Though the beginning of the new year is normally a time for the entertainment industry to reflect on the past year of music, TV and film with awards shows, it’s also an excellent opportunity to look ahead and get excited about what’s coming next. Here are some of my most anticipated films of the year.

If the trailer for Black Panther hasn’t sold you already, I don’t know what will. I feel solidly ambivalent about near everything Marvel has done for the last 5 or 6 years, but I will definitely be in line to see this movie come February. Without doubt, this movie will break box office records, and hopefully prove to Hollywood studios that audiences are desperate and eager to pay for stories not helmed exclusively by white men. Ryan Coogler (director of Creed and Fruitvale Station) takes the lead on this movie, directing what can only be described as a star studded cast– Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis. To top it off, it was recently announced that artist Kendrick Lamar will be curating the soundtrack. Even if superheroes aren’t your thing, you’ll probably want to check this out.

I always forget how much I love heist movies until I’m watching an Ocean’s film. The quick pace, nerve wracking close-calls, and magician-esque twists consistently excite me and put me in a great mood. When I heard they were making Ocean’s 8 with an all female cast, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Though I’m excited to see any film where women take the lead, I frankly would prefer to see original stories, instead of all-female rehashings of old “male” stories (To be fair though, Soderbergh’s Ocean’s films were also remakes of a 1960 film with Frank Sinatra, so those aren’t exactly originals either). Either way, the trailer changed my mind. It carries all the same snap and charm I loved in Soderbergh’s movies, and just from the trailer I’m already impressed with the chemistry between leads Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett, whose repartee certainly meets the standard set by Pitt and Clooney in the last films. The rest of the cast is just as fun: Rihanna and Mindy Kaling are favorites, as well as Sarah Paulson and Helena Bonham Carter. Most importantly, the heist in Ocean’s 8 takes place at the Met Gala– one of my favorite (and certainly one of the most mysterious) celebrity events to happen all year. The star studded nature of the Met Gala means celebrity cameos will be a dime a dozen– iMDB tells me among them will be Kim K, the Jenners, Zayn Malik, and of course, Anna Wintour.

Annihilation is the sophomore directorial effort from Alex Garland, the man who helmed Ex Machina in 2014. Ex Machina is one of my favorite sci-fi movies, so I’ve been eagerly following production on this movie for a long time. Adapted from a book by James Vandermeer I have yet to read, Annihilation is a story of a team of female scientists on an expedition in the mysterious Area X. The trailer looks complex and heady, and I’m sure whatever expectations or predictions I have for the film will be shattered when I finally get to see it in February (assuming it will get a wide release.) Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh star, as well as Oscar Isaac, who worked with Garland previously on Ex Machina.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Mamma Mia, hands down the most joyous movie ever made that will make you want to travel to Greece, sing ABBA and call your mom is getting a sequel! A flashback to Donna’s pivotal summer in the 70’s intercut with Sophie’s life in the present, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again will certainly be a movie I watch upwards of a dozen times this summer alone regardless of its actual level of quality.

I was disappointed to hear that production on Bohemian Rhapsody— a Freddy Mercury biopic starring Rami Malek– was put on hold, but it’s not surprising because it’s d-bag director Bryan Singer has been accused of sexual assault a bunch of times. Here’s hoping they find a new (non-predatory) director and can wrap up in time for a 2018 release.