Black Panther
(February 12)
One of the most highly anticipated films of the decade, going by its US ticket pre-sales, Black Panther is already on track to become one of the biggest ever Marvel films. The movie signals the start of Marvel’s long-mooted second phase with its exploration of Wakanda, the fictional home to the warrior king T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman. After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. But when powerful enemy suddenly reappears, the fate of Wakanda and the entire world is put at risk. The most diverse superhero film ever, Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler, with the incredible cast boasting the likes of Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Basset and Forest Whitaker.

The Shape Of Water
(February 14)
Nobody makes films like Guillermo Del Toro. This otherworldly fairytale is set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America, circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones and Michael Stuhlbarg.

Journeyman
(February 16)
Directed by Paddy Considine, Journeyman tells the story of middleweight boxing champion Matty Burton. As he approaches the end of his career, he knows that he must make his money and get out of the game. After a titanic fight with the brash and controversial Andre Bryte, Matty collapses on his living room floor – a delayed reaction to a devastating punch. Awaking from the coma, the real fight begins. Suffering from memory loss and with his personality altered, Matty must begin to piece his life back together as his world disintegrates.

Lady Bird
(February 23)
Saoirse Ronan is rightly picking up award nominations and gongs aplenty for her titular role in Greta Gerwig’s hilarious and powerful coming-of-age dramedy. Lady Bird is the name chosen by Ronan’s character, a self-assured teenager on the brink of adulthood, and convinced she knows it all. Determined to escape her smalltown existence in Sacramento, she dreams of moving to the East Coast away from her mother (Laurie Metcalfe). But though the two constantly spar about Lady Bird’s burgeoning independence and her naiveté about the family’s financial situation, they share a bond that can’t be eroded.

I, Tonya
(February 23)
Margot Robbie and Alison Janney put in dark, transformative performances in the pitch-black comedy I, Tonya, the story of one of sport’s most controversial women. Harding grew up in hardscrabble circumstances in Portland, Oregon, and began to rise in the American figure-skating scene in the late 1980s. Her skating was unparalleled, but class and cultural divides between her and her peers meant she was often underestimated. Early in 1994, her ex-husband arranged an attack on Harding’s main competition, Nancy Kerrigan, and Craig Gillespie’s film addresses the contradictory accounts of how it all unfolded.

Avengers: Infinity War
(April 27)
After years of build up, The Avengers is coming to an epic climax in this deadly showdown. An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate battle. The Avengers and their superhero allies must be willing to sacrifice it all in an attempt to defeat the power of Thanos, before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe. Notably, the movie features all the superheroes we’ve grown to love over the past decade, and new faces including our own Tom Vaughan Lawlor, about to blast into superstardom in his new villainous role as Ebony Maw. All trailers indicate that there will be devastating deaths in this installment, so get ready for an action-packed emotional rollercoaster.

Ocean’s 8
(June 22)
The tide has turned and it’s a whole new “Ocean’s” when eight women plan and execute a heist in New York. Oscar winner Sandra Bullock stars in the title role, alongside a fantastic cast. There’s Cate Blanchett, who takes on the role of Bullock’s sidekick – she’s the Brad Pitt to Sandra Bullock’s George Clooney. There’s Awkwafina, who plays a gifted street pick-pocket; Mindy Kaling, who plays a jewellery expert; Rihanna, who plays a computer hacker; and Sarah Paulson as a suburban mother who’s left her life of crime behind and needs some real persuading to come back. Helen Bonham Carter meanwhile plays a stylist who sports some truly magnificent headgear, and Anne Hathaway also turns up as Daphne Kluger, a woman who enjoys wearing necklaces worth $150m – thus giving our team their target.

Bohemian Rhapsody
(December 25)
Even if this film weren’t a biopic about the incomparable Freddie Mercury, we’d be dying to see it. Because if the production is anything to go by, this film will be incredibly dramatic. Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek, aims to retell 15 years of the iconic singer’s life, through the prism of his rise to fame with Queen. Since 2008, the project has suffered from two changes in writer, three different lead actors and two disbanded directors – most recently, X Men director Bryan Singer disappeared from the set just weeks before completing the film, after several fights with Malek. Eddie The Eagle director Dexter Fletcher stepped in to finish directing the film, so hopefully we’ll finally get the sort of powerful effort that Mercury’s legacy deserves.

See next issue for our guide to the irish acting stars to watch in 2018