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By Vianney Morales
Though it’s just started, 2023 has a stellar lineup for film and TV. From Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated live-action “Barbie” film to the already beloved series “The Last of Us,” the titles are never-ending.
I rounded up 10 titles from my personal watchlist to share the films and TV series I’m most excited to watch.
10. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” – Release: April 7
I’ll mostly be hate-watching this one because of the extremely questionable casting, minus Jack Black, of course. Chris Pratt’s casting as Mario made me feel like the film was doomed but it looks relatively promising in other areas. Voice acting is a very specific craft that actors work hard to perfect and Chris Pratt seems to have been cast for his name rather than his merit as a voice actor. However, I’m looking forward to seeing how well the movie adaptation stays true to my image of the Super Mario Bros. and if I’ll have the same fondness for the new iterations of the characters I grew up with. It helps that the animation looks promising.
9. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” – Release: May 5
Arguably the best group of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’m torn at the thought of saying goodbye to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel Studios’ Phase Four has been very hit-or-miss. It gave us the incredible “Spider-Man: No Way Home” film and “WandaVision” series but also the rather lackluster “Loki” and “She-Hulk” series, along with the camp and visually horrid Doctor Strange and Thor sequels. I’ve come to lower my expectations for every Marvel movie or TV series. However, I trust James Gunn as an artist and I feel that he will find the right way for audiences to say goodbye to the characters that he’s crafted over the past several years.
8. “Daisy Jones and the Six” – March 3
One thing that Reese Witherspoon knows how to do is produce a series adapted from a novel. For those unfamiliar with Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones and the Six,” it’s about the birth of a band in the 1970s and the drama that inevitably happens amongst the members. It follows the events that ultimately lead to the band’s mysterious disbanding during the height of their popularity. I’m also in awe that the series will include original music to help give it a life of its own.
7. “You” Season 4 – Feb. 9
The iconic Netflix series is returning for a fourth season so that Joe Goldberg can presumably find his next victim and definitely ruin some lives along the way. In this season, Joe will be the one being stalked and harassed as he attempts to build a new life in London as a professor. The showrunners must have figured out that the audience was getting tired of more or less the same plot every season. I’m aware that the plot sounds silly and absolutely unrealistic but I’ll happily tune in every episode.
6. “Scream VI” – March 10
Though “Scream 5” wasn’t what I had hoped, the premise of the newest installment to the Scream franchise stands out. The surviving Ghostface victims ditch Woodsboro for the Big Apple, where a new Ghostface goes on a rampage. Though Neve Campbell declined to return, most familiar faces from the franchise will be making an appearance. Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega, is the ultimate scream queen and I adored how she defied the franchise’s trope when she survived the opening kill. Her mere presence on screen guarantees my tuning in.
5. “Blue Beetle” – Release: Aug. 18
This will be the official first film of James Gunn’s new DC Cinematic Universe. I was already excited for the film due to the starring actor, Xolo Mariduena. However, the film now brings the promise of kick starting a bright future for DC and Warner Bros. Following their rocky years and not quite being able to cohesively connect their superhero films. I think this film will set DC’s Cinematic Universe on a path to outcompete Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. It will also serve as the first ever Latino-led superhero film so it will already be a cultural hit.
4. “The Last Of Us”- Release: March 12
This is the year of Pedro Pascal and “The Last of Us” is a testament to that. Every week, the series captures the attention of increasingly more viewers. The apocalypse genre has become saturated but the showrunners approach the story with nuance by centering the events around a dystopian government that controls its citizens following a deadly fungus infection that creates zombies. The cast is talented and the writing takes the series to the next level. I’m intrigued to see how the show’s first season will end.
3. “Across the Spider Verse” – Release: June 2
After a few delays, it is officially arriving in theaters this year. To this day, I can confidently say that “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is the best film in the Spider-Man franchise. I’ve been anticipating the sequel since the release of the first film. Above all, I believe that the animators and writers understand the task of creating a multiverse in a way that’s organic, while also remaining entirely captivating.
2. “Yellowjackets” Season 2 – Release: March 24
“Yellowjackets” was one of the best television series from 2021 and I’m thrilled for the upcoming season. Viewers were left with a better understanding of who survived the aftermath of the plane crash and who didn’t, as well as a cliffhanger. We’ll get to see the adult characters we didn’t get to see last season, with brand new cast members portraying our beloved Yellowjackets. I’m also interested to see how the girls make the eventual spiral into insanity as they form a cult that seems to border on what the showrunners deny–cannibalism.
1. “Barbie” – Release: July 21
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie. That’s basically all anyone needs to know. I grew up on the Barbie animated movies, I adore Margot Robbie and I’m always in awe of Greta Gerwig’s directing. There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that this will easily be one of the best films from this year.
