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The 33 most anticipated Netflix original movies coming in 2021

Jason Guerrasio   

The 33 most anticipated Netflix original movies coming in 2021
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Don't Look Up."Netflix
  • Netflix has released its complete slate of original movies coming out in 2021.
  • It includes anticipated titles like the Leonardo DiCaprio/Jennifer Lawrence comedy "Don't Look Up;" the action spy movie "Red Notice," starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds; and the Oscar contender "Malcolm & Marie" starring Zendaya and John David Washington.
  • Here are 33 Netflix originals coming out in 2021, listed alphabetically (release dates will continue to be added as they are announced).

Get ready for lots of Netflix original movies in 2021. Literally every single week.

As most audiences continue to turn to streaming services during the pandemic, Netflix has delivered in being an essential destination for movie lovers, and on Tuesday it showcased some anticipated releases it has coming out throughout 2021.

They include new action movies like "Red Notice," starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds; as well as "Escape from Spiderhead" starring Chris Hemsworth. Also, directorial debuts by big names like Halle Berry ("Bruised") and Lin-Manuel Miranda ("Tick, Tick... Boom!"). And comedies like "Moxie," directed by Amy Poehler and "Don't Look Up," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.

Below are 33 of the most anticipated Netflix originals coming out in 2021.

But first, a video from Netflix that teases some of its major releases coming this year.

Note: Movie Synopses below provided by Netflix.

"Army of the Dead"

"Army of the Dead"
Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead."      Clay Enos/Netflix

Zack Snyder's first movie since "Justice League" follows a group of mercenaries during a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas who take the ultimate gamble: venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, and Tig Notaro star.

"Back to the Outback"

"Back to the Outback"
Isla Fisher stars in "Back to the Outback."      Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

This animated movie features stars Isla Fisher, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Keith Urban, and more lending their voices as Australia's deadliest creatures who plot a daring escape from the zoo to return to the Outback.

"Bad Trip"

"Bad Trip"
(L-R) Eric André and Lil Rel Howery in "Bad Trip."      Netflix

From the producers behind "Jackass" comes this hidden camera comedy that follows two best friends as they go on a cross-country road trip full of hilarious, inventive pranks, pulling its real-life audience into the mayhem. Eric André, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, and Michaela Conlin star.

"Beauty"

"Beauty"
Lena Waithe wrote and produced "Beauty."      Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Viacom

Written and produced by Lena Waithe and starring Giancarlo Esposito, and Sharon Stone, this drama looks at a young Black female recording artist who struggles to maintain her voice and identity after she's offered a lucrative recording contract.

"Blonde"

"Blonde"
Ana de Armas stars in "Blonde."      Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Based on the best-selling novel, here we delve into the life of the world's most famous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, with Ana de Armas in the role.

"Bruised"

"Bruised"
Halle Berry in "Bruised."      Netflix

Marking Halle Berry's directorial debut, she also stars as a former MMA fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and restart her athletic career.

"Concrete Cowboy"

"Concrete Cowboy"
(L-R) Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin in "Concrete Cowboy."      Netflix

While spending the summer in North Philadelphia, a troubled teen is caught between a life of crime and his estranged father's vibrant urban-cowboy subculture. Movie stars Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin ("Stranger Things").

"The Dig" (available January 29)

"The Dig" (available January 29)
Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes in "The Dig."      Netflix

As World War II looms, a wealthy widow (Carey Mulligan) hires an amateur archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her estate leading to a historic discovery.

"Don't Look Up"

"Don
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in "Don't Look Up."      Netflix

Directed by Adam McKay and featuring an all-star cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchette, and Meryl Streep, this comedy tells the story of two astronomers who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth.

"Escape from Spiderhead"

"Escape from Spiderhead"
Chris Hemsworth.      Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disne

In the near future, two young convicts grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary, who experiments on inmates with emotion-altering drugs. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller.

"Fear Street Trilogy"

"Fear Street Trilogy"
R.L. Stine's "Fear Street" book series.      Simon Pulse

Based on R.L. Stine's acclaimed horror book series, these three movies follows a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations ​may all be connected.

"The Guilty"

"The Guilty"
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in "The Guilty."      Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The film takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center. Call operator Joe Bayler (Jake Gyllenhaal) tries to save a caller in grave danger—but he soon discovers that nothing is as it seems.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "The Equalizer" movies) and written by "True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto, the movie also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Riley Keough, Paul Dano, Ethan Hawke, and Bill Burr.

"The Harder They Fall"

"The Harder They Fall"
Jonathan Majors.      Roy Rochlin/Getty

In this Western, outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), is being released from prison, so he reunites his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge.

Produced by Jay-Z., the movie also stars Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, and Idris Elba.

"I Care A Lot" (available February 19)

"I Care A Lot" (available February 19)
(L-R) Eiza González, Dianne Wiest, and Rosamund Pike in "I Care a Lot."      Netflix

A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to have equally shady ties of her own.

Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, and Isaiah Whitlock Jr. star.

"The Last Letter From Your Lover"

"The Last Letter From Your Lover"
Felicity Jones and Nabhaan Razwan in "The Last Letter From Your Lover."      Netflix

The movie follows a pair of interwoven stories set in the present and past. Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones), an ambitious journalist who discovers a trove of secret love letters from 1965, becomes determined to solve the mystery of the forbidden affair at their center.

It also stars Shailene Woodley and Nabhaan Razwan.

"The Last Mercenary"

"The Last Mercenary"
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in "The Last Mercenary."      Jeff Kravitz/Getty

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a mysterious former secret service agent who must urgently return to France when his estranged son is falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking by the government.

"The Loud House Movie"

"The Loud House Movie"
"The Loud House" is going to the movies.      Netflix

The hit Nickelodeon show is getting the movie treatment. The adventure follows the Loud family to Scotland where they discover that they are descendants of Scottish royalty.

"Malcolm & Marie" (available February 5)

"Malcolm & Marie" (available February 5)
Zendaya and John David Washington in "Malcolm & Marie."      Netflix

Sam Levinson (creator of "Euphoria") teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what's sure to be imminent critical and financial success. As they await, their relationship is tested as revelations surface.

"Monster"

"Monster"
Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (left) in "Monster."      Netflix

This drama focuses on Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a 17-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder.

The movie also stars Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Nas, and John David Washington.

"Moxie" (available March 3)

"Moxie" (available March 3)
Amy Poehler in "Moxie."      Netflix

Fed up with the sexist and toxic status quo at her high school, a shy 16-year-old finds inspiration from her mother's rebellious past and anonymously publishes a zine that sparks a school-wide, coming-of-rage revolution.

The movie is directed, produced, and stars Amy Poehler.

"Outside the Wire" (available January 15)

"Outside the Wire" (available January 15)
Anthony Mackie in "Outside the Wire."      Jonathan Prime/Netflix

Set in the future, Harp (Damson Idris), a drone pilot, is sent into a deadly militarized zone where he finds himself working for Leo (Anthony Mackie), an android officer, tasked to locate a doomsday device before the insurgents do.

"The Power of the Dog"

"The Power of the Dog"
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in "The Power of the Dog."      Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Wealthy Montana brothers Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) are two sides of one coin. Phil is graceful, brilliant and cruel where George is stolid, fastidious and gentle. Together they are joint owners of the biggest ranch in the Montana valley.

When George secretly marries local widow Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a shocked and angry Phil wages a sadistic, relentless war to destroy her entirely using her effeminate son Peter as a pawn.

"The Princess Switch 3"

"The Princess Switch 3"
Vanessa Hudgens in "The Princess Switch" movies.      Netflix

When a priceless relic is stolen, Queen Margaret and Princess Stacy enlist the help of Margaret's audacious look-alike cousin Fiona who teams with a dashing, mysterious man from her past to retrieve it.

Vanessa Hudgens returns for the latest chapter in this franchise.

"Red Notice"

"Red Notice"
Gal Gadot stars in "Red Notice" alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds.      Amy Sussman/Getty Images

An Interpol-issued Red Notice is a global alert to hunt and capture the world's most wanted. But when a daring heist brings together the FBI's top profiler (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and two rival criminals (Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds), there's no telling what will happen.

"Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie"

"Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get a new movie.      Nickelodeon

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are faced with their greatest challenge yet when a mysterious stranger named Casey Jones arrives from the future with a dire warning.

"The Starling"

"The Starling"
Melissa McCarthy stars in "The Starling."      Rich Fury/AP Images

This heartwarming dramedy follows a married couple suffering a hardship. Jack heads off to deal with grief while Lilly remains in the "real" world, dealing with her own guilt and a crippling internal struggle to live with a dark secret.

Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, Kevin Kline, Timothy Olyphant, and David Diggs star.

"Stowaway"

"Stowaway"
Anna Kendrick stars in "Stowaway."      Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

On a mission headed to Mars, an unintended stowaway (Shamier Anderson) accidentally causes severe damage to the spaceship's life support systems. Facing dwindling resources and a potentially grim outcome, a medical researcher (Anna Kendrick) emerges as the only dissenting voice against the clinical logic of both her commander (Toni Collette) and the ship's biologist (Daniel Dae Kim).

"Sweet Girl"

"Sweet Girl"
Jason Momoa stars in "Sweet Girl."      Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Jason Momoa stars as a devastated husband who vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife's death while protecting the only family he has left, his daughter.

"Thunder Force"

"Thunder Force"
Octavia Spencer stars in "Thunder Force."      Getty/Pascal Le Segretain

In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city.

Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Bobby Cannavale, Melissa Leo, and Jason Bateman star.

"Tick, Tick... Boom!"

"Tick, Tick... Boom!"
Lin-Manuel Miranda directs "Tick, Tick... Boom."      Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Set in 1990, this drama tells the story of Jon, an aspiring theater composer who is waiting tables in New York City while writing "Superbia" — which he hopes will be the next great American musical and finally give him his big break.

This marks the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda and stars Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, Bradley Whitford, and Judith Light.

"To All the Boys: Always and Forever"

"To All the Boys: Always and Forever"
Noah Centineo and Lana Condor star in "To All the Boys..." movies.      Netflix

As Lara Jean Covey prepares for the end of high school and the start of adulthood, a pair of life-changing trips leads her to reimagine what life with her family, friends, and Peter will look like after graduation. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo return.

"The Woman in the Window"

"The Woman in the Window"
Amy Adams in "The Woman in the Window."      Netflix

An agoraphobic woman (Amy Adams) living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.

The movie also stars Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianne Moore.

"Yes Day" (March 12)

"Yes Day" (March 12)
Edgar Ramirez and Jennifer Garner in "Yes Day."      Netflix

Always feeling like they have to say NO to their kids and co-workers, Allison and Carlos decide to give their three kids a YES DAY — where for 24 hours the kids make the rules.

This family comedy stars Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez.

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