2015 has come to a close. Looking back, it was full of so many great nerdy times. We got a new Avengers movie, we got the massive dose of fun that was Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the arrival of more superhero shows than we could shake a stick at. It seems like 2015 was a big year for geeks. But there’s no need to mourn when there’s so much to look forward to! 2016 looks like it will be an even bigger year for fans of all kinds. So without further ado, let’s take a look at what I believe will be some of the biggest geekgasms this year will have to offer. Commenters, feel free to chime in with geeky events that have you excited for 2016!
Legends of Tomorrow
January 21 marks the premiere of the first official crossover of all the DC Comics shows airing on the CW right now. In Legends of Tomorrow, the time traveling Rip Hunter will bring together a team of heroes to fight Vandal Savage- a team that includes the likes of Firstorm, The Atom, White Canary, Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Hawkgirl and Hawkman. If you’re a fan of Arrow or The Flash, you’ll probably be pretty interested in this!
The Deadpool Movie
The Merc with a Mouth is crashing into theatres on February 12. The cinematic version of Deadpool played by Ryan Reynolds looks to be just as irreverent, fourth wall breaking and wacky as the comics version. There have been a lot of side-splitting trailers, including one that takes a pot-shot at the disasterous depiction of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This version definitely won’t have his mouth sewn shut!
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
The battle between two of the world’s biggest superheroes is set for March 25, but what I’m looking forward to most about the movie is the official debut of Wonder Woman in a DC movie. It’s been a long, long time coming. Fingers crossed that they do her justice! This movie is also a pretty big milestone in other ways too, as it’s the first time we’ll really see DC Comics heroes sharing the same screen…ever. This will be our official introduction to the shared DC Cinematic Universe.
The Ace Attorney Anime (and a New Game)
The beloved Capcom series about the spiky haired lawyer who likes to point a lot will finally get an animated adaptation in April. Considering that Ace Attorney has already gotten manga, musical and live action movie adaptations, an anime version seems like it shouldn’t have taken this long to debut. Here’s hoping it does the games justice and we get to see Phoenix cross-examine a parrot in full, animated glory!
In addition to the anime, a new Ace Attorney game is being released during the year too. It’s going to feature Phoenix doing his thing in a brand new setting, a mysterious country run by mystics, while Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes hold down the home fort.
Captain America: Civil War
DC may have Batsy and Supes facing off, but Marvel is not to be outdone when it comes to having heroes go head to head! On May 6, Captain America and Iron Man are going to face off over differences of opinions on the government regulating superheroes and even more importantly, what fate will befall Cap’s formerly brainwashed BFF Bucky Barnes.
This movie will also be the debut of the Black Panther into the MCU. The staff of the movie have promised T’Challa’s role is more than a cameo and that he will have an agenda that doesn’t quite align with either Cap or Iron Man.
X-Men: Apocalypse
The latest X-Men movie will premiere on May 27. This film is set in the early 1980’s and features the team facing off against a mutant names Apocalypse who wants to bring about a new world order. The cast from X-Men: First Class will be joined by younger versions of Storm, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Jean Grey as well as Jubilee, Psylocke and Havoc. A lot of X-Men who haven’t had a big role in the franchise so far may get a chance to shine in this film and most importantly: we get to see Mohawk Storm in all her glory.
The New Ghostbusters Movie
A brand new all-lady team of Ghostbusters is set to take the stage on July 15. The movie depicts a pair of authors who were laughed out of academic circles for their belief in ghosts having the last laugh when they team up with two other women to save the world from a paranormal threat. This movie has an all-star cast and the promotional images are super awesome and badass looking. I can’t wait to see some ghosts get busted.
Star Trek: Beyond
This latest installment of the Star Trek reboot movies is planned for July 22 as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek! The crew of the Enterprise find themselves stranded on a planet while facing off against a seemingly unbeatable wave of unknown aliens. The trailer to this movie was pretty action heavy, but actor Simon Pegg says the film has more substance than it let on.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
On July 30th, we get brand new Harry Potter material for the first time in years, in the form of a stage play based on a story penned by Rowling herself. This play will be a two-parter shown in London Palace Theatre and it will be focused on the relationship between Harry and his son who was heavily featured in the seventh book’s epilogue, the unfortunately named Albus Severus. Adult Ron and Hermione will also be featured in the story. J.K. Rowling has gone on record saying that audiences will understand why a play was the best medium through which to tell this story once they see it.
As a longtime Potterhead, I’m super pumped for this production, so I hope I actually get the chance to see it in some form. It would be awfully unfair to both the less-well off fans and fans abroad if only people who got to attend the showing in London got to experience the story. I hope that recordings of the play will be sold, so everyone can experience it for themselves.
The Suicide Squad Movie
The DC Extended Universe’s first big villain team up is happening on August 5. But it’s a different type of team-up from what you’d expect- this is a government special-ops team of imprisoned villians that go on dangerous missions in exchange for reduced sentences. This movie will include the debut of beloved DC Comics heroes, villians and antiheroes into the movieverse- including Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Katana, Captain Boomerang and Enchantress . We’ll also get to see Jared Leto’s take on the Joker.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
This is a great year for Harry Potter fans! The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie debuting on November 18 and it shows a different side of the Wizarding World. The movie is set in New York during the 1920’s, long before Harry and his pals were even born. It stars Newt Scamander, the author of the Hogwarts textbook that shares its name with the movie. The movie is reportedly going to focus on the strained relationship between the magical and non-magical people of America.
The New Marvel Netflix Shows: Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Defenders
It’s unknown exactly when the newest Marvel Netflix shows will be debuting, but they’re definitely supposed to come in 2016. The first scheduled show will be Luke Cage. We’ve already seen a little bit of the hero with bulletproof skin and a strong right hook in Jessica Jones, but this time Luke gets to take the spotlight. The series will focus on Luke protecting Harlem and confronting his past. The series will feature the debut of Misty Knight into the MCU. She’s described as a “young police detective” in the press release. It seems likely the show will depict the accident that leads to her becoming a “hero for hire” alongside Luke Cage.
Next up will be the Iron Fist show, featuring the return of Daniel Rand, a kung-fu happy hero with the power to call on a mystical force, New York City. The main character hasn’t even been cast in this series yet, so there’s not much information available.
After that, we’ll get what all these shows have been leading up to, The Defenders. This will be a crossover featuring the main characters of every Marvel Netflix show so far. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage will all form a team to defend New York City. It will definitely be a treat to see how these very different heroes will interact and work with each other.
More Attack on Titan
Both the manga and the anime of Attack on Titan have been a smash hit- something about a brutal world where giants can devour people at any minute really gets to people. It’s been three whole years since the first season of the anime, but a second season is finally coming in 2016- even if nobody’s sure when.
I’m not the Attack on Titan fan I once was (due to a combination of being personally uninterested in the current direction of the manga and news of the author’s repugnant views on war crimes)- but this part of the anime would cover some of my favorite parts of the manga. There’s some awesome development of supporting characters, star-crossed romance between ladies and heroic self sacrifices galore. I eat up that stuff, so I’m pretty pumped to see it in color and motion.
Pokemon GO!
If you’ve ever wanted to catch Pokemon in real life (and who doesn’t?), an app that allows you to do that is coming your way sometime this year. Pokemon GO is a free game for android and the IOS that lets players capture virtual Pokemon that appear throughout the real world. You can find a Squirtle near water and so on. There’s also a wristband device players can get. When a player runs across a real life location where a Pokemon is supposed to be, their wristband will vibrate to let them know and they can then capture the Pokemon. There’s also apparently going to be a lot of special events where players can meet and trade their Pokemon. It’s amazing to think that soon, we’ll be able to live as real life Pokemon masters.
Final Fantasy XV
We’ve known for a long time that Final Fantasy is a misnomer- this is one extended fantasy that is unlikely ever to reach a conclusion. And so this year will bring us a whopping fifteenth installment of the saga. The developers have promised a darker tone and more realistic characters than previous games had. This is a game that’s been a decade in the making, so it can only be hopes that the final product will be worth the wait.