With Oscar season approaching at the end of October through December, viewers can expect the most highly anticipated and high quality films to be released.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, originally written by J.K. Rowling as a fictional, magical textbook to add to the Harry Potter Universe and raise money for charity, was adapted into a set of five movies. Set in New York City decades before Harry Potter’s birth, the first film features Newt Scamander, a wizard living in a darker period of the wizarding world — 1926 to be exact. J.K. Rowling wrote the script herself, so fans can expect a true cinematic experience. To ensure consistency, David Yates, the director of the final four Harry Potter movies, also directed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Fans can expect to learn much more about the period before Harry’s birth and the American sector of the wizarding world.
Moana – November 23, 2016
The movie will feature Disney’s newest princess, Moana, an adaptation of South Pacific folklore unlike any other Disney movie. Moana and her guide Maui, a demigod voiced by Dwayne Johnson, seek a mythical island on a quest to save Moana’s people. While animating the movie, Disney invented a completely new effects system to digitally recreate the ocean. It may be something worth seeing just for its incredibly realistic, tropical scenery.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – December 16, 2016
The first standalone film in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One will focus on the mission to steal the plans for the first Death Star from Episode IV, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. The movie takes place between Episode III and Episode IV.
Passengers – December 21, 2016
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in this futuristic film about a spaceship malfunction. Thousands of people stowed away in sleep chambers on an extensive journey to a colonization planet go undisturbed while these two wake 90 years early and must deal with the malfunction.
Beauty and the Beast – March 17, 2017
Emma Watson plays Belle in this live-action adaption of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast. In comparison to the original Disney cartoon which won two Oscars, the new adaption should be able to stand alone by expanding on the original plot, adding new music and having unexpected emotional moments that touch audiences.
