44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 4

Popculturology is holding off on releasing our picks for top films of 2012 for a few weeks (look, no one invited us to a screening of Zero Dark Thirty, so we're missing a key piece), but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about what 2013 has in store for us at the theater. We'll bring you Popculturology's 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013 in four installments this week.

Check out the first 11 movies after the jump. The order is strictly alphabetical, so don't worry that something ridiculous like G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes before an Oscar contender like Saving Mr. Banks. As always, head to the comments to let us know which movies you're looking forward to in 2013.

Saving Mr. Banks
Dec. 20
If you've seen Tom Hanks over the past few months, you probably noticed the mustache that he's been rocking. Not normally a 'stache guy, Hanks has actually grown the bit of facial hair to play Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. The movie tells the story of Disney's mission to gets rights to adapt P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 5

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Oct. 4
Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez have been talking about bringing a sequel to 2005's Sin City to the big screens since the day the original debuted, and if the co-directors can hit their release date, we'll finally get that sequel in 2013. The role of Ava (the Dame the title refers to) hasn't been cast yet, but Angelina Jolie and Rachel Weisz are the two names that keep getting mentioned.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1


Star Trek Into Darkness
May 17
J.J. Abrams returns to the Star Trek universe with a sequel that could be the franchise's Empire Strikes Back. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out. Things look bleak for Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and crew. Benedict Cumberbatch continues his recent habit of being in EVERYTHING, playing a villain named John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness. We'll believe he's not Khan when we see the movie and he's not playing Khan.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


This Is the End
June 14
It's the end of the world, and James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson have to face the apocalypse. If you're a young star in Hollywood, you probably have a cameo in this movie, with Emma Watson, Aziz Ansari, Rihanna and a ton of other celebrities also playing themselves.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1

Thor: The Dark World
Nov. 8
After saving New York City in The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth's Thor returns to the more mystical realms, where he faces an ancient evil that threatens to destroy everything. Funny how that's usually what ancient evil wants to do, huh? Alan Taylor, one of Game of Thrones' directors, takes the reins for this sequel.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2

Twelve Years a Slave
No release date yet
Director Steve McQueen follows up Shame with another Oscar-caliber film, adapting Twelve Years a Slave, the 1853 book by Solomon Northup. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Northup, a free African-American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Paul Dano and Benedict Cumberbatch (see, he's in everything) also star.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 5


Warm Bodies
Feb. 13
Shaking up the current Walking Dead state of zombiedom, Warm Bodies tells the story of a zombie who falls for a human girl. Hopefully it's more Zombieland than Twilight.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1

White House Down
June 28
Here's the other movie about Secret Service agents having to protect the president after the White House is attacked by terrorists. White House Down is the one starring Channing Tatum as the Secret Service agent and Jamie Foxx as the president, with Roland Emmerich directing.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1

The Wolf of Wall Street
No release date yet
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio reunite for their fifth collaboration with The Wolf of Wall Street. Fun fact: Scorsese has not worked with former muse Robert De Niro since he started directing DiCaprio. Any chance we'll ever get a film with both De Niro and DiCaprio, Scorsese? Anyway, Jonah Hill has a role in The Wolf of Wall Street too, continuing his transition to "real actor."
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 5

The Wolverine
July 26
Just like anyone who saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the team behind The Wolverine is also pretending that awful movie didn't happen, ignoring it completely while telling the story of Wolverine's time in Japan. Director James Mangold has promised to deliver a darker Wolverine story with fewer random mutants making appearances.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


World War Z
June 21
Another zombie movie, but unlike Warm Bodies, don't expect to see Brad Pitt falling in love with any of his undead adversaries. Loosely based on the novel by the same name, World War Z pits Pitt's (I'm sorry — I really didn't mean to do that) United Nations worker against a breed of zombies that movie as a swarm.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2

Don't forget to check out 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 1, 44 Movies to Get Excited About: Part 2 and 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 3 too.