5. Justice League (66 votes)
If you hadn’t guessed by the last two entries, the top five is going to be very comic book movie heavy, and in at number five (just beating out Thor: Ragnarok} is the only entry from the DC Extended Universe in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. As mentioned at the start of this article, Warner Bros. didn’t have the best year in 2016 with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad being trashed critics and audiences, followed with news of two directors leaving The Flash, Aquaman‘s director feeling trepidation and Wonder Woman being described as “a mess”, but DC fans are hoping 2017’s Justice League can turn the ship around. A trailer released during Comic Con did alleviate some worries, but a news story this week that the film was also “a mess” has put some doubts back in. Clearly the downs of last year have had an effect on our voters, with Justice League being the only DC movie in our list and one that only just made into the top half. It did top two of our writer’s lists, but it didn’t even appear is most. Time will tell if Snyder can change the mind of the DC Doubters.
4. Logan (85 votes)
In a surprising turn of events, Logan is the fourth most anticipated movie of 2017 according to Flickering Myth. I say it’s a surprise because there wasn’t a huge amount of interest in the film prior to the first trailer being released. The Wolverine solo movies have been either mediocre or rubbish, and it felt like audiences were getting a bit tired of seeing Mutants following a lackluster box office performance from X-Men: Apocalypse. But a fantastic trailer set to Johnny Cash’s exceptional cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt turned heads, and Hugh Jackman’s final outing as Wolverine could be his best one yet. This R-rated movie promises to be totally different from the rest of the comic book movie pack, and Ryan Reynolds even thinks there is a chance of it getting some Oscar buzz (although I heavily disagree). Of the top 5, Logan is the only movie that didn’t top one of our writer’s lists, so it’s interesting to note that it appeared consistently across everyone’s ballots.
3. Blade Runner 2046 (93 votes)
After killing off one of them in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (spoilers), Harrison Ford returns to one of his other iconic roles in Blade Runner 2049. Who would have thought that in 2017 we would be getting excited for a new Blade Runner movie? Well our writer’s certainly are, even though it only topped one of our writer’s lists. With that said, it earned enough votes to push it past Logan and it nearly got a silver medal award – but some late votes for the film that eventually came in second so Blade Runner 2049 will have to settle for bronze. It’s been a tough time for old franchises getting sequels (Jurassic World notwithstanding), so it will be interesting to see the box office performance of Blade Runner 2049 as well as the critical reception. Although let’s not forget that the original movie was trashed in the press and it bombed at the box office. 2017 is very a very different time to 1982 though, so this is one to really keep an eye on.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (114 votes)
The Guardians of the Galaxy are back with some old and new faces, and have comfortably taken second place on our list of the most anticipated movies of 2017. Topping just one of our writer’s lists, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was consistently voted for across the board, and given how its predecessor topped our Ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in both 2014 and 2016, it stands to reason that people are excited to see Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot back in action. James Gunn returns to direct once again, and there are a few new additions to the cast including Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone of all people. And how could you not fall in love with Baby Groot?! The trailer got a great reaction from our writers, although there are some skeptics surrounding the pandering market of Baby Groot, but Gunn has shot that down. I mean, of course he would. Let’s see if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – and its soundtrack – can stand against sequelitis and not end up as a poor return.
1. Star Wars: Episode VIII (150 votes)
Really, could it have been anything else? Topping eight of our writer’s lists, Star Wars: Episode VIII ran away with this vote to easily become the most anticipated movie of 2017 according to Flickering Myth. The cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens return alongside franchise legends Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa in this hotly anticipated continuation of the Star Wars saga. Rian Johnson is in the director’s chair this time around, and it will be interesting to see if he can produce a movie that doesn’t rely too much on nostalgia and references, which was a big sticking point for The Force Awakens detractors. Also interesting will be too see how much the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher will affect the film’s story heading into Episode IX. With the film out in December, we should expect to see a trailer pretty soon, however we’ve been told that we might not get one now until Star Wars Celebration – which would provide some evidence that the meetings between Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have meant some editing is required on the trailer to remove some of Leia’s involvement. As far as the writers here at Flickering Myth are concerned however, December cannot come soon enough!
And here’s just what missed out:
11. Wonder Woman
12. The LEGO Batman Movie
13. T2: Trainspotting
14. Free Fire
15. War for the Planet of the Apes
16. Baby Driver
17. Mute
18. A Cure for Wellness
19. Kong: Skull Island
20. La La Land
On a personal note, I am very sad to see Kong: Skull Island so low down on the list.
Here’s what each writer ranked as their most anticipated movie of the year – you can see why Star Wars: Episode VIII topped the list!
Gary Collinson – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Tony Black – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Luke Owen – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Tom Roach – Star Wars: Episode VIII
James Garcia – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Ricky Church – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Tai Freligh – Justice League
Eric Bay-Anderson – La La Land
Villordsutch – John Wick: Chapter 2
Rob Kojder – Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson movie
Jordan Jones – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Ben Robins – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Oliver Davis – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Tom Jolliffe – Blade Runner 2049
Anghus Houvouras – A Cure for Wellness
Mark Clark – Justice League
Kieran Fisher – Free Fire
Tom Nightingale – Alien: Covenant
Graeme Robertson – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Liam Hoofe – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Gav Logan – Star Wars: Episode VIII
What’s your most anticipated movie of 2017?
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen and read his weekly feature The Week in Star Wars.
