Fall movie preview: ‘Aquaman 2,’ ‘The Marvels,’ ‘Wonka’ and more

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Although the writers’ and actors’ strikes have meant a lack of celebrity presence on the promotional circuit, the upcoming season will still be filled with dozens of intriguing titles.

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There will be films for every taste, with new works from Martin Scorsese, a Hunger Games prequel, the return of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel (in The Marvels), and Taylor Swift. Now that the pop star has conquered the pop music world, she has her sights set on cinemas next.

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Here is a select list of features coming to theatres and streaming services from now until the end of the year.

A Haunting in Venice (in theatres now)
Detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) investigates a murder while attending a Halloween seance at a haunted palazzo in Italy.

Expend4bles (Sept. 22)
Megan Fox, Tony Jaa and the rapper 50 Cent join Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren in trying to stop a terrorist from igniting a conflict between Russia and the U.S.

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The Creator (Sept. 29)
An ex-special forces agent (John David Washington) is recruited to hunt down and kill the elusive architect of an advanced form of AI. Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) directs.

Dumb Money (in select theatres now, opens wide Sept. 29)
Depicts the financial war between amateur investors and hedge fund billionaires as they fought over the price of GameStop stock in 2020 and 2021.

Flora and Son (Sept. 29 on Apple TV+)
The latest from Irish writer-director John Carney (Sing, Begin Again) centres on a young single mother (Eve Hewson) who forges a connection with her son through music after finding a guitar in the trash and striking up a friendship with a musician (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) online.

Fair Play (Sept. 29 in theatres, Oct. 13 on Netflix)
Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor and Oppenheimer actor Alden Ehrenreich play a power-hungry couple who find themselves competing for the same job at a cutthroat financial firm.

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SAW X (Sept. 29)
Set between the events of Saw I and II, the 10th instalment finds Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) turning the tables on a bunch of con artists out to defraud cancer patients.

Reptile (Oct. 6 on Netflix)
A hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth behind the murder of a young real estate agent. Stars Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake and Alicia Silverstone.

Pet Sematary (Oct. 6 on Paramount+)
Explores the origins of how death became different in the small town of Ludlow, Maine — the setting of Stephen King’s original Pet Sematary.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Oct. 13)
For everyone who couldn’t get tickets to her sold out concert tour, Taylor Swift brings every hit song from her three-plus hour concert to the big screen.

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Killers of the Flower Moon (Oct. 20)
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s best-seller, centres on the 1920s murders of members of the Osage Nation — who were being killed after oil was found on their land in Oklahoma. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons and Brendan Fraser.

Pain Hustlers (Oct. 20 in theatres, Oct. 27 on Netflix)
Based on the book by Evan Hughes, Emily Blunt and Chris Evans play the pharmaceutical drug reps who unwittingly helped kickstart America’s opioid epidemic in the pursuit of financial success.

The Killer (Oct. 27 in select theatres, Nov. 10 on Netflix)
Michael Fassbender plays an assassin who finds himself unraveling. David Fincher directs from a script by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker.

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Priscilla (Oct. 27)
Writer-director Sofia Coppola chronicles the life of Priscilla Presley and her relationship with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Cailee Spaeny stars.

Quiz Lady (Nov. 3 on Disney+)
Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play estranged-sisters who work together to help pay off their mother’s gambling debts.

Rustin (Nov. 3 in theatres; Nov. 17 on Netflix)
Colman Domingo plays the titular queer activist as he plans the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

The Marvels (Nov. 10)
In the anticipated sequel to Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is forced to work with two other superheroes (played by Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris) after their powers become entangled thanks to a destabilized universe.

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Nov. 17)
The prequel to the popular Jennifer Lawrence films traces the rise of the tyrannical Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) as he mentors Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) to prepare for the deadly games.

Next Goal Wins (Nov. 17)
Michael Fassbender stars in Taika Waititi’s comedy about the American Samoa soccer team’s attempt to make it to the World Cup — 12 years after their infamous 31-0 loss in a 2002 qualifying match.

Maestro (Nov. 22 in theatres, Dec. 20 on Netflix)
Bradley Cooper directs and stars as composer Leonard Bernstein in this story of the legendary conductor’s life with his wife of nearly three decades, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan).

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Napoleon (Nov. 22)
Ridley Scott tackles the life of Napoleon Bonaparte with Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix playing the French military leader.

Wish (Nov. 22)
The 62nd animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Studios follows a young girl (voiced by Ariana DeBose) who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force.

Saltburn (Nov. 24)
Set in the mid-2000s, a struggling student (Barry Keoghan) falls under the spell of an eccentric classmate (Jacob Elordi) and his family’s lavish estate. Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell writes and directs.

The Bikeriders (Dec. 1)
Inspired by Danny Lyon’s 1968 photo collection, the Jeff Nichols-directed pic tells the fictional story of a Chicago-area motorcycle club that calls itself the Vandals. Stars Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Norman Reedus and Michael Shannon.

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Poor Things (Dec. 8)
Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist (Willem Dafoe), a young woman (Emma Stone) runs off with a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) on a whirlwind adventure.

The Zone of Interest (Dec. 8)
Adapted from a 2014 novel of the same title by Martin Amis, Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin) directs a story of a Nazi commander (Christian Friedel) and his family as they live in domestic bliss just over the wall of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Wonka (Dec. 15)
Timothée Chalamet plays a young Willy Wonka in a story that shows how the character we know from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory went from working in a small candy store to becoming an eccentric chocolatier known worldwide. “I try to sing in it,” Chalamet tells Postmedia. “But there are darker elements. You’ll see.”

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 20)
Jason Momoa’s king of the sea has to form an alliance with his brother (Patrick Wilson) to save their Atlantian home. “It’s funny. It’s very, very funny. (Director) James (Wan) and I have found our rhythm and tapped into the things people really liked (about the first one),” Momoa tells Postmedia. “The technology itself has gone to another level since we shot the first one so, obviously, there’s amazing action. But the best thing, for me, is how funny it is. Patrick Wilson is amazing and we have a really good time. It was absolutely a fun journey.”

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (Dec. 22 on Netflix)
When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by a tyrannical ruler, a mysterious woman (Sofia Boutella) becomes their best hope for survival. Zack Snyder directs.

The Color Purple (Dec. 25)
The Broadway musical version of Alice Walker’s celebrated novel and Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie, gets the big screen treatment.

Ferrari (Dec. 25)
Adam Driver stars as Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s biopic of the automotive mogul.

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X: @markhdaniell

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