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5 Exciting 2016 Films That Aren’t Sequels, Prequels Or Reboots

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‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’, ‘Captain America: Civil War’, ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ are among the most anticipated movies of 2016, but as good as sequels can be film fans are always on the lookout for something original.

Many people decry the constant barrage of follow-ups and re-treads – despite the fact they’re often among the most popular and successful films of any given year – so here are five films set to hit UK cinemas in 2016 that aren’t sequels, prequels and reboots.

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Hail Caesar!

We start with an imminent release and one of this awards season’s most anticipated films. ‘Hail Caesar!’ is the latest from the Coen brothers, which blends together some of the best elements from Joel and Ethan’s wonderful oeuvre.

It’s a crime-caper, which suits the Coen’s wonderfully, set in 1950s Hollywood, immediately bringing to mind the directors’ wonderful ‘Barton Fink’. Then there’s the all-star cast which includes Coen regulars Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin and George Clooney – not to mention not-so-regulars like Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes and Jonah Hill.

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La La Land

A trailer has yet to be released for ‘La La Land’ but on paper the film sounds like an absolute delight. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone team up for the third time following ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ and ‘Gangster Squad’ to star in a romantic drama that’s also, and this is the crucial bit, a musical.

Better still it is written and directed by Damien Chazelle, who burst onto the scene with last year’s ‘Whiplash’, one of the best films of recent times. JK Simmons, the award-winning star of that movie, returns to Chazelle’s side here as well.

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Warcraft

We have a few doubts about whether ‘Warcraft’ will be a success this summer, but given it’s one of very few major blockbuster releases that isn’t a prequel, sequel or reboot we’re certainly hoping for the very best come June.

There’s certainly talent at the helm, in the form of ‘Moon’ and ‘Source Code’ director Duncan Jones, who is making his first foray into big budget, tentpole cinema. The film stars Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton, Toby Kebbell and – most notably of all – pioneering visual effects work from ILM.

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The Nice Guys

Ryan Gosling’s 2016 is shaping up very nicely indeed. Awards-contender ‘The Big Short’ is set for release at the end of the month (22 January) and we’ve already mentioned ‘La La Land’.

‘The Nice Guys’ sees him team up with Shane Black, the fiercely unique, funny and stylish writer/director behind ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ and ‘Iron Man 3’, and Russell Crowe, who we hope is on fine, scenery-chewing form as hired muscle who gets caught up in a conspiracy with Gosling’s private investigator.

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Moana

‘Moana’ is the latest from Disney Animation Studios, making it the follow-up to the incredibly successful ‘Forzen’, ‘Big Hero 6’ and ‘Tangled’. The story concerns the young girl of the film’s title finding a fabled island in the South Pacific to help her family.

There she finds Maui, a demi-god, voiced by convincing demi-god Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Moana is being played by newcomer Auli'i Cravalho and Alan Tudyk will also be lending his voice to an unknown role. The movie is being directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who directed ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’. So quite a talented duo then.

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Picture Credits: Universal / Gilbert Films / Warner Bros / Disney