Notorious for its Hollywood-caliber backdrop, Malibu has set the stage for iconic films from Grease to Pirates of the Caribbean to The Notebook. So in the midst of awards season – with ceremonies taking place just an hour from Malibu Beach Inn – we can’t help but to look ahead to some of the biggest releases of 2017.

From innovative new concepts to long-awaited sequels (including the eighth installment in a classic series), here are the films we are most excited about this year.

Everybody Loves Somebody

February 14

The most amorous holiday of the year gives rise to heartwarming films like Everybody Loves Somebody, a romantic comedy about managing past love and future possibilities. Karla Souza stars as Clara Barron, an OB-GYN with everything figured out except for her love life. Pressured by a family wedding in Mexico, she asks a co-worker (Ben O’Toole) to pose as her boyfriend for the weekend and is caught off guard when her ex-boyfriend (Jose Maria Yazpik) shows up to charm the family after having vanished from her life completely.

Beauty and the Beast

March 14

The classic fairytale of a bookish young woman and a beastly prince returns this March in a live-action remake of the 1991 Disney animated film. When Belle (Emma Watson) becomes a prisoner in an enchanted castle, she learns to look beyond the fearsome appearance of the Beast (Dan Stevens) while befriending the castle’s staff and evading the hunter Gaston (Luke Evans). The film promises the return of Beauty and the Beast favorites like Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Plumette as well as beloved original songs.

Gifted

April 7

In this heartfelt family drama, Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy, his niece Mary (Mckenna Grace). When the 7-year-old’s incredible mathematical abilities come to light, Frank attempts to continue providing Mary with a normal childhood, but his imposing mother (Lindsay Duncan) has other plans and works to separate the two. Gifted also stars Jenny Slate – real-life girlfriend of Chris Evans – as Mary’s teacher.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

May 26

The swashbuckling adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) continue in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Captain Jack’s old rival, Capitán Salazar (Javier Bardem), has escaped from the Devil’s Triangle with his crew of ghost pirates, leading Jack to seek the Trident of Poseidon to gain control of the seas. And after an obvious absence in the fourth film, fans can expect the return of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom).

Wonder Woman

June 2

The first modern, female-led superhero film arrives with Wonder Woman, an updated telling of the Amazonian princess Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) who becomes one of the world’s greatest heroes. In the early 20th century, American military pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes on the island of Themyscira and tells Diana about ordeals of World War I. Diana decides to leave home to try to stop the war and step into her role as Wonder Woman. 

Dunkirk

July 21

Award-winning director Christopher Nolan brings history to life in Dunkirk, a World War II-era film showcasing hope and survival during the historic Dunkirk evacuation. (The epic motion picture was actually filmed on the same beaches where the evacuation took place in 1940.) Allied soldiers from Belgium, Canada, and France are surrounded by the German Army during the early stages of the war and must persevere until being extracted in Operation Dynamo.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

December 15

Perhaps the most anticipated film of the year, The Last Jedi continues the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young woman with a connection to the force who first appeared in The Force Awakens. Very little has been revealed about the plot of the film, but we do know that the feature explores the relationship between Rey and Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and it has been hinted that Rey’s past and family ties will finally be revealed. The second installment in the new Star Wars trilogy also sees the return of Finn (John Boyega), Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver.)

*Featured image by Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.