Fall films: ‘Rustin,’ ‘The Marvels’ and more

Fall is here, and with it comes a brand new slate of films arriving at theaters near you and streaming channels serving your TV screens.

Jared Alexander

Sep 20, 2023

From family-friendly films to chilling horror remakes just in time for spooky season, we are looking ahead at the biggest films that should be on your radar for this fall.

‘Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie‘

Perfect for the entire family, “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is almost here. Like the beloved TV series, the film follows your favorite Paw Patrol pups, who gain superpowers in the film after a magic meteor crashes in Adventure City.

Things take a turn, however, when the pups’ arch-nemesis, Humdinger, breaks out of jail and teams up with a meteor-obsessed mad scientist, Victoria Vance. “With the fate of Adventure City hanging in the balance, the Mighty Pups have to stop the supervillains before it’s too late, and Skye will need to learn that even the smallest pup can make the biggest difference,” its synopsis reads.

“Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” premieres Sept. 29 in theaters.

‘The Creator‘

John David Washington’s latest project is here! “The Creator,” led by Washington, is a sci-fi action thriller set in a distant future where the human race and artificial intelligence are at war.

Washington‘s character, Joshua, is “a hardened ex-special forces agent” who is “recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war … and mankind itself,” according to its description. While Joshua and a team journey into “the dark heart of AI-occupied territory,” they soon make a discovery: the mysterious weapon is in the form of a young child.

Check out the trailer below:

“The Creator” premieres Sept. 29 in theaters.

‘Dicks: The Musical‘

It’s a “Hot Girl” fall with “Dicks: The Musical.” The upcoming first musical from A24 stars the Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion in her feature film debut. The “riotously funny and depraved musical” comes from the minds of comedians Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp, co-starring as “self-obsessed businessmen” who discover they are actually long-lost identical twins.

Megan fans, have no fear. By the looks of the trailer, the rapper has at least one of her very own musical numbers in the upcoming flick.

“Dicks: The Musical” premieres Sept. 29 in theaters.

‘The Exorcist: Believer‘

Just in time for Halloween comes the return of one of America’s most beloved horror franchises. “The Exorcist: Believer” comes exactly 50 years since the first film terrified audiences and seeks to once again keep you up at night.

Starring “Hamilton” actor Leslie Odom Jr., the film follows Victor Fielding (Odom), who has raised his daughter, Angela, alone for 12 years after the tragic passing of his wife. Angela and her friend disappear for three days in the woods, and then they return “with no memory” of what happened. This “unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil” — a role Ellen Burstyn reprises.

“The Exorcist: Believer” hits theaters on Oct. 6.

‘Rustin‘

For your history fix, look no further than Netflix’s highly anticipated biopic, “Rustin.” Based on the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, the film, helmed by George C. Wolfe, stars Colman Domingo in the titular role.

While his story has gone untold for decades, Rustin is known as the architect of the 1963 March on Washington, a brilliant mind of great influence throughout the Civil Rights Movement, whose legacy was diminished due to the weaponization of his sexual orientation. From Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, this film seeks to tell the story of one of America’s most influential figures.

“Rustin” hits select theaters Nov. 3 before premiering Nov. 17 on Netflix.

‘The Marvels‘

Marvel fans, rejoice! The MCU is getting a whole lot bigger in the latest film, “The Marvels.” From filmmaker Nia DaCosta, the upcoming film is the official sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” bringing together three MCU favorites — Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rameau (Teyonah Parris) and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) — on a galaxy-hopping adventure.

After Danvers finds herself entangled with “an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary,” she must team up with Rambeau and Ms. Marvel and “and learn to work in concert to save the universe.”

“The Marvels” opens Nov. 10 in U.S. theaters.

‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘

“The Hunger Games” returns this fall with a brand new prequel film. Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, the film reintroduces fans to the world of Panem, telling the story of the boy who would eventually become President Snow, the main antagonist in the original trilogy.

Joining the franchise in a major role is none other than Academy Award-winner Viola Davis. The “Fences” star gets to put on her villain hat as Volumnia Gaul, the “mastermind of the diabolical” Hunger Games. Check out the trailer below.

“The Hunger Games” hits theaters Nov. 17.

‘Good Burger 2‘

“Welcome to Good Burger!” The beloved “All That” sketch once again returns in feature-film form, as the official “Good Burger” sequel, over two decades after the first film. Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell reprise the roles of Dexter Reed and Ed in the sequel, which sees the former in need of a job after an invention of his does not work out.

“With a new crew working at Good Burger, Dex devises a plan to get back on his feet but unfortunately puts the fate of Good Burger at risk once again,” the official synopsis reads. Here’s the teaser trailer:

“Good Burger 2” premieres Nov. 22 on Paramount+.

‘Wish‘

Ariana DeBose has joined the Disney universe. The Academy Award-winning singer, dancer and actress lends her voice to Disney’s latest animated feature, “Wish.” DeBose stars as Asha, a “sharp-witted idealist” who makes a wish “so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star.”

What follows is an adventure proving that “when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.”

A celebration of Disney’s 100 years in animation, the film is helmed by the teams behind “Frozen,” “Frozen 2” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.”