Whether you’re in the mood for mobsters, musicals, thrills, chills, cats, angels—or the rise of Luke Skywalker from the dead!—Parade‘s fall movie preview has all the best new movie releases.
Our fall movie preview includes new horror movies, new Disney movies, new Netflix movies (yep, we’ve got them too), movies based on books, TV and movies based on real-life events. Plus, we have details on release dates, stars and more.
Related: The 15 Best Movies of Summer 2019
The Best Movies Based on TV Series
Downton Abbey (September 20)
The Crawleys and their servants delighted PBS audiences from 2010 to 2015. Surely the Dowager Countess herself would approve of this change of the scenery. The story picks up in 1927, as everyone in Downton prepares for a visit from King George V and Queen Mary. Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Matthew Goode and Dame Maggie Smith all return.
Charlie’s Angels (November 15)
Good morning, Charlie! Here’s the latest: The popular 1976–1981 ABC series (which originally starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith) gets a second action-comedy movie adaptation. Now Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott (Aladdin) and newcomer Ella Balinska are the intelligent, highly trained crime fighters. In a modern-day gender flip, Elizabeth Banks—who writes and directs—changed the role of male sidekick John Bosley, making “Bosley” the title of a position that anyone at the Townsend Agency can assume. (She plays one Bosley; Patrick Stewart plays another.)
The Best Movies Based on Books
The Goldfinch (September 13)
Inspired by the Donna Tartt–penned Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of life after an explosion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the film has a star-studded cast, including Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort, Finn Wolfhard and Luke Wilson.
Motherless Brooklyn (November 1)
A lonely New York detective (Edward Norton) with Tourette’s syndrome attempts to solve the murder of his only friend. Norton, who also directs, takes the lead in this layered crime drama based on the award-winning 1999 novel by Jonathan Lethem.
Doctor Sleep (November 8)
Whatever happened to Danny, the little boy from The Shining? He grew up to be Ewan McGregor, meet a young girl with similar psychic abilities and find out there are horrific dangers in the world for people like them. With Rebecca Ferguson and Jacob Tremblay.
The Good Liar (November 15)
An adaption of Nicholas Searle’s 2016 novel, the thriller features Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen as co-stars for the first time. He plays an aging British con man looking for a big score; she’s the well-off widow he woos online.
Little Women (December 25)
The classic Louisa May Alcott weepie about four sisters and the men who adore them comes to life (again!) with a stellar cast. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen play the March girls; Laura Dern is Marmee; superstar Meryl Streep is their forbidding rich aunt. Director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) shot on location in the book’s Massachusetts setting.
Related: The Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2019
The Best Movie Sequels or Continuations
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (October 18)
Hell hath no fury like a horned Disney fairy scorned. Angelina Jolie once again makes the dark magic happen as the title character, and she’s still at odds with soon-to-be-queen Aurora (Elle Fanning). New alliances and enemies are formed to protect the moors and creatures that live within.
Terminator: Dark Fate (November 1)
Take-no-prisoners Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton)—and her biceps—as well as her son John (Edward Furlong) return to the screen to come to the aid of a new resistance. Producer James Cameron says this sci-fi epic is a direct follow-up to the 1991 hit Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in which star Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg T-800 melted into oblivion. He’s back as well, in fighter mode, but playing an all-new (and mysterious) character.
Frozen II (November 22)
Ice, ice, baby. Elsa the Snow Queen (Idina Menzel) and her loyal sister Anna (Kristen Bell)—along with their pals Olaf the snowman, Kristoff and reindeer Sven—embark on a new animated adventure. “In the first one, Elsa feared her powers,” Menzel says of the $1.2 billion–grossing Disney mega-hit of 2013. “Now she has to rise to the occasion. It’s a very spiritual journey.” The actress and vocalist, an alum of the original Broadway productions of Rent and Wicked, says voicing Elsa has had a life-changing effect on her—and not just in terms of her career. “Every time I sing music from the film, it reminds me how lucky I am,” she says. “We’re asking young people to really embrace who they are and take their power and put good out into the world. That’s something we need to be reminded of as adults.”
Jumanji: The Next Level (December 13)
Game on! Again! Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan all jump back into the jungle. This time, their avatar characters are running for their lives while inhabiting a different set of players. Danny DeVito and Danny Glover join the fun.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (December 20)
The ninth installment brings the Luke Skywalker saga to its highly anticipated conclusion with Daisy Ridley (Jedi Rey), Adam Driver (Supreme Leader Kylo Ren), Billy Dee Williams (rascally Lando Calrissian) and Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) all reprising their roles. Though Luke Skywalker sacrificed himself in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, actor Mark Hamill will indeed make a curtain call, as a Force ghost. Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, will appear onscreen as Princess-turned-General Leia, via old footage.
Joker (October 4)
In this spinoff from the Batman universe, it’s Joaquin Phoenix’s turn to paint his face and strap on a devious smile. In this origin story of the iconic DC villain, he’s a failed comic who encounters thugs while wandering Gotham City dressed as a clown. Robert De Niro is a talk-show host who drives Phoenix’ character to madness. Warning: Based on early buzz, this could be even darker than the The Dark Knight.
Cats (December 20)
A new day has begun! At long last, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical—based on T.S. Eliot’s poems—gets the big-screen treatment. The diverse ensemble features Dame Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, James Corden—and Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella the Glamour Cat, who belts out the show-stopper “Memory.” The design of the cats has been achieved via motion picture technology, which director Tom Hooper refers to as “digital fur technology.” But you’ve already probably seen for yourself, courtesy of the much-talked-about trailer.
The Best New Movies Based on True Stories
The Report (September 27)
Here’s a gripping, info-packed political thriller in which investigator Daniel Jones (Adam Driver) studies the CIA’s detention and interrogation program report in the years after 9/11 and fights for the information to be released to the public. Annette Bening plays California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Judy (September 27)
Oscar winner Renée Zellweger portrays hard-living, golden-voiced singer and actress Judy Garland in the last years of her troubled life.
The Current War (October 4)
Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) square off in the race to see whose electric system can light up the modern world.
Lucy in the Sky (October 4)
Natalie Portman stars in this based-on-a-true-story tale of astronaut Lucy Cola, whose life begins to unravel after her starry trip aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle. Remember the news stories about the female space cadet, a love triangle, an arrest for attempted kidnapping and a car full of adult diapers? Yep, this is it.
The Laundromat (October 18)
It’s not fall movie season without a major film starring Meryl Streep. This one also stars Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas in the tale—another based on real events—of a widow (Streep) who investigated shady tax dealings, offshore wealth and massive insurance fraud, chasing leads to reveal a pair of Panama City law partners exploiting the world’s financial system.
Harriet (November 1)
The drama focuses on Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo), the abolitionist responsible for leading 300 slaves to freedom using the Underground Railroad network.
Midway (November 8)
Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson all “enlisted” to help tell the true-story tale of the Battle of Midway, the clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy that marked a World War II turning point.
Ford v Ferrari (November 15)
Gear up for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France, where American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) builds a car from scratch so Henry Ford II can challenge his rival, Ferrari. Christian Bale is in the driver’s seat as British driver Ken Miles.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (November 22)
Who better to portray beloved children’s TV host Fred Rogers than Tom Hanks? This tale focuses on the latter part of his life, as he meets a cynical journalist (Matthew Rhys, The Americans) assigned to profile him circa 1998. The film was shot in Rogers’ original studio in Pittsburgh, and the crew re-created sets from the show. They even borrowed items from Mr. Rogers’ closet. (Ah, the cardigans!)
The Irishman (November 27)
Robert De Niro takes on the title role, playing Frank Sheeran, a World War II veteran and mobster who claims to have killed teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Joe Pesci plays a member of the Bufalino crime family. Director Martin Scorsese has been tinkering with this decade-spanning mafia epic for years, as it requires tricky CGI special effects that enable the stars to “de-age” (i.e., look younger) without the use of makeup.
The Two Popes (December 20)
It’s Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis in this retelling of the recent—and surprisingly tricky—transition of power inside the Vatican.
Bombshell (December 20)
Fox News likely won’t give glowing reviews to this “bombshell” of a movie about how Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and others (Margot Robbie plays a fictional producer) banded together to take on the network’s head honcho Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), who was eventually accused publicly of sexual harassment by 10 women, including Carlson and Kelly.
The Best Can’t-Miss Movies of Fall 2019
Knives Out (November 27)
This looks like bloody fun. Daniel Craig stars in this modern whodunnit, alongside LaKeith Stanfield, as detectives who assemble an all-star cast of suspects (Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Ana de Armas) after the very suspicious death of the patriarch (Christopher Plummer) of a somewhat combative family. Could it be…murder?
Marriage Story (December 6)
In what might be this season’s Kramer Vs. Kramer, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star in director Noah Baumbach’s incisive look at a crumbling marriage.
1917 (December 25)
Merry Christmas! Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty), also known for his two James Bond blockbusters (Skyfall and Spectre) takes us deep into the muddy, bloody trenches of World War I with Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden and Colin Firth.
If You Love…
Gravity + A Wrinkle in Time = Ad Astra (September 20)
This cerebral sci-fi entry stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut traveling the galaxy to find his father (Tommy Lee Jones). Like the 2013 Sandra Bullock–starring smash, it features gut-churning space exploration in solitude, while the searching-the-cosmos-for-father story has echoes of the 2018 Oprah Winfrey–starring epic.
The Bourne Identity + Us = Gemini Man (October 11)
Not even secret agent Jason Bourne could keep up with this fast-paced twister. An elite assassin (Will Smith) is on the run from an operative who’s actually a younger and faster cloned version of himself. And as we learned from this spring’s horror-thriller Us, a double surely leads to trouble.
Love Actually + La La Land = Last Christmas (November 8)
The 2003 rom-com charmer proved that if you want to find love, spend the holidays in London. Kate (Emilia Clarke) has lofty dreams—just like Emma Stone in the bright 2016 musical; but she must take a job as an elf in a Christmas shop. Then she meets dashing Tom (Henry Golding) and her luck begins to change.
The Biggest Movies 10, 20 and 30 Years Ago
Here’s a look at the fall movies that raked in big bucks and awards in decades past.
10 Years Ago
Director James Cameron’s breathtaking sci-fi epic Avatar (released December 18, 2009, earned $2.8 billion) was nominated for nine Academy Awards and received three, for cinematography, art direction and visual effects.
20 Years Ago
Woody is stolen by a toy collector and Buzz and the gang—joined by new characters Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, Stinky Pete the Prospector and Woody’s horse, Bullseye—stage a rescue in the Oscar-nominated Toy Story 2 (released November 19, 1999, $497 million).
30 Years Ago
Back to the Future Part II (released November 22, 1989, $332 million) starred Michael J. Fox reprising his role as time-traveling Marty McFly, who this time travels in reverse to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to the present.
Next, Netflix September 2019: All the Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in September
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