The year is coming to a close and we’ve seen lots of great movies over the past 12 months of 2018. There are a great deal of retrospectives in this Holiday season but it is also important to look ahead to the future. When it comes to movie buzz and anticipation, superhero films and Marvel properties, especially, tend to dominate the discussion. They’ve become the biggest film events of the year and almost certainly end up generating the majority of discussion online.

Let’s take a moment to forget about superheroes, just for a second. Beyond caped crusaders, there are spin-offs, remakes and some exciting original properties coming this year. Let's take a look at some of the upcoming films that 2019 has to offer!

20 STAR WARS: EPISODE IX

J.J. Abrams is back as the director of Episode IX, like it or not. Many fans thought that Abrams' The Force Awakens was too safe and that Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi strayed too far from the expectations of a Star Wars film and the established universe. It will be interesting to see where this next installment falls on the spectrum of outrage.

It’s been confirmed that Carrie Fisher will make an appearance as Leia via unused footage from The Force Awakens. The current release date is December 20, which means some polarizing views just in time for the holidays.

19 HOBBS AND SHAW

Hobbs and Shaw is a spin-off film from the Fast and Furious franchise. It follows Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne ‘The Rock" Johnson and Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. The two characters teamed up in Fate of the Furious and it’s believed that the events of Hobbs and Shaw will take place after this film.

The other big casting notice with this movie is Idris Elba, who was announced as the villain. With David Leitch directing and a Chris Morgan screenplay, this is sure to be just as action-packed and wild as any film in the series. As of writing this, the release date is August 2.

18 IT: CHAPTER TWO

Set to be released September 6, It: Chapter Two is a continued adaptation of the Steven King novel. The film will take place 27 years after the events of the first one with The Losers’ Club returning to Derry to once again face Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

Andy Muschietti is returning to direct with notable cast members: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader playing the adult versions of the children from the first film. For anyone who has read the book, there are some notably challenging metaphysical and weird concepts in the later chapters. It will be interesting to see how these are translated to the screen.

17 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Based on the Sega video game franchise, Sonic The Hedgehog is a live-action animated film to be released on November 8. The film stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog and Jim Carrey as Sonic’s nemesis, Dr. Robotnik.

We got our first look at the character in a poster for the film. Although it only showed a silhouette of Sonic, it was enough to upset the fans. People online thought he looked too muscled and expressed concern with what looked like fur. This is similar to the character design complaints after the trailer for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu launched.

16 ALADDIN

Set to be released on May 24, Aladdin will be a live-action version of the 1992 animated film. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this film will continue the Disney trend of adapting their classic properties into live-action versions.

After a long process to find the two leads, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were finally cast as Aladdin and Jasmin, respectively, with Will Smith signed on to play the role of Genie. A teaser trailer was recently released, which provided fans with a glimpse into the film’s aesthetic and more specifically the cave of wonders.

15 JOHN WICK 3: PARABELLUM

On May 17, Keanu Reeves will return to his role as the legendary hitman, John Wick. The director of John Wick: Chapter 2, Chad Stahelski is back as well, along with the writer of the first two films in the franchise: Derek Kolstad.

After the first film became a surprise hit and the sequel performed even better, it’s no shock that there will be a third installment. During the film in New York City, a number of photos and videos were leaked from set including some intriguing ones featuring Reeves on horseback, riding through the streets.

14 TOY STORY 4

It seems like this franchise will never hang up the cowboy hat. The end of Toy Story 3 felt like a natural conclusion, but Disney is bringing everyone back for another film on June 21. With two teaser trailers (one featuring the voices of Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key) and a new release date, it finally feels like it’s happening.

There was an official synopsis released, which suggests that a lot of the plot will center around a new character: Forky. All we know is he is a reluctant new toy added to Bonnie’s room and seems to set the whole thing in motion. With the excellent execution of the last film in the series, it will be interesting to see what direction this next one takes.

13 ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio stand side-by-side in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

On July 26, Tarantino will release his ninth feature, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It sports a deep casting bench including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

The backdrop of the film is Hollywood in 1969. The story follows a former star (DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Pitt) as they struggle to make it in the film business. The two somehow get mixed up in the Manson family murders. In the vein of Pulp Fiction, the film will be set in thematic chapters and will feature the many real-life celebrity portrayals, with young actors representing Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate and Bruce Lee.

12 PET SEMATARY

Set to be released on April 5, this film is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. It was previously adapted in 1989. The story is about a family who moves out of the big city and finds their new home near an old pet cemetery. They soon discover that it is no ordinary land and anything buried there is brought back to life.

A chilling trailer has been released and production wrapped a few months ago. Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow star. Now we wait to see if they can revive this classic horror tale with any success.

11 SHAFT

This will be a direct sequel to the film Shaft from 2000. It stars Jessie Usher, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree, so there will be three generations of the character present. The story follows Usher’s character, who teams up with his father to solve the mysterious demise of his best friend.

The first look we have of the film is an image of the Shaft trio in rust-colored trench coats, walking across a rooftop. It certainly seems like this film will be striving to pay homage to the previous iterations. It arrives in theatres June 14, but good news if you’re not in the United States, it’ll be on Netflix everywhere else just two weeks after that.

10 SERENITY

This is a neo-noir thriller from Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders. The release is just around the corner as it comes out January 25. Starring Mathew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, it’s the story of a boat captain who is approached by his ex-wife, asking him to murder her new husband.

Two trailers have been released, which are both a tease for a film that looks to have some dark twists and turns. With the release date pushed back twice, it is a touch concerning, but until reviews come in, allow yourself to be excited for what could be a fun ride.

9 US

This is a new horror flick from Jordan Peele (Get Out), which has an early release in 2019. Arriving in theatres March 15, the film is still mostly shrouded in mystery plot-wise. Given how Get Out panned out, this might be for the best. Sometimes the less you know, the better.

Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Elizabeth Moss have been confirmed in the cast and a freaky poster has been released, but beyond that, it’s speculation. A trailer is supposed to arrive on Christmas Day, which will hopefully provide further clues into what this mastermind director has cooked up next.

8 GEMINI MAN

Very little is known about this upcoming science-fiction drama from director Ang Lee (Life of Pi). We know it has a release date of October 4, and the plot certainly sounds intriguing. The movie is about a hitman who is forced to face off against a younger clone of himself.

It stars Will Smith, Clive Owen and Mary Elizabeth Winsted. The film remained in development limbo for the longest time before finally going into production this past year. Partly, the film had to wait for technology to catch up to the premise. With the capabilities of de-aging CGI now, we’ll be able to see this story come to life.

7 THE IRISHMAN

Robert De Niro

This is a biographical crime film from Martin Scorsese. It features some real heavyweights of the genre like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. This is another film that involves de-aging through CGI, which caused the budget to grow to the point that it has become Scorsese’s most expensive film.

It is the story of a man connected with the mob, who recounts his involvement in the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa. There has not been a release date announced yet, but the film is set to drop on Netflix with a limited theatrical release as well.

6 THE ADDAMS FAMILY

Based on the iconic series, The Addams Family is back once again, this time as an animated family feature. The voice acting cast is star studded featuring Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard and Nick Kroll.

The look of the film is inspired by Charles Addams’ original New Yorker cartoons but there is no shortage of adaptations to draw on, including the television series, live-action films and most recently a Broadway musical. We got our first look at the new family in a photo released earlier this year, which features all the key family members in a portrait style pose. The film will be released on October 11.

5 TERMINATOR 6

The film doesn’t have an official title as of now but we know it’s coming on November 1. That’s not all though, we also know it’s a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and will star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton.

There was a great deal of development turmoil before the film finally got under way. Terminator Genisys was a flop and Skydance Media had to figure out what direction to take this next instalment. It helps that James Cameron is more involved this time around as a creative consultant and producer. Is that enough though to return this franchise to its former glory?

4 THE LION KING

There is a lot of hype surrounding this remake, which hits theatres on July 19. The trailer’s view count sky rocketed in the first few days as the internet was certainly buzzing about it. It’s no surprise because the film is packed with talent including Donald Glover, Chiwetel Eljiofor and Beyoncé, with James Earl Jones returning as the voice of Mufasa.

This is the second Disney remake from director Jon Favreau, who gave us  the live-action Jungle Book in 2016. Once again a bright and colorful children’s film is being redone in hyper-realistic, computer-generated style. The technology is impressive and the visuals are stunning, but does this new model lose the heart of the original stories? Even if this film disappoints, it won’t be the last Disney remake. They just keep coming around like the Circle of Life.

3 THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

This is another early release you can look forward to, coming on February 8. This is a direct sequel to The Lego Movie from 2014, even though there have been two other spin offs in the franchise. The main cast is back with Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett all lending their vocal talents to the sequels. There are also some new additions including Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz and Maya Rudolph.

A trailer has been released as well as a short holiday special to get you pumped in the meantime. With Phil Lord and Christopher Miller back as co-writers of this one, it will no doubt have the same meta humor and rapid pacing of the first.

2 POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU

On May 10, we will see the first American live-action film to be set in the Pokémon universe. It features Ryan Reynolds as the voice and motion-capture face of the titular character, Detective Pikachu. It’s loosely based on the 2016 video game of the same name.

The first official trailer was released in November and took the Internet by storm. The biggest shock was the same complaint people had with the Sonic design: Pikachu has fur. It’s a tricky thing to adapt long established, animated characters to a live-action setting so you can’t please everyone. Check out the trailer for yourself for a glimpse at this wild and ambitious re-imagining.

1 GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

Many franchises are adopting Marvel’s model of creating a shared universe through each non-linear film. This will be the latest in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, which has had Godzilla in 2014 and Kong: Skull Island in 2017. There is already a scheduled follow up called Godzilla Vs. Kong that will see these iconic monsters come together in a mash of sorts.

Before that however, we are given Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which is to be released on May 31. It will feature Godzilla facing off against Motha, Rodan and King Ghidorah, all famous kaiju in Toho’s film library. The marketing of this has been as stellar, with a stylistic trailer that certainly makes you want to witness these creatures on the big screen.