Goodbye 2019 and hello 2020! The new year will bring plenty of new adventures and stories to be told, from new series and movies featuring your favorite characters, to new books and music from your favorite authors and artists.
Keep reading to find out some of the most anticipated upcoming releases of 2020.
Marvel on Disney+, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
One of the most-anticipated shows of next year is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which is the first of a series of original Marvel shows coming exclusively to Disney+. These shows will tie into the canon of the MCU, meaning that some storylines set up in the movies will be pursued in the shows and vice versa. The show stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier) and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson (The Falcon and now also Captain America). It will see the return of Captain America: Civil War stars Daniel Brühl (playing the villain Baron Zemo) and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, we will see the journey of Bucky and Sam after Steve Rogers’ “retirement.” Filming has started this fall, and fans can look forward to some insight into characters who have been fan favorites for a long time, as well as a new approach to the storytelling in the Marvel universe.
Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina
In a feat that is nothing short of amazing, the fans of Critical Role — a weekly live-streamed Dungeons & Dragons game — raised more than 11 million dollars to make the show into an animated series. What started as a promise of a half-hour special ended up as a 10-episode long season when the Kickstarter ended, which then grew into two 12-episode seasons when Prime Video picked up the animated series. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina will provide original content, as well as follow along with the storylines of the first campaign that the cast played through. Production is well underway, with regular updates coming from the team, and the show is expected to arrive sometime during the fall of 2020.
The Start of The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, Black Widow and The Eternals
Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga included 23 movies which spanned over 11 years and three phases, making the Marvel Cinematic Universe one of the most successful franchises ever. Next year begins the next phase with Scarlett Johansson returning to the role of Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow, out May 1, set after the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and before 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. Also starring Stranger Things star David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, O-T Fagbenle, and Florence Pugh, Black Widow follows Natasha as she finds herself alone and in a dark place. Also coming in 2020 will be The Eternals, which follows an immortal alien race of the same name created by the Celestials, and they protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants. The story will span over 7,000 years, and the movie will star Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, and Kit Harington, to name a few. The film will release on November 6.
Artemis Fowl Finally Gets Film Adaptation
After 19 years of waiting, the film adapting the first two books in the popular book series Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer will be released on May 29, 2020. At the time of the first book’s release in 2001, the film rights were also sold. But the project has been stuck in development since then, with many directors and studios attached. Disney eventually bought the rights and produced the film, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring an A-list cast. Artemis Fowl tells the story of the titular boy genius and criminal descendant, whose discovery of the world of Faerie and subsequent attempts to blackmail the fairies turns into an international incident. The novels ran from 2001 to 2012, with companion graphic novels as well as a new spinoff series called The Fowl Twins published in November 2019. The film stars newcomers Ferdia Shaw and Lara McDonnell alongside Tamara Smart, Nonso Anozie, Josh Gad, and Judi Dench.
Star Trek: Picard
Nearly 20 years after the last movie Star Trek: Nemesis, a new series following the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), is set to premiere on January 23 on CBS All Access. The show will show the consequences of the destruction of Romulus. A few characters from previous Star Trek shows will appear in the series alongside Stewart: Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Data), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), and Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh the Borg). Isa Briones (Dahj), Alison Pill (Agnes Jurati), Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Harry Treadaway (Narek) and Evan Evagora (Elnor). The plot of Star Trek: Picard is not yet known, but it will involve Picard as a retired admiral from Starfleet, and the Borgs will be back. A new episode will drop each week on CBS All Access. The show has already been renewed for a second season of 10 episodes.
Upcoming Books:
So, you finished your 2019 to-read pile and are wondering what to add to your new one. It is never too early to start planning your 2020 list and pre-ordering the anticipated books of the new year. It is a great time to be a bibliophile; there is a magnitude of books that are on my 2020 to-read list already. Here is one book each that is being released in the first few months of the new year.
Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith (January 28, 2020). When gamer Divya is playing the online game Reclaim the Sun as D1V, she is queen. But it means more than that. The sponsorships involve helping her mom. Through the game, she meets Aaron, who writes games for a local developer. He also uses the game as an escape. Soon the trolls in the game leak out into the real world in the form of a group called Vox Populi. “The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line … And she isn’t going down without a fight.”
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (March 3, 2020). In this new trilogy, we meet the Shadowhunters of Edwardian London. Introduced are James and Lucie Herondale, they are the children of Will and Tessa, Grace Blackthorn, and Cordelia Carstairs. During an adventure that the group of friends goes on, they discover powers, love, and the price of being a hero.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (May 19, 2020). It is time to go back to a time before The Hunger Games and Katniss. To Panem, 64 years before, to be exact, the morning of the 10th Hunger Games.
The Unstoppable Wasp by Sam Maggs (May 26, 2020). New to being a teen superhero is Nadia Van Dyne, also known as Unstoppable Wasp. With the help of her G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs) friends, she must save herself and the world in this epic adventure.
Hood by Jenny Elder Moke (June 2020). Isabell of Kirkless only knows the walls of the covenant where she lives with her mom Marien. After helping the innocent, she is arrested and now a target of King John’s right hand, the Wolf. To keep her safe, her mother sends her to find the father she doesn’t know … Robin Hood, and of course the Merry Men!
