Welcome to SuperHeroHype's 2014 movie guide! We wanted to get this to you guys before the new year, but we knew that our redesign and brand new gallery wouldn't be ready until now. Below you'll find the list of films we're covering here on SHH that will be seeing release this year, and why we're eager to see them on the big screen. So kick back, enjoy the new gallery, and tell us which movie you're looking forward to the most in the comments below!
SuperHeroHype 2014 Movie Guide
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I, Frankenstein
Release date: January 24th
Who's in it? Written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie, Aaron Eckhart leads the cast that also includes Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, Socratis Otto, Mahesh Jadu, Caitlin Stasey and Aden Young.
What's it about? Based on the graphic novel "I, Frankenstein" by Kevin Grievous, the film is set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power. Victor Frankenstein's creation Adam (Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality.
Why are we excited? "I, Frankenstein" appears to be in a similar vein to the popular “Underworld” and “Resident Evil” series, and we're all for more action franchises in that vein.
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The LEGO Movie
Release date: February 7th
Who's in it? Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, and Liam Neeson star in the film from writer/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
What's it about? The original 3D computer animated story follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.
Why are we excited? In addition to including the craziest cameos of any movie ever released, "The LEGO Movie" appears to be as funny, charming, and engaging as the big summer blockbusters, but on a much smaller scale.
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RoboCop
Release date: February 12th
Who's in it? The remake of the modern Paul Verhoeven classic stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Jose Padilha directs from a script by Josh Zetumer and Nick Schenk.
What's it about? In "RoboCop," the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex's life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.
Why we're excited? Well we're huge fans of the original "RoboCop" series, and the initial trailer, coupled with Padilha's choice to comment on drone warfare, has us eager to see the whole picture.
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300: Rise of an Empire
Release date: March 7th
Who's in it? Noam Murro sits in the director's chair for Zack Snyder in the follow up that stars Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Igal Naor, Callan Mulvey, Jack O'Connell and Andrew Tiernan. Snyder penned the screenplay with Kurt Johnstad based on the comic “Xerxes” by Frank Miller.
What's it about? This new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield—on the sea—as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. The film pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemesia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Why we're excited? It's been seven years since the original “300” hit theaters and we're eager to see the follow-up, especially after it was delayed seven months from its original release in 2013.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Release date: April 4th
Who's in it? Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, and Cobie Smulders reprise their respective roles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and are joined by Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Emily VanCamp and Maximiliano Hernández. Anthony and Joe Russo direct from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
What's it about? The film will pick-up where "Marvel's The Avengers" left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.
Why we're excited? What's most exciting about “The Winter Soldier” is that it really looks like none of the other Marvel films. Captain America by way of a political thriller sounds like a great combination to us.
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Release date: May 2nd
Who's in it?: Marc Webb returns to the director's chair along with Andrew Garfield. Emma Stone, and Sally Field. Newcomers to the franchise include Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and B.J. Novak. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner penned the screenplay.
What's it about? We've always known that Spider-Man's most important battle has been within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. But in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that a greater conflict lies ahead.
Why we're excited? The highly-anticipated sequel opens up the world of Spider-Man with villains never before seen on the big screen, and with the future plans for the franchise out in the open we're eager to see what they've got cooked up.
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Godzilla
Release date: May 16th
Who's in it? Gareth Edwards directs a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston.
What's it about? : An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.
Why we're excited? After the original San Diego trailer and the most recent teaser, it seems that the King of the Monsters is back in all of his glory.
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X-Men: Days of Future Past
Release date: May 23rd
Who's in it? Bryan Singer returns to the director's chair for the franchise that boasts an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Boo Boo Stewart, Adan Canto, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Lucas Till, and Evan Jonigkeit. Simon Kinberg penned the screenplay.
What's it about? The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in "X-Men: Days of Future Past." The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from "X-Men: First Class," in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.
Why we're excited? Combining the casts of the original “X-Men” franchise and the most recent "X-Men: First Class" while also telling one of the most famous story's in the comic series sounds like a win-win to us.
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Edge of Tomorrow
Release date: June 6th
Who's in it? Tom Cruise stars along with Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Jeremy Piven, Ciaran Hinds, Noah Taylor, Kick Gurry, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley, Jonas Armstrong, Franz Drameh, Masayoshi Haneda, and Tony Way. Doug Liman directs from a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth.
What's it about? Based on the acclaimed novel "All You Need is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again.
But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.
Why we're excited? The concept alone is really intriguing, but after the teaser trailer, this is one of our most anticipated movies of the summer.
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Transformers: Age of Extinction
Release date: June 27th
Who's in it? Michael Bay is back for the fourth entry in the franchise which is written by Ehren Kruger. The film features a brand new cast not seen in the previous films, including Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing, T.J. Miller, Han Geng, and Titus Welliver.
What's it about? The plot of the sequel is still top secret, but Dinobots are said to be heavily involved.
Why we're excited? The thing that makes us excited about this one is the thing that Transformers fans have been waiting for, Dinobots!
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Release date: July 11th
Who's in it?: Andy Serkis reprises his role of Caesar and is joined by newcomers Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo, and Judy Greer. Matt Reeves directs from a script by Scott Z. Burns, Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, and Mark Bomback.
What's it about? A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
Why we're excited? "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was one of our favorite films of 2011, and the sequel looks to be taking things into an even crazier direction.
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Jupiter Ascending
Release date: July 18th
Who's in it? Written and directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis lead yet another stellar ensemble that includes Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Doona Bae, James D'Arcy, and Tim Pigott-Smith.
What's it about?Jupiter Jones was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people's houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine, a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along—her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
Why we're excited? The Wachowskis have never let us down, with "The Matrix" trilogy and "Cloud Atlas" under their belts, there's nothing they've made that wasn't worth watching in the theater.
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Hercules
Release date: July 25th
Who's in it? Dwayne Johnson plays the title role and he's joined by Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan, John Hurt, Rebecca Ferguson, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Aksel Hennie, Reece Ritchie, and Tobias Santelmann. Brett Ratner directs from a script by Ryan Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos.
What's it about? Haunted by a sin from his past, Hercules has become a mercenary. Along with five faithful companions, he travels ancient Greece selling his services for gold and using his legendary reputation to intimidate enemies. But when the benevolent ruler of Thrace and his daughter seek Hercules' help to defeat a savage and terrifying warlord, Hercules finds that in order for good to triumph and justice to prevail... he must again become the hero he once was... he must embrace his own myth... he must be Hercules. The film is based on the Radical Studios graphic novel "Hercules: The Thracian Wars.”
Why we're excited? After all of his Twitter teases, we're looking forward to seeing Dwayne Johnson in a role similar to his big screen debut, The Scorpion King.
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Guardians of the Galaxy
Release date: August 1st
Who's in it? Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gilian, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro star in the film which is written and directed by "Slither's" James Gunn.
What's it about? Marvel’s "Guardians of the Galaxy" expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand - with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
Why we're excited? After seeing the Comic-Con footage for the film, and being fans of Gunn's previous films, there's no way we could not be excited about this.
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Lucy
Release date: August 8th
Who's in it? Luc Besson writers and directs the film whose only confirmed cast members are Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman.
What's it about? An action-thriller that tracks a woman accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
Why we're excited? We can never get enough of Scarlett Johansson kicking ass, and it's high time Besson delivered us another action movie.
(Photo credit: TPG/Getty Images)
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Release date: August 8th
Who's in it? Jonathan Liebesman directs the cast that includes Megan Fox, Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn and William Fichtner.
What's it about? No plot details have been revealed for the film, but it does mark the fifth big screen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter, based on the characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.
Why we're excited? It's been 21 years since the last live action turtles movie, and that alone has us eager to see it unfold.
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The Expendables 3
Release date: August 15th
Who's in it? Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and Arnold Schwarzenegger return to the franchise and have brought along Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell, and Kelsey Grammer. Red Hill's Patrick Hughes directs the third installment in the hit franchise.
What's it about? In "The Expendables 3," Barney , Christmas and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks, who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables -- but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
Why we're excited? Boasting the biggest cast of the series, the film looks to be the craziest and most action packed yet.
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Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Release date: August 22nd
Who's in it? Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, and Jaime King reprise their roles from the original film and are joined by Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Dennis Haysbert, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Jamie Chung, Ray Liotta, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Stacy Keach. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller direct from a screenplay by Miller and The Departed's William Monahan.
What's it about? Weaving together two of Miller's classic stories with new tales, the town's most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more notorious inhabitants.
Why we're excited? It's been nine years since the original film in the series, and after having this film delayed ten months we cannot wait any longer to see the return to Sin City.
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Big Hero 6
Release date: November 7th
Who's in it? The official cast list hasn't been released for the film, but Don Hall and Chris Williams are directing.
What's it about? Inspired by the Marvel comics series, "Big Hero 6" is an action comedy adventure about brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion—a robot named Baymax—Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city.
Why we're excited? It's not only the first Disney Animation and Marvel Studios collaboration, it's also the first time "Big Hero 6" has seen the big screen!
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Interstellar
Release date: November 7th
Who's in it?: Matthew McConaughey leads the ensemble cast that features Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, Mackenzie Foy, Topher Grace, and David Gyasi. Christopher Nolan directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan.
What's it about? "Interstellar" chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why we're excited? It's the first Christopher Nolan film in two years, and it's based on theoretical ideas of space and time travel. Count us in.
