Now that I’ve finished my review of the best movies of 2022, it’s time to look ahead to a new year of movies! And, yes, I missed January, but, to be honest, the best movies in the theater and on streaming in January are those from 2022, so I don’t think you missed anything really important. Today, I’ll give you my most anticipated movie for each month of the year through June. In Part Two, we’ll hit the rest of the year. Reminder: dates are always subject to change, so cut me some slack if I get one wrong. With that, let’s go…

February: Cocaine Bear (2/24)

In February, the MCU starts its Phase Five with the return of some Endgame-era heroes in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. And that would likely be my choice here…except I don’t expect Quantumania to have a bear who goes on a rampage after ingesting a massive amount of cocaine. And Cocaine Bear does. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, directors of the hilarious 21 Jump Street reboot series, writer/directors of the flawless The Lego Movie and producers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, lend their comic talents to this horror-comedy inspired by actual events (!) about a bear who gets into a cocaine stash found in a plane crash. In real life, the bear was found dead. But what could he have done prior to his death? Cocaine Bear gives us a far-fetched yet inspired answer: he goes on an insane killing spree. Pitch Perfect 2 director Elizabeth Banks directs. The cast includes Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Margo Martindale (all Russian spies in the TV series The Americans, so maybe they stand a chance). Other releases of note: The Knock at the Cabin (2/3); Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2/17).

March: 65 (3/17)

March features a ton of sequels (Shazam, John Wick, Creed, Scream, and even Netflix’s Murder Mystery have new movies in March). So I looked for an original title that sounded intriguing and found one in this future/past sci-fi adventure. Sometime in the future, Adam Driver (who you know as Kylo Ren and who is also my current favorite actor) crashes on an unknown planet which turns out to be Earth…65 million years ago. He’s got to protect a child (because there’s always a child that needs protecting) from lots of dinosaurs (because dinosaurs always want to eat people) and also manage to avoid the giant meteor that is just about to wipe out all prehistoric life on the planet. From the trailer, it looks like it’s going to be amazing or terrible. It looks worth the gamble. Spider-Man‘s Sam Raimi directs. Other releases of note: John Wick, Chapter 4 (3/24); Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (3/31).

April: Beau is Afraid (4/21)

With Hereditary and Midsommar, Ari Aster has become the master of slow-burning psychological horror. This time out, he teams with Joaquin Pheonix, who can carry his own when it comes to creepy, psychologically-damaged dudes (Joker, You Were Never Really Here). While Aster’s prior films have dabbled in the surreal, it looks like this one’s diving in headfirst, as it looks like much (most? all?) of the movie takes place in the title character’s mind. And it looks like a darkly funny and darkly frightening place. Other releases of note: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (4/7); Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (4/28).

May: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (5/5)

Guardians of the Galaxy is still my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while the second volume wasn’t quite up there (sorry Baby Groot), these characters are still always a bunch of fun (check out their Holiday Special on Disney+ if you missed it at Christmastime). This one looks the same, but with a bittersweet edge; with writer/director James Gunn moving on to run the DC movie universe, this is supposed to be this version of the Guardians last time out. But it’s the MCU, so you never know. Other releases of note: The Little Mermaid (5/26); The Machine (5/26).

June: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (6/2)

The most imaginative of super hero movies gets its sequel. Well, actually, the first part of a two-part sequel. Writer/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (see February, above) return along with this universe’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). It looks like he and Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) runs into a multiverse full of new Spider-Folk, including those voiced by Daniel Kaluuya (Nope) and Oscar Issac (Dune). Prediction: Spidey-Awesomeness. Other releases of note: Pixar’s Elemental (6/16); Asteroid City (6/23); Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (6/30).

And that gets us halfway through the year. Part two will come…soon (i.e., when the release calendar for the last half of the year gets a little clearer).

(Photo credit: Universal Pictures)