Empire’s 2016 Anticipated Movies List Just Got Better!

The second half of 2016 welcomes a jammed-packed big screen schedule as the flurry of hotly anticipated titles looks set to continue following a strong first half of the year, which included releases such as The Revenant, Joy, The Danish Girl, Deadpool, The Hateful Eight, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War.

To celebrate the launch of EMPIRE LIVE, film and entertainment’s biggest weekend taking place at The O2 from September 23-25, the team behind the world’s biggest movie magazine has compiled a rundown of some of the most anticipated films hitting the big screen from now until the end of the year.

Terri White, EMPIRE Editor-in-Chief, said: “There is no doubt that 2016 is a big year for cinema – and we’re only half way through! There are some highly anticipated movies being released that we can’t wait to see – and we’re encouraging everybody to head out to their local cinema to experience these ‘must-see’ films on the big screen for themselves.”

·         BFG (release date July 22) – Swap popcorn for Snozzcumbers (actually don’t, they’re supposed to be awful) as Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG lumbers onto UK screens. The story of a little girl and a very big friend will undoubtedly see the director retain his position as a master of family entertainment.

·         Star Trek Beyond (July 22) – Justin Lin takes over directing duties from J.J. Abrams for the latest voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise starring Anton Yelchin, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto and Idris Elba.

·         Jason Bourne (July 29) – wishing he could stay lost and not dragged back into action is Matt Damon’s reprisal of Jason Bourne, back for a fourth run-around. Paul Greengrass is once more in the director’s chair, so we’re hoping for big things from this one.

·         Finding Dory (July 29) – Ellen DeGeneres long-awaited Pixar sequel is finally swimming on to our screens this month and promises plenty of aquatic action as Dory goes in search of her family. Assuming she can remember where they are…

·         Suicide Squad (August 5) – 2016’s second big DC release from Warner Bros. is the much anticipated Suicide Squad. Jared Leto stars as the new Joker, with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; Will Smith stars as Deadshot with Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and Ben Affleck as Batman.

·         David Brent: Life on the Road (August 19) – Ricky Gervais revisits a familiar character, resurrecting The Office’s David Brent in a new rock mockumentary, Life On The Road.

·         Bridget Jones’s Baby (September 16) – Renée Zellweger also returns in Bridget Jones’s Baby. The film reunites the original cast (bar Hugh Grant) and director Sharon Maguire for the latest look at our heroine’s life, this time confronting the challenges of motherhood in her forties. Co-staring Colin Firth and new love interest Patrick Dempsey.

·         Doctor Strange (October 28) – Marvel introduces neurosurgeon Dr. Strange to the big screen in 2016 with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the starring role with Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikklesen starring alongside.

·         Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (November 18) – one of the biggest releases of 2016, the Harry Potter prequel boasts a script by J.K. Rowling with veteran director David Yates is back in charge. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander a wizard in 1920s New York, who finds himself in trouble when some of the magical beasts he’s transporting in his TARDIS-like bag escape.

·         Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (December 16) – The first of the Star Wars origin stories – the standalone stories that will alternate with the numbered episodes – is directed by Gareth “Godzilla” Edwards and follows the rebels as they plot to steal the plans for the Death Star. Cast includes Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker.

·         Assassin’s Creed (December 26) – Michael Fassbender will be donning the hood and doing the free-running for video-game adaptation Assassin’s Creed. Marion Cotillard, Brendan Gleeson and Jeremy Irons co-star.

EMPIRE LIVE, film and entertainment’s biggest weekend is taking place at The O2 in London from September 23-25, 2016. For more information about EMPIRE LIVE and to purchase tickets, please visit www.empirelive.com.