2013 is already a fading memory.  We're now deep in the grips of January (aka the month where bad films go to die), which means it's time to take a moment and look at what the next eleven months have in store for us.  Unlike last year, 2014 appears to be full of sequels, superheroes, hobbits and young adult heroines.  Okay, so maybe this year is looking exactly like 2013 so far...  But we can hope that the end result will be better than last year's string of critical disappointments and box office failures ("The Lone Ranger", "R.I.P.D.", "After Earth", etc).  In fact, on a closer look there's plenty to look forward to, including an adaptation of a best-selling mystery novel, the next original work from director Christopher Nolan, and not one but two epic Biblically-themed movies.  Let's dive in!  (Release dates are subject to change.)

The Lego Movie (February 7)

An exuberant- and colorful-looking blend of stop-motion and CGI that captures the creative spirit of everyone's favorite childhood toy to tell a story about an ordinary guy who's mistaken for a hero destined to prevent an evil tyrant from gluing the universe together.  A killer voice cast includes Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders and Channing Tatum.  (Trailer)

RoboCop (February 12)

A remake of the 1987 Peter Weller classic, this time starring Joel Kinnaman ("The Killing") as the deceased cop made into a hybrid human/robot law enforcement machine.  Also starring Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson.  (Trailer)

300: Rise Of An Empire (March 7)

A mishmash of prequel-sidequel-sequel, "Rise" takes place before, during and after the events of Zach Snyder's popular graphic novel adaptation "300".  Lena Heady and Rodrigo Santoro return as Gorgo and Xerxes, respectively.  Eva Green joins the franchise as Artemesia, a warrior ally of the evil Persian king.  The film will focus primarily on the Battle of Artemisium, a naval battle that occurred simultaneously with the Battle of Thermopylae depicted in the first film.  (Trailer)

Need For Speed (March 14)

Aaron Paul (aka Jesse Pinkman) stars in his first post-"Breaking Bad" feature film, based on the popular video game of the same name.  Paul will play Tobey, a street racer and recently-released wrongfully-convicted felon out for vengeance.  The movie also stars Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper ("Captain America"), Imogen Poots ("28 Weeks Later") and Dakota Johnson ("Fifty Shades Of Grey").  (Trailer)

Divergent (March 21)

Following in Katniss' footsteps, this Young Adult adaptation stars Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants", "The Spectacular Now", "The Fault In Our Stars") as Tris Prior, a young woman growing up in a futuristic America where society is divided into factions based on their personalities.  A test determines that Tris is "divergent", which is viewed as a threat by the government (led by Kate Winslet), and she must find out what it means and why it's dangerous.  (Trailer)

Muppets Most Wanted (March 21)

The sequel to 2011's pseudo-reboot of "The Muppets" stars comedians like Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell alongside the furry puppets.  This time around the film is more of a crime caper, featuring Kermit's evil doppelgänger, Constantine, who throws our beloved green frog in a Russian gulag and assumes his identity.  Expect hilarious cameos from everyone from Christoph Waltz to Celine Dion, from Lady Gaga to Zach Galifianakis, and many many more.  (Trailer)

Noah (March 28)

Nobody could have predicted that for his next film, acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan", "Requiem For A Dream") would choose to tackle a story of literally Biblical proportions.  Starring Russell Crowe as the Ark-builder himself, "Noah" promises to take an epic, fresh look at a story we all think we know well.  A terrific ensemble cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson and Logan Lerman.  (Trailer)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4)

A continuation of Phase 2 of Marvel's über-successful "Avengers" franchise that started this summer with "Iron Man 3" and "Thor: The Dark World", this sequel to 2011's "The First Avenger" focuses on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) learning to adapt to life in our modern -- and increasingly-scary -- world.  Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan all reprise their roles from previous MCU films alongside newcomers Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie ("The Hurt Locker"), and Emily VanCamp ("Revenge").  (Trailer)

Transcendence (April 18)

Wally Pfister is most commonly known as Christopher Nolan's cinematography, the man behind the stunning visuals in films like "The Dark Knight" and "Inception".  For the first time, Pfister is sitting in the director's chair, helming a science-fiction tale of a brilliant scientist whose mind is melded with a supercomputer.  The screenplay is by newcomer Jack Paglen and was on 2012's Black List, a list of Hollywood's most anticipated unproduced screenplays.  The movie stars Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall and Kate Mara.  (Trailer)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)

A continuation of 2012's web-slinging reboot, this second installment once again stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, this time pitting Spidey against not one, not two, but three villains: Electro (Jamie Foxx), Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and the Green Goblin (whose identity is being kept secret: either Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn or Dane DeHaan of "Chronicle" as Harry Osborn).  Fans may feel nervous when they remember the mess that was "Spider-Man 3" with its trio of villains.  But teases of a build-up to the popular villain team The Sinister Six in the movie's trailer have comic book nerds hopeful.  (Trailer)

Godzilla (May 16)

Director Gareth Edwards ("Monsters") reboots the world's most recognizable monster in this retelling of the kaiju's origin.  Hopefully the incredible cast, including Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), David Strathairn ("Lincoln"), Ken Watanabe ("Inception"), Elisabeth Olsen ("Oldboy"), Aaron Taylor-Johnson ("Kick-Ass"), Juliette Binoche ("Chocolat") and Sally Hawkins ("Blue Jasmine") can help us erase the lingering memory of that 1998 Roland Emmerich/Matthew Broderick mess.  (Trailer)

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (May 23)

In a mind-boggling melding of cinematic franchise, "Future Past" will combine the casts of the original "X-Men" trilogy (Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, etc.) with the cast of 2011's "First Class" (Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, etc.) in one beyond-epic tale of time travel and mutant-hunting robots.  Peter Dinklage ("Game Of Thrones") joins the cast as the villainous Bolivar Trask, and the film promises to feature as-yet-unseen mutants like Quicksilver, Bishop, Blink and Sunspot.  (Trailer)

Maleficent (May 30)

Much like Gregory Maguire's novel "Wicked" told the story of "The Wizard Of Oz" from the Wicked Witch of the West's perspective, so will "Maleficent" tell the story of "Sleeping Beauty" from the evil sorceress's point of view.  Angelina Jolie stars as the titular anti-heroine/villain alongside Elle Fanning ("Super 8") as Princess Aurora and Sharlto Copley ("Elysium") as King Stefan.  (Trailer)

Edge Of Tomorrow (June 6)

Based off a Japanese novel called "All You Need Is Kill", the easiest way to describe this new Tom Cruise flick is: think sci-fi "Groundhog Day".  Cruise stars as a futuristic soldier dropped into a battle against an alien army and keeps dying.  Over and over.  Every time he dies, he wakes up and repeats the battle, each time learning more about how to defeat the enemy.  Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") co-stars as a fellow soldier. (Trailer)

Jersey Boys (June 20)

Clint Eastwood departs from his typical macho image to direct this adaptation of the 2006 Tony Award-winning jukebox musical that tells the story of the popular singing group The Four Seasons.  John Lloyd Young reprises his Best Actor-winning role as lead vocalist Frankie Valli.  The musical is told documentary-style as it formation, success and break-up of the group.  Songs include their biggest hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".

Transformers: Age Of Extinction (June 27)

Michael Bay revisits his explosive action figure franchise, this time with a major facelift.  Gone is star Shia LaBeouf -- replacing him is action superstar Mark Wahlberg as a mechanic who makes a "discovery" that embroils him in the alien conflict.  Taking place four years after the Battle of Chicago depicted in "Dark Of The Moon", Optimus Prime, Bumblee and the rest of the Autobots will be back (with some design revamps), this time joined by the fan-favorite Dinobots.  Bay continues his inexplicable tradition of roping in quality actors for supporting roles: this time Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer will be popping up to seem terrifically out of place.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (July 11)

The follow-up to 2011's surprising hit "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" details the primates' rise to prominence.  More of a continuance of the mythology introduced in the first film than a direct sequel, "Dawn" features none of the same human characters from "Rise" (played James Franco, John Lithgow, Brian Cox and Freida Pinto).  New cast members include Gary Oldman ("The Dark Knight"), Jason Clarke ("Zero Dark Thirty"), Keri Russell ("The Americans") and Kodi Smit-McPhee ("Let Me In").  But don't worry -- Andy Serkis will be back to reprise his superb motion-capture work as lead ape Caesar.  (Trailer)

Jupiter Ascending (July 18)

The latest film written/produced/directed by the Wachowski siblings, this futuristic sci-fi epic stars Mila Kunis as Jupiter, a lowly janitor who finds out she's been marked for death by the Queen of the Universe for possessing the same perfect genetic makeup and therefore threatening her rule.  Channing Tatum plays a genetically-engineered half-human-half-wolf interplanetary warrior sent to assassinate Jupiter.  Also, infamously doomed character actor Sean Bean ("Game Of Thrones") appears in a supporting role, so set your stopwatch for his inevitable death scene.  (Trailer)

Hercules (July 25)

Not to be confused with this months' "The Legend Of Hercules", this take on the ancient hero stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and is directed by Brett Ratner ("X-Men: The Last Stand").  In Ratner's version, after completing the Twelve Labors, Hercules turned his back on the gods and became a mercenary warrior.  His unique skills are then called upon by the King of Thrace to help him defeat a tyrannical warlord.  Also starring John Hurt ("V For Vendetta"), Ian McShane ("Deadwood"), Joseph Fiennes ("American Horror Story: Asylum") and Rufus Sewell ("The Pillars Of The Earth").

Guardians Of The Galaxy (August 1)

In August, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets weird.  For a while, the MCU was grounded firmly on a relatable (if fantastical) Earth.  Then "Thor" came along and introduced us to the idea of other planets.  Now Marvel is taking that otherworldly ball and running with it.  Based on a popular superhero team, "Guardians" stars Chris Pratt ("Parks And Recreation") as Peter Quill, an American pilot thrust into an intergalactic battle.  The other Guardians are played by Zoe Saldana as the green-skinned Gamora, Vin Diesel as the tree-like humanoid Groot, Bradley Cooper as the genetically-engineered raccoon Rocket and Dave Batista ("Riddick") as the vengeance-obsessed Drax The Destroyer.  Supporting roles are filled by Benicio del Toro, Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace and Michael Rooker.

Into The Storm (August 8)

"Storm" could easily be called "Twister 2014".  It chronicles the events and aftermath of a devastating superstorm where several tornadoes hit a small town.  The ensemble cast is led by Richard Armitage ("The Hobbit") and Sarah Wayne Callies ("The Walking Dead").  The twist?  It's told in the ubiquitous found-footage format, as a group of stormchasers, as well as some local high school kids, document the storm in their pursuit of that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (August 22)

Director Robert Rodriguez returns to his famous mostly-black-and-white comic book adaptation.  Structured similarly to 2005's first "Sin City" with four interweaving short stories, "Dame" features returning players Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba alongside a plethora of newcomers including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Josh Brolin, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Juno Temple and Lady Gaga.

Dark Places (September 1)

The first of two adaptations of a novel by mystery author Gillian Flynn on this list.  "Dark Places" tells the twisted story of Libby Day, a woman who survived the brutal massacre of her family when she was a girl.  Her testimony convicted her own brother of the crime, but 25 years later she's drawn out of isolation by a justice-seeking group who's convinced her brother was actually innocent.  Told through dual timelines, the film stars Charlize Theron as modern-day Libby.  She's joined by Chloë Grace Moretz ("Kick-Ass"), Nicholas Hoult ("Warm Bodies"), Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men"), Corey Stoll ("House Of Cards"), Drea De Matteo ("The Sopranos"), Andrea Roth ("Rescue Me") and Tye Sheridan ("Mud").

This Is Where I Leave You (September 12)

Adapted by Jonathan Tropper from his own novel of the same name and directed by Shawn Levy ("The Spectacular Now"), "Leave You" features one of the year's most impressive ensemble cast in a film about four dysfunctional siblings who reunited after the death of their father.  Just listen to this cast: Jason Bateman, Adam Driver ("Girls"), Tina Fey, Corey Stoll ("House Of Cards"), Connie Britton ("Nashville"), Rose Byrne ("Damages"), Jane Fonda, Kathryn Hahn ("Parks And Recreation"), Timothy Olyphant ("Justified") and Dax Shepard ("Parenthood").

The Equalizer (September 26)

Based on the popular 80's CBS procedural, Denzel Washington stars as a retired intelligence officer who becomes a vigilante protector of the weak and innocent.  Co-stars include Chloë Grace Moretz ("Kick-Ass"), Melissa Leo ("The Fighter") and Marton Csokas ("The Lord Of The Rings").  The adaptation is directed by Antoine Fuqua, who previously directed Washington to an Oscar win for 2001's "Training Day".

Gone Girl (October 3)

The second of two adaptations of a novel by mystery author Gillian Flynn, this time of her most popular best-seller.  "Gone Girl" depicts the aftermath of the disappearance of Amy Dunne, as her husband Nick becomes a suspect in her murder, even while it's not entirely clear whether or not she's actually dead.  Famous for its shocking midway twist that turns the entire novel on its head, the film is sure to be a hit.  The adaptation is directed by David Fincher ("The Social Network") with Flynn herself writing the screenplay.  Not wishing to be as beholden to the source material as he was when adapting "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", Fincher allegedly collaborated with Flynn to completely change the entire third act of the story, ensuring there will be just as many surprises for fans of the book as there are for the uninitiated.  Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike ("Jake Reacher") star as the outwardly perfect but deeply dysfunctional couple.

The Judge (October 10)

Robert Downey, Jr. plays a lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral, only to learn that his father, the town's respected judge, is under suspicion for murder.  Robert Duvall plays the titular judge, while the rest of the cast is filled out by Vera Farmiga ("The Conjuring"), Billy Bob Thornton, Melissa Leo ("The Fighter") and Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl").  The script was written by Nick Schenk (who wrote Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino") and David Seidler (who penned the Oscar-winning "The King's Speech").

Interstellar (November 7)

Having wrapped up his landmark Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan returns to original work with this mystery-shrouded sci-fi epic.  Little is known about the plot of this film other than that it involves astronauts, wormholes, and space travel.  The cast is led by the rejuvenated Matthew McConaughey, alongside such famous names as Casey Affleck, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway and John Lithgow.  If Nolan's last original work, 2010's "Inception" is any indication, "Interstellar" will be an unforgettable, mind-bending trip.  (Trailer)

Untitled Brad Pitt/David Ayer Project (November 14)

This World War II film tells the story of the conflict from the perspective of a five-man tank crew stuck behind enemy lines.  Brad Pitt plays the commander, with his men portrayed by Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman ("The Perks Of Being A Wallflower"), Michael Peña ("American Hustle") and Jon Bernthal ("The Walking Dead").  The film is written and directed by David Ayer, who wrote Antoine Fuqua's "Training Day".

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (November 21)

The first part of the adaptation of the final novel of the mega-popular YA postapocalyptic franchise.  JLaw returns as Katniss Everdeen, recently rescued from the 75th Annual Hunger Games and thrust unwillingly into the role of revolution figurehead.  All the usual suspects are back, this time joined by Julianne Moore as District 13's President Coin, Natalie Dormer ("Game Of Thrones") as propaganda director Cressida, Lily Rabe ("American Horror Story") as Commander Lyme and Patina Miller (Tony Award-winner for "Pippin") as Commander Paylor.

Exodus (December 12)

2014's oddest trend continues with Ridley Scott's Biblical adaptation, this time the story of Moses and his fight with his Pharaoh brother over the fate of the Hebrew slaves.  With a script written by Steven Zaillian ("Moneyball"), the film stars Christian Bale as Moses, alongside Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, John Turturro, Joel Edgerton ("Warrior") and Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad").

The Hobbit: There And Back Again (December 17)

The final film in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy, "There And Back Again" completes the saga of Bilbo and the Dwarves, detailing their clash with Smaug the dragon as well as the epic Battle Of Five Armies, where Gandalf leads men, elves and dwarves against goblins and wargs in an effort to defeat the evil Necromancer (who LOTR fans know as Sauron).  Sure to be the most action-packed of the three prequel films, "There And Back Again" should satisfy those who have criticized the trilogy for being too light-hearted.

Into The Woods (December 25)

The second adaptation of a legendary Broadway musical on this list, this time of Stephen Sondheim's dark and twisted take on popular fairy tales.  Directed by Rob Marshall (who also directed the film adaptation of the musical "Chicago"), "Into The Woods" tells the story of a Baker and his Wife who venture into the titular forest to lift a curse placed on them by a Witch.  Along the way they meet various familiar characters like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack (of beanstalk fame).  But this is no Disney movie.  There are infidelities, rampaging giants and, yes, many grisly deaths.  James Corden ("One Chance") and Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") star as the cursed couple, with Meryl Streep playing the Witch, Anna Kendrick ("Pitch Perfect") as Cinderella, Chris Pine ("Star Trek") as her Prince, Christine Baranski ("The Good Wife") as her evil Stepmother, Frances de la Tour ("Harry Potter) as the Giant, and Johnny Deep as the ravenous Wolf.

Tweet us @Stagebuddy and let us know which 2014 movies you're looking forward to the most!