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New trailers: The Lion King, Lego Movie 2, Once Upon a Deadpool, and more

New trailers: The Lion King, Lego Movie 2, Once Upon a Deadpool, and more

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Photo: 20th Century Fox

If you’re an American, there’s a good chance you’re lying on some relative’s couch right now, browsing the internet while a nearby TV flashes some daytime show you didn’t know existed. And I’m here to say: embrace it, and come together over the worst things you can find.

I watched Ghost Rider (or like, two-thirds of Ghost Rider, edited for cable TV) with some friends the other week, and I came away with such an enjoyment of the film that I can’t imagine how it has just a 27 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Or, okay, maybe I can. But every immensely goofy part of it is what makes it such a joy to half-watch while killing time with friends.

So go and find your Ghost Rider. (Or take my colleagues’ better recommendations — it’s really your choice.)

Check out nine trailers from this week below.

The Lion King

The first teaser for Disney’s remake of The Lion King is here, and the studio isn’t holding anything back: it’s starting with exactly what we want to see. The voice cast here is stunning — it includes Beyoncé, Donald Glover, and, of course, James Earl Jones — so the film has a lot going for it. But I do wonder: what does everyone think about this realistic, but not-quite-real style of animation? Not that anything is going to stop this movie from being a huge success, but I’m not quite sold on the look just yet. The film comes out July 19th.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

I was surprised at just how charming and funny the original Lego Movie was (and Lego Batman, too!). And it looks like the sequel should be just as fun, with the addition of Tiffany Haddish as well as a second character voiced by Chris Pratt, who seems to be a parody of every Chris Pratt movie character. It comes out February 8th.

Once Upon a Deadpool

Alright, this is kind of brilliant. Fox is releasing a PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2 to get people back in theaters. But instead of just cutting stuff out, it’s adding some goofiness back in, with a fun homage to The Princess Bride. Each ticket sale will also give $1 to the very on-brand charity Fuck Cancer. The re-release hits theaters on December 12th.

Aquaman

Aquaman looks absolutely ridiculous, and this final trailer completely owns it. Its scope is nuts, it’ll have exceedingly upbeat heroic music, and Willem Dafoe will look creepier than ever. It comes out December 21st.

Modest Heroes

Studio Ponoc, the successor of sorts to Studio Ghibli, is coming out with a collection of short films called Modest Heroes. They all look like very different stories, but they seem to be tied together by shared sensibilities — not to mention incredible animation. They come to the US in limited released on January 10th and 12th.

The Intruder

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Dennis Quaid horror movie, but The Intruder looks like a simple but effective thriller, with a clear setup, single location, and plenty of opportunities to freak out its characters (and the audience). It comes out in April.

Birds of Passage

Birds of Passage is Colombia’s submission for the 2019 foreign language Oscar category. It’s a strikingly shot story about a man who gets swept up in the drug trade that’s filled with big characters, spartan landscapes, and a vibe that seems to echo classic Westerns. It comes to the US on February 13th.

Piercing

Piercing appears to open with a bundle of familiar, dark, and gruesome tropes, but it quickly seems to devolve into a swirling, strange, and surreal series of events between a pair of very confused or determined people. It’s hard to say exactly what’s going on, but the film got some good reviews out of Sundance. It comes out February 1st.

Serenity

I’m mostly just including this to troll y’all about Firefly sequels. But I don’t know, this movie also looks ludicrous and gives Matthew McConaughey some fun lines to work with. As much as I’m trashing on it, the film comes from the director of Locke, a dead-simple and wonderfully dramatic film that I absolutely love, so maybe this one is better than the trailer makes it out to be. It comes out January 25th.