By IAN FAILES
2018 has already been an exceptional year for blockbuster visual effects film releases – Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, to name a few.
But it’s not over yet. The rest of this year, particularly the final quarter, looks to have an incredibly impressive array of VFX-filled films. VFX Voice previews just some of these notable upcoming releases.
Release date: October 5
A spin-off of the Spider-Man franchise, Venom is directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Tom Hardy as a journalist who comes into contact with an alien symbiote. Visual effects-wise, that means a whole lot of complicated transitions between Hardy and the Venom alter-ego, a CG creature. Visual Effects Supervisors Paul Franklin and Sheena Duggal are heading up the VFX effort, with DNEG as the principal vendor.
Release date: October 12
Director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to La La Land is the story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. From footage shown from the film, it already appears to make a restrained use of visual effects to depict aspects of the Apollo launches. The VFX was overseen by DNEG, led by Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Lambert, in what looks to be a more personal story about NASA’s lunar mission.
Release date: November 2
Disney continues its live-action adaptions of classic fairy tales with this effort starring Keira Knightley and Mackenzie Foy. Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston are directing. Expect to see a myriad of environments, creatures and toys brought to life via visual effects. Max Wood is the Production Visual Effects Supervisor, with MPC as the lead vendor.
Release date: November 16
David Yates once again helms this continuation of the story within the Harry Potter universe, which introduces audiences to a younger Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Get ready for fantastical creatures and magical effects, as curated by overall Visual Effects Supervisors Tim Burke and Christian Manz. The lead VFX houses are DNEG, Framestore, Method Studios, Image Engine and Rodeo FX.
Release date: November 21
This sequel to the CG-animated Wreck-It Ralph is directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston and tells the story of the arcade characters breaking out into the Internet for a whole new set of adventures. Walt Disney Animation Studios is handling the animation and effects of what appear to be vast worlds and several familiar Disney characters and franchises.
Release date: December 21
When the trailer for Robert Zemeckis’s Welcome to Marwen broke, it was instantly intriguing, not only because it tells the true story of a man (played by Steve Carrell) who, as a form of self-therapy, builds a WWII-era replica town and populates it with dolls of himself and others, but also for how visual effects were used to help create that side of the tale. Kevin Baillie is Production VFX Supervisor, with Atomic Fiction and Framestore providing effects work.
Release date: December 14
Long-time Peter Jackson associate Christian Rivers is directing this adaptation of the futuristic dystopian steampunk Mortal Engines novels. The striking imagery of entire cities now mounted on moving tracks and in battle is being delivered by Weta Digital. The visual effects supervisors are Ken McGaugh, Kevin Smith and Luke Millar.
Release date: December 14
Certain to stir up audience’s current expectations about what an American-made piece of feature animation should look like, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse looks to be a unique take on the Miles Morales/Spider-Man character. Every frame of the 2D/3D production seems unique, and was handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks, with VFX supervision by Danny Dimian.
Release date: December 21
A spinoff of the Transformers franchise directed by Laika’s Travis Knight, Bumblebee will once again feature computer-generated robots and plenty of fighting-related visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic (the VFX Supervisor is Jason Smith), but this time set in the late 1980s and focusing on the famous yellow-car character taken in by a teenage girl (Hailee Steinfeld).
Release date: December 21
For a long time it was thought James Cameron would direct this adaptation of the manga Battle Angel Alita, but Cameron is producer here, with the film – about a salvaged cyborg warrior – directed by Robert Rodriguez. Weta Digital and VFX Supervisors Joe Letteri, VES, Eric Saindon and Nick Epstein are leading the charge of crafting the fully digital cyborg, which was performance captured by Rosa Salazar, with DNEG and Framestore also on board.
Release date: U.K., December 14; U.S., December 21
James Wan’s Aquaman, part of the DC Universe, tells the origins of the underwater superhero. The production features diverse challenges: underwater sea life and fight sequences, and plenty of above-water action. The production VFX supervisors are Charles Gibson and Kelvin McIlwain. Several studios, including ILM, MPC, Method Studios, Scanline, Rodeo FX and Weta Digital, are working on the film.
Release date: U.S., December 19; U.K., December 21
For Mary Poppins Returns, director Rob Marshall enlisted Emily Blunt as the titular governess, who comes back to the now-adult Banks children in London. Production visual effects supervision was undertaken by Matt Johnson, with principal studios Cinesite, Framestore and Luma Pictures leading the VFX charge. 2D-animated sequences by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Duncan Studios will also appear in the film.
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