Watchers Review of 2017: The Nice, The Naughty, The Horror, and Coming In 2018!

In the latest of our Podcasts, which is in two parts, we discuss what we thought was Nice, and what made our Naughty List for 2017! 

Also Matt takes a look at the best horror films of last year and we look forward to what's coming up in 2018!

Sit back and enjoy!
Rhys

Part 1: Our Nice List and the Best Horror of 2017



Part 2: Our Naughty List and Coming Up in 2018

Awards Season 2018: Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) and Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Nominations

A double dose of awards news today, with the recent announcement of two Guild Awards nominations.

WRITERS' GUILD OF AMERICA (WGA) AWARDS NOMINATIONS

This year's nominees for the WGA Awards were announced yesterday (4th January).

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Big Sick

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

The Shape Of Water

Several films- including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Coco, and Darkest Hour- were deemed ineligible for nomination as they were produced outside the WGA's jurisdiction. AMPAS don't have the same rules so these films would be eligible for the Original Screenplay Oscar. 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Call Me By Your Name

The Disaster Artist

Logan

Molly's Game

Mudbound

Good to see Logan getting a nod in the Adapted Screenplay category. Fun fact: at the age of 89, James Ivory (who adapted Call Me By Your Name) gets his first WGA nomination.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Betting On Zero

Jane

No Stone Unturned

Oklahoma City

The WGA Awards will be handed out on 11th February.

* * *

PRODUCERS' GUILD OF AMERICA (PGA) AWARDS NOMINATIONS

This year's PGA Awards nominees were announced today (5th January). The film nominees are as follows:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Big Sick

Call Me By Your Name

Dunkirk

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

Molly's Game

The Post

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Wonder Woman

A lot of the usual names present and correct, although the nods for Molly's Game and I, Tonya have raised a few eyebrows, as has the nomination for Wonder Woman (although it's entirely well deserved). A voting tie- which hasn't been disclosed- means that eleven films have been selected for this award this year (usually, it's an even round 10). I've got a sneaky feeling that you'll see eight of these 11 nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.  

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Boss Baby

Coco

Despicable Me 3

Ferdinand

The Lego Batman Movie

Documentary Film (previously announced)

Chasing Coral

City Of Ghosts

Cries From Syria

Earth: One Amazing Day

Jane

Joshua: Teenager Vs Superpower

The Newspaperman: The Life And Times Of Ben Bradlee

The PGA Awards will be handed out on 20th January.


The next Awards Season post will be Monday (8th January) with the winners of this year's Golden Globes. 

Review: Justice League (UK Cert 12A)

SPOILER WARNING! This review discusses and/or mentions a few important plot points. If you would prefer not to have these spoiled, please stop reading now and come back once you've seen the film.

After the death of Superman, the world seems to be a place without hope. When an alien threat arrives and places the planet in danger, Bruce Wayne (with the help of Diana Prince) decides to track down others with superpowers to help fight against this new foe. 

Predictably, general critical response to Justice League has been middling to poor. At the time of writing, it currently stands with a 41% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes (although, tellingly, an audience rating of 84%). Film is an artform, not a science. It's not something that often deals with facts (other than those concrete verifiables like box office receipts, cast and crew, any awards hype, and so on). It thrives on opinion. And that's all that film criticism is: it's someone's opinion. Art is ultimately subjective and the opinions of those of the viewing public- who pay to put their bums on seats and watch the film- are as valid as those of the professional critics.  

My opinion is this: I thought Justice League was a lot better than I feared it would be. 

So what's good? Well, the cast are pretty strong (although Affleck doesn't seem as comfortable here; more on that later). Of the new characters, it's Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash who comes off the best. Socially awkward, quite geeky, he takes to this brave new world of heroes like an enthusiastic puppy. He also gets a lot of the humour. He gets a particularly good scene opposite Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg where they attempt to bond over digging up Superman's coffin. Fisher is decent as Cyborg, although the character feels less developed than the others. Jason Momoa is an imposing, charismatic presence as Arthur Curry/Aquaman and also gets a nice scene where he unwittingly gets a bit too close to the lasso of Hestia. 

Henry Cavill is as strong as he always has been in the role of Clark Kent/Superman. He obviously doesn't make an appearance until just after halfway through and his frenzied fight against the League is pretty impressive. Luckily, there's a deus ex machina to stop him from pummelling them into the dirt (and it isn't as ridiculous as the 'Martha' moment in Batman V Superman). Gal Gadot is assured and powerful as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. She's a de facto leader to the group and the film lifts whenever she's on screen. 

As for the supporting cast, generally strong although with such a large cast, some do get shortchanged. Amy Adams doesn't get much to do as Lois but she's good (although they've inexplicably cut the rather tender scene shown in the trailer where Clark mentions the ring). I did want to see more of J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, although he did get a particularly good one-liner which I enjoyed. Jeremy Irons is still wonderful as Alfred whilst there's a nice cameo by Billy Crudup as Henry Allen (Barry's father). 

The slow-mo effects on The Flash are amusing (imagine the 'Time In A Bottle' sequence from X-Men: Days Of Future Past or the 'Sweet Dreams' bit in X-Men: Apocalypse and you're on the right track). Danny Elfman's score is powerful and positive and has a few nice little Easter Eggs for those who care to listen. The scene of Superman's resurrection is probably the best sequence in the film. Also, the lighting seems to have improved; there's not a lot of gloomy darkness and I could actually see what was going on most of the time. 

That's not to say the film is perfect. It's far from it. The script is uneven and occasionally very info-dumpy; it does have to properly introduce three new characters who the audience have only ever really seen in passing, but it all feels a bit clunky (especially Aquaman's little tete-a-tete with Mera). It would perhaps have made more sense to have had at least the Aquaman and Flash solo movies prior to the release of Justice League (to cut down on this). And just an FYI- London doesn't have city blocks!

Also tonally, the film is a bit of a mess- Joss Whedon's and Zack Snyder's directorial styles are very different and you can tell what's been added and what's been reshot (the farrago over Superman's CGI upper lip notwithstanding). It's why Ben Affleck feels a little less comfortable in the role than he did in Batman V Superman. There he was the tortured, brooding Batman; here, he's cracking wise. There's also an over-reliance on slow-mo (understandable when you're talking about The Flash, but it soon becomes wearying). 

However, my main complaint against the film is the villain, Steppenwolf. The CGI on him is massively shoddy (he looks like a mid-2000s Playstation character) and the motivation he's given is paper-thin. Plus, the curse of the DCEU strikes again with a massive CGI blow-out final battle which is difficult to keep track of. Bizarrely, it also feels like there's very little at stake: the human consequences of the alien invasion are pinned onto one Russian family who are barricaded into their home as the Parademons swarm. There's no jeopardy.

So yes, the film has its issues. Given the circumstances of Snyder having to withdraw due to a dreadful family tragedy then Warner Bros hiring Whedon to finish/reshoot the film, it was always going to have issues. But it's nowhere near as bad as some reviewers would have you believe. It is a superhero movie. It's two hours of- dare I say it?- fun. Not as good as Wonder Woman, but head-and-shoulders above both Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Review: Wonder Woman (UK Cert 12A)

After the disappointment of Suicide Squad (and the critical drubbing that Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice got, despite phenomenal box-office receipts), there was a lot of pressure on Wonder Woman to be the film that turns the corner for the DC Extended Universe. Early reviews were fulsome in their praise and the hype-wagon started to roll. But is it as good as everyone is saying it is?

Yes. Yes, it damn well is.

For me, it's easily the best DCEU film so far- head and shoulders above the rest.

It's kind of an origin story, showing the Amazonian princess growing up on the idyllic female-only island of Themyscira. When an American pilot, Steve Trevor, crash-lands off the coast, Diana saves him... which brings the horrors of the First World War to the island. Distressed but determined to end war as we know it, Diana accompanies Steve to London and then to the Front in search of the errant God of War, Ares.

Patty Jenkins' last feature film was the harrowing Monster (2003), in which she directed Charlize Theron in an Oscar-winning performance. Since then, she has directed episodes of TV shows and was originally attached to direct Thor: The Dark World although left the project due to creative differences (she had one vision for the film, Marvel had a different one and never the twain shall meet). Marvel missed a trick, frankly. Jenkins' direction is superb. She elicits brilliant performances from her whole cast and clearly has a good eye for an action sequence (although she's not from an action background).

The script, by Allan Heinberg (from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs), is coherent and well-structured. It isn't just a superhero movie. It plays on elements of war films, innocents-abroad comedy, romance, and blends them together well. There are a few missteps along the way but it really shows the importance of having a solid foundation for your film.

For me, Gal Gadot was one of the highlights of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. She was graceful, charming and added some much-needed levity to proceedings. Here, she's superb. Diana's naivete and optimistic world view could have felt twee or Pollyanna-ish, but Gadot never plays the wide-eyed innocent too broadly. She's strong enough to walk into a council meeting full of men and say her piece. She's smart enough to decode Doctor Poison's encrypted notebook. She also gets a very defined character arc as the scales fall from her eyes and she realises the evil that men do. One scene, in a gassed village, is done entirely without dialogue but you can see the emotions clearly passing over her face. The other refreshing thing- and it may be because there's a female director at the helm, I don't know- but, whilst Gadot is a stunningly beautiful woman, she is never objectified or sexualised; the camera never lingers longingly on her. It's an assured and strong leading performance.

Chris Pine has the acting chops to be a leading man (his work in the Star Trek films shows that) but, here, he never steals the limelight from Gadot. They're equals throughout. He's boyish, charming, and handsome- and there's a lovely subversion of the usual tropes when he is made the object of desire and the object of the gaze when Diana interrupts him in the bath. There's a real chemistry between Pine and Gadot which adds an authenticity to their scenes; you truly believe that they are falling in love.

Of the supporting cast, Robin Wright is impressive as Amazonian general Antiope, kicking ass and taking names, whilst Connie Nielsen is suitably regal as Diana's mother Queen Hippolyta. Lucy Davis is used sparingly but to good effect as Steve's secretary Etta Candy, not just a comic relief character. David Thewlis is strong in his role as Sir Patrick Morgan whilst Danny Huston is menacing as German general Ludendorff. Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner and Eugene Brave Rock are great as the band of soldiers who help Diana and Steve stop the plan.

Visually the film is very different to other DCEU films. There's a lot more light, to begin with. The opening scenes on Themyscira look beautiful- it's a literal paradise- which contrasts nicely with the mud and the squalour of the trenches later in the film. Matthew Jensen's cinematography is superb throughout. There are so many brilliantly shot sequences, but the standout must be Diana's walk across No Man's Land (the first time you see her in full costume). It is superb. Rupert Gregson-Williams' music is also great and Wonder Woman's absolutely electrifying theme (with the kickass electric violin) isn't overused but gave me a chill every time it was on.

That's not to say this film is perfect. The final boss fight between Diana and Ares lapses in the CGI-tastic destruction that blighted the end of the other DCEU films which is a shame as, up until this point, the action sequences were beautifully choreographed and were almost balletic, especially the Amazons facing off against the German soldiers on the beach at Themyscira. It's also a shame that, in a film full of strong female characters, the female villain- Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya)- felt undercooked.

Despite impressions to the contrary, I've taken no pleasure in criticising the previous DCEU films. I've wanted them to be good, better than good. I've wanted them to be an equal to the Marvel films. Wonder Woman is. Now the important thing for DCEU is to capitalise on this momentum and knock our socks off with the upcoming Justice League movie.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tez

Happy New Year From The Watchers!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has had a lovely and relaxing Christmas and saw the New Year in with a bang. Whilst 2016 was a year with more than its fair share of woe, we hope that 2017 will be a good year for everyone.

There's an absolute shedload of brilliant, intriguing and (hopefully) spectacular films coming out over the next 12 months: Blade Runner 2049, Justice League, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Fast & Furious 8, Thor: Ragnarok, Beauty And The Beast, Logan, Despicable Me 3, Ghost In The Shell, Wonder Woman and Star Wars Episode VIII, to name but a few.

We'll be giving our opinions on all these films and more in the upcoming year, so keep your eyes on the blog and your ears on the podcast (which we hope to do more of this year, as our schedules won't be quite as busy as they have been previously)

With all our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2017,

The Watchers

(Rhys, Matt & Tez)

News From Comic-Con 2016

It's that time of year, folks, when the geek Mecca that is San Diego Comic-Con opens its doors and gives us a rundown of what's coming up in the worlds of film, TV and other entertainment. The dust has barely settled (it ran from July 21st-24th) but it's given us a lot to talk about.

So here's a quick round-up of some of the biggest news.

After the lukewarm reception that Batman V Superman got, DC may have felt like they had a bit of an uphill battle to get people onboard for their next movies. Well, mission well and truly achieved as even the most petulant and hard-to-please fanboys couldn't help but be blown away by what DC had to show.

Whilst Marvel discussed several of their upcoming properties, DC focused on the ones that are closest at hand. DC also made a very canny move by officially releasing the three trailers they showed straight away, ready for public consumption.

The first was a trailer for Suicide Squad, which gives a few good lines to Will Smith and a few laughs for Jai Courteney:



There was also a first-look trailer for Wonder Woman, which was seriously good. Gal Gadot was easily the best thing about Batman V Superman and- if the trailer is anything to go by- her dignified and strong performance will continue. You also get to see Chris Pine as Steve Trevor and the final electric violin sting at the end of the trailer is just sublime.

Finally, and the biggest news, there was a trailer for Justice League. It shows Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) visiting both Arthur Curry/Aquaman and Barry Allen/The Flash to recruit them. There's a brief appearance by Cyborg towards the end but no Superman- not surprising, really. Ezra Miller really impresses as The Flash, and there's some nice little moments of humour which helps to lift things.




Marvel had a lot of information to impart, although- unlike DC- a lot of the footage hasn't been officially released. An enhanced Doctor Strange trailer was one of two videos put out by Marvel but footage from Thor: Ragnarok (a mockumentary over what Thor and Hulk have been doing since Age Of Ultron), Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 still remain (at the moment, at least) Comic-Con exclusives.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 footage confirms a few pieces of rumoured casting - it was announced a while ago that Kurt Russell would be joining the cast and immediately the rumour mill went into overdrive that he'd be playing Star-Lord's father. Well, as usual, the rumour mill was right- Russell is playing Ego (a living planet who took human form and then knocked up Star-Lord's mum). The footage also shows Sylvester Stallone in a small role.

Speaking of the rumour mill being right, it was also confirmed that this year's Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson has been cast as Captain Marvel for the 2018 film (although she may appear in an earlier film as Spider-Man and Black Panther have; if that's the case, she'll probably be seen in Infinity War). Rumours of Larson's casting started several months ago, and I think this is a strong piece of casting.

There was some further casting announced for Black Panther, with Creed star Michael B. Jordan, The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o joining Chadwick Boseman for the film, directed by Ryan Coogler. Jordan will play Erik Killmonger, Nyong'o will play Nakia and Gurira will play Okoye.

Finally, concept art from Spider-Man: Homecoming reveals that the main villain for the film will be The Vulture:

Away from the comic book franchises, we were treated to some other top-quality trailers, including one for the surprise sequel to The Blair Witch Project- originally filmed under the generic title of The Woods, but now titled Blair Witch- which goes back to the found-footage format and is genuinely atmospheric and not a little creepy. Directed by Adam Winguard (You're Next, The Guest), the film is due for release very soon.

There were also trailers for Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Kong: Skull Island, Guy Ritchie's new take on King Arthur and the Batman Lego Movie.

There was also a special panel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aliens, attended by James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen.

In terms of TV, trailers for Iron Fist, Luke Cage and The Defenders were aired, plus it was announced that Netflix's Daredevil was renewed for a third season. Bryan Fuller's new Star Trek series- now titled Star Trek: Discovery- had a teaser trailer too.

There were also trailers for the seventh season of Game Of Thrones, the fourth series of Sherlock, the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods (which looks seriously brilliant) and a very interesting piece of casting news that Rihanna will be appearing in the final season of the Psycho prequel Bates Motel... as Marion Crane!

So a lot of good stuff coming our way over the next few years.

Comic-Book Movie Round-up: December 2014

So, there's been quite a bit of comic book movie news recently, with massive announcements from both Warner Bros and Marvel Studios over their respective slates for the next five years. There's also been some great casting news announced. 

THE DC CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

2015 will still be dominated by Marvel Studios with both Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man (and the first of the new Fantastic Four films) but, from 2016, Warner Bros and DC Entertainment throw their hat into the ring with the start of their cinematic universe, opening with the utter doozy of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and then moving on to Suicide Squad.

Casting was announced this week for Suicide Squad, which is to be written and directed by David Ayer (End Of Watch, Fury).

Will Smith will play Deadshot, whilst recent Oscar-winner Jared Leto will play The Joker and The Wolf Of Wall Street's Margot Robbie will play Harley Quinn. Tom Hardy will play Rick Flagg whilst A Good Day To Die Hard's Jai Courtney is Captain Boomerang. Finally, model Cara Delevingne  will play Enchantress. There's also a rumour that Jesse Eisenberg may make an appearance, reprising his role as Lex Luthor from Batman V Superman. 

Fans may notice that there's one piece of casting that has yet to be announced, and that's of the Suicide Squad's head honcho, Amanda Waller. Whilst no casting has been announced, it's been reported that Oprah Winfrey, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are all under consideration.

In 2017, there'll be a standalone Wonder Woman movie, presumably with Gal Gadot reprising her role. Michelle MacLaren (who has done sterling TV work on episodes of Game Of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad) will direct and the screenplay will be written by Jason Fuchs. 

Also in late 2017, there'll be the first part of a Justice League movie to be directed by Zack Snyder (Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman). Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Amy Adams are already signed on to reprise their roles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Lois Lane. The second part will hit screens in 2019.

In 2018, The Flash will make his big-screen debut played by Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower), as will Aquaman with Game Of Thrones' Jason Momoa in the lead role. No doubt Miller and Momoa will also appear in the Justice League movies. 

In 2019, along with the second part of the Justice League movie, Shazam will hit the screens. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has already announced he will be playing Black Adam but no other casting has been confirmed as yet.

Finally in 2020, a Cyborg movie (starring Ray Fisher as Victor Stone, who will also appear in other movies) and a reboot of Green Lantern completes DC's ambitious slate. Considering that the 2011 Green Lantern movie is generally considered to be a bit of a turkey (losing millions at the box office), it's no surprise they've decided to leave the reboot until last. 

Plans have also been announced for standalone Batman and Superman movies but these have not formed part of this plan as yet.

THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

I did a quick blog when the Marvel slate for 2016-2019 was announced but there have been a few new bits of information since (most notably a major piece of casting)

Captain America 3 was slated for May 2016 (US date), and was originally opening on the same day as Batman V Superman. Were Marvel afraid? Nope. Their date remained unchanged and now it's clear why: the third Captain America film will adapt the highly esteemed Civil War storyline.

Essentially, Civil War pits Cap against Tony Stark over a government bill aimed at forcing superheroes to register themselves and reveal their identities. Cap is against it, Stark is for. Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans will reprise their roles, and this will also be the debut for Chadwick Boseman who was announced as playing Black Panther. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will also return from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Also in 2016, Marvel takes a dip into the more supernatural side of things with Doctor Strange. It was confirmed this week that Benedict Cumberbatch would take the role of the Sorceror Supreme after weeks of speculation. Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still, Sinister) will direct with a script being rewritten by Jon Spaihts.

2017 is going to be a bumper year for Marvel with no less than 3 movies expected for release (at the moment). First of these is Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, which should see the original cast reteam under returning director James Gunn. Next up is Thor: Ragnarok, which will see Asgard under threat from the end of all things. At the moment, Chris Hemsworth will be returning and (it is expected) Tom Hiddleston. Less certain would be Natalie Portman or Anthony Hopkins' involvement, but as no story details have emerged so far, it's difficult to say. Marvel finish the year off with the standalone film for Black Panther.

In 2018, cinemas will get the first part of Avengers: Infinity War which is a very exciting prospect. Josh Brolin is expected to reprise his role as Thanos, as the plot focuses on Thanos' use of the Infinity Stones to terrorise the universe. Summer 2018 will see Marvel's first female-led superhero movie with Captain Marvel, which has been confirmed as being Carol Danvers. There's been a longstanding rumour that Katee Sackhoff is linked with the role but this is just idle gossip at the moment (although I think she'd be kickass). 2018 tounds off with Inhumans.

2019 sees the release of the second part of Avengers: Infinity War. Nothing else has been announced after that. 

20TH CENTURY FOX

Whilst Marvel and DC are the big hitters, Fox have a decent slate of superhero movies due out with reboots of one property and a few sequels to others.

2015 sees the release of the rebooted Fantastic Four, with Miles Teller (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic), Kate Mara (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) and Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm/The Thing) in the lead roles. British actor Toby Kebbell will take the role of Dr. Doom, and Chronicle director Josh Trank will oversee the project.

In early 2016, the Deadpool spin-off will be released, with Ryan Reynolds appearing to be close to reprising his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine (he's been dropping a few less-than-subtle hints on social media this week). Tim Miller will make his directorial debut.

Also in 2016, X-Men: Apocalypse will hit the screens with Bryan Singer back in the director's chair. The action moves to the 1980s and rumour has it that it will tie up the First Class trilogy. Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) has been cast as Apocalypse. 

Early 2017 currenly sees the sequel to The Wolverine. The only information available so far is that James Mangold, who directed The Wolverine, is attached to direct and that Hugh Jackman will star. No clue on plot or other casting as yet.

Summer 2017 will also see The Fantastic Four 2. The four main cast are expected to return, but that's all we know so far. Josh Trank's involvement is uncertain due to his commitments for a standalone Star Wars film.

There's an untitled X-Men movie rumoured for 2018, and Channing Tatum has seemingly been confirmed as playing Gambit (in an interview with producer Laura Shulde Donner), but whether Gambit will appear in this one or maybe even appear in X-Men: Apocalypse is uncertain. 

SONY AND SPIDEY

Currently, Sony have four comic book projects slated- Sinister Six, Venom, a female-led Spider-Man spin-off and The Amazing Spider-Man 3. However, given the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't exactly set the box office alight, it looks as if plans may be altered slightly. 

Currently, Drew Goddard's Sinister Six movie is still slated for late 2016 although there's been zip in the way of either casting or even which of the Spidey supervillains will make up the Sinister Six. 

As for the female led Spider-Man movie, the best bet would be Black Cat (as the character was hinted at in The Amazing Spider-Man 2) but there are absolutely no details about this project, apart from the concept and a vague release date of 2017. Similarly, the Venom project hasn't progressed either- again, a vague release date of 2017 is the only thing to say, but rumours are that the project has been canned and the character may appear in the Sinister Six instead.

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is provisionally down for release in 2018, having been moved back from 2016 (thus removing a previously-earmarked Amazing Spider-Man 4). However, there are rumours of yet another reboot in the works or even Sony entering talks with Marvel to allow Spider-Man to join The Avengers (which would be awesome but a logistical nightmare, one would imagine). 

Other studios have provisionally or fully set their rosters and publicised at least some of their films. Sony is the only one with a major comic-book franchise that hasn't. Make of that what you will. 



So, as you can see, there's a lot to go see in the next few years. Here's a handy calendar of what to expect when (please note, this may be schedule to change- let's face it, we are talking some longterm planning here!)


2015

April 24 (UK)/May 1 (US): Avengers: Age Of Ultron

July 17: Ant-Man

August 6 (UK)/August 7 (US): The Fantastic Four


2016

February 12: Deadpool

March 25: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

April 29 (UK)/May 6 (US): Captain America: Civil War

May 19 (UK)/May 27 (US): X-Men: Apocalypse

August 5: Suicide Squad

November 6: Doctor Strange

November 11: Sinister Six


2017

March 2 (UK)/March 3 (US): The Wolverine sequel

April 28 (UK)/May 5 (US): Guardians Of The Galaxy 2

June 23: Wonder Woman

July 14: The Fantastic Four 2

July 28: Thor: Ragnarok

October 27 (UK)/November 2 (US): Black Panther

November 23: Justice League Part One


2018

March 23 - The Flash

April 27 (UK)/May 4 (US): Avengers: Infinity War Part One

July 6 - Captain Marvel

July 13 - untitled X-Men movie

July 27 - Aquaman

October 26 (UK)/November 2 (US): Inhumans


2019

April 5 - Shazam

April 26 (UK)/May 3 (US): Avengers: Infinity War Part Two

June 14 - Justice League Part Two


2020

April 3 - Cyborg

June 19 - Green Lantern


Busy time ahead!