The 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2027

Sonic has gone from a video-game adaptation that many people expected to fail to one of Hollywood's most dependable family franchises. By 2027, the blue speedster will already be racing into his fourth theatrical adventure. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is currently scheduled for March 19, 2027, continuing Paramount's remarkably successful transformation of Sega's gaming icon into a big-screen franchise. What makes the fourth movie particularly interesting is how much mythology the series now has available to play with. These films are no longer simply about introducing Sonic to a live-action world. Each instalment has expanded the roster, raised the stakes and pushed further into the games that inspired them. Four films would have sounded wildly optimistic when the redesigned Sonic first appeared in cinemas. Now it feels entirely natural. And that's probably the greatest compliment you can give this franchise.

There are moments when cinema doesn't need to be complicated. Sometimes you simply want to sit in a dark room and watch enormous monsters knock seven shades out of each other. The MonsterVerse understands this. Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is currently dated for March 26, 2027, bringing the two colossal icons back for another chapter in a franchise that has somehow continued getting bigger rather than collapsing beneath its own weight. Godzilla and Kong have already fought each other, fought alongside each other and discovered increasingly spectacular corners of this universe. The challenge now is finding something that can make their next encounter feel even larger. Given the word Supernova in the title, subtlety probably isn't the plan. Good. We'll take the biggest screen you've got.

Some franchises return because a studio still thinks there's money on the table. Shrek feels different. An entire generation grew up with Shrek, Donkey, Fiona and the wonderfully ridiculous version of fairy-tale storytelling DreamWorks created around them. The original film arrived in 2001, meaning plenty of the children who watched Shrek complain about people invading his swamp will be bringing their own children when the fifth film arrives. Universal currently lists Shrek 5 for June 2027, with release calendars placing it at the end of the month. Nostalgia will obviously be part of the appeal, but that's not enough. The best Shrek films worked because, beneath the pop-culture jokes and fairy-tale parodies, was an unexpectedly sincere story about friendship, insecurity, and finding somewhere you belong. If Shrek 5 can rediscover that balance, returning to the swamp could be one of 2027's biggest crowd-pleasers.

Few modern horror films have had an idea as immediately understandable as A Quiet Place. Make a sound, and you may die. That simple rule turned everyday actions into sources of unbearable tension and helped transform the original film into something far bigger than another creature feature. The universe has expanded since then, but A Quiet Place Part III represents the continuation horror fans have really been waiting for. Current release calendars place the film in summer 2027, although dates this far out remain particularly vulnerable to changes. The biggest question isn't simply what the creatures do next. It's whether the filmmakers can make silence frightening again after audiences have become so familiar with the rules. If they can, there may be very few cinema experiences in 2027 more nerve-racking than sitting in a packed auditorium where nobody wants to make a sound.

There are successful animated films, and then there is Frozen. Disney's 2013 original became a genuine cultural phenomenon, while Frozen II proved audiences weren't remotely finished with Anna, Elsa and the kingdom of Arendelle. Now they're coming back. Frozen III is scheduled for November 24, 2027, putting Disney's animated juggernaut directly into the Thanksgiving and Christmas movie season. By the time the third movie arrives, eight years will have passed since Frozen II. That's a surprisingly substantial gap for a franchise this valuable, but it could work in the film's favour. The children who endlessly sang “Let It Go” have grown up. A new generation has discovered the films behind them. Disney therefore has the unusual opportunity to make a sequel for both. And somewhere, right now, parents are mentally preparing themselves for whatever song comes next.

This may be the biggest gamble on the entire list. The Legend of Zelda isn't simply another popular video-game series. For millions of players, Hyrule, Link, Zelda and the Master Sword are part of gaming history. Turning that world into a live-action movie therefore comes with enormous expectations. The film is currently positioned for spring 2027, with release calendars placing it in late April or early May. The potential is obvious. Hyrule offers filmmakers everything required for a huge fantasy adventure: ancient ruins, monsters, strange creatures, sweeping landscapes, dungeons and one of gaming's most recognisable heroes. But capturing the feeling of Zelda will matter more than simply reproducing its iconography. Nintendo has already seen just how enormous its characters can become on the big screen. Zelda is a very different proposition. If they get this right, another major movie franchise could be born.

Every new Star Wars movie arrives carrying the weight of one of cinema's most famous franchises. Star Wars: Starfighter has something particularly valuable going for it: room to breathe. Directed by Shawn Levy and currently scheduled for May 28, 2027, the film is positioned as a new adventure rather than simply another numbered chapter of the Skywalker Saga. Ryan Gosling leads a project that could explore a different corner of the galaxy and remind audiences why seeing Star Wars on a cinema screen once felt like an event. That's what makes Starfighter so intriguing. The galaxy far, far away doesn't necessarily need to become bigger. It needs characters and adventures audiences desperately want to follow. If Starfighter delivers those, 2027 could mark the beginning of a very interesting new big-screen era for Star Wars.

Few animated sequels have left audiences hanging quite like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales' story stopped at precisely the moment everyone wanted another hour. The wait for the conclusion has consequently felt enormous. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is currently scheduled for June 18, 2027, finally bringing Miles back to cinemas after the ambitious scale of the previous two films. The expectations are extraordinary because this isn't merely another Spider-Man sequel. The first two films changed expectations for what mainstream studio animation could look like, combining comic-book language, radically different visual styles and an emotional coming-of-age story. The third movie has to resolve all of that. Miles needs to find his way home. Gwen has her own mistakes to put right. The Spot has become something far more dangerous than the joke he initially appeared to be. After such a long wait, Beyond the Spider-Verse doesn't simply need to provide an ending. It needs to stick the landing.

Middle-earth is heading back to the big screen. That sentence alone is enough to put The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum near the top of our list. Andy Serkis is directing and returning to the world he is so closely associated with, and the film is currently scheduled for December 17, 2027. The title naturally makes Gollum central to the project, but the real attraction is the chance to return to the cinematic Middle-earth established by Peter Jackson's films. That's also what makes the project risky. The original Lord of the Rings trilogy isn't simply beloved fantasy cinema. For many people, it represents the benchmark against which every fantasy epic since has been measured. A new movie doesn't need to imitate The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers or The Return of the King. But it does need to feel as though it belongs beside them. No pressure, then.

There really couldn't be anything else at number one. Avengers: Secret Wars is currently scheduled for December 17, 2027, following Avengers: Doomsday and bringing Marvel's sprawling Multiverse Saga towards its climax. The Russo brothers are back behind the camera, having previously directed Infinity War and Endgame. That alone would make it one of the biggest films of the year. But Secret Wars carries an even larger question. Can Marvel make an Avengers movie feel like the centre of popular culture again? Endgame was more than a successful superhero film. It was the culmination of more than a decade of interconnected storytelling and became the kind of communal cinema experience studios spend years trying to manufacture. Recreating that feeling is almost impossible. So perhaps Marvel shouldn't try. The more interesting possibility is that Secret Wars becomes something different: a conclusion to one era and a doorway into whatever the MCU becomes next. With Doctor Doom now central to the wider story and the Multiverse Saga approaching its endpoint, almost anything feels possible. And that's precisely why, more than a year before release, Avengers: Secret Wars is our most anticipated movie of 2027.

The most exciting thing about 2027 isn't simply the size of these ten movies. It's the variety. One month we could be returning to Hyrule. Another takes us across the Spider-Verse. There are trips to Middle-earth and a galaxy far, far away, animated reunions with Shrek and Elsa, monster battles, horror and potentially the biggest Marvel crossover since Avengers: Endgame. And these are only the films we already know enough about to be excited for. More movies will be announced. Release dates will move. A film barely on anyone's radar today may become the movie everybody is talking about by the end of next year. That's part of the fun. But right now, if the current calendar holds, 2027 looks absolutely stacked.