2019 is finally here and that means it’s time to take a look at what’s coming this year. When looking at the list of movies and games coming out in 2019, it’s going to be a pretty stacked year. There’s amazing blockbusters coming our way, new originals ready to bring something fresh, and some long-awaited sequels and reboots ready to bring our favorite franchises back to the big and small screens. So, let’s delve into what’s going to big in 2019.

Superhero Movies are Still Soaring

If you are sick of seeing trailers and people talking about another superhero movie coming out, I’m sorry to tell you that this trend isn’t dying in 2019. However, this year, it won’t be just Marvel and DC running the show like it has been in the last couple of years.

In just a couple weeks, M. Night Shyamalan and Blumhouse will finish their Unbreakable trilogy with Glass. The film follows the events of Split and follows Bruce Willis’ David Dunne as he must use his unbreakable power to stop Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) and The Horde (James McAvoy) from wreaking havoc together. What makes Glass so special is that this is the match-up that Shyamalan intended for Unbreakable when he first made. He never actually intended to have Jackson’s Glass be a big part of the original but didn’t fully realize the full-potential of the character until Split was made. With the film releasing on January 18^th, we will have to see if Shyamalan newest film can live up to the hype.

DC and Marvel aren’t taking a break either as they both have films that look to smash audience expectations as well as box-office records. DC Comics will have Shazam! continue the DCEU’s story with a slightly meta and fresh superhero story. This superhero story flips between Billy Baston (Asher Angel) and the strong hero he transforms into, Shazam (Zachary Levi), as they must stop the mysterious Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong). Shazam! hopes to continue the momentum set by Aquaman in bringing a fun and imaginative attitude to the DCEU and we’ll have to see if can continue that positive trend in April.

Marvel also has plenty of new films, both in and out of the MCU, that are ready to shock, surprise, and give hopefully satisfying conclusions for audiences. Captain Marvel will be the first of three MCU films in 2019, and follows the titular character, played by Brie Larson, as she saves earth from the deadly alien race known as the Skrull. It’s the first female solo film for the cinematic universe to deliver a truly epic superhero adventure and not rely too heavily on seeing younger versions of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Greg Clarke) as well 90s nostalgia when it comes out in March.

Then comes the big one: it’s time for Avengers: Endgame. Coming out towards the end of April, Endgame will follow the events of the box-office smashing hit, Infinity War, and will look to conclude all the events surrounding Thanos. There’s still theories going around about what the plot will be and how all of the heroes that disappeared will return, but the stage has been set for an epic finale that will hopefully have audiences on the edge of their seats.

However, it won’t be too long after that till we get to see Tom Holland don the Spider-Man suit once again as Spider-Man: Far from Home will hit theaters in July. This will be the first time that a solo Spider-Man film will take place outside of New York City and we will also see Mysterio, one of Spider-Man’s most notable villains, for the first time in a film as he is being played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Marvel’s X-Men are also seeing a few film appearances this year with Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants. Set to come out in June, Dark Phoenix will be the third film in the new line of X-Men films and have audiences follow the X-Men trying to save Jean Gray (Sophie Turner) from spiraling out of control. Without the charm of Wolverine and Deadpool and with the disappointing response from fans after X-Men Apocalypse, it’s tough to say if Dark Phoenix will be able to be successful.

Time has even been less pleasant for The New Mutants, a horror X-Men movie that focuses on a group of teens that experience horrors from their past as they discover their new powers. This film was actually supposed to come out last year but got delayed to August 2019 (so far). The film’s cast includes Split’s Anya Taylor-Joy, Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, and Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton.

However, The New Mutants isn’t the only blending horror and superhero stories on the big screen this year.

Hefty Amounts of Horror

Not only is the horror genre actually making some big moves in 2019, but it’s also blending with some iconic superhero stories as well.

With a trailer just released a month ago, Hellboy is making a triumphant return to the big screen in April 2019. With Stranger Thing’s David Harbour playing the titular character, the film promises to be one hell of a good time with blood flying everywhere, an R-rating (I hope), and horrifying looking creatures that Hellboy is looking to smash and shoot with his trusty revolver. Venom and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane also looks to take another stab at a Spawn movie with Jamie Foxx taking the helm as the iconic supernatural hero. McFarlane has promised this reboot to be “dark and ugly” and to be distinctly different from other superhero movies. Hopefully we will get to see his new iteration of his iconic character in 2019 and that he can deliver on the horrifyingly dark superhero tale he says he can make.

Even James Gunn, after being fired as the director and writer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is producing an original superhero horror movie called Brightburn. From its first trailer, it basically looks like a horrifying version of Superman, that is if Superman was shown to eat forks and wear a cryptically evil mask. It looks to be horrifying and if it becomes successful, perhaps Gunn can bring this knowledge to help the DCEU as he has been approached by DC to possibly fix their movie problems.

Now, outside of superhero/horror mashups, adaptations of popular Stephan King novels look to be some of the most anticipated horror films of the year. Jason Clarke is set to star in the new adaptation of Pet Semetary that looks to audiences say: “Sometimes dead is better.” If it’s anything like the horrifying 1989 original, then horror movie fans are in for a terrifying treat. Not to mention, the long-awaited sequel to 2017’s IT is coming in September. Taking place 27 years after the original, the film has a new adult cast of James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader portraying members of the Losers Club as they battle against Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise the Clown once again. With everyone returning, including the young cast from the original and director Andy Muschietti, IT: Chapter 2 looks to scares audiences once more.

There’s even some classic horror franchises being rebooted in 2019 and while we may not know much about them, it’s interesting to see them making a return. For instance, Chucky is making a return to theaters as MGM is rebooting the series with Child’s Play. The only thing that has released for the film so far is an image of a more modernized Chucky doll and the cast consisting of Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry. The Grudge is also seeing another reboot as the film is set to release in 2019 with John Cho being casted.

Jordan Peele also looks grab an Oscar nomination with his new horror film Us. With the trailer releasing not too long ago, the film has already gathered a large following and have had people spouting theories on what the film will be about. Peele has already stated that this film is not like his previous Oscar winning film, Get Out, and doesn’t talk much about race, but rather goes into a “deeper and more relevant issue.” After watching the trailer, it looks like audiences are in for a wild ride and should look to see it when it releases in March.

Even the Addams Family is getting a new film in October but is going the animated route over another live-action adaptation. Not much is known about so far, but the cast is filled with plenty of great actors like Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace-Mortez, Finn Wolfhard, and Alison Janney.

However, other big franchises are being brought back by another studio that’s more magical than scary.

Disney Looks to Dominate

Outside of just their new releases for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney looks to dominate 2019 with an onslaught of sequels and reboots of their classic franchises.

Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, will be the first live-action reboot that Disney looks to release in 2019. From the trailers, it looks to capture the same kind of melancholy emotions that the original brings and with Tim Burton at the helm it looks to bring a strong sense of imaginative moments as well. If you’re going to see it in theaters, which you probably should, it looks like you’re going to need tissues in hand.

Disney is also putting out live-action remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King in 2019 and both films have already stirred up a lot of mixed emotions from fans. Aladdin looks to stir up some magic once again in theaters but has received mixed feelings from fans after the looks of the characters was released. While many feel that their looks are reminiscent of the Broadway version, others feel that they are looking at a bad cosplay. The Lion King has also garnered some weary views as Disney can’t decide whether it’s a live-action or animated reboot. Personally, it’s an animated movie. Even casting the likes of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, and James Earl Jones can’t quell audiences’ worries of the film not living up to the animated classic.

Even in the animated world, Disney looks to make sequels to Toy Story and Frozen. While there are many Toy Story fans out there, many, including myself, feel that a fourth iteration is unnecessary, and many question why Disney is doing it at all. Frankly, the answer is most likely because money is still a thing, but the project has already seen issues with changes in writing staff. Frozen is also getting a sequel and looks to have its first LGTB couple grace the screen. The 2012 animated hit reached the list of highest grossing movies of all-time and Disney is surely hoping to do the same with Frozen 2.

Disney is also looking to end the “Skywalker Saga” with Star Wars: Episode IX in December, but it’s tough to say how successful it will be. After creating divisive views amongst the fanbase with The Last Jedi and not getting a lot of buzz with Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s possible that Episode IX could not do as well as other Star Wars films financially.

However, Disney is starting off strong off the big-screen and looking to make a big impact early in the year on an entirely different platform.

Gaming Dominance in Early 2019

Man, oh man, there are tons of video games dropping the beginning of 2019 that will have fans rushing to online retailers and Gamestops to reserve their copies.

Disney and Square Enix are starting January off right with the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 on January 29^th for PS4 and Xbox One. This is the third main entry in the series and has players explore new Disney worlds based on classic franchises like Tangled, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, and Hercules. Director Tetsuya Nomura has promised that this entry in the series will be the best and bring new features and gameplay mechanics that will blow players mind. Hopefully, this will be true as fans have had to wait for this game since it was announced at E3 back in 2013.

Kingdom Hearts 3 will have some competition, though, as Capcom is releasing a remake of Resident Evil 2 that looks to bring fans back to Leon S. Kennedy’s first day on the job as a police officer as he battles against hordes of zombies in Raccoon City. The game looks beautiful and brings in third-person shooting mechanics that players loved from Resident Evil 4. Not to mention, the trailers have made the game look scary as hell, so fans can look forward to being scared once the game releases for PS4, Xbox One, PC on January 25^th.

February also looks to be a big month for video games as a bunch of games are set to be released. Microsoft looks to end their console-exclusivity drought with the long-awaited release of Crackdown 3, which is being developed by Sumo Digital and has players control a new character voiced by Terry Crews. It looks to be a more destructive version of Saints Row and many can expect plenty of hilarious lines with Terry Crews in the lead role. Ubisoft is releasing a new iteration to the Far Cry series with Far Cry: New Dawn, a sequel to Far Cry 5 that takes place in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Anime fans should be set to unite as Jump Force releases in February and is a fighting game that includes characters from the Shonen Jump manga. Fans can expect to play as characters from mangas like Dragonball, Bleach, Black Clover, Yu-Gi-Oh, My Hero Academia, and plenty more.  EA and BioWare are also looking to release Anthem, a co-operative multiplayer experience that allows players to tackle mission in suits, similar to Iron Man, and explore a vast open-world.

The rest of early 2019 is set to have other big releases starting with Devil May Cry V in early March. This new entry in the series has the blood spewing action that fans love and director Hideaki Itsuno has gone on record to say that “he is convinced that this is the best game he has ever made.” Ubisoft’s The Division 2, an online action game that has players work co-operatively through a destroyed Washington D.C., and FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a game that will look to test player’s patience, round out the March releases.

Coming out before the summer are games like Mortal Kombat 11, Days Gone, and Rage 2. NetherRealm looks to bring the carnage with their follow-up to Mortal Kombat X and if the game is anything like the trailer, players are in for a truly brutal experience. Days Gone is the new game from Sony Bend that has Sam Witwer in the lead role and has players be a part of a motorcycle club that attempts to survive in a zombie apocalypse. Bethesda is bringing Rage back with a sequel that puts players in a post-apocalyptic world full of crazy weapons and characters.

Now, there’s plenty of other big projects coming in 2019 that I hadn’t gone into like The Lego Movie 2, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Alita: Battle Angel, and The Joker (we don’t know much about it and it’s not a part of the DCEU). So it looks to be a pretty great year and there are plenty of great things coming this year that will get anyone excited. If you’re looking for a full list of releases of movies and games, you can check them out below:

List of Upcoming Movies: HERE

List of Upcoming Video Games:  HERE