2016 Upcoming Geek Year
By Christopher Erickson
Managing Editor
[Editor’s Note: Even though this is being published later than January 2016, I will included some information in January for the sake of completeness and information on things that people may want to watch later.]
Here is a look at the upcoming movies, television shows and special events for 2016.
Movies
“The Forest” – A horror movie set in the forest around Mt. Fuji. (January 8)
“Synchronicity” – A scientist played by Michael Ironsides invents a time machine and fears people might try to steal the technology. (January 22)
“Monster Hunt” – Chinese film featuring a villager pregnant with a monster baby on the run with an aspiring monster hunter from both humans and monsters. (January 22)
“The 5th Wave” – Movie based on the young adult novel about a young woman who must protect her brother from the fifth wave of alien invasion. (January 22)
“Lazer Team” – A group of friends must save the world after being linked to a battle suit on board a UFO. (January 29)
“Kung Fu Panda 3” – The martial arts master must continue training a new group while discovering his father. (January 29)
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” – The Jane Austen/zombie mashup novel gets the big screen treatment. (February 5)
“Southbound” – Five interlocking stories of terror on a stretch of deserted highway. (February 5)
“Deadpool” – Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth makes his onscreen debut. (February 12)
“Zoolander 2” – Derek and Hansel return for more modeling mayhem. (February 12).
“The Witch” – A 1630s New England family deals with black magic and possession. (February 19)
“Gods of Egypt” – A thief and a god join forces on a quest through Egypt. (February 26)
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” – Michelle Yeoh returns in the sequel to the popular movie. (February 26)
“Zootopia” – A rookie cop bunny and fox con artist work together to uncover a conspiracy in this Disney animated movie. (March 4)
“10 Cloverfield Lane” – A woman wakes up in the basement of a man’s house to find a world destroyed by a chemical attack in this movie related to “Cloverfield.” (March 11)
“The Brothers Grimsby” – A top spy must team up with his hooligan soccer brother on a mission in this comedy. (March 11)
“The Other Side of the Door” – A woman tries to bring back her dead son to say goodbye but upsets the balance between life and death in this horror movie. (March 11)
“The Divergent Series – Allegiant” – The first part of the final movie featuring Tris Speaker and Four as they explore the area outside of the city they have lived in. (March 18)
“The Little Prince” – The animated adaptation of the popular book. (March 18)
“Midnight Special” – A boy develops special powers and his father takes him on the run to protect him. (March 18)
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” – The long awaited cinematic meetup of the Caped Crusader and The Last Son of Krypton. (March 25)
“The Disappointments Room” – A mother and her son release horrors from the attic room of their rural home. (March 25)
“Amityville: The Awakening” – A single mother moves her family into the horror house. (April 1)
“Rings” – Samara returns in the third installment of “The Ring” series. (April 1)
“Before I Wake” – Horror movie about an adopted boy whose nightmares physically manifest. (April 1)
“Hardcore Henry” – A resurrected cyborg must save his wife from a tyrant with telekinetic powers. (April 1)
“The Jungle Book” – Live action adaptation of the classic Disney animated movie (April 15)
“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” – The sequel to “Snow White and the Huntsman” finds the title character fighting against two evil queens set to take over the land. (April 22)
“Ratchet and Clank” – The title characters fight to stop an alien from destroying the galaxy in this movie based on the popular video game series. (April 29)
“Captain America: Civil War” – Steve Rodgers and Tony Stark come to blows about their philosophies. (May 6)
“The Darkness” – A supernatural force follows home a family from the Grand Canyon. (May 13)
“The Angry Birds Movie” – The popular casual game gets its own movie. (May 20)
“Alice Through the Looking Glass” – Alice returns to Wonderland to save the Mad Hatter. (May 27)
“X-Men: Apocalypse” – The X-Men must defeat their most deadly foe with the help of new team members. (May 27)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” – The turtles return do deal with the new threat of Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady. (June 3)
“The Conjuring 2” – A couple moves in with a family to help them against malicious spirits. (June 7)
“Now You See Me 2” – The magicians return to clear their name when forced to pull off a heist by a tech magnate. (June 10)
“Warcraft” – The live-action adaptation of the popular “World of Warcraft” games. (June 10)
“Finding Dory”- The Pixar sequel to “Finding Nemo.” (June 17)
“Independence Day: Resurgence” – The aliens from the first film return as the governments of Earth use the alien technology to fight against them. (June 24)
“The BFG” – Steven Spielberg directs the adaptation of the popular Roald Dahl book about a girl befriending a giant. (July 1)
“The Legend of Tarzan” – Tarzan returns to the jungle after living in London to investigate the activities of a mining company. (July 1)
“The Purge 3” – The next installment in the series about an annual night where all crime is legal and emergency services are suspended. (July 1)
“The Secret Lives of Pets” – Animated movie about what our furry friend do when their owners aren’t watching. (July 8)
“Ghostbusters” – Remake of the classic horror comedy featuring a stellar comedic cast. (July 15)
“Ice Age: Collision Course” – The latest movie following the adventures of Manny and his pals in prehistoric times. (July 22)
“Lights Out” – A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out. (July 22)
“Star Trek Beyond” – The crew of the USS Enterprise struggle to stop aliens who strand the Starfleet officers on a planet. (July 22)
“The Space Between Us” – A young man who grows up on Mars returns to Earth to find his father. (July 29)
“Jason Bourne” – Matt Damon returns as the superspy Jason Bourne. (July 29)
“Nine Lives” – A business man finds he is stuck in the body of the family cat. (August 5)
“Suicide Squad” – Supervillains are recruited on a suicide mission to save the world. (August 5)
“Pete’s Dragon” – Remake of the classic Disney film about a boy who befriends a dragon. (August 12)
“Sausage Party” – Animated movie about the quest of a sausage to find out about his existence. (August 12)
“Spectral” – A special forces police unit deals with supernatural threats to New York City. (August 12)
“Kubo and the Two Strings” – A boy must find magical samurai armor worn by his legendary father to defeat monsters threatening his village. (August 19)
“Patient Zero” – A man with the ability to speak the language of infected people after a global epidemic must lead a group of survivors to the carrier of the disease and a possible cure. (September 1)
“Solace” – A psychic helps the FBI track down a serial killer. (September 1)
“A Cure for Wellness” – A supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski. (September 23)
“Storks” – A stork working at a delivery company accidently creates a baby from a machine and has to deliver it before his boss realizes his mistake. (September 23)
“Delirium” – A former mental patient inherits a house he believes is haunted. (September 27)
“Gambit” – Channing Tatum stars in the movie about the popular X-Man from the Cajun Bayou. (October 7)
“A Monster Calls” – A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cure his mother. (October 14)
“Underworld 5” – Kate Beckinsale returns for the next movie featuring the vampire/lycian war. (October 14)
“Ouija 2” – Sequel to the 2014 horror film. (October 21)
“Doctor Strange” – Benedict Cumberbatch plays the Sorcerer Supreme in his first movie. (November 4)
“Trolls” – A giant ruins the fun of the little creatures with the big hair. (November 4)
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” – Wizard Newt Scamander travels to the wizarding community of New York to write a book set in the “Harry Potter” movie universe. (November 18)
“Moana” – Animated movie about a Polynesian girl navigates to a fabled island with the help of her hero, the god Maui. (November 23)
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” – The adventure of a group of people who steal the plans to the original Death Star. (December 16)
“Assassin’s Creed” – The popular game series gets the big screen treatment with Michael Fassbender in the role of Enzio. (December 28)
“Passengers” – Two people in cryogenic sleep awake 60 years early on a colony spaceship headed to another planet. (December 28)
“Sing” – An animated movie about a singing competition created by a koala bear to save his theater. (December 28)
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” – A boy finds a strange ruined school where unusual orphans were taught in this film directed by Tim Burton based on the novel of the same name. (December 28)
Television
“Arrow” – The second half of the fourth season starts on January 20 on the CW Network.
“The Flash” – The Scarlett Speedster resumes his second season on January 19 on the CW Network.
“IZombie”- Our favorite morgue worker/zombie returns to solve more crimes on January 12 on the CW Network.
“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” – Time traveler Rip Hunter leads a group of superheros and supervillains to take out Vandal Savage in this new show premiering on January 21.
“Supernatural” – The Winchester Brothers return to fight demons on January 20 on the CW Network.
“The 100” – Season 3 of the post-apocalyptic drama premiers on January 21 on the CW Network.
“The Vampire Diaries” – The vampires return to the CW Network on January 29.
“The Originals” – The spin-off series of “The Vampire Diaries” returns on January 29 on the CW Network.
“Supergirl” – The Last Daughter of Krypton returns to action on January 4 on CBS.
“Elementary” – Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson resume investigations on CBS on January 7.
“Galavant” – The second season of the medieval musical premieres on ABC on January 3.
“Marvel’s Agent Carter” – Season 2 finds Peggy Carter and company in Los Angeles starting on January 19.
“Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” – Agent Coulson and SHIELD return to action on March 8.
“The Muppets” – Kermit, Piggy and company resume their behind-the-scenes “scripted reality” show on February 2.
“Once Upon A Time” – The residents of Storybrooke return on March 6 on ABC.
“Battlebots” – The robot fighting series returns in May or June on ABC.
“Lucifer” – The new show about the Devil abandoning Hell to live in LA based on the comic series premiers on FOX on January 25.
“The X-Files” – The follow-up miniseries premiers on FOX on January 24.
“Gotham” – The exploits of a young Bruce Wayne and Gotham City returns on February 29.
“Blindspot” – The tattooed woman who is the key to solving crimes returns on February 29 on NBC.
“Grimm” – The fairy tale cops return to duty on February 12 on NBC.
“You, Me and the Apocalypse” – The comedy series about the end of the world debuts on NBC on January 28.
“Second Chance” – The new show about a dead sheriff brought back to life in a younger body premieres on FOX on January 13.
“Doctor Who” – There will be Christmas Special in 2016.
“Orphan Black” – Season 4 of the clone series will premiere on BBC America in April.
“Game of Thrones” – Season 6 premiers on April 24 on HBO.
“Penny Dreadful” – The famous characters of classic horror novels return for the third season on May 1 on Showtime.
Salem – The WGN show about the witches in Massachusetts begins production on season 3 on January 21.
“Black Sails” – The “Treasure Island” sequel series will premiere on January 23.
“Ash vs. Evil Dead” – The sequel series to the popular movie series has been renewed for season 2 to air in 2016 on Starz.
“American Horror Story” – Season 6 is in production for an airing in 2016.
“The Librarians” – The show has been renewed for season 3 for 2016.
“Daredevil” – The Netflix series about the Man without Fear premieres season 2 on March 18.
“Jessica Jones” – The Netflix series about the superpowered detective has been renewed for season 2.
“Vikings” – The History Channel series will premiere season 4 on February 18.
“Samurai Jack” – Cartoon Network announced that a new series will air in 2016.
“Star Wars Rebels” – The Disney XD show has been renewed for season 3.
“Fairly OddParents” – Season 10 will premiere on Nickelodeon on January 15.
“The Walking Dead” – The second half of season 6 premieres on February 14 on AMC.
“Fear the Walking Dead” – The second season premieres on April 10 on AMC.
“Z Nation” – The Syfy zombie series will air season 3 in 2016.
“12 Monkeys” – The time-travel series based on the movie will premiere season 2 on April 18 on Syfy.
“Dark Matter” – The amnesic space traveler series will air season 2 in 2016 on Syfy.
“Red Dwarf XI” – The British sci-fi drama will have season 11 air on the UK channel Dave in 2016.
“Killjoys” – The space bounty hunter series was renewed for a second season in 2016 on Syfy.
“The Expanse” – The UN space series was renewed for a second season for 2017 on Syfy.
“The Magicians” – The Syfy series was renewed for season 2 for 2017.
“Wynonna Earp” – The descendant of the famous lawman who fights demons for the US Marshalls premieres on Syfy on April 1.
“Hunters” – A FBI agent stumbles upon a secret government organization that fights terrorists who might be aliens. Premieres April 11 on Syfy.
Conventions and Entertainments
Silicon Valley Comic-Con- The Bay Area’s newest convention will be on March 18-20 at the San Jose Convention Center.
PEERS The Doctor Dances: 1912 – A ball with The Doctor(s) on the Titanic will held on April 2 at the Alameda Elks Club.
PEERS Captain America’s Star-Spangled Ball: 1944 – A USO style show and ball featuring the famous hero will be held on June 4 at the Alameda Elks Club.
Star Trek 50th Anniversary
The biggest science-fiction show first hit the airwaves of NBC in 1966. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series and its other related properties, there are a huge number of events this year besides the “Star Trek Beyond” movie. San Diego Comic-Con will unveil a “Star Trek: 50 Years, 50 Artists” exhibit including one by Leonard Nimoy that will travel to other locations.
There will be a series of “Trek Talks” similar to the TED Talks held at various locations.
There will be a “Starfleet Academy Experience” at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa during the month of May and at Intrepid Sear, Air & Space in New York during June.
There will be a 100 city tour of “Star Trek: The Ultimate Tour,” an orchestral concert featuring music from across the franchise with accompanying video.
The United States Post Office will release a set of four stamps featuring artwork with famous symbols of the show.
The most exciting news is the creation of a new “Star Trek” television show that will premiering in 2017 as the anchor show for a CBS streaming service.