10. THE WORLD’S END (October 25)
Who says the end of days can’t be funny? There’s actually more than one apocalyptic comedy coming this year, starting with June’s “This Is the End” that has Seth Rogen (who also co-wrote and co-directed), Jonah Hill, James Franco, and many of their friends playing themselves as the Earth is destroyed. We really can’t wait, though, for “The World’s End,” the third collaboration from Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright (they made the modern comedy classics “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”). It’s about a group of pals attempting an epic pub crawl during the planet’s final hours. Drinking, debauchery, and destruction? Sounds like our kind of movie.
9. MONSTER’S UNIVERSITY (June 21)
The two “Toy Story” sequels were arguably each better than the last, but “Cars 2” felt flat to many diehard animation fans. Now, the animation gurus at Pixar are attempting their first prequel, set a decade before “Monsters, Inc.” John Goodman and Billy Crystal return to voice Sully and Mike in the story of how the two met as freshmen in college. Starting off as rivals, the two eventually become BFFs through their adventures in higher education.
8. THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (December 13)
Yes, “An Unexpected Journey” is still ruling the box office, but the little tease (SPOILER!) of the waking dragon at the end has us ready to continue the trek across Middle-earth with Bilbo Baggins and his company of dwarves. The next installment promises to introduce new characters, like Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman and Evangeline Lilly as the elf Tauriel (a character not in Tolkien’s original text). But we’ll also see the return of some old favorites, including Orlando Bloom as everyone’s favorite golden-haired archer, Legolas.
7. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES (December 20)
Great Odin’s raven! Can it be true? Is newscaster extraordinaire Ron Burgundy really back? Believe it, people of San Diego (and planet Earth). Will Ferrell is putting on the polyester again, and he’s bringing the entire news team – Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner – with him. We don’t know much about the story, but producer Judd Apatow said that at a recent table read of the script (once again written by Ferrell and director Adam McKay) they got exhausted from laughing too much and couldn’t make it through the whole thing. One thing is for sure, though: it will certainly stay classy.
6. FAST & FURIOUS SIX (May 24)
What happens in the sixth “Fast and Furious” movie? Who knows, and who cares? Rest assured, it’s got Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris back together, and cars will go absurdly fast and then crash spectacularly. Though, it is known that they’re taking the show to England this time around, so they’ll be driving recklessly on the other side of the road. And former MMA star Gina Carano joins in to make sure that it’s not just the boys who get to have all the fun.