50 Most Anticipated Films of 2021: As a yearly ritual, I dug the shit out of internet (mostly IMDb) and found out 50 upcoming film projects that, I think, deserve to be discussed. High on Films readers know of our inclination towards independent films and so it goes without saying that there is a majority of independent films here. Without any delay, let us hop on to the list of 50 most anticipated films of 2021, arranged in alphabetical order:
Agra | Director: Kanu Behl
Cast: Priyanka Bose, Ruhani Sharma, Rahul Roy
Genre: Drama
The story of a family and an exploration of space in an increasingly crowded world. It follows the quest for a sexual odyssey of an individual.
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure | Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Zachary Levi, Jack Black, Glen Powell
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family
A coming-of-age story set in the suburbs of Houston, Texas in the summer of 1969, centered around the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Annette | Director: Leos Carax
Cast: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg
Genre: Drama, Musical
A stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife, have a 2 year old daughter with a surprising gift.
Antlers | Director: Scott Cooper
Cast: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas
Genre: Horror, Mystery
In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student, whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.
Awake | Director: Mark Raso
Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Frances Fisher
Genre: Drama
After a devastating global event wipes out all electronics and eliminated people’s ability to sleep, a former soldier may have found a solution with her daughter.
Benedetta | Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Lambert Wilson, Virginie Efira
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
Bergman Island | Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps
Genre: Drama
The picture revolves around an American filmmaking couple who retreat to the island for the summer to each write screenplays for their upcoming films in an act of pilgrimage to the place.
BIOS | Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Cast: Tom Hanks, Caleb Landry Jones, Skeet Ulrich
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
On a post-apocalyptic earth, a robot, built to protect the life of his dying creator’s beloved dog, learns about life, love, friendship and what it means to be human.
Blonde | Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale
Genre: Biography, Drama
A fictionalized chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe.
C’mon C’mon | Director: Mike Mills
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Elaine Kagan
Genre: Drama
An artist embarks on a a cross-country trip with his young nephew.
Similar to most anticipated films of 2021: The Cinema of 2020
Chaos Walking | Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi
A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each others’ thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.
Death on the Nile | Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey, Kenneth Branagh, Armie Hammer
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.
Dune | Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, about the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy.
More Details in Hollywood Reporter
Eternals | Director: Chloé Zhao
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
The saga of the Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations.
Gucci | Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Adam Driver
Genre: Drama
The story of how Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, plotted to kill her husband, the grandson of renown fashion designer Guccio Gucci.
Infinite | Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dylan O’Brien, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives.
Last Night In Soho | Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
A young girl, passionate in fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.
Locked Down | Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lucy Boynton
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Romance
A couple attempts a high-risk, high-stakes jewelry heist at a department store.
Macbeth | Director: Joel Coen
Cast: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Brendan Gleeson
Genre: Drama, History, War
A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.
Maestro | Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
A portrait of Leonard Bernstein’s singular charisma and passion for music as he rose to fame as America’s first native born, world-renowned conductor, all along following his ambition to compose both symphonic and popular Broadway works.
Memoria | Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jeanne Balibar, Daniel Giménez Cacho
Genre: Drama
The main character of the film is a woman from Scotland, who, while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance.
Mob Girl | Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Lucas Royalty
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
A mother living in New York’s lower East Side becomes a mafia informant for the FBI.
Here’s our previous writings on Paolo Sorrentino
Mumbaikar | Director: Santosh Sivan
Cast: Tanya Maniktala, Vijay Sethupathi, Vikrant Massey
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Plot Unknown.
Pinocchio | Director: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Musical
A darker version of the classic children’s fairy tale of a wooden puppet that transforms into a real living boy.
Prisoners Of The Ghostland | Director: Sion Sono
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Ed Skrein
Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller
A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.
Reminiscence | Director: Lisa Joy
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Hugh Jackman, Natalie Martinez
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist discovers a way to relive your past and uses the technology to search for his long lost love.
Run Rabbit Run | Director: Daina Reid
Cast: Elisabeth Moss
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Elisabeth Moss plays a fertility doctor who believes firmly in life and death, but after noticing the strange behavior of her young daughter, must challenge her own values and confront a ghost from her past.
Stillwater | Director: Tom McCarthy
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Matt Damon, Camille Cottin
Genre: Drama, Thriller
A father travels from Oklahoma to France to help his daughter who has been arrested for murder.
Stowaway | Director: Joe Penna
Cast: Toni Collette, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A stowaway on a mission to Mars sets off a series of unintended consequences.
The Card Counter | Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, Tye Sheridan
Genre: Drama, Thriller
The film, written and directed by Schrader, follows William Tell (Isaac), a gambler and former serviceman who sets out to reform a young man seeking revenge on a mutual enemy from their past.
The Dig | Director: Simon Stone
Cast: Lily James, Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
An archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye | Director: Michael Showalter
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Vincent D’Onofrio, Andrew Garfield
Genre: Biography, Drama
Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker seek redemption after their religious empire and marriage crumbles.
The French Dispatch | Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in “The French Dispatch” magazine.
The Green Knight | Director: David Lowery
Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The Guilty | Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Bill Burr
Genre: Drama, Thriller
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
The Last Duel | Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Adam Driver, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jodie Comer
Genre: Drama
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.
The Little Things | Director: John Lee Hancock
Cast: Jared Leto, Denzel Washington, Rami Malek
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two cops track down a serial killer.
Similar to most anticipated films of 2021: The Cinema of 2019
The Lost Daughter | Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Cast: Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard
Genre: Drama
A woman’s beach vacation takes a dark turn when she begins to confront the troubles of her past.
The Marco Effect | Director: Martin Zandvliet
Cast: Ulrich Thomsen, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Zaki Youssef
Genre: Crime, Thriller
One day Marco discovers a dead man. After learning that Marco may have invaluable information, Commissioner Mjork is determined to find and rescue him.
The Nightingale | Director: Mélanie Laurent
Cast: Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning
Genre: Drama, History, War
The lives of two sisters living in France are torn apart at the onset of World War II. Based on Kristin Hannah’s novel ‘The Nightingale’.
The Power of the Dogs | Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Thomasin McKenzie
Genre: Drama
A pair of brothers who own a large ranch in Montana are pitted against each other when one of them gets married.
The Souvenir Part II | Director: Joanna Hogg
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Charlie Heaton, Joe Alwyn
Genre: Drama
A young film student in the early 80s becomes romantically involved with a complicated and untrustworthy man. Sequel to the 2019 film.
The Way of the Wind | Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Aidan Turner, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Kingsley
Genre: Drama, History
A retelling of several episodes in the life of the Christ.
The Woman in the Window | Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
Those Who Wish Me Dead | Director: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult
Genre: Thriller
A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.
Three Thousand Years Of Longing | Director: George Miller
Cast: Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
We don’t have any information on the plot as of yet. However, there is no reason to not include George Miller’s new film in the list of most anticipated films of 2021.
Related to most anticipated films of 2021: George Miller Begun Filming His New Movie
Triangle of Sadness | Director: Ruben Östlund
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Zlatko Buric
Genre: Drama
A pair of models find themselves at a crossroads in their careers.
Twist | Director: Martin Owen
Cast: Lena Headey, Michael Caine, Franz Drameh
Genre: Action, Drama
A Modern take on the classic tale of Oliver Twist.
Untitled PTA Project | Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Joseph Cross
Genre: Drama
Set in 1970s San Fernando Valley, the film follows a high school student, who is also a successful child actor.
West Side Story | Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose
Genre: Crime, Drama, Musical
An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
