100 highly-anticipated movies, TV shows, albums, and video games coming out in 2023

Magic Mike was a breakthrough indie film from an auteur in Stephen Soderbergh. The sequel was an over-the-top spectacle. A third movie in the series? Said to be the last one, let’s see how this story shakes out. Channing Tatum is back, and he’s joined by Salma Hayek.

Say what you will about Adam Sandler’s comedies, but sometimes they are solid and watchable. Murder Mystery was exactly that, and Sandler and Jennifer Aniston had some nice rapport. Will the sequel deliver more of the same? As a Sandler film on Netflix, it will be watched a ton regardless.

OK, no caveats are needed here. Quantumania is the first massive blockbuster of 2023. It’s a tentpole and a huge film in the landscape of the MCU. If you care about Marvel movies at all, the third Ant-Man film is going to be a must-see.

It’s a movie called Cocaine Bear . How could we not be intrigued? Here’s the thing: It’s based on a true story! In the 1980s, reportedly, a black bear ingested some cocaine, and, well, chaos ensued. This thriller will also feature the late Ray Liotta in a key role.

The year 2023 is going to be huge for Jonathan Majors. In addition to playing Kang in Quantumania , Majors is starring opposite Michael B. Jordan in Creed III. While we don’t expect a reinvention of the wheel, though this will mark Jordan's directorial debut, a Creed movie with Majors is enough for us.

Scream 5 was a nostalgia play and a reboot, but it worked. It worked so well another movie is quickly in the offing. While we run the risk of being oversaturated with Scream films again, we don’t feel that way right now.

At a time when DC movies were getting knocked, there was plenty of “Hey, Shazam! is actually pretty fun” talk. They were right! The first film is pretty fun! As such, we’re looking forward to the second film, which also won’t need to lay on the exposition so heavily.

John Wick movies are overwrought and filled with needless mythology. They also rip. If you like slick, violent action films, there is no better way to fulfill that desire than watching Keanu Reeves do his thing as Wick.

They tried a Dungeon and Dragons film in 2000, and it flopped. This time, Chris Pine is leading the cast. Also, after years of fantasy films finding success and TV viewers eating up shows like Game of Thrones, it might be the right time for the role-playing game to get a film adaptation that clicks.

Call it curiosity as much as anything else. Also, the animation looks pretty good. The last time we got a Super Mario movie, Bob Hoskins had a miserable time. Now, Chris Pratt is voicing Mario, which is a weird choice, to be sure. Nevertheless, the most iconic video game character of all time has a new movie. That makes it one to see.

Are you familiar with Renfield, the lackey of Count Dracula? Well, he’s getting his own movie. Also, it’s a horror-comedy from the guy who directed The Lego Batman Movie . Not enough for you? Dracula is played by Nicolas Cage.

There’s potential for Taika Waititi fatigue, we know. Thor: Love and Thunder wasn’t received as rapturously as Ragnarok. That being said, this is an original story, and it’s based on a true story to boot. Next Goal Wins is about Thomas Rongen’s attempt to turn around America Samoa’s national soccer team. That may sand down Waititi’s polarizing quirkiness.

It’s been a bit of a break, but the Guardians are back. James Gunn is also back, though his time with the MCU is assuredly ending now that he’s in charge over at DC. Still, it’ll be fun to watch Quill and the gang, not to mention the debut of Adam Warlock in the MCU.

At this point, the intrigue of the Fast films is just how bombastic they get. They have gotten so over-the-top that they are experiences more than movies. Vin Diesel might be a true lunatic, but he knows how to get people excited for cinematic events.

The live-action Disney remakes have been hit or miss. Even so, we’re always intrigued, at the very least. Additionally, the casting of The Little Mermaid is historic, with Halle Bailey portraying Ariel. Awkwafina and Melissa McCarthy are also involved. Let’s see how it shakes out.

We’ve been waiting to head back into the Spider-Verse. Now, we can. The first film in this animated series was a delight, perhaps the year's best animated movie. The sequel established the concept. Can they build upon it? We sure hope so, and we’re betting on it.

Michael Bay’s Transformers series had gotten tedious. Then, Bay stepped aside, and Bumblebee proved a surprisingly good time. Rise of the Beasts is building off of Bumblebee and features a new cast headlined by Anthony Ramos.

Jennifer Lawrence is looking to course correct a bit, and No Hard Feelings is a foray into that. It’s a comedy movie not tied to any intellectual property, so Lawrence is the draw. Hey, anything to wash away the memory of Don’t Look Up.

We don’t have an official title yet, but we have seen images from the fifth Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Ford is back. Also, it’s Indiana Jones. Of course, we’re hyped.

Tom Cruise dominated the box office with Top Gun: Maverick. The thing is, Mission: Impossible is his big franchise. While a "Part One” in a title this late into a franchise is usually a little concerning, we trust Ethan Hunt and the crew. Plus, we have to see Cruise’s stunts.

Tenet  got caught in the wash of COVID-19, and it was a little too dense for some. Now, Christopher Nolan is back with something approaching a biopic. Sure, it’s a biopic of “the father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robbert Oppenheimer, but it may be straightforward enough to be palatable. Also, the cast is incredible.

Greta Gerwig is directing a movie about Barbie. It stars Margot Robbie as Barbie. And Ryan Gosling as Ken. You’ve seen the images, right? This is going to be fascinating and probably super good.

Another entry into the MCU, this time a sequel to Captain Marvel that also brings in Ms. Marvel from the Disney+ show. Nia DaCosta directed the film, which is encouraging. We do wonder how a fully powered Captain Marvel works as a main character, but we’re curious to see.

Yes, they are making another Haunted Mansion movie. The first time, with Eddie Murphy, didn’t quite take. However, it remains one of the most popular Disney rides, so why not try again? Mostly, we’re stoked because of the cast. We’re talking about Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.

Gran Turismo is based on a video game, which doesn’t always go well. Even racing video games have trouble on that front, though Need for Speed was fine. However, Gran Turismo has an intriguing cast, and Neill Blomkamp also directs it. Sure, he gave us Chappie, but he also gave us District 9.

Here’s something for the arthouse and probably for the Oscar race. Luca Guadagnino makes interesting films, to say the least, from Call Me By Your Name to the romantic cannibal film (yes, really) Bones and All. Challengers has been labeled as a “romantic sports comedy,” which seems interesting from the director. He has Zendaya starring, and that’s going to draw eyes.

Blue Beetle may not be the first — or 10th — DC superhero you think of, but the character has been around in one iteration or another for decades. Now, he finally hits the big screen. This film is based on the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle, and the film has a younger, Latin vibe to it.

When the film world taps back into Sam Raimi’s iconic Evil Dead horror-comedy trilogy, they tend to eschew the comedy. Evil Dead Rise certainly seems to be in that vein. And yet, we are interested to see how this take works. Unlike the previous Evil Dead film, this one seems less like a by-the-numbers remake.

Kenneth Branagh is making another Poirot film. Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, and Michelle Yeoh are among the people listed in the cast. The first two Poirot films from Branagh were solid enough, and if you like Agatha Christie novels, we’re sure these films scratch that itch.

The intended Spider-Man universe is starting to actually come together. First, there were the two Venom movies. Now, Kraven the Hunter is getting his own film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is playing Kraven, and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose is along for the ride as Calypso.

We don’t know anything about the plot of True Love, but we do know it’s directed by Gareth Edwards, who directed Godzilla and Rogue One. It’s a sci-fi story, so we know that. Also, it stars John David Washington. That’s enough for us.

Here’s a sci-fi story we know plenty about. Dune was a huge hit, even though it ended somewhat anticlimactic. The two-part nature of the story was a bit of a bait-and-switch, but consider the bait taken. Part Two will be finishing out the story of the world of Dune, and at this point, we are definitely all-in on seeing it happen.

Yes, there is a new Hunger Games film. How? Well, it’s a prequel. Long before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, the world of The Hunger Games was already percolating. Tom Blyth stars as a younger version of Coriolanus Snow.

Look, Timothee Chalamet is playing Willy Wonka. That’s weird, and it’s fascinating. We have to see how this plays out. Will it be interesting at all? Will it be a total fiasco? We can’t wait to see it.

Alice Walker’s venerated novel was turned into a film directed by Steven Spielberg a few decades ago. It was nominated for several Oscars but famously didn’t win a single one. The Color Purple is being adapted again but as a musical this time. Can it grab an Oscar this time?

M. Night Shyamalan is on a bit of an upswing. Either he will keep it going, or we will get another The Happening-style misfire. It feels like there is no in-between with this guy. Finding out is half the fun.

Aquaman was a pleasant surprise. That’s got us looking forward to the sequel. The gang’s all back, including James Wan as the director. Wan had Julie Andrews voicing a giant sea monster in the first film. What will he do as an encore?

We know Coyote vs. Acme exists. It has been screened. It also had its original release date taken over by Barbie . The live-action/animation hybrid film is now up in the air, but a 2023 release could still be in the cards. It’s a comedy about Wile E. Coyote suing Acme, and John Cena is in it. We’ll surely see this film eventually, especially since newly minted DC bigwig James Gunn co-wrote it.

Paul McCartney co-wrote the children’s book High in the Clouds in 2005. Now, it’s getting adapted by Netflix. In the process, McCartney wrote original songs for the movie, which is part of the appeal of seeing it.

Wish is a new Disney animated film that has been announced and given a release date, even if it doesn’t have its own Wikipedia page as of this writing. DeBose is starring in this film, which is evidently about the idea of wishing on a star. Hey, it was good enough for Jiminy Cricket.

Martin Scorsese’s new film was supposed to be released in 2022 but got pushed back. Now, a 2023 release is to be expected. It’s Scorsese, so we don’t need to say anything else. He’s a living legend, and each film he gives us is a gift at this point.

Ari Aster is an odd dude, so when he says his next film is a four-hour “nightmare comedy,” you can’t really know what to expect. The guy has found humor in his films like Hereditary and Midsommar, even if he is the only one. Maybe you will only be horrified, but as a horror director, Aster is quite successful.

Here’s another film that was originally going to be a 2022 release but got pushed. After making A Star is Born , Bradley Cooper is at it again. Cooper is the star, co-writer, and director of Maestro, a biopic of Leonard Bernstein. He’s still craving that acting Oscar. Maybe this is the time that it happens.

Granted, calling it Legally Blonde 3 is Legally Blondes erasure, but we digress. Now, of any film on this list, this is the one we are least confident in actually hitting screens in 2023. For now, we’re hopeful.

Will Speck and Josh Gordon have a spotty record as comedy film directors, but they rarely miss entirely. This sci-fi comedy seems to be wholly focused on two characters, plus a sentient AI survival suit voiced by Zachary Quinto. There’s enough here to color us intrigued. Maybe it will be a pleasant surprise.

The reboot of Night Court has been percolating for a bit, but now, it’s finally going to happen. These days, it feels like the original show has become overlooked and underrated. John Larroquette won all those Emmys for a reason. Larroquette is returning for the reboot, but Melissa Rauch is playing the daughter of Harry Anderson’s Judge Harry Stone.

This is also a reboot, the third for Futurama. Now coming to Hulu, we’re still excited. Futurama is one of the best comedies of all time, and hopefully, there is still some meat on the bone.

Interview with a Vampire proved a success for AMC, and the network is going back to the world of Anne Rice. This time, it’s witches, not vampires, which feels slightly fresher. If Mayfair Witches hits like Vampire, AMC is going to become the weird, gothic supernatural network.

The Last of Us is a massively popular video game. Now, video games don’t always adapt great, but excitement is still high for this post-apocalyptic story. This could become a big hit for HBO, especially since basically every game fan will likely watch.

Rian Johnson, of Knives Out and Glass Onion fame, has a case-of-the-week show coming to Peacock. It stars Natasha Lyonne. That’s all we need to know. This is maybe the show we are most excited about in all of 2023.

This supernatural team drama is based on a book from the guy who adapted Teen Wolf. Speaking of the supernatural, Sarah Michelle Gellar is in the show. It might be a little cheesy, but we want to see how it shakes out.

The show is called Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. End of discussion. It’s an animated show based on Marvel comics. So yeah, if you needed more, now you have it.

True Lies was a big hit for James Cameron. It’s not a great movie, but it was a hit, and there is promise to the premise. The issues with the film are more in the execution. Now, the same story, minus Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, is coming to CBS. The show has a lot of story to work with. Maybe just don’t do the facile Middle Eastern terrorist stuff.

The original The Walking Dead is now over. However, the universe of the zombie apocalypse show lives on. Dead City is a true spinoff focusing on Maggie and Negan from the original series. If you aren’t tired of The Walking Dead, here’s your chance to dive back in.

The CW and DC have had success in the past. Look no further than the Arrowverse. This time, we’re in the world of Batman. Bruce Wayne is dead, and his adopted son joins forces with the children of Batman’s enemies to figure it out. That could be a little sweaty, or it could be cool.

The Princess and the Frog is in line to return to the forefront. Tiana, if you aren’t familiar, is the main character of that Disney film. Now, she’s getting her own full-on show on Disney+. How will the spinoff turn out? Hey, it beats another live-action movie reboot.

Everybody loves Kathryn Hahn. At the very least, she’s quite popular on the internet and with meme folks and what have you. Her turn as Agatha was a hit on WandaVision , and now, Agatha is getting her Disney+ show. Also, Aubrey Plaza is in the cast, speaking of people the internet love.

When Ahsoka Tano showed up in the world of Disney+’s Star Wars shows, played by Rosario Dawson, people were enthused. Ahsoka is perhaps the most popular Star Wars character never to show up in the movie universe. Now, Ahsoka, still played by Dawson, is getting her own show. Hopefully, it’s more The Mandalorian than Book of Boba Fett.

Disney+ doesn’t just do Star Wars and Marvel. American Born Chinese is based on a graphic novel, but it’s not a known one. As such, many will be introduced to this action-comedy story by Disney+. Also, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are reuniting from Everything Everywhere All at Once, which rules.

Hawkeye was hit or miss, and that includes the story for Echo. However, she’s getting her own show, and we’re still interested in how that goes. Look, it’s part of the MCU, so we at least have to check it out. It’s better to watch than to try and parse how it will fit into the overarching storyline through osmosis.

We don’t know much about Skeleton Crew . We just know it’s a “coming-of-age” story, there will be a teenage cast, and Jude Law is in it. It’s also a contemporaneous story to The Mandalorian, to fit it into the universe. For now, we’re definitely intrigued.

Do you like The Boys, the vulgar, violent superhero satire? Then you’re probably going to dig Gen V. It’s a spinoff with Hunger Games vibes, only you can count on more visceral violence than those films ever delivered.

Finally, this animated prequel to the Gremlins movies is being released. We've seen images and posters and everything. The animation looks cool. We really dig the Gremlins movies. More time with Gizmo should be fun. We’ve got to get a taste, at the very least.

The premise of this Apple TV+ drama reads like it could be a little sweaty. A female scientist in the 1960s is fired by her lab and takes a job hosting a cooking show to teach housewives science. It could be incredibly cheesy, all the worst aspects of Ted Lasso with none of the fun stuff. Or maybe it will be cool! We don’t know! That’s why we’ll watch it.

It is the modern instinct of the entertainment industry to do TV instead of a movie and stretch a story out. That being said, the concept of Time Bandits can definitely work in serialized fashion. Terry Gilliam’s film was trippy, but it’s also adventure based, which you can do on an episode-by-episode basis. Lisa Kudrow has reportedly been cast as the lead in Taika Waititi's adaptation.

It seems that this Netflix series is an anime-inspired project with Hayley Atwell voicing Lara Croft. Tomb Raider started as a video game, so an animated take could work. At least it feels fresh, which is good given that there have been two separate stabs at live-action films that have been spotty.

No relation to Echo. Instead, this is a return to the world of Orphan Black, the show in which Tatiana Maslany played a series of clones. This time, it’s Krysten Ritter in the lead role, what with Maslany now playing She-Hulk. Still, the original show had a lot going for it, so we shall see about this spinoff.

AMC is not letting Giancarlo Esposito out of its sights. No longer playing Gus Fring, Esposito will now star in this adaptation of the BBC show The Driver. Frankly, we’re primarily looking forward to Parish because Esposito is starring.

FOX animated shows have been hit or miss in terms of finding success and substantive runs. For every Bob’s Burgers, there are a dozen Napoleon Dynamite and Duncanville examples. Grimsburg  has already been renewed for a second season, even though the first hasn’t aired. The show, which features Jon Hamm in the lead role, seems like a parody of gritty crime dramas.

Speaking of Esposito and AMC staples, Bob Odenkirk isn’t resting on his laurels after the end of Better Call Saul. Odenkirk is starring in this novel adaptation of the chairman of a college’s English department. We imagine it will be more exciting than that sounds. Maybe Odenkirk will win an Emmy for this one? (But do remember he’s still eligible for the second half of the final season of Saul).

Are people tired of stories about Richard Nixon and Watergate? Evidently not! Hey, we think there is still meat on the bone too. The White House Plumbers is an HBO limited series focusing on Nixon’s operatives/goons E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux are playing Hunt and Liddy, and it seems like it’s going to be a good one.

It’s the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants crossover event. Worlds will collide from three different shows in the SpongeBob universe. Apparently, such a thing exists. Crossovers and interdimensional stories may be common these days, but it feels like SpongeBob can still do something fun with them.

It has been spoken into existence. The rallying cry for the cult sitcom Community became “six seasons and a movie,” based on a line of dialogue from one episode. Improbably, Community made it to six seasons, but the movie never came to fruition. Now, it is, thanks to Peacock. Call it an Introduction to Advanced Finality if you want.

If you dug the Skrulls stuff from Captain Marvel or like the Secret Invasion storyline from the Marvel comics, this is the Disney+ event for you. Plus, it’s arguably the first starring role for Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in all of the MCU. That alone is a reason to check out Secret Invasion.

Asterix, like Tintin, is one of those iconic European comics that has never found purchase in the United States. Maybe this is the time? Netflix is doing an Asterix series, and if anybody is going to get Americans to pay attention to Asterix, it’s Netflix. Or maybe not. Steven Spielberg couldn’t get people hyped for Tintin, after all.

We have a feeling this could be a buzzy HBO limited series. It’s got a true crime taste to it, and it also has prestige and an incredible cast. Murder is at the center of Love and Death , which happens to co-star Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons. We hope they’ve both planned where they will put their Emmys.

Do you like the John Wick films? Do you like The Continental, that weird, ornate hotel for killers? Well, then, the series The Continental is for you. Sure, they had to recast the leading roles from the movies, but if you want more of the world of John Wick, a world rich in rules and quirks, The Continental will surely flesh it out.

Once more into the MCU. We’ve got another limited series hitting Disney+, with this one intended to introduce the character of Ironheart to the people. Obviously, the MCU stuff is always intriguing, even if it doesn’t always work out. This is also one of, like, five things that Anthony Ramos is in for 2023. He’s going to be a superstar next year.

We move from TV to music, though album information is sparser at this point. They don’t get announced and planned out to the same degree. However, we do know that Paramore is returning in 2023 with This Is Why, the popular band’s first album since 2017.

There is also an animated movie called Strays being released in 2023, but we’re talking about the Margo Price album. The country musician has her new album all lined up, which is more than we can say about a lot of musicians. It’s nice to have some music to definitively look forward to, and we think this album will be better than the film with Jamie Foxx and Will Ferrell.

One for indie fans. Pile makes aggressive music, and they aren’t afraid to speak their minds. This can turn some off, but it also earns them plenty of fans. All Fiction is the band’s eighth album. As long as the political discourse is murky (which will likely be the case until the end of time, at this point), we can trust Pile throwing in their two cents, and we always are down for that.

In May 2022, Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode died. In August, the surviving band members began working on a new album. That album is Memento Mori, a Latin phrase that effectively means “remember you must die.” Depeche Mode has been a favorite band of many for decades, and while the circumstances are grim, we’re interested in what’s being dealt with on Memento Mori.

Blink-182 is back! The “real” trio, to many. We’re talking about the Mark, Tom, and Travis show. They’ve already released a single, and a new album is coming. It will probably be disconcertingly sophomoric coming from three middle-aged men! Oh well! Blink-182 is back!

Sparks have had a moment recently, unusual for a musical act that has been around so long. The cult band had a documentary dedicated to them and had their fiction film Annette released. This is probably as excited as people are ever going to get for a new Sparks album. Let’s savor it.

It’s video game time! Dead Space is a remake of a 2008 game of the same name, but the name, and general premise, is the only thing it seems to have in common. The series hasn’t had a new game since 2013. This is truly the rebirth of Dead Space, and the modern landscape for video games should make it feel way more lush and engrossing.

Want to spend some time in the Wizarding World? All things Harry Potter remain popular, and we imagine the hype for Hogwarts Legacy is high. It’s an open-world game where you can attend classes at Hogwarts and stuff. Also, probably do things more exciting than sitting in lectures. You know, flying and stuff.

This game was pushed back, but it seems quite definitive that a 2023 release is happening for Skull and Bones. The pirating adventure promises a lot of action and exploration. The hype has been high for a couple of years, enough that we’re looking forward to finally getting a chance to take our pirate ship for a test run.

It’s been over a decade since Dead Island, but Dead Island 2 is not just delivering more of the same but with better gameplay and graphics. This game moves the action to Los Angeles, a city under quarantine due to the zombie outbreak. It’s time to dive back into the world of Dead Island!

Breath of the Wild was one of the first huge hits for the Nintendo Switch. Now, it finally gets a sequel. Enthusiasm is high for Tears of the Kingdom. Enthusiasm is always high for a Zelda game. Why should we act like we’re too cool for school?

A substantive RoboCop game is cool. Peter Weller returning to the role? That’s even cooler. The shooting-forward game is based on the first three films in the series. Will it be as violent and nihilistic? We shall see.

Speaking of video games based on action films from the 1980s, this is more a strategy game than a shooter game, but you’re facing down Xenomorphs, and that’s what matters. Taking place a couple of decades after Aliens 3, Dark Descent takes us into a movie series that is primed for video-game adaptation.

It’s the newest iteration of the Assassin’s Creed series. That’s enough for us. On top of that, Mirage is being pitched as a return to the series’ “roots.” Cool. Works for us.

After years, Avatar returned to the big screen in 2022. People love the world of Pandora. A video game is a way to stay in that world. Come hang out in the frontiers of Pandora. Wait for that next Cameron film.

It’s been a wait. The fourth Diablo game was announced in 2019. Now, it’s finally being released. Hopefully, the wait is worth it. After all the unpleasantness at Blizzard, a good game can’t wash that away, but it can be a pleasant play.

Yes, we’re up to the 16th Final Fantasy game. The series has continued this long for a reason. It’s Final Fantasy. You know what to expect. You’re playing the 16th game, or you aren’t.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a famed cult classic, a winking horror comedy about, well, the title says it all. We hope that energy is brought into this game. If that’s the case, it should be a fun one.

A Suıcide Squad game is worth checking out as is. However, you throw the subtitle Kill the Justice League on it, and you know they are going hard. Sure, apparently, the Justice League has been brainwashed by Brainiac, which undercuts that a bit, but we’re still in.

A taste of Valheim was given in 2021, and the response was huge. It made this game one of the most anticipated out there. Now, the full version of Valheim is finally being released. Hopefully, it lives up to that early look.

Street Fighter is in the running for the best fighting game franchise out there. It really comes down to how much the gore of Mortal Kombat works for you, which comes down to if you are forever 13. It’s been seven years since the last Street Fighter game. That means this one could be both familiar and fresh.

Starfield is another long-hyped, long-anticipated game. It was first announced in 2018 as Bethesda’s first original game in 25 years. We’re still waiting, but the wait should be over. Starfield has been on the radar for a while. It was on our 2022 list of anticipated entertainment. Hopefully, in 2023, that anticipation becomes reality.