April
Promising Young Woman — directed by Emerald Fennell. An actress (recently portraying Camilla Shand on The Crown), a showrunner (the second season of Killing Eve) and now a filmmaker with her feature debut, Fennell wrote and directed this Margot Robbie-produced, Carey Mulligan-led revenge thriller. Release date (following a Sundance debut): April 17th.
Black Widow
May
Black Widow — directed by Cate Shortland (Lore). Following in DC’s footsteps, Marvel Studios hired a woman filmmaker to fly solo on one of their superhero movies. Shortland is also following in the footsteps of Niki Caro as the third woman hired by Disney for a tentpole feature costing more than $100 million. Black Widow kicks off the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a movie focused on the titular Avenger. Release date: May 1st
Covers — directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night). Following her underrated and underperforming Late Night from last year, Ganatra has quickly rebounded with a romantic comedy set in the LA music industry. Release date: May 8th.
Wonder Woman 1984
June
Wonder Woman 1984 — directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman). Do women just direct all the superhero movies now? That’s what it seems in the first half of 2020, but this is where that trend ends. Anyway, Jenkins is a veteran in that department, having helmed the first Wonder Woman quite successfully. She’s back, as is Gal Gadot as the titular DC Comics icon, now fighting off villains in the 1980s. Release date: June 5th.
Candyman — directed by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods). The latest horror sequel to retcon a franchise and directly follow only the decades-old original while just repeating the same title of the first movie, DaCosta’s Candyman revisits the eponymous boogeyman based on Clive Barker’s story “The Forbidden.” Release date: June 12th.
August
The One and Only Ivan — directed by Thea Sharrock (Me Before You). Based on the children’s novel of the same name, this family film from Disney is about a gorilla who lives at a mall and cares for a baby elephant who arrives to live there as well. Release date: August 14th
September
Praise This — directed by Tina Gordon (Little). Screenwriter-turned-director Gordon, who also scripted last year’s What Men Want as well as her own directorial effort Little, is quickly back with a romantic movie focused on a youth choir competition. Release date: September 25th.
October
Respect — directed by Liesl Tommy. A theatre director turned television director (Jessica Jones) now turned filmmaker, Tommy’s feature debut is a biopic about Aretha Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson. Release date: October 9th.
Friendsgiving — directed by Nicol Paone. Paone also wrote this comedy/drama about a group of friends who have a dysfunctional Thanksgiving together. Malin Akerman, Aisha Tyler, Kat Dennings, and Christine Taylor star. Release date: TBD October.
November
Eternals — directed by Chloé Zhao (The Riders). Another Marvel movie by an indie filmmaker turned helmer of blockbusters, Eternals takes us to a new corner of the galactic sandbox of the MCU. Release date: November 6th
Happiest Season — directed by Clea DuVall (The Intervention). Actress-turned-filmmaker DuVall delivers her sophomore feature with this lesbian rom-com starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Release date: November 20th.
Bergman Island
TBD
Bergman Island — directed by Mia Hansen-Love (Things to Come). Mia Wasikowska and Vicky Krieps star in this drama about filmmakers who travel to the place that inspired Ingmar Bergman to work on their screenplays.
The Half of It — directed by Alice Wu (Saving Face). A teen comedy with a love triangle in which a girl is hired to help a boy get another girl who happens to also be the first girl’s crush, too. Coming soon to Netflix.
Into the Deep — directed by Emma Sullivan. A documentary about how Sullivan set out to make a documentary about Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who wound up a murderer. Coming soon to Netflix following its Sundance debut.
Marry Me — directed by Kat Coiro (And While We Were Here). Jennifer Lopez stars as a pop singer who is rejected on stage at Madison Square Garden and picks a random man from the crowd to marry.
Misbehaviour — directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. Jessie Buckley, Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Suki Waterhouse star in this historical drama about a group of women who plan to disrupt the Miss World pageant.
The Old Guard — directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball). Charlize Theron stars in this comic book adaptation as a leader of mercenaries who can’t die.
Passing — directed by Rebecca Hall. Actress Hall makes her directorial debut with this thriller starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga as old high school friends who are reunited and then develop a mutual obsession.
Relic — directed by Natalie Erika James. Emily Mortimer stars in this horror movie about three generations of women haunted by manifestations of dementia.
Related Topics: 2020 Preview, Female Filmmakers
