son opens October 18, 2013
Disney reimagines one of the most magical lands of all in director Sam Raimi's (Spider-Man) pseudo-prequel to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, a small-time magician who thinks he has struck it rich when he is transported to Oz. But, before he can become the benevolent Wizard we know so well, Diggs will have to contend with the witches Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams).
Oz: The Great and Powerful | Movie Trailer | Review
Oz: The Great and Powerful opens March 8, 2013
Director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) wrote and directed this original sci-fi epic that takes place on a Earth left barren after decades of war against an alien race known as the Scavs. Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a repairman who maintains vital machinery on the virtually abandoned surface of the planet. When a spacecraft goes down, Jack rescues the survivor, but she brings to light truths that threaten everything he knows about himself and his place in the world. Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau also star.
Oblivion | Tom Cruise | Movie Trailer | Review
Oblivion opens April 12, 2013
Honorable Mentions
Beautiful Creatures
February 13, 2013
Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall
June 28, 2013
R.I.P.D.
July 19, 2013
Thor: The Dark World
November 8, 2013
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
November 22, 2013