For cinephiles that are ready to return to the escapist experience of viewing films in theaters or homebodies ready to snuggle on the couch to a new show, with the dawn of the new year comes brand new television and film.
Here are the cinematic flicks and binge-worthy Netflix TV shows to look out for in 2023.
Television:
Outer Banks Season Three (Feb. 23)
After an unbearable year-and-a-half wait, the Netflix original series is set to drop its third season on Feb. 23, giving fans the perfect amount of time to start binge-watching the first two seasons over again. After all, Outer Banks’ second season delivered the perfect balance of action-packed heists and villainous schemes to set the stage for the third season.
As fans watch—and re-watch—the teaser clips for the new season, speculations may arise about new deadly ploys, exhilarating plot twists, and the impending romance between beloved characters, such as JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey). In less than a month, many favorite characters will dare the catastrophic boundaries between life and death in an endless, action-packed pursuit of gilded riches—all with nothing left to lose.
Shadow and Bone Season Two (March 16)
The Darkling’s wrath persists in season two of the Netflix hit series, Shadow and Bone—an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone fantasy book trilogy.
Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is determined to match the Darkling’s rage alongside her new allies, attempting to eradicate the insidious Shadow Fold from the realm of Ravka. From dark sea voyages, deadly heists, and the lore of monsters, Shadow and Bone season two will pick up right where the first season’s disastrous cliffhanger left off nearly two years ago.
Season two will further explore the world of Grishaverse mythology, romance, and epic adventures as it introduces more beloved characters from the novel series to the show’s cast, including Nikolai Lantsov (Patrick Gibson) and Wylan Hendriks (Jack Wolfe).
Movies:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5)
A heartbroken Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), alongside his unconventional and witty team of Guardians, will again embark on an incredibly action-packed, intergalactic mission to safeguard the depths of the universe.
The third and final installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise is expected to deliver an unforgettable conclusion to the storylines of some of the most revered Marvel heroes. The third film of the franchise will be the second film released as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Phase Five” collection of movies inspired by the superheroes featured within the traditional Marvel Comics. Phase Five will begin with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Feb. 17.
A Haunting in Venice (Sept. 15)
Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is lured into the grasp of a lethal séance, returning him once more to the realm of devious crimes and scandals in A Haunting in Venice.
A Haunting in Venice is a sequel to both Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. The film will carry on the legacy of the murder mystery films inspired by Agatha Christie’s thriller novels. Loosely based on Christie’s 1969 novel, Hallowe’en Party, the film is anticipated to mirror an even more bone-chilling and shocking cryptic plotline than its two prior films.
In addition to Branagh as Poirot, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, and Tina Fey will star in the upcoming mystery thriller.
Dune: Part Two (Nov. 3)
Alongside Chani (Zendaya) and the rebellious Fremen, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) dares to explore the tempestuous path of violence and revenge, as he seeks vengeance against those who conspired to shatter the stability of his family’s reign.
The sequel film will feature new additions to the original cast: Elvis star, Austin Butler, as the malevolent Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and Florence Pugh as Irulan Corrino. Come November, we will return to the world of deceitful gambits, dark oracle visions, and colossal, vicious sandworms.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Nov. 17)
Taking place 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games movie trilogy, the film will explore the realm of Katniss Everdeen’s future home of Panem, plagued by the ruins of war, as seen through the eyes of an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). The early stages of the brutal games will be depicted amid a heart-breaking and doomed romance between Snow and District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler).
As a mentor to Gray, Snow is subjected to witness the horrors of the games, as his fate becomes darkly intertwined with anguish and fear. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a film adaptation of a book of the same name, will unearth the origins of President Snow’s infamous wrath, as he gradually comes to learn an agonizing message: Love and war are the deadliest games of all.
Wonka (Dec. 15)
A musical film prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka will be centered around the fantasy journeys of a young Willy Wonka. As an eccentric chocolatier and friend to the Oompa Loompas, Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) will become immersed in a world of flowing rivers of chocolate, far from the sandworm-plagued dunes of Planet Arrakis in Dune: Part Two.
The upcoming Warner Bros. film, directed by Paul King, will also star Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, and Olivia Colman.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife II (Dec. 20)
After investigating the haunting events on a sketchy farm in Oklahoma, the new generation of ghostbusters returns to New York City, N.Y. the original home of the widely popular film franchise.
Sony Pictures has remained tight-lipped about the contents of the new paranormal film, though it has been confirmed that Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, and Mckenna Grace will all return as a part of the cast. The Ghostbusters: Afterlife film series is expected to continue to carry on the timeless legacy of the classic team of paranormal investigators first introduced in 1984.
