Netflix is gearing up for another great year of original movies [1] in 2021! The streaming giant has a pretty intriguing lineup of big titles and even bigger stars, with award-winning A-listers joining up-and-comers for a variety of movies [2] that touches on every genre, from satirical comedy to poignant drama to quirky musicals to horror and more. While many of Netflix's upcoming original movies for 2021 [3] don't have exact release dates yet, we're getting ready for whenever they do end up coming out, and the first handful of movies are already set to arrive in January and February. Fair warning: this list isn't necessarily exhaustive, but it covers the movies that have confirmed 2021 release dates so far. Keep reading to see which Netflix originals are already on our radar for 2021!
— Additional reporting by Corinne Sullivan
What Happened to Mr. Cha?
In this Korean comedy, a has-been actor named Cha In-Pyo tries to revive his once-promising career, though in his attempt to do so, he's forced to grapple with his past and who he's become.
Release date: Jan. 1
Asphalt Burning: Børning 3
In the third instalment of this Norwegian action-comedy film series, drag racer Roy takes on his nemesis on the legendary Nürburgring track in Germany in the hopes of winning back his runaway bride.
Release date: Jan. 2 [4]
Stuck Apart
In this Turkish comedy, a man named Aziz attempts to keep it together while in the midst of a midlife crisis, though his sanity is challenged by his boring job, needy friends, and over-the-top family.
Release date: Jan. 8 [6]
Outside the Wire
Anthony Mackie continues his string of sci-fi roles outside the Marvel universe with Outside the Wire. He plays Harp, an android military officer in a dystopian future, who enlists a drone pilot to find a doomsday device before the enemy can find it first.
Release date: Jan. 15
So My Grandma’s a Lesbian!
In this Spanish comedy, a young Spanish lawyer marrying into an ultra-rich (and ultra-conservative) Scottish family finds her wedding plans in jeopardy after her grandmother decides to marry her best friend, who happens to be a woman.
Release date: Jan. 22
Penguin Bloom
Adapted from Bradley Trevor Greive's book of the same name, this drama tells the true story of Sam Bloom (played by Naomi Watts [7]), a mother of three who finds her life turned upside down after a near-fatal accident leaves her paralyzed.
Release date: Jan. 27
Malcolm & Marie
Zendaya [10]'s famous "quarantine film" is finally arriving! She and John David Washington play a couple — a filmmaker and his girlfriend — who come home from a successful movie premiere, only to have some major revelations about their relationship come to light.
Release date: Feb. 5
Fear Street
Netflix is producing a trilogy of Fear Street films, based on R.L. Stine's popular YA books. The first movie stars Kiana Madeira and Olivia Welch as teenagers who are struggling not just with their relationship, but with the strange happenings in their town. Oh, and the fact that they're from different time periods. Although a release date has not yet been announced, each of the three films is intended to come out one month after the previous one.
Release date: Unknown 2021
The Kissing Booth 3
The third (and presumably final) movie in the Kissing Booth franchise is set to arrive sometime in 2021, after filming back-to-back with 2020's The Kissing Booth [11] 2. The whole cast, including Jacob Elordi [12], Joey King [13], Joel Courtney, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Taylor Zakhar Perez, and Molly Ringwald, will star.
Release date: Unknown 2021
America: The Motion Picture
This isn't your high school history textbook's version of American history! America: The Motion Picture is an R-rated, revisionist, animated comedy about the American Revolution, with Channing Tatum [14] as the voice of George Washington.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Apollo 10 1/2
It's another animated take on history — this time, about the space race. The animated movie stars Zachary Levi and Jack Black [15] and tells the story of the moon landing from two perspectives: one, an astronaut, and the other, a kid watching the events from home.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Army of the Dead
Starring Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista and directed by Zack Snyder, Army of the Dead is Netflix's latest horror original, combining the heist and zombie genres. The plot is a wild genre mashup: a group of thieves and mercenaries plot a heist on a Vegas casino — while a zombie apocalypse rages.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Blonde
The life of Marilyn Monroe has captured imaginations for years, and this time, Ana de Armas is taking on the role of the Hollywood icon in this semi-fictionalized biopic. Her co-stars include Adrien Brody [16] as Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio, Julianne Nicholson as Marilyn's mother Gladys, and Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Bruised
A down-on-her-luck MMA fighter (played by Halle Berry [17]) struggles with attempting a comeback, facing off against younger, rising stars, and trying to be a mother to her young son.
Release date: Unknown 2021
The Woman in the Window
Amy Adams [18] stars in this Gone Girl-esque thriller, which was originally slated to premiere in 2019 before several delays pushed it back. A New Yorker befriends the couple across the street, but when the woman apparently goes missing, she's plunged into a web of secrets and doubts about whether she can even trust her own mind.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Don't Look Up
If you've ever wanted to watch a science satire with a bunch of your favourite actors, this will definitely be the movie for you! Jennifer Lawrence [19] and Leonardo DiCaprio [20] star as two low-level astronomers who embark on a desperate media blitz to try to warn the world of an approaching meteor. The cast also includes Cate Blanchett [21], Meryl Streep [22], Timothée Chalamet [23], Jonah Hill [24], and Ariana Grande [25].
Release date: Unknown 2021
Red Notice
The action comedy stars Dwayne Johnson as an INTERPOL agent known to be the world's greatest tracker. He's sent on a mission to capture the world's best art thief (Gal Gadot) and crosses path with an elite con man (Ryan Reynolds [26]) along the way.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Moxie
Little Women's Hadley Robinson stars in this adaptation of Jennifer Mathieu's novel. Directed by Amy Poehler [27] and co-starring Lauren Tsai, Josephine Langford, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, the movie follows a small-town teenager who gets inspired by her mother's activist past and starts a feminist revolution at her own high school.
Release date: Unknown 2021
Tick, Tick...Boom!
Lin-Manuel Miranda [28] is making his directorial debut with this adaptation of Rent creator Jonathan Larson's lesser-known, semi-autobiographical musical. It stars Andrew Garfield as Jon, an aspiring composer struggling with turning 30. Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens [29], and Judith Light also star, alongside Broadway mainstays Robin de Jesús and Joshua Henry, with Get Out and The West Wing's Bradley Whitford appearing as Stephen Sondheim.
Release date: Unknown 2021