Yes, we know. We’ve barely finished boxing up 2014, and we’re already looking ahead to all of the goodies 2015 has to offer. Can you blame us? No matter your taste, Hollywood has something incredible on the docket for the coming year, with beloved franchises, Marvel universes, Oscar hopefuls and animation giants all reserving space at the multiplexes. As you nurse your New Year’s celebrations hangover, scan through this list of the 13 most anticipated movies on the 2015 schedule:
Furious 7
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell, Jordana Brewster and Ludacris
Plot: After taking out Owen Shaw in the London-based Fast & Furious 6, Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest of the rubber-burning gang must contend with the criminal’s vicious older brother (Statham), who is on a mission of vengeance.
Release Date: April 3
The Avengers:
Age of Ultron
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson and James Spader.
Plot: With S.H.I.E.L.D. dismantled following the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man/Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) works to restore a dormant peacekeeping program — but instead winds up introducing the world to Ultron (Spader), a psychopathic robot who sees humanity as a disease that needs to be cleaned. Naturally, it’s up to the members of The Avengers to stop it.
Release Date: May 1
Mad Max: Fury Road
Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Zoe Kravity, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Witele and Hugh Keays-Byrne
Plot: Set in the same post-apocalyptic world of the original Mad Max movies, the story follows two central characters: Max (Hardy), a loner on the run simply looking for peace after the death of his wife and child; and Furiosa (Theron), a one-armed warrior woman looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
Release Date: May 15
Pitch Perfect 2
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Hailee Steinfeld with John Michael Higgins, Katey Sagal and Elizabeth Banks
Plot: Following up the surprise smash hit from 2012, the Barden Bellas take their show on the road, entering an international singing competition that — to date — no American team has ever won.
Release Date: May 15
Tomorrowland
Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Judy Greer, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, and Thomas Robinson
Plot: A rebellious teenager (Robertson) with a scientific mind teams up with a former boy genius (Clooney) to unearth the secrets of the mysterious location of the title, which seems to be under the reign of a dangerous villain (Laurie).
Release Date: May 22
Jurassic World
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Judy Greer
Plot: The failed Jurassic Park is now a Disney-level Jurassic World, and so far, it’s a hit. But seeing as how the trailer showed us Chris Pratt on a motorcycle riding into the jungle to fight a rebellious beast, we’re guessing that things are going to go horribly wrong for Bryce Dallas Howard and the execs at the updated theme park of death.
Release Date: June 12
Inside Out
Cast: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan
Plot: The next big feature from Pixar, this film will take audiences into the mind of a young girl who has just been moved from her home in the Midwest to San Francisco. The movie follows her various emotions — Joy (Poehler), Disgust (Kaling), Fear (Hader), Anger (Black) and Sadness (Smith) — and find them working to cope as they settle in to their new home and life.
Release Date: June 19
Terminator Genisys
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, Matt Smith, Byung-Hun Lee, and JK Simmons
Plot: Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) travels back in time to save Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) from a Terminator, but quickly discovers that the traditional Terminator timeline has drastically changed.
Release Date: July 1
Ant-Man
Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Cory Stoll, Judy Greer, Bobby Cannavale and Michael Pena
Plot: A master thief named Scott Lang (Rudd) finds himself in dire straits, and tries to steal a special superhero suit that allows the wearer to shrink to the size of an insect while maintaining the proportional strength of a human. Instead, he comes to work with the suit’s owner, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), and works to pull off a heist that could save the world.
Release Date: July 17
Spectre
Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris
Plot: Daniel Craig is back as James Bond, and his latest adventure pits him up against a classically evil organisation from his cinematic past — SPECTRE, and (we assume) its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Release Date: November 6
The Hateful Eight
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir, Walton Goggins, and Channing Tatum
Plot: A bounty hunter (Jackson) and his female prisoner (Jason-Leigh) get driven off the road by a terrible blizzard, and wind up taking shelter in a haberdashery with a collection of shady characters. Drama starts, bloodshed happens.
Release Date: November 13
The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay — Part 2
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland
Plot: In the finale of The Hunger Games series, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and the rebels of Panem continue to grow in strength and finally begin the revolution with the hopes of dismantling the Capitol and ending the reign of President Snow.
Release Date: November 20
Star Wars: The Force
Awakens
Cast: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Crystal Clarke, Pip Anderson, Christina Chong, Gwendoline Christie, Greg Grunberg and Max von Sydow
Plot: No clue, though rumors suggest that the plot of the first Star Wars movie in years could find a handful of newcomers helping Han Solo (Harrison Ford) rescue his lost friend, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as a new threat rises up to challenge the galaxy.
Release Date: December 18
