Dear Readers,

 

Congratulations! You’ve survived the ‘apocalypse’ of Dec. 21 and you are ready for another year of fun with the Stoutonia Entertainment staff. What better way to start the semester than with a semi-cliché list of the year’s upcoming movies.

 

2013 seems to be the year of prequels, sequels, continuations and remakes. We got a taste of this last year with “Underworld: Awakening,” “The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” But this year, Hollywood takes it to a whole new level.

 

 

In the realm of comic book movies, it seems that every popular series is welcoming another film to its ranks. Your favorite Avengers will be returning with Iron Man’s third installment, while Thor will be returning in “Thor: The Dark World.” “The Wolverine”  and “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” will also be released this year. And, once again, Superman flies back into theaters in another remake (how many have there been now?) of his heroic tale in “Man of Steel.”

 

Children’s favorites “Monsters Inc.,” “Despicable Me” and “The Smurfs” will all receive another film to go with their originals. The second “Monsters Inc.” is actually a prequel about the Inc.’s scarers at college in “Monsters University.”

 

Another battle rages in “300: Rise of an Empire,” and John McClane is back once again in the fifth installment to the Die Hard series – “A Good Day to Die Hard”, while “The Fast and the Furious” will see a sixth installment. The remake films of “Star Trek,” featuring the characters in their younger years, will also release a sequel, “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

 

 

 

 

In more recent literary films, “The Hunger Games” will continue in a second installment, “Catching Fire” as will the Percy Jackson series with “Sea of Monsters.” We will also be seeing the second film in The Hobbit series, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

 

While the list for remakes in 2013 is not as long or intense, there are still a handful of them worth mentioning. Old-school zombie thriller “The Evil Dead” and the creepy Stephen King tale of “Carrie” will both be revamped for a newer, younger audience.

 

Johnny Depp will grace us with his presence as Native American spirit warrior Tonto in this year’s remake of “The Lone Ranger”, which was originally a television series in the 50s. “Oz: The Great and Powerful” is a prequel to the beloved “Wizard of Oz,” though I’ve heard people mention it as a remake. Let’s just say it’s a bit of both. Alan, Phil, Stu and Doug are hungover once again in “The Hangover Part III” (you think they would learn by now).

 

 

Of course, there are other films coming out this year that do not fall under prequel, sequel, continuation or remake, but you have to admit that this year is dominated by those that do. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d love more new, original stories to hit theaters in the near future. Until then, I guess we’ll just all have to enjoy some movie marathons to refresh our memories for all these continuing or resurfacing favorites.

 

 

 

 

A Good Day to Die Hard (a.k.a. Die Hard 5) – Feb. 14
Oz: The Great and Powerful – March 8
Evil Dead – April 12
Iron Man 3 – May 3
Star Trek Into Darkness– May 17
The Fast and Furious 6 – May 24
The Hangover Part III – May 24
Man of Steel – June 14
Monsters University – June 21
Despicable Me 2 – July 3
The Lone Ranger – July 3
Grown Ups 2 – July 12
The Wolverine – July 26
The Smurfs 2 –July 31
300: Rise of an Empire – Aug. 2
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – Aug. 16
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – Oct. 4
Carrie – Oct. 18
Thor: The Dark World – Nov. 8
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Nov. 22
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Dec. 13