A new movie every week: that’s the message Netflix would really like you to take from their chipper 2021 preview reel. But there are more than 52 films landing on the streaming platform this year. The full list is 70 in total: 52 English-language live-action movies, 8 animated films, and 10 movies in other languages.
Most of these films have been announced in some form or another, but reading the whole list at once is impressive (ok, another word might be “overwhelming”). A new Shaun the Sheep cartoon! A little Fast Five reunion when the Rock and Gal Gadot join Ryan Reynolds in Red Notice! Directorial debuts from Halle Berry and Lin-Manuel Miranda! Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a poisoned assassin?
This isn’t a particularly genre-heavy lineup (Deadline has an all-genre list of highlights), but there are some notably intriguing options for SFF fans; we’ve pulled out the details on those below.
Descriptions are via Netflix.
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Snyder, Shay Hatten, Joby Harold
Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted. With Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Garret Dillahunt, Tig Notaro, and a whole lot more.
Awake
Director: Mark Raso
Writers: Greg Poirier, Joseph Raso, Mark Raso
After a sudden global event wipes out all electronics and takes away humankind’s ability to sleep, chaos quickly begins to consume the world. Only Jill (Gina Rodriguez), an ex-soldier with a troubled past, may hold the key to a cure in the form of her own daughter. The question is, can Jill safely deliver her daughter and save the world before she herself loses her mind.
Don’t Look Up
Written and directed by Adam McKay
Don’t Look Up tells the story of two low-level astronomers, who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet earth. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Timothee Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Ariana, Kid Cudi, Melanie Lynskey, Himesh Patel, Matthew Perry and Tomer Sisley.
Escape from Spiderhead
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writers: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based on the story by George Saunders
In the near future, two young convicts grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary, who experiments on inmates with emotion-altering drugs.
Fear Street Trilogy: Fear Street 1994, Fear Street 1978, and Fear Street 1666
Directed by Leigh Janiak.
In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. Adapted from R.L. Stine’s best selling horror series, the trilogy follows the nightmare through Shadyside’s sinister history.
Nightbooks
Director: David Yarovesky
Writers: Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis
When Alex (Winslow Fegley), a boy obsessed with scary stories, is imprisoned by an evil young witch (Krysten Ritter) in her contemporary New York City apartment, he meets Yasmin (Lydia Jewett), who is also trapped there, and learns he must tell a new scary story every night in order to stay alive.
Night Teeth
Director: Adam Randall
Writer: Brent Dillon
Cast: Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Raúl Castillo, Alfie Allen
A young chauffeur picks up two mysterious women for a night of party-hopping across LA. But when his passengers reveal their true nature—and a dangerous underworld lurking in the shadows—he must fight to stay alive.
Outside the Wire (January 15)
Director: Mikael Håfström
Writers: Rob Yescombe, Rowan Athale
Harp (Damson Idris), a drone pilot, is sent into a deadly militarized zone where he finds himself working for Leo (Anthony Mackie), an android officer, tasked to locate a doomsday device before the insurgents do.
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Directors: Ant Ward, Andy Suriano
Writers: Tony Gama-Lobo, Rebecca May
The Ninja Turtles are faced with their greatest challenge yet when a mysterious stranger arrives from the future with a dire warning. Leo is forced to rise and lead his brothers, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey in a fight to save the world from a terrifying alien species … the Krang! Voice cast includes Ben Schwartz, Omar Benson Miller, Brandon Mychal Smith, Josh Brener, Kat Graham, Eric Bauza, and Haley Joel Osment.
Stowaway
Director: Joe Penna
Writers: Joe Penna, Ryan Morrison
On a mission headed to Mars, an unintended stowaway (Shamier Anderson) accidentally causes severe damage to the spaceship’s life support systems. Facing dwindling resources and a potentially grim outcome, a medical researcher (Anna Kendrick) emerges as the only dissenting voice against the clinical logic of both her commander (Toni Collette) and the ship’s biologist (Daniel Dae Kim).
The Swarm
Director: Just Philippot
Writers: Jérôme Genevray, Franck Victor
Virginie lives on a farm with her children Laura (15) and Gaston (7) and raises locusts as a high-protein crop. Life is hard: money worries and practical problems are piling up, tensions with her kids and neighbors are running high. But everything changes when she discovers the locusts have a taste for blood.
Thunder Force
Written and directed by Ben Falcone
In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends (Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer) reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city.
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Directors: Johane Matte, Francisco Ruiz Velasco, Andrew L. Schmidt
Writers: Marc Guggenheim, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman
Arcadia may look like an ordinary town, but it lies at the center of magical and mystical lines that makes it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards. Now the heroes from the hit series Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards team-up in their most epic adventure yet where they must fight the Arcane Order for control over the magic that binds them all. The voice cast includes Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, and Nick Offerman.
Wish Dragon
Written and directed by Chris Appelhans
In Sony Pictures Animation’s Wish Dragon, Din, a working-class college student with big dreams but small means, and Long, a cynical but all-powerful dragon capable of granting wishes, set off on a hilarious adventure through modern day Shanghai in pursuit of Din’s long-lost childhood friend, Lina. Their journey forces them to answer some of life’s biggest questions—because when you can wish for anything, you have to decide what really matters. The animated film’s voice cast includes John Cho, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jimmy Wong, Constance Wu, Will Yun Lee, Jimmy O’Yang, Aaron Yoo, Bobby Lee, and Ronnie Chieng.
