2015 is set to be a busy year in fandom – keep track of all the looming films, TV series, and events with our handy calendar!
It’s been an action-packed year for fandoms in 2014. We saw the beginning of the end of The Hunger Games series with Mockingjay, Part 1, Marvel showed us there was life outside of The Avengers with Guardians of the Galaxy, the Middle Earth saga came to a close with The Hobbit‘s finale, and the Divergent and The Maze Runner series made their transition from young adult book series to box-office juggernauts. In television, we saw Peter Capaldi take on the titular role of Doctor Who, Benedict Cumberbatch return to our screens as Sherlock, plenty of deaths in Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, as well as the metaphorical death (and then rebirth) of Community.
Still, 2015 looks set to eclipse this year as the biggest year in fandom so far. We’ll see the return of Star Wars, Jurrasic World, James Bond, and The Avengers. The Hunger Games will come to a dramatic end with Mockingjay, Part 2, and Glee will bow out with its swansong season. Plus, all of our favourite shows will be back with a bang.
In fact, there’s so much going on that it can be a little difficult to keep track of things. Luckily, Hypable is here to give you the lowdown on what’s happening when next year.
Here’s what you’ve got to look forward to…
January
6th – ‘Agent Carter’
Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Marvel fan-favourite Peggy Carter in a brand new series featuring her espionage exploits of the 1940s.
7th – ‘American Horror Story’ mid-season premiere
Neil Patrick Harris makes his debut just as the Freak Show resumes on FX.
8th – ‘American Idol’ season premiere
The long-running singing competition returns for another run with Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban once again at the judging table.
9th – ‘Glee’ season 6
The members of New Directions return for their swansong season, as Glee‘s sixth and final season hits Fox.
11th – ‘Girls,’ ‘Looking’ season premieres
HBO’s beloved dramas return for their fourth and second seasons respectively.
13th – ‘Parks & Rec’ final season premiere
Say goodbye to Leslie Knope and the gang. Two new episodes will air every week!
29th – Shonda Night!
Shonda Rhimes’ three beloved dramas Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder premiere back to back to back.
February
8th – ‘The Walking Dead’ midseason return
Following the shocking mid-season finale of 2014, The Walking Dead season 5 returns to our screens as Rick and the gang continue their search for sanctuary in the zombie apocalypse.
…and ‘Better Call Saul’ two night premiere
Critical darling Breaking Bad came to an end in 2013, but with the show’s unrivaled success it’s no surprise that Vince Gilligan is taking us back to Walter White’s universe, as we join Saul Goodman in AMC’s prequel series.
13th – ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
E.L. James’ worldwide smash-hit makes the transition to the big screen, as Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan step into the kinky restraints of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively. Check out the trailer here.
19th – ‘Two and a Half Men’ series finale
Say goodbye to the long-running CBS comedy. Even Charlie Sheen is rumored to make an appearance!
22nd – The Oscars
The biggest night in film celebrates the best performances, pictures, and productions of the last year. The Imitation Game, Birdman and Boyhood are expected to be among the frontrunners for the ceremony, which will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Hypable will be there to give you all the latest gossip from the red carpet.
25th – ‘Survivor,’ The Amazing Race’ season premieres
The two long-running (but still beloved) reality competition shows will return with new locations, new surprises, and yes… the same hosts who’ve been there forever.
27th – ‘House of Cards’ season 3
Kevin Spacey’s political thriller returns to Netflix for season 3. Millions of workers call in sick.
March
1st – ‘Once Upon a Time’ returns
The Frozen plot line is finished! What’s next on Once Upon a Time? It’ll be less chilly… that’s for sure.
3rd – ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ returns
With Agent Carter finished with its season 1 run, S.H.I.E.L.D. returns with what are sure to be exciting new episodes.
20th – ‘Insurgent’
Following the relative success of Divergent in 2014, the series continues with Insurgent, with rising star Shailene Woodley returning to the role of Beatrice Prior. Watch the trailer here.
…and ‘Glee’ series finale
Ryan Murphy’s musical comedy (which sky rocketed the careers of Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss and the late Cory Monteith, among others) draws to a close with an extended two hour finale. Expect tears. And singing. Lots of singing.
23rd – ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’
The replacement for Craig Ferguson steps into his role as late late night talk show host.
April
4th – ‘Outlander’ season 1, part 2 returns
What will happen when Jamie rescues Claire? Will she stay in the 1700’s or go back to Frank in the 20th century?
10th – ‘Daredevil’
The first of four collaborations between Marvel and Netflix to hit the web this year, the new Daredevil series reboots the superhero franchise following the 2003 film that Ben Affleck wants the world to forget.
12th- ‘Game of Thrones’ season 5
With the fifth season of this massively popular fantasy franchise, we can expect plenty of battles, twists, and deaths. Just another day in Westeros…
18th – ‘Orphan Black’ season 3
Clones will be clones as the amazingly talented Tatiana Maslany reprises multiple roles in BBC America’s hit sci-fi series.
May
1st – ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
The third highest-grossing film of all time gets its sequel as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch join Tony Stark and the gang’s fight against Ultron in Joss Whedon’s Avengers 2. Watch the trailer here.
15th – ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Mad Max fans get their first cinematic entry in 30 years as Tom Hardy steps into the titular role for the fourth film in George Miller’s cult series. Watch the trailer here.
…and ‘Pitch Perfect 2’
The pitches are back for the sequel to the 2012 musical smash hit, with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Jones, and all of your faves back to make music with inanimate objects. Watch the trailer here
June
5th – ‘Paper Towns’
The success of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars last year was no surprise to anyone, and you can expect similar takings for the second adaptation of one of the author’s books.
12th – ‘Jurassic World’
Hollywood’s latest heart-throb Chris Pratt opens the gates to Jurassic World – a sort of reboot to the iconic dinosaur series that Steven Speilberg introduced us to. Watch the trailer here
16th-18th – E3
Get up to speed with all of the upcoming games from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo as the huge games exhibition returns. Expect to hear more about the latest entries in the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, Halo, and Uncharted series. Plus, we’ll surely get trailers for E3 staples FIFA, Call of Duty, and Assassin’s Creed, as well as a few surprises. Catch up on last year’s coverage here.
Continued on page 2: July-December fandom calendar
July
1st – ‘Terminator: Genisys’
Arnie promised us he’d be back, and he is. Game of Thrones‘s Emilia Clarke and Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith join the cast for the fifth film of the Terminator franchise. Watch the trailer here.
9th-12th – San Diego Comic-Con
It’s Hypable’s busiest weekend of the year, as all of the biggest talent from cinema and television descend on Hall H. Last year saw trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and plenty of other exclusives, so this is one event you want to keep up with. As always, we’ve got your back with wall-to-wall coverage. Catch up on 2014’s coverage here.
17th – ‘Ant-Man’
After years of development hell (and the shock exit of the enthusiastic Edgar Wright), Marvel finally introduce the latest Avenger, Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly.
August
7th – ‘The Fantastic Four’
Eight years since the previous series was killed off by critical and commercial flop Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Fantastic Four gets rebooted with Chronicle director Josh Trank behind the camera.
September
18th – ‘The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials’
The Maze Runner may have been met with polarising reviews and a relatively mooted box office taking, but Fox are backing the series as Dylan O’Brien and Kaya Scodelario return for the ‘Scorch Trials.’
Unscheduled – ‘Doctor Who’ series 9
Peter Capaldi’s debut run as the Twelfth Doctor impressed fans, and series 8 saw the shock return of The Master – reincarnated as The Mistress. With the 2014 Christmas special revealing Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald will be staying in the TARDIS for another series, it’s business as usual for the sci-fi juggernaut.
October
23rd – ‘Spectre’
Skyfall pondered whether or not MI6 could remain relevant in our modern world, but the film proved James Bond was very much in the world’s conscious as it became the most successful film in the series so far. Daniel Craig and Sam Mendez are back, this time joined by Christoph Waltz and Sherlock‘s Andrew Scott.
November
20th – ‘Mockingjay Part 2’
Katniss’s story finally comes to an end in the concluding part of Mockingjay. Jennifer Lawerence’s former tribute joins District 13 in the fight against President Snow’s Capitol. Fans of Suzanne Collins’s books know that we’re in for plenty of action in Panem’s concluding chapter.
December
18th – ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
This film needs no introduction. J.J. Abram’s Star Wars Episode VII takes us back to a galaxy far, far away as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo are joined by a new cast of characters for the start of a new trilogy. Watch the trailer here.
25th – ‘Sherlock’ special (TBC)
Ahead of series 4’s 2016 premiere, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are back in Sherlock and John’s shoes for a special episode. As has become the standard for Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s sleuth series, little is known about the episode. But an intriguing photo released at the read-through suggests we could see the great detective in the traditional Victorian setting.
Unscheduled
‘Heroes: Reborn’ premiere
The hugely entertaining, though very uneven (to say the least) superhero show returns to our screens, reincarnated as a 13 episode mini-series. Jack Coleman will be back as Noah Bennet to face a brand new cast of superheroes and super villains.
‘The Winds of Winter’… maybe…but probably not.
As HBO’s Game of Thrones series quickly catches up to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, this year could finally see the author make some ground on the show with the release of the sixth book. Don’t tell us about his confirmation that it won’t hit shelves in 2015, we’re still firmly in denial.
‘Jessica Jones,’ ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Luke Cage’ on Netflix
Following on from Daredevil, Marvel and Netflix will also be releasing series based on the Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage comics. No release date has been set for any of them yet, but we’re sure superhero fans will be binge watching these series when they burst on to the service this year.
‘Community’ season 6 hits Yahoo! Screen
Following the unsurprising cancellation of Community last year, Yahoo! Screen jumped in to keep fans’ hopes of #sixseasonsandamovie alive. The 13 episode season will be released on the fledgling service later this year, though the ever-dwindling Greendale Seven (now four) won’t be joined by Yvette Nicole Brown’s Shirley.