New movies of the new year: Sequels and superheroes

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, January 6th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next on The World and Everything in It: new movies of the new year.

Here’s arts and media editor Collin Garbarino to tell us about what’s coming in 2023 to a theater near you.

GRACE: Come on, Annie. Let’s go to the movies!

ANNIE: Let’s go see the stars!

GRACE: [singing] Cowboy heroes, cops, and robbers. Glamour and strife—bigger than life!

COLLIN GARBARINO: A big part of my job is reviewing movies, so you could probably guess that I like watching them. But one thing I like more than watching movies is watching movies in the theater. So I’m excited that 2023 is looking to be a pretty good year for theatrical release, with more and bigger options than last year.

For more than a decade, superheroes have dominated the box office, and for better or worse that trend isn’t going to change this year.

MUSIC: [“The Avengers” by Alan Silvestri]

I counted at least 10 new superhero movies slated for release in 2023. That means—barring any last minute delays—this year will tie the record for most superhero films in a year. Superhero movies are the most popular genre right now, but will 2023 be an embarrassment of riches or is Hollywood just flooding the market to make a quick buck?

Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe launches next month with the third Ant-Man movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

JANET: Wait, wait a minute. You’re sending a signal down to the Quantum Realm? Turn it off, now!

In the spring and summer, we’ll get Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and a Captain Marvel sequel. I usually like the Ant-Man and Guardians movies, so I’m expecting these to be worthwhile—though I’m worried because Ant-Man appears to be moving away from the heist genre that made the first two installments so much fun. The first Captain Marvel movie on the other hand was almost unwatchable, but maybe this sequel won’t be so atrocious. The studio hired a new directing and writing team.

In addition to these three new movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to get six new series on Disney+. These movies and shows need to be better than the lackluster stuff we got in Phase Four. Otherwise even the most die-hard fan will start to succumb to franchise fatigue.

MUSIC: [“The Batman” by Michael Giacchino]

DC Studios, home of Batman and Superman, is releasing four films this year as part of its DC Extended Universe. Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman 2. You can safely skip these four movies. They are the flotsam and jetsam of a franchise that’s dead in the water. Toward the end of last year, Warner Bros. Discovery hired James Gunn—the guy who created Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel—to lead DC Studios. Gunn’s cleaning house. No more Henry Cavill as Superman, no Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. It sounds like he’s scrapping the entire DC Universe and starting over fresh. Maybe some of those iconic heroes will finally get the movies they deserve, but it won’t happen this year.

The superhero film I'm most looking forward to is the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

MILES: My name is Miles Morales. I’m the one and only Spider-Man, at least that’s what I thought.

It’s the sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, one of the best superhero films ever made. The original had groundbreaking animation coupled with spirited storytelling. I’m hoping Sony doesn’t mess this one up.

If you’re not interested in superheroes, 2023 still has a lot to offer, but the biggest movies are still franchise films. We’re getting a third Creed movie, which could be considered a ninth Rocky movie. We’re also getting a tenth Fast and Furious movie, a seventh Mission: Impossible movie, a fifth Indiana Jones movie, a third Agatha Christie movie starring Kenneth Branagh, and a second Dune movie.

Adults looking for something different might check out Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer—a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.

OPPENHEIMER: I don’t know if we can be trusted with such a weapon. But we have no choice.

Christopher Nolan gave us the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. He’s an inventive filmmaker, and he claims to have used real explosives rather than computer-generated effects to create his depictions of the nuclear tests.

For the kids, 2023 will offer plenty of new features, but I’m not optimistic about most of them. Disney and Pixar have been in a drought lately, and I don’t expect them to turn things around this year. The Super Mario Bros. Movie looks somewhat promising for fans of the Nintendo franchise.

CROWD: Mario, Mario, Mario

MARIO: All right. Let’s-a go.

My daughter’s most excited about the prospect of a Trolls 3 coming at the end of the year. I’m also keeping my eye on Harold and the Purple Crayon, starring Zach Levi and Zooey Deschanel. It’s based on the classic children’s book of the same name, and it could turn out to be an unconventional favorite.

But perhaps the movie that’s piqued my curiosity the most is Jesus Revolution which comes out next month.

REPORTER: These people are hippies. Rebels against old-fashioned authority.

MRS. SMITH: I think these kids need help.

PASTOR SMITH: What they need is a bath.

DAUGHTER: You’re passing judgment on people you know nothing about, and maybe that’s why your church is so empty.

PASTOR SMITH: When God walks in here bringing me a hippie, I’ll ask him what it’s all about because I do not understand.

The movie depicts the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s and stars Kelsey Grammer as Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of Calvary Chapel, and Jonathan Roumie as Charismatic hippie preacher Lonnie Frisbee. We’ll see how well the filmmakers balance Christian message with historical accuracy and entertainment value.

Not everyone will be excited by all the superheroes and sequels this year, but I hope you find something appealing to watch at the movies.

GRACE: Sitting in the darkness. What a world to see. Let’s go to the movies, Annie. Wait and see!

I’m Collin Garbarino.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.