Fall Movie Preview 2018: From ‘A Star Is Born’ to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

All the trailers, release dates, and information one needs for another season at the cinema

September 20, 2018
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in Photo: Warner Bros.

Fall is here, which means the weather has started to cool, the leaves are getting ready to change colors, and fantasy football is back in full swing. The new season also brings with it quite a few anticipated films.

The upcoming movies cover just about every topic imaginable, running the gamut from true stories based on drug addiction and space travel to adapted works about haunted homes and alien parasites. There are of course sequels and remakes galore, too, including ones about boxing, touring musicians, animated video game characters, and notorious slashers in face masks. Did we mention Gerard Butler on a submarine?

Check out the best of the new and returning Fall films (below).

“The House With a Clock in Its Walls”

Director: Eli Roth

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan

Release date: Sept. 21

A 10-year-old boy named Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart in the Eli Roth-directed dark and fantastical adaptation of “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” based on John Bellairs’ 1973 children’s book of the same name. Lewis soon enough finds himself navigating a world of magic, monsters, and maybe the undead with a little help from his warlock uncle (Stern Show veteran Jack Black) and Mrs. Zimmerman (Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett), the witch who lives next door.

“Night School”

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Stars: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Taran Killam, Romany Malco

Release date: Sept. 28

Tiffany Haddish plays a hard-nosed adult education teacher in “Night School,” an upcoming comedy reuniting the breakout comedian with her “Girls Trip” director Malcolm D. Lee. She’s good at her job but definitely has her hands full with her new class, which includes braggadocios entrepreneur turned restaurant mascot Teddy Walker (repeat Stern Show guest Kevin Hart), who has returned to night school after his lucrative business failed and is desperate to get his GED.

“A Star Is Born”

Director: Bradley Cooper

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Halsey, Sam Elliott

Release date: Oct. 5

One Stern Show guest helps another conquer her stage fright in the music-filled remake of “A Star Is Born,” arriving in October. Following in the footsteps of Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland before her, Lady Gaga takes center stage as Ally, a struggling musician on the verge of abandoning her artistic aspirations until she’s discovered by washed-up country singer Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper). With his help her career takes off and the two soon fall in love, but life on the road ain’t easy for two artists trying to realize their dreams.

Gaga discussed her role in “A Star Is Born” at length during a 2016 Stern Show visit, telling Howard she was “very honored” to be part of the film, which also serves as Cooper’s directorial debut. Look back at their conversation here.

“Venom”

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Stars: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate

Release date: Oct. 5

Marvel’s most notorious alien symbiote will finally be unleashed in “Venom.” The dark, comic-inspired film stars Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) as Eddie Brock, an investigative reporter who digs too deep on a shadowy story and gets infected with an alien parasite granting him enhanced strength, a prehensile tongue, and the ability to shape-shift his arms into deadly weapons. But the powers come at a hefty price—namely, his sanity. The long-awaited film is produced by Sony Pictures, the studio behind the standalone “Spider-Man” films, but the famed web slinger is not expected to appear.

“Bad Times at the El Royale”

Director: Drew Goddard

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Nick Offerman

Release date: Oct. 12

Seven strangers with seven secrets spend a night at the same rundown Lake Tahoe hotel in “Bad Times at the El Royale,” a darkly comedic thriller with a star-studded cast that includes “Suspiria” starlet Dakota Johnson, “Avengers” action hero Chris Hemsworth, and 2014 Stern Show guest Jeff Bridges. The genre-bending film toes the line between graphically violent and bizarrely comedic with trailer scenes teasing everything from brutal shotgun murders to Hemsworth dancing around half-naked in the rain.

“Beautiful Boy”

Director: Felix Van Groeningen

Stars: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan

Release date: Oct. 12

Past Stern Show guest Steve Carell and Oscar-nominee Timothée Chalamet star as father and son David and Nic Sheff in “Beautiful Boy,” Amazon Studios’ October drama about the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years. Adapted from a best-selling pair of memoirs written by David and Nic themselves, the project could prove to be another feather in the cap for Chalamet, a rising star who also recently starred in “Lady Bird” and “Call Me by Your Name.”

“First Man”

Director: Damien Chazelle

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Kyle Chandler, Pablo Schreiber, Cory Michael Smith, Jon Bernthal

Release date: Oct. 12

One of American history’s most celebrated moments may finally get the cinematic retelling it deserves in “First Man,” Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling’s first collaboration since “La La Land,” which won six Oscars. The story details the decade leading up to Neil Armstrong (Gosling) becoming the first human to walk on the moon. In addition to focusing on the rigors of his training and the stress the mission caused at home, it focuses heavily on the entire Apollo 11 crew around him, including astronauts played by recent Stern Show guests Cory Michael Smith and Jon Bernthal.

“Mid90s”

Director: Jonah Hill

Stars: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-Kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia

Release date: Oct. 19

A Southern Californian boy with a tumultuous home life finds solace in skateboarding in “Mid90s,” an upcoming indie drama written and directed by Oscar-nominated actor and Stern Show celebrity superfan Jonah Hill. Set to the sounds of Kanye West and ‘90s-era Wu-Tang Clan, the emotionally taut coming-of-age story follows 13-year-old Stevie (Suljic) who one summer befriends a group of skateboarders and immerses himself in Los Angeles’ skateboarding culture as a way to escape his troubled family life.

“The Oath”

Director: Ike Barinholtz

Stars: Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish, John Cho, Billy Magnussen, Carrie Brownstein, Chris Ellis, Meredith Hagner, Nora Dunn

Release date: Oct. 19

Stern Show celebrity superfan Ike Barinholtz and breakthrough comedian Tiffany Haddish suffer through a Thanksgiving dinner from hell in “The Oath,” Barinholtz’s directorial debut set in a world where the White House has issued a mandate for citizens to pledge their unending loyalty to the government. He and Haddish play a progressive-minded couple who already has enough trouble getting along with their conservative family at gatherings long before the government announces the “oath” along with a Thanksgiving deadline. Things between the politically divided family members get even worse after government agents arrive on the scene and the heated dinner party soon devolves into chaos and violence.

“Serenity”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fz8nNAZ61y0

Director: Steven Knight

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Strong, Diane Lane

Release date: Oct. 19

Oscar-winning Stern Show veteran Matthew McConaughey stars as fishing boat captain Baker Dill in “Serenity,” a tropical paradise-set noir written and directed by and “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight. He’s living his best life on Plymouth Island until his ex-wife Karen (Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway) shows up out of nowhere and reveals to everyone that Baker isn’t even his real name. Making matters worse, Karen begs him to save her—and their young son—from her violent new husband (“Chappaquiddick” star Jason Clarke) by feeding him to the sharks while they’re out at sea.

“Wildlife”

Director: Paul Dano

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould

Release date: Oct. 19

Actor Paul Dano (“There Will Be Blood”) makes his directorial debut with “Wildlife,” a 1960s-set story about the complicated lives of a small-town Montana family. Oscar-nominated Stern Show guest Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a golf pro named Jerry who decides to become a firefighter after losing his day job. In addition to being dangerous, his newfound career choice has a profound effect on his wife, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) and teenage son, Joe (Ed Oxenbould), who must now learn to be the man of the house. Co-written by Dano and Zoe Kazan (“The Big Sick”), the film is adapted from a Richard Ford novel of the same name.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Director: Marielle Heller

Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant

Release date: Oct. 19

Fresh off starring opposite foul-mouth puppets in the crime comedy “The Happytime Murders,” Melissa McCarthy stars as real-life celebrity biographer Lee Israel in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” The biopic centers around the life, career, and eventual missteps of a best-selling author who made a good living in the 1970s and 80s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn but took a wrong turn somewhere along the way. She eventually finds herself forging letters from prominent literary figures and selling them to collectors, thanks to a little help from her trusted friend Jack (Richard E. Grant).

“Halloween”

Director: David Gordon Green

Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Nick Castle

Release date: Oct. 19

Michael Myers is once again causing murder and mayhem in small-town America in the latest installment of “Halloween,” an eagerly anticipated follow-up to John Carpenter’s beloved 1978 original. Directed by Green (“Eastbound & Down”) and co-written by him and actor Danny McBride, the film sees legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis reprise the role of Laurie Strode, a.k.a. the babysitter who narrowly escaped the slasher’s brutal rampage in the original. This time, however, Laurie vows to be more prepared for her Halloween-night showdown with Myers.

“Hunter Killer”

Director: Donovan Marsh

Stars: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini, Michael Nyqvist

Release date: Oct. 26

Deep under the Arctic Ocean, American submarine Captain Joe Glass (Stern Show veteran Gerard Butler) is on the hunt for a U.S. sub in distress when he discovers a secret Russian coup is underway, threatening to dismantle the world order. With crew and country on the line, Captain Glass must convince the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (recent Oscar winner Gary Oldman) to help him stave off World War III by assembling an elite group of Navy SEALs to rescue the kidnapped Russian president, so they can all sneak through enemy waters.

“Bohemian Rhapsody”

Director: Bryan Singer

Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, Mike Myers

Release date: Nov. 2

Rami Malek has large shoes to fill in the upcoming Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which sees the “Mr. Robot” star portraying the celebrated British band’s quirky yet beloved frontman Freddie Mercury. The film has been described as a “foot-stomping celebration” of Queen, their music, and Freddie’s extraordinary life which often defied stereotypes and shattered convention. In addition to tracing the band’s meteoric rise to success, it hints at a few tragic turns in the band’s story, including their late singer’s eventual AIDS diagnosis.

“Suspiria”

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Stars: Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth

Release date: Nov. 2

Johnson (“50 Shades of Grey”) and Moretz (“The Equalizer”) are nimble young dance students in the company of evil in “Suspiria,” “Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino’s eagerly anticipated remake of Dario Argento’s classic 1977 horror film. Moretz’s plays a veteran dancer who has seemingly already cracked under the tutelage of Swinton, the dance company’s director who may or may not be in league with Satan. Dakota, meanwhile, portrays the gifted new girl who must decide exactly how much she’s willing to endure to rise to the top of her class.

Nobody’s Fool

Director: Tyler Perry

Stars: Tiffany Haddish, Whoopi Goldberg, Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Amber Riley

Release date: Nov. 2

“Night School” and “Girls Trip’s” Tiffany Haddish stars in Tyler Perry’s “Nobody’s Fool” as Tanya, a recently paroled woman who reunites with her sister Danica (Tika Sumpter) while trying to get her life back on track. In doing so, Tanya discovers Danica’s mysterious new online suitor might actually be trying to catfish her. The comedy co-stars actress, Stern Show veteran, and “View” host Whoopi Goldberg, who portrays the girls’ mother.

“The Frontrunner”

Director: Jason Reitman

Stars: Hugh Jackman, J.K. Simmons, Bill Burr, Vera Farmiga, Alfred Molina, Sara Paxton, Spencer Garrett, Molly Ephraim, Mamoudou Athie

Release date: Nov. 6, a.k.a. Election Day

Award-winning actor and past Stern Show guest Hugh Jackman plays a U.S. Senator whose run at the White House gets sidetracked by a headline-grabbing sex scandal in “The Front Runner,” a biographical dark comedy about the failed presidential bid of Gary Hart. Directed by fellow Stern Show veteran Jason Reitman, the film centers on what was supposed to be Hart’s smooth ride to the top of the 1988 Presidential ticket but all of that goes to hell after reporters show up at his home and accuse him of cheating on his wife, Lee (“Bates Motel’s” Vera Farmiga).

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web”

Director: Fede Álvarez

Stars: Claire Foy, Lakeith Stanfield, Christopher Convery, Stephen Merchant

Release date: Nov. 9

Emmy-winning “Crown” star Claire Foy takes her turn as the heavily tattooed antiheroine Lisbeth Salander in the fourth entry of the best-selling book series which began with “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Lisbeth this time finds herself wading waist deep into a dangerous conspiracy replete with nefarious hackers, spies, and government officials. It doesn’t appear as if she’ll be the one in over her head, however, as the latest “Spider’s Web” trailer shows her literally stringing up an antagonist from the ceiling like he was a Batman villain.

Claire isn’t the first one to play Lisbeth on the big screen, of course. The Stieg Larsson-penned character was previously portrayed by Rooney Mara and Noomi Rapace. Additionally, Scarlett Johansson revealed in 2017 during her Stern Show debut that she too had gone out for the role of Lisbeth. Get more on the story here.

“Overlord”

Director: Julius Avery

Stars: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Jacob Anderson, Pilou Asbæk, Iain De Caestecker, John Magaro, Bokeem Woodbine

Release date: Nov. 9

American soldiers come face-to-face with Nazi-engineered monstrosities on the eve of D-Day in “Overlord,” a J.J. Abrams-produced war-horror film with a trailer set to AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.” The story follows a squad of young paratroopers who crash down behind enemy lines and are forced to take refuge in a mysterious Nazi compound. It’s there they discover Nazi scientists conducting heinous supernatural experiments on their own soldiers in the hopes of creating a super army of zombie Nazis which just might turn the tides of war.

“Widows”

Director: Steve McQueen

Stars: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas, Brian Tyree Henry

Release date: Nov. 9

Oscar winner Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) directs a star-studded cast of strong women in “Widows,” a modern-day, Chicago-set thriller about four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Co-written by McQueen and Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”), the film sees Viola Davis (“Suicide Squad”) teaming up with three other grieving widows—played by Elizabeth Debicki (“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”), Cynthia Erivo (“Bad Times at the El Royale”), and Stern Show veteran Michelle Rodriguez (“The Fate of the Furious”)—for a heist of their own which they hope might finally get them free of their mob-owned debts.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”

Director: David Yates

Stars: Johnny Depp, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller

Release date: Nov. 16

Harry Potter fans get another fantasy fix in November with “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” J.K. Rowling’s latest adventure filled with wizards, warlocks, dragons, magic, and, well, Johnny Depp. The new film follows the latest exploits of the powerful dark wizard Grindelwald (Depp), who at the end of the last film had been apprehended by Newt Scamander (Redmayne) and MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America). But being an all-powerful wizard has its perks and soon Grindelwald escapes custody and sets his sights on raising an army of wizards and witches to help him rule the world.

“Creed II”

Director: Steven Caple Jr.

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu, Dolph Lundgren, Andre Ward, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris

Release date: Nov. 22

A family rivalry is renewed in “Creed II,” the follow-up to 2015’s critically acclaimed “Rocky” spinoff starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed and past Stern Show guest Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. In “Creed,” the Italian Stallion trained the burgeoning boxer to follow in the footsteps of his dead dad, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). In the sequel, things get more personal after Adonis gets the chance to fight Viktor Drago (Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a.k.a. the guy who killed Adonis’s dad in “Rocky IV.”

Rocky of course does everything he can to prevent another Creed from getting beat to death by a Drago, but Adonis—desperate to avenge his father’s death—isn’t buying it.

“Robin Hood”

Director: Otto Bathurst

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Taron Egerton, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Tim Minchin, Jamie Dornan

Release date: Nov. 22

Sherwood Forest’s most infamous outlaw returns in the action-filled, 2018 reimagining of “Robin Hood.” This latest version stars “Kingsman” actor Taron Egerton as Robin, a war-hardened Crusader, and Oscar-winning Stern Show guest Jamie Foxx as his Moorish commander Little John. While Robin’s heart is in the right place, he’s still pretty wet around the ears when the story stars. Thankfully, he has Little John to school him in the arts of stealing, subterfuge, and shooting straight so the young lord might lead his Merry Men in a stunt-filled revolt against the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” villain Ben Mendelsohn).

“Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2”

Director: Rich Moore

Stars: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Taraji P. Henson, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Ed O’Neill, James Corden

Release date: Nov. 22

Wreck-It Ralph, the video game bad guy with a heart of gold, has returned … and this time he’s setting his sights on wrecking something much bigger—the internet. In Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2,” the John C. Reilly-voiced character once again teams up with fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Stern Show regular Sarah Silverman) as the two of them travel into the world wide web in search of a replacement part to save Sugar Rush, the video game Vanellope lives in. The two visit strange places and meet an interesting cast of characters along the way, including Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and backbone of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube.”

“Green Book”

Director: Peter Farrelly

Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini

Release date: Nov. 22

Peter Farrelly—one of the brothers behind comedy classics like “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary”—takes on more serious fare with “Green Book,” a 1960s-set drama about a working-class Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx (Viggo Mortensen) who becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist (Mahershala Ali) on tour. Driving from Manhattan to the Deep South, the unlikely duo must rely on “The Green Book” to get them there, which details those few establishments back then that were deemed safe for African Americans. Based on a true story, the film focuses on a blossoming friendship between these two men that would eventually transcend both race and class in a turbulent region at the height of the civil rights movement.

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