As every year comes and goes, there are always a select few movies that people tend to look forward to seeing. Sometimes it is worth the wait, Sometimes, not so much. It seems we can always count on a batch of superhero based blockbusters, brand-name sequels and plenty of great name actors and actresses starring in vying for your attention. When you look at the lineup of what’s hitting theaters near you over the next year, however, it is hard not to get excited. So I have decided to compile a list of what I am passionate about hitting theaters this year.

Black Panther

Director: Ryan Coogler

Writers: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole

Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o

Synopsis: T’Challa, after the loss of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the remote, technologically superior African country to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.

Without a doubt, February is going to be the month that sets the tone for the rest of the year for the MCU. Black Panther was formally presented in Captain America: Civil War which placed him as king of the isolationist nation of Wakanda, he is alone in defying a threat to his kingdom – and a possible world war.

Annihilation

Director: Alex Garland

Writers: Alex Garland, Jeff VanderMeer

Stars: Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Synopsis: A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature do not apply.

Annihilation turns an environmental mutation into its a crossbreed of sci-fi and action/horror. Natalie Portman stars as a biologist who heads a quintet of ladies – including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Tuva Novotny – into “the Shimmer,” an obscure disaster area that seems like “the Zone” in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker reimagined as a Predator film.

Game Night

Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Writer: Mark Perez

Stars: Rachel McAdams, Jesse Plemons, Jason Bateman

Synopsis: A gathering of friends who meet regularly for game nights finds themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.

Ok, so if you were not aware, the solve a murder mystery craze is real. Here in Austin alone, there are several places like this. Well, imagine something similar to that but at your neighbor’s house in the suburbs. Now imagine your host informs you that anything possible could take place. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams lead a TV-star massive cast (Friday Night Lights’ Kyle Chandler! New Girl’s Lamorne Morris! Catastrophe’s Sharon Horgan!!!).

Ready Player One

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writers: Zak Penn, Ernest Cline

Stars: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Hannah John-Kamen

Synopsis: When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.

I will be honest; I did not expect this to be a Stephen Spielberg film. I mean come on, how many VR/Gamer type movies have you heard of winning any awards. However, this film has the potential to at least grab my attention. Just from the trailer alone, I am ready to see it!

Super Troopers 2

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar

Writers: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan

Stars: Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Lowe, Lynda Carter, Brian Cox

Synopsis: When a border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the Super Troopers are tasked with establishing a Highway Patrol station in the disputed area.

Comedy sequels are a very tricky thing. The only thing they succeed in is a disappointment. Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Zoolander 2 feel like typical cases of long-awaited sequels that just couldn’t come close to seizing the magic of the original. While the magic of any kind may be an exalted word for Super Troopers, it is a popular comedy by many that are ultimately getting a sequel. Thanks to an amazingly triumphant crowdfunding campaign, Super Troopers 2 is on the way and arriving in 2018. The film hit various snags during production, but the Broken Lizard gang got back together, and this time, they are bringing Rob Lowe, as well as some surprise cameos with them. Could this be one of the rare, great comedy sequels? Meow all we can do is hope and pray. Super Troopers 2, quite fittingly, arrives in theaters on April 20.

Avengers: Infinity War

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Stars: Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Josh Brolin, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Paul Rudd, Gwyneth Paltrow,

Synopsis: The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the all-powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Marvel fans, it has all been driving to this. This is what you have been anticipating forever about since that first post-credits scene appeared during The Avengers. Thanos is befalling to Earth, and he is carrying the Infinity Gauntlet with him. He needs those Infinity Stones, and he is willing to kill many lives, be it of the human race or something else entirely to do it. That, among many other things, easily makes Avengers: Infinity War one of the most, if not the single most, anticipated movie of 2018. An entire decade of Marvel Cinematic Universe filmmaking will culminate in this huge event. Avengers: Infinity War truly kicks off the movie season in a big way on May 4.

Deadpool 2

Director: David Leitch

Writers: Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza

Stars: Morena Baccarin, Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Brianna Hildebrand, Zazie Beetz

Synopsis: No official synopsis given by Fox but this statement was provided

“After surviving a near-fatal knee boarding accident, a disfigured guidance counselor (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Poughkeepsie’s most celebrated French Bulldog breeder while also learning to cope with an open relationship. Searching to regain his passion for life, as well as a newly stuffed unicorn, Wade must battle ninjas, tight assed metal men, and babysit a group stereotypical side characters as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and creative outlets for his very open-minded sex life. He manages to find a new lust for being a do-gooder, a sparkly Hello Kitty backpack, all while earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best 4th Wall Breaking Superhero.“

—Twentieth Century Fox

So with that statement given alone, I think that pretty much sums it up. This film is going to be amazing.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Director: Ron Howard

Writers: Jon Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan

Stars: Emilia Clarke, Alden Ehrenreich, Paul Bettany, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover

Synopsis: Han Solo and Chewbacca’s adventures before joining the Rebellion, including their early encounters with Lando Calrissian.

With Ron Howard directing the film that depicts the gaps in the main stories and early life of Han Solo, it is sure to be a winner. With Lawrence Kasdan, the original screenwriter of Empire Strikes Back on board I can only imagine how it may play out.

A Star Is Born

Courtesy Of Neal Preston/Warner Bros. Entertainment

Director: Bradley Cooper

Writers: Will Fetters, Bradley Cooper

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Bonnie Somerville, Lady Gaga

Synopsis: A movie star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his career into a downward spiral.

Tale as old as time: Thriving older man courts pretty protégé, launching her to stardom as they fall in love. Now Bradley Cooper undertakes this iconic story for its fourth iteration, playing past-his-prime singer Jackson Maine who becomes fascinated by Lady Gaga’s prodigiously gifted Ally. This Star Is Born notable for several firsts: Cooper makes his directorial première on the film; it is also Gaga’s first big-screen starring role. However, Warner Bros. is no doubt wishing for some déjà vu: The earlier variants all received multiple Oscar nominations, and Cooper’s remake begins during the rush of awards season.

Halloween

Director: David Gordon Green

Writers: John Carpenter, David Gordon Green

Stars: Virginia Gardner, Judy Greer, Jamie Lee Curtis

Synopsis: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

The Halloween franchise has always been my favorite. It has had several sequels and even an envisioned reboot by Rob Zombie. No matter how much I either love or despise the attempts at recreating the same magic that the original has that John Carpenter brought to life. With this installment, it looks like The Shape may finally get the closure it deserves to get. John Carpenter is back on board as the Executive Producer and doing the musical score. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about how badass this film is going to be. Since we are still waiting on the trailer, I thought it would be appropriate to at least include the trailer for the original film

Suspiria

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writers: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi

Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton

Synopsis: A young American ballerina comes to train at a prestigious German dance academy and uncovers the school’s dark and menacing secrets.

Dario Argento’s 1977 Italian horror classic – of an American ballerina visiting a prestigious German academy – has devotees from David Lynch to Nicolas Winding Refn to Edgar Wright. The latest acolyte is Call Me By Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, who’s crafted an English-language remake that stars Dakota Johnson as the American who reveals the dance troupe’s terrible secrets. This new Suspiria not only stars Johnson, who was a summery temptress in Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, but also Chloe Grace Moretz and longtime Guadagnino associate Tilda Swinton. Moreover, take note, fans: Jessica Harper, the star of the original, is part of this remake in a new part.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Director: Simon Kinberg

Writers: John Byrne, Chris Claremont

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Tye Sheridan, Jessica Chastain

Synopsis: Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world.

Dark Phoenix reassembles the crew that was last seen in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, concentrating on Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey – who’s now been exposed to dark powers while in outer space that makes her a threat to the rest of the team. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence are all back, but it is the new names that are the most interesting: Jessica Chastain will be performing as a mysterious alien, while Simon Kinberg makes his directorial debut. Sadly, there is no Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in this one. The film Logan was his last appearance as Logan/Wolverine/Weapon-X.

Aquaman

Director: James Wan

Writers: Will Beall, Geoff Johns

Stars: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, William Dafoe, Dolf Lundgren

Synopsis: Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and to be a hero to the world.

After the disaster of Justice League, maybe it is best if our superfriends spend some quality time apart. That is one of the aims to be optimistic about Aquaman, which gives Jason Momoa’s marine hero a chance to be his fishman away from the rest of his DC partners. Also exciting is that this standalone adventure is directed by James Wan, one of Hollywood’s most inventive genre filmmakers namely the Saw franchise. He has assembled a murderers’ row of character actors, Oscar-winners and inspired oddities for this ensemble: Everyone from Willem Dafoe to Nicole Kidman to Dolph Lundgren will be participating in on the fun.