Summer blockbuster season didn’t exactly happen this year due to the pandemic.
However, that makes the fall release schedule even more interesting this year.
What should you circle on your calendar?
Here’s your Fall Movie & TV Guide:
Sept. 9: ‘Woke’ (Hulu)
Lamorne Morris (“New Girl”) stars as Keef Knight, a Black cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success when he’s wrongfully detained by police, giving him the “superpower” of being able to hear inanimate objects.
Sept. 12: ‘Coastal Elites’ (HBO)
The star-studded cast of Issa Rae, Dan Levy, Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson and Kaitlyn Dever play five residents of New York City and Los Angeles as they navigate the coronavirus pandemic in this timely HBO series.
Sept. 18: ‘Ratched’ (Netflix)
Sarah Paulson provides an origin story for Louise Fletcher’s iconic villain Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” a character that was voted the No. 5 movie villain ever by the American Film Institute.
Sept. 20: Emmy Awards (ABC)
Jimmy Kimmel will host a virtual ceremony where HBO’s “Watchmen” leads with 26 total nominations. Netflix’s “Ozark” and HBO’s “Succession” will battle for Best TV Drama, while NBC’s “The Good Place” and Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” will battle for Best TV Comedy.
Sept. 25: ‘Greenland’ (Theatrical)
Fans of “Deep Impact” will enjoy Gerard Butler playing a father leading his family to an underground bunker in Greenland before a comet strikes Earth in this disaster flick from the director of “Angel Has Fallen.”
Sept. 27: ‘Fargo’ (FX)
Chris Rock stars in Season 4 of the FX anthology crime series “Fargo,” following in the footsteps of Billy Bob Thornton (Season 1), Kirsten Dunst (Season 2) and Ewan McGregor (Season 3). Don’t worry if you missed the first three seasons; each season delivers its own self-contained story.
Sept. 27: ‘The Comey Rule’ (Showtime)
Jeff Daniels stars as former FBI Director James Comey, who is fired by President Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson) after his handling of the Hillary Clinton email controversy and his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, forcing the assignment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Sept. 30: ‘The Glorias’ (Amazon)
This Gloria Steinem biopic stars Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Lulu Wilson, all playing the feminist icon at different stages of her life.
Oct. 9: ‘Honest Thief’ (Theatrical)
If you liked Liam Neeson with a particular set of skills in “Taken,” get ready for his new action flick about a notorious bank robber who turns himself in to live an honest life, only to be double-crossed by FBI agents.
Oct. 16: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ (Netflix)
Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Strong, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance, Frank Langella and others star in Aaron Sorkin’s true story about seven people on trial after an uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Oct. 21: ‘Rebecca’ (Netflix)
In this reboot of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Best Picture winner, Lily James replaces Joan Fontaine, Armie Hammer replaces Laurence Olivier and Kristin Scott Thomas does her best Judith Anderson impression as the creepy Mrs. Danvers, based on the gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier.
Oct. 23: ‘Connected’ (Theatrical)
Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“The Lego Movie”), “Connected” follows an everyday family’s struggle to relate to rising technology around the world. It’s produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind the Oscar-winning triumph “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
Oct. 23: ‘Death on the Nile’ (Theatrical)
After remaking “Murder on the Orient Express,” Kenneth Branagh returns to direct himself as Detective Hercule Poirot in this Agatha Christie mystery about the murder of a young heiress aboard a river boat on the Nile.
Oct. 30: ‘The Mandalorian’ (Disney+)
“Star Wars” fans made Baby Yoda a pop culture phenomenon as “The Mandalorian” covered the timeline between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens.” Now, get ready for Season 2 to arrive on Disney+.
Oct. TBD: ‘Mank’ (Netflix)
We don’t know an exact release date, but Netflix has announced that October will bring David Fincher’s black-and-white biopic “Mank,” following screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles in the writing of “Citizen Kane.” Get ready for a fascinating look at the making of Hollywood’s gold standard.
Nov. 4: ‘Black Widow’ (Theatrical)
You could argue that Marvel waited too long to roll out “Black Widow,” allowing “Wonder Woman” and “Captain Marvel” to steal her thunder. Scarlett Johansson stars as Natasha Romanoff, grappling with her spy history and broken relationships long before she became an Avenger. Will she pass the torch to Florence Pugh for more?
Nov. 13: ‘Ammonite’ (Theatrical)
Debuting at the Toronto Film Festival, Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet already have Oscar buzz in Francis Lee’s period love story set in 1840s England in the vein of “Carol” or “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”
Nov. 20: ‘Soul’ (Theatrical)
Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey star in Pixar’s latest about a musician who has lost his passion for music, only to be transported out of his body. He must find his way back with the help of an infant soul learning about herself.
Nov. 20: ‘No Time to Die’ (Theatrical)
After smash hits like “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall,” Daniel Craig makes his final appearance as James Bond as 007 battles Rami Malek’s techie villain in the 25th Bond flick, this time directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (“True Detective”) with the franchise’s signature opening graphics sequence set to Billie Eilish’s title song.
Nov. 25: ‘Happiest Season’ (Theatrical)
Just in time for Thanksgiving, this holiday romantic comedy stars Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza and Mackenzie Davis about a young woman who plans to propose to her girlfriend and come out as a lesbian at the same time during her family’s annual Christmas dinner.
Nov. 27: ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ (Netflix)
After playing an angelic figure in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” the late Chadwick Boseman could earn posthumous Oscar buzz for his role across Viola Davis in George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson.
Dec. 18: ‘Coming 2 America’ (Theatrical)
In this long-anticipated sequel to the 1988 comedy classic, Eddie Murphy returns as Prince Akeem, who must return to America to meet his long-lost son, who is now the unlikely heir to the throne in Zamunda, Africa.
Dec. 18: ‘Dune’ (Theatrical)
After David Lynch’s infamous 1984 flop, Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel gets another shot under filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, who showed his genre chops in “Arrival” and “Blade Runner: 2049.” This time, it stars Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem and Oscar Isaac.
Dec. 18: ‘West Side Story’ (Theatrical)
You might think it blasphemous to remake this 1961 Best Picture winner, until you realize that Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood’s voices were both dubbed over as Tony and Maria. Add the intrigue of director Steven Spielberg’s first musical and you have one of the most anticipated spectacles of the year.
Dec. 25: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ (Theatrical)
After the smash hit of “Wonder Woman,” Patty Jenkins returns to direct Gal Gadot in a sequel set in 1984, including scenes filmed in Washington D.C. The film marks Gadot’s fourth time in the role after “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League.”
TBD: ‘Stillwater’ (Theatrical)
After his Best Picture triumph “Spotlight” in 2015, Tom McCarthy directs Matt Damon as a father who travels all the way from Oklahoma to France to help his daughter (Abigail Breslin) after she is arrested for murder.
TBD: ‘One Night in Miami’ (Amazon)
Regina King makes her directorial debut in this fictional account of one incredible night where Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown gathered to discuss their pivotal roles in the Civil Rights Movement.
2021: ‘Candyman’ (Theatrical)
Visionary horror filmmaker Jordan Peele pens a reboot of the 1992 horror classic about a spirit with a hook for a hand who appears in the mirror to kill you if you say his name five times. Will it be a symbolic, Oscar-winning masterpiece like “Get Out?” Or will it be ambitiously head-scratching like “Us?” We’ll have to wait until 2021.
