This year is shaping up to be a huge year for video games, movie, television, and everything in between. So I thought I’d look ahead into 2019 to see what things I’m most hyped to play and experience with hype fans like you.
Conditions: Since this is somewhat late getting out, I did not include stuff I’ve already seen or played, such as Punisher season 2, Kimmy Schmidt finale, and Kingdom Hearts 3. Also, for each category I included an honorable hype mention for something else that I’m also really hyped for but didn’t quite beat out my main choice. Here we go.
Video Games
Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
If you had told me last summer after watching the E3 trailer for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the new title being released by From Software (same company that made my beloved Dark Souls and Bloodborne games), that there would be anything else I’m more hyped for, I would’ve laughed, rolled my eyes, and probably walked away dancing while listening to that Kids See Ghosts album that dropped last year. However, Nintendo upped the hype ante by announcing Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance 3 for the Switch–yes, exclusively for the Switch. The follow-up to the much loved Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 will be a true-to-form ability-based action beat-em-up game supporting multiplayer co-op and a bigger Marvel roster than ever before. I spent most of my high school and college days playing the original two, so this announcement was enough for me to start a little savings fund to buy myself a Switch in time for Nintendo’s non-specific 2019 release date.
Honorable Hype Mention – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – I’ve never been so excited to die!
DC Entertainment Project
Stargirl TV Series
DC has announced a live-action TV series for their new streaming service, DC Universe, starring Brec Bassinger (the young lady already sounds like a superhero alter-ego) as the titular Stargirl. Character creator Geoff Johns is expected to lead the show, which is great news for comic book fans considering Johns’s talent as a writer and personal investment in the Stargirl character. While DC Universe’s launch has been shaky to say the least due to relatively low subscription numbers and the lack of a console-based app (some would say the two are connected), this is a project that sounds like it will have a lot of heart. And DC Entertainment needs something like that this year to make up for the rather low-content 2019 they have scheduled.
Honorable Hype Mention – Second half of Young Justice: Outsiders – I can taste the Vandal Savage hype like a warm, prehistoric soup.
Marvel Studios
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Yeah, I don’t think I surprised anyone with this. As much as I’ve campaigned for a Captain Marvel movie for years and years, I just can’t forget my original superhero love. Far from Home has had a terrific advertisement campaign in that I have watched the trailer and have no idea what it’s about. Given Homecoming’s ability to stay true to the characters while introducing new creative twists to the Spider-Man mythos, I’m sure that Far from Home’s creative team will offer us some high-quality and brand new character treatments and storylines. And plus, we get to see more of Zendaya’s MJ, which is all we really want.
Honorable Hype Mention: Captain Marvel – Good job, Marvel, only took you 11 years to acknowledge that women can be centerpieces to superhero movies.
Netflix TV
Jessica Jones Season 3
Jessica Jones stands beside The Punisher as the last Netflix Marvel shows standing, and while we all mourn the loss of Daredevil, Luke Cage, and–I guess?–Iron Fist, Jessica Jones offers a good mix of comic book flair and realistic drama to keep us in Netflix’s quarterly subscription numbers. That is, as long as they don’t introduce those damn ads. I’m looking at you, Netflix administration; I will not hesitate to write a strongly-worded email. Anyway, we left season 2 seeing Jessica in a complicated place having lost friends, confronted her past, and wrestled with her personal demons. Season 3 is sure to bring more writing quality and steady character development rhythms to keep us invested in one of our last little corners of Marvel TV’s New York.
Honorable Hype Mention: Stranger Things Season 3 – David Harbour, please, hurry up and get Millie Bobby Brown away from this crazed hip hop artist. It’s way past the point of being weird.
Horror Entertainment
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
This was a really difficult one to decide on since 2019 is set to be a stacked year for horror with Jordan Peele’s “Us,” James Gunn’s “Brightburn,” Josh Boone’s intriguing X-Men horror spin-off “The New Mutants,” and Stephen King’s “It: Chapter 2” and “Pet Sematary” set to all hit theaters this year. However, with horror master Guillermo del Toro directing my own personal source of childhood nightmares, I had to give it to the film adaptation of the horror anthology “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” It’s not often that people my age are actually excited for reboots and new treatments of our childhood memories. I mean between all the industry-killing and not-our-presidenting we get up to, millenials barely have the energy for positive emotions. But everyone I’ve talked to about this project is hype for it, and unanimity is a rare property for horror fans. So terrify me, Mr. Guillermo. Make me cry. We don’t even have to do it in an abandoned alley dressed like steampunk versions of my parents this time around.
Honorable Hype Mention: Us by Jordan Peele – Real OG’s will remember when Peele was funny for a living instead of terrifying.
Miscellaneous Hype
Detective Pikachu
Similar to my most hype game selection, Detective Pikachu is one of those things where if a year ago you told me about it I would’ve laughed my ass off before eating too many beef raviolis and passing out in the snow. But here we are, 3 months away from the premier, and I still can’t believe it’s really happening. A live-action feature film about the Pokemon universe starring a racially diverse cast and Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu. Good or bad, what a wild ride that’s gonna be in May, and I am buckled up and ready for it.
