9. Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle in The Angry Birds Movie
Release date: May 20, 2016
Ever get the idea that Dinklage is kind of coasting when it comes to his film career? Between this and his role in Adam Sandler’s Pixels, we’re not sure he’s aiming as high as he could be.
The Angry Birds Movie is about…oh, I don’t need to finish that sentence. It’s an extended commercial for the wildly popular mobile game. I’m sure the producers will have fun with it (it’s written by Simpsons scribe Jon Vitti), but I’m expecting it to be disposable. Then again, The LEGO Movie was pretty fun for being a glorified ad, so maybe Dinklage will make something of this.
10. Sophie Turner as Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse
Release date: May 27, 2016
This is a big one! Sophie Turner joins Jason Momoa among the ranks of Game of Thrones actors cast as superheroes. If this works out, Turner can ride it into her 30s.
The latest movie in the X-Men series will pit a team of young mutants, including Turner as hesitant telepath Jean Grey, against an ancient, powerful, very mean mutant named Apocalypse. Turner suspects she landed the role because of the “dark side” of Sansa she showed off for a second in Season 4 of Game of Thrones, so look for that to pop up.
11. Richard Madden as Michael Mason in Bastille Day
Richard Madden has been doing pretty well for himself since Robb Stark made like a Game of Thrones character and died back in Season 3. He’ll continue his streak with a starring role alongside Idris Elba in Bastille Day, an action movie about a young artist and a former CIA agent who take on terrorists in France.
Bastille Day is currently due out in July of 2016, although there has been some shuffling around of the release date following the Paris terrorist attacks.
12. Natalie Dormer and John Bradley in Patient Zero
Release date: September 2, 2016
In Patient Zero, a mutated forms of rabies turns most human beings into a highly intelligent new species known as “The Infected” (aka zombies, but the movie doesn’t want to call them zombies). Dormer will star as female lead Dr. Gina Rose, a scientist researching ways to stem the outbreak, while John Bradley (Sam Tarly) will play a character named Scooter. Not sure what he’ll do. Die, probably.
As long as we’re talking about zombie flicks, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)will appear in Pandemic, another zombie film, due out in April of 2016. Allen plays Wheeler, part of a team that braves the ruins of Los Angeles to rescue uninfected survivors. He’s the driver. The team members wear anti-contamination suits that are equipped with cameras, and the entire film is shot from a first-person perspective.
13. Jerome Flynn as Dr. Gachet in Loving Vincent
Release date: Sometime in 2016
Here’s an interesting one. Jerome “Bronn of the Blackwater” Flynn will appear in a film about the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh. Flynn will play Dr. Gachet, the subject of one of Van Gogh’s paintings. The movie is strikingly animated in the style of Van Gogh’s work.
14. Maisie Williams as Millie in The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Release date: Sometime in 2016
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is about an introverted architect (Jason Sudekis) who helps a homeless teen (Williams) build a raft to sail across the Atlantic following the death of his wife (Jessica Biel) in a car accident. Like her role in The Falling, this is a smaller project Williams can use to cut her teeth in the movies. I think it’s smart for her to develop her craft on films like this rather than jumping right into the Hollywood deep end, and Williams seems more than up to the challenge of playing a wayward teen.
15. Kit Harington in Brimstone
Release date: Sometime in 2016
Here’s the movie Kit Harington was purportedly working on rather than filming Game of Thrones Season 6… It’s a Western thriller due out at some point next year. Harington will play a character named Samuel, and that’s about all we know. The film will also star Carice Van Houten, so look forward to seeing Jon Snow and Melisandre in a weirdly different context. Tagline: Retribution is coming.