The battle for the number one streaming service in the world continues to rage on in 2021 with Paramount+, Hulu+, HBO Max joining the already established Disney+, and Amazon Prime. However, none of these platforms have come close to the lofty standards already set by Netflix. The year 2020 saw an incredible rise in subscribers for Netflix mainly due to the lack of cinemas and the quarantine (lockdown) period. But the presence of fantastic content (both local and international) almost ensures the retainer of both old and new customers, while the addition of many new subscribers shouldn’t be ruled out.
2021 is setting out to be Netflix’s biggest year in terms of movies, docuseries, and television shows. A host of fantastic Hollywood superstars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Gal Gadot -to mention a few- are expected to appear in one movie or tv series on the streaming platform. That said, here are our top anticipated releases on Netflix for 2021
Red Notice
Central Intelligence and Skyscraper director, Rawson Marshall Thurber returns to direct this star-studded action-comedy thriller alongside Dwayne Johnson, both of whom worked together on the aforementioned movies. Johnson plays an Interpol agent that leads a team sent out to track down two expert criminals played by Gal Gadot – a renowned art thief- and Ryan Reynolds – an expert conman.
Red Notice has no official release date, but after Netflix’s preview video for 2021, the movie is expected to be released sometime this year.
New anime about Japan’s first Black samurai is coming to Netflix this April
A popular entertainment website wondercelebs.com has announced another exciting anime is arriving this April. Yasuke, the tale of Japan’s only Black Samurai. It is a genre-bending, cross-cultural anime collaboration between American and Japanese filmmakers.
Concrete Cowboy
Director, Ricky Staub makes his directing bow by bringing Greg Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy novel to life on the big screen. Starring Idris Elba as Harp, the estranged father of a 15-year-old boy, Cole, who discovers the world of urban cowboys after he moves to Detroit to live with his father.
Initially scheduled for a release in 2020, Concrete Cowboy was snapped up by Netflix for distribution after it made its debut at the Toronto International Filme Festival in September last year. The movie is currently holding an impressive 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, denoting positive reviews from critics.
Army of the Dead
If Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson carved out a part for wrestlers to succeed in Hollywood, Dave Bautista has certainly built on it. The former WWE superstar plays the lead in this Zack Snyder directed-movie about a zombie-infested United States of America. Bautista plays the leader of a mercenary group that takes advantage of zombie-filled cities by trying to pull off the biggest heist no one has ever attempted.
Zack Snyder brings his experience from directing movies like 300, Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen -to mention a few- as both he and Netflix would be hoping to have subscribers glued to their tv screen and yearning for more with a sequel and an anime spinoff for the movie already in the works.
The Witcher: Season 2
Fans of the critically acclaimed video game The Witcher were no doubt pleased about the first season of the series. Even the avid book readers of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novel series -which served as source material for both the game and the television series- had little to no complaint about how the first season turned out. With Henry Cavill set to return as ‘Geralt of Rivia’, Freya Allan as ‘Crown Princess of Ciri’, both characters who have seen their stories intertwined through time are coming together for the invasion of Nilfgaard, in what could turn out to be an amazing second season.
Meanwhile, Netflix has announced plans for the animated spinoff film and a live-action prequel limited series.
Money Heist: Season 5
The allure and fanfare attached to this Spanish series shows that not even the language barrier can limit good tv content. Created by Álex Pina, Money Heist is expected to reach its climax in the year 2021, with season 5 already announced as the final season. Álvaro Morte returns as “The Professor” the leader of a small band of misfits to pull off the impossible heist. The end of the fourth season leaves our protagonists in their toughest moment yet, which only builds up the anticipation for a breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat climax in the fifth and final season.
Malcolm & Marie
Fresh off her Emmy award win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performances as Rue Bennett in the series Euphoria. Zendaya teams up with writer-director, Sam Levinson, who also created the series Euphoria, for this Netflix original which was shot in black and white. The movie also stars John David Washington as Malcolm, a movie director who returns home with his girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) from the premiere of his new movie and awaits the reviews of critics. However, the tension turns inward and the titular couple suddenly faced a fight to save their relationship following a series of trying revelations.
