Let’s be honest, 2012 was fantastic for film. We were given the finale of the Dark Knight trilogy, the most action-packed superhero movie yet, Avengers Assemble, and some other fantastic scripts like Looper, Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook. However, that isn’t to say that it’s all downhill from here. We’ve got plenty more movies on the horizon to look forward to and I’m not talking about the imminent future with films like Django Unchained or Les Miserables (but definitely be excited about these ones too).

No, the films in this article are films that we’ve got a bit of a wait before seeing them, but we should already be anticipating them. If you feel I’ve left out any big examples (and I surely will as I cannot summarise the next year of film with three films), then post a comment below.

3. THE WOLVERINE – JULY 25, 2013

Wolverine, set for release in 2013

Wolverine is back and this could be a surprising success for Marvel, with the main attention focused on the upcoming Thor, Iron Man and Captain America films. After the disappointing first Wolverine movie, Hugh Jackman was eager to make the next film. The film takes place several years after X-Men: The Last Stand, so everyone that Wolverine knows is dead. He is a loner, an outcast: the kind of scenario that suits Wolverine best. This film is a stand-alone film – there will be no plans to make this film grow into another Marvel spin-off. There is something satisfying about that. This film is giving us nothing more than a extension of one of best Marvel characters and some hardcore action (director Darren Aronofsky wants less CGI stunts and more physical brawls). To me, that sounds perfect.

2. PACIFIC RIM – JULY 16, 2013

When the more immature readers have finished sniggering at the innuendo in this film’s name, I’ll begin. Pacific Rim is the latest film by the heavyweight director Guillermo Del Toro, who does not do his films by half measures. This film does not look like it will be changing this trend. The plot is simple: an earthquake has opened up the Pacific Rim and unleashed several giant monsters onto the nearest cities, each bigger and more impressive than the next. To combat these monsters, humanity builds giant robots to fight back.

And at the moment, these are the only narrative details we have been given. Giant robots fighting killer monsters. This film has a fantastic amount of potential, if done right. There aren’t many big stars heading the movie, the biggest name being British TV hero, Idris Elba, who recently starred in Prometheus. Again, there is not much else to go on, as Del Toro has only released these few facts to wet the audience’s appetite, before hiding back into the production of what could be the biggest blockbuster of 2013.

1. GRAY STATE – Release Date TBC

I was recommended this film by my American uncle, but when I went to research it, I found only a few sources. It is an Indie movie that has been in production for the last two years and has relied mostly on donations. Before you roll your eyes at these facts, I will remind you that District 9 came about in a similar fashion and that was arguably one of the best films of 2009. All I can give you is the trailer, so take a moment to watch it for yourselves. (Warning: it is not for the faint-hearted).

[button link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8PnkeKmcZw”]the trailer[/button]

It looks pretty good, excellent actually. It obviously has a big political message behind it, but looking past that and its action is the kind of raw power that made the Raid a successful film. Some of the executions shown in the trailer (the reason I included that little warning above), are horrific, not cutting away from the gritty realism. I am hoping that some of the bigger critics notice this film, as it has the potential to be the underdog of the year.