The next few months will be met with a flood of new movies and shows by phenomenal, award-winning directors and actors. Movies that pull at every fandom’s heartstrings, whether you’re a musical theater kid, a book-lover, or someone who craves nostalgia, are coming soon. And all watchlists (including mine) will probably be long enough to wrap around the earth. Without further ado, here are the top three movies and TV shows that I think you should add to your watchlist!
1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney Plus (December 20, 2023)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, starring Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, is set to premiere its first episode on December 20, 2023. The show will follow Percy through his discovery of becoming a demigod and his quest to find Zeus’s lightning bolt, which he has been framed for stealing by the real thief (who is revealed at the end).
Almost every middle schooler, including myself, has read the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan or at least heard about the wild fantasies hidden in those pages. After a badly-received movie adaptation of the book series from the early 2010s, criticized for being widely inaccurate — from plot, to age, to hair color — this TV show seems like a worthy redemption.
Author Rick Riordan has been keeping a close eye on the production of this TV show, being the executive producer and writer of a few of the episodes, alongside Jonathan E. Steinburg, Anders Engström, and Jet Wilkinson. As he is directly involved with his show, Rick Riordan was able to make nearly perfect casting choices based on the characters’ personalities.
Walker Scobell, who played the younger Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project, has the perfect obliviousness and silliness to play Percy, Aryan Simhadri’s nervous expressions and fidgeting in the trailers and teasers are on-point for Grover, and Leah Jeffries’s calculating glances are impeccable for Annabeth. While their appearances are largely inaccurate to the books, their personalities and Riordan’s role in deciding to cast them gives me confidence that they’ll embody our favorite characters exceptionally! I can’t wait to see what these amazing actors will do in December!
2. Mean Girls (January 2024)
Mean Girls, starring Reneé Rapp as Regina George, Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels, Auli’i Cravalho as Janice Sarikisian, and Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, will be in theaters in January of 2024. The movie is a blend between the original Mean Girls (2004) and the Broadway musical Mean Girls, which was discontinued following the COVID-19 pandemic. It tells the story of Cady Heron, a girl who went from being homeschooled in Africa, to her first year in an American high school under the reign of teen royalty: The Plastics.
Mean Girls is sure to satisfy both musical theater lovers and movie lovers alike. Plus, who doesn’t love a bit of nostalgia from the 2000’s? The trailer began with a striking lyric, “My name is Regina George,” from “World Burn,” a song from the Broadway musical. The staging reveals itself to be a pink masterpiece and pairs perfectly with twirling choreography and hilarious expressions.
This movie features many beloved actors, both from Broadway and other TV shows and movies, including: Reneé Rapp and Ashley Park, who played Regina George and Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway adaptation respectively, along with Tina Fey, a member from the 2004 original Mean Girls cast, and actors Christopher Briney and Auli’i Cravalho from The Summer I Turned Pretty and Moana respectively.
Add Mean Girls to your watchlist ASAP. Like Queen Regina says: “Get in, loser.”
3. Wonka (December 15, 2023)
Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka, follows the backstory of Willy Wonka: how he became the chocolate-making master. Willy Wonka is a character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a book by Roahl Dahl that has been adapted into two movies: one in 1971 and the other in 2005. The movies follow young Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who won a tour of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory with a golden ticket.
The trailer features extravagant displays of whimsical floating candies flying through the air, whistling bells, and other magical objects! Hop right back to your childhood on December 15, 2023, and prepare to see mouth-watering chocolates, sketchy whispers, and many Wonka-escapes down side street sewage drains as you find out how Willy Wonka became Willy Wonka!
Whether you’re looking for a worthy redemption of a bookworm empire, a snazzy, sassy fusion of musical theater and film, or a flight back to the beginnings of your favorite childhood book and movie, these three movies and TV shows are sure to take you there! Make sure to add them to your watchlist — they will be so worth the wait!
