Autumn 2016 film releases

Summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean we’ve run out of blockbuster movies to look forward to. Here are a few of the more notable films that will keep you munching popcorn until the end of the year.

Miss Preregrine’s School for Peculiar Children

Release date: Sep 29

It has been a while since director Tim Burton hit the heights of early classics such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but he rarely delivers a complete dud. Miss Preregrine's School for Peculiar Children is one of his typically twisted tales, in this case about a mysterious school full of children with special powers. Eva Green, Judi Dench and Samuel L Jackson head an impressive cast.

Doctor Strange

Release date: November 3

The latest effort from the Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch as “sorcerer supreme” Stephen Strange, one of the more unusual characters published by Marvel. Unlike the other characters we have seen in the Avengers-related movies, his world and powers take in mysticism, time manipulation and inter-dimensional travel. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige promises it will “bend people’s minds”.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Release date: November 17

JK Rowling makes her screenwriting debut in this Harry Potter prequel, an adaptation of her book of the same name.

Hollywood Golden Boy Eddie Redmayne takes the lead as wizard Newt Scamander, who accidentally releases a host of dangerous magical creatures onto the streets of 1920s New York, putting him at odds with both the wizarding authorities and the New Salem Philanthropic Society, an extremist organisation dedicated to eradicating wizards.

Underworld: Blood Wars

Release date: December 1

Kate Beckinsale is back in her leather catsuit for the fifth instalment of this popular vampire versus werewolf series. We are promised a new enemy for Beckinsale’s Seline, in the form of Lara Pulver’s vampire Semira, and a new leader of the werewolf pack, played by Golden Globe nominee Tobias Menzies (Outlander, Game of Thrones). The good news for fans of the franchise is that Beckinsale is already signed up for number six.

Rogue One: A Star Wars

Release date: December 15

This is the big one. Rogue One hasn't been quite as hyped quite as much as last year's The Force Awakens (has anything?) but the trailers look great, suggesting a slightly darker tale from the Star Wars universe than last year's smash hit – which was hardly a barrel of laughs itself. This movie tells the story of how a group of rebels managed to steal the plans to the Death Star shortly before the events seen in the original Star Wars movie, 1977's Episode IV: A New Hope. The impressive cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Forest Whitaker.

Assassin’s Creed

Release date: December 29

Movie adaptations of video games are rarely renowned for their quality, but with acclaimed Aussie indie director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth) at the helm and a cast including man of the moment Michael Fassbender, plus British veteran Jeremy Irons and French star Marion Cotillard, this big-budget actioner has a better chance than most. In addition, the game franchise on which it is based is one of the best-written and most cinematic there is, with an incredibly deep and detailed, centuries-spanning mythology to borrow from. Fassbender stars as modern-day career criminal Callum Lynch, who is drawn into a timeless secret war between the assassins and the Templars, as part of which he is forced to relive the genetically imprinted memories of his ancestor, who was an assassin during the Spanish inquisition.