New Year, New Movies!

Ina Choe | January 30, 2023

Illustration courtesy: Yeseong Park

As new Marvel movies are released, sequels of popular movies are announced, and our favorite actors advertise their latest movies, we hope 2023 will be filled with visits to the movie theater and popcorn. But with thousands of new movies, how will we know which ones are for us? In hopes of narrowing down that list, here are some recommendations for anticipated films in 2023!

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Coming to theaters this April, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is based on the highly popular Nintendo video game franchise. The objective of the game is to make it past the main antagonist Bowser's tactics to save Princess Peach. The movie revolves around a similar plot, where Mario ventures through the Mushroom Kingdom with Princess Peach and Toad to find his brother Luigi, saving the world from the evil, fire-breathing Bowser. Many prominent actors voice the characters of the movie, such as Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as Bowser. Audiences can't wait to hear Chris Pratt's take on Mario's iconic line at the beginning of all his games: "here we go!"

The Little Mermaid

The long-anticipated live-action of The Little Mermaid is finally arriving at theaters towards the end of May! The movie features Halle Bailey as Ariel, the naive young mermaid who sets out for love and adventure on land. Many were thrilled to hear that the highly revered "legend" Lin Manuel Miranda would be composing the soundtrack to the classic Disney favorite. The movie faced controversy as audiences rebelled, saying the "traditionally white" character should not be played by a black actor. However, others offered their opinions by explaining how Ariel's racial background has no significance in the movie's plot and race should not matter in terms of the storytelling.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy is coming to a close with the last volume set to release in May of 2023. Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, must gather the Guardians to embark on one last mission, protecting new friends he meets along the way, his team, and the galaxy. Fans are ecstatic to see the Guardians' unmatchable group chemistry on the big screen once again.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The comic-like movie scenes of Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse entranced audiences all over the world in 2018. The speech bubbles and comic captions flying across the screen as characters are thrown into the neon retro backgrounds was more than enough to spark excitement, with audiences anticipating more. The sequel finally arrives this June and fans are excited to see a deeper character development of young Miles Morales, or Spider-Man, as he battle villains from across the spider-verse.

Barbie

Expected to hit theaters this July, the all-time favorite doll is coming to life in the film 'Barbie'. The film is about Barbie setting off to find true happiness in the human world after being expelled from the fictional Barbie land. Media response to the trailer blew up, with positive reviews on the movie's perfect casting: Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. Many more prominent actors such as Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, and Will Ferrell are set to make an appearance. Audiences are excited to see how the movie displays Barbie and Ken's storyline and the actors' portrayal of the doll-based characters.