What would Hollywood have looked like in 2020 if a pandemic never happened?
We werealmosttoo afraid to ask.
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Were living in the year of the Hollywood asterisk.
Its hard not to think about the year of movies that could have been.
A pandemic lends itself to alternate-timeline fantasies, after all.
A butterfly flaps its wings at the Cannes Film Festival andParasiteis 2019s early Best Picture champion.
What would Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas have been photographed doing?
The following 13 predictions are a bit of wishful thinking mixed with an iota of probability.
Ana de Armas becomes an Oscar front-runner.
Ah, to imagine the future!
Meanwhile, though, the Ana de Armas hive is eatingwell.
2.The French Dispatchwins the Frenchest film award.
You know he does.
and controversy (another straight man getting praised for a gay role!).
2020 is the Year of the Action Heroine.
Wonder Woman 1984opens on schedule on June 5 and the box-office numbers are insane.
1 box-office success of 2020.
TheWonder Womansuccess is also a massive boon to Gal Gadots standing as an A-list movie star.
Probably the Fight Song debacle of 2016.
Christopher Nolan saves cinema.
Christopher NolansTenetopens on July 17 without any delays or release-date changes, because why would there be?
Anyway, thebox-office response is great.
Its a carefree summer, right?
What else do we possibly have to do?
In other words, no matter what, we were always going to get a Chris Nolan savior narrative.
Try the Summer ofIn the Heights.
We all know how it went down.
Instead, Disney keeps that 2021 date firmly in place.
Real ones are quick to remind these people that the original London production ofCatsis already available.
BothTop GunandGhostbustersreboots flop hard.
Two weeks later,Ghostbusters: Afterlifealso opens to disappointing box-office numbers.
7.The Woman in the WindowBecomes theCatsof 2020.
Finns novel of the same name starring Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman.
Undaunted, Adams hosts the season finale ofSaturday Night Live, delivering a headline-making impersonation of Kayleigh McEnany.
In an Instagram video, his deep, velvety voice guides viewers through athoroughly unproblematicshallot-pasta recipe.
(Were all too busy seeing movies and attending live theater to cancel a cookbook author.)
Its the highlight of a very delightful press tour.
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas prepare to walk the Oscar red carpet together as co-nominees.
10.The Many Saints of Newarkignites a nationwideSopranosrewatch.
11.The Trial of the Chicago 7is a political lightning rod ahead of the 2020 election season.
(Somewhere at Blumhouse, its namesake is cry-watchingThe Huntnow that its finally on demand.)
Will Smith becomes your Best Actor Oscar front-runner.
The only thing threatening an Oscar run are the summertime rumors from oneAugust Alsinaabout analleged affairwith Jada Pinkett Smith.
(Dont worry, the non-pandemic timeline still gets that epic Will and Jada Red Table Talk.)
Oscars 2020 becomes a battle ofDunevs.West Side Story.
Rita Moreno and Dave Bautista paired in theVarietyactors-on-actors series!
In February, the Oscars are held on time and as planned.
The Oscars themselves are an indulgent, luxurious affair, free from any need for social distancing or masks.
Ana de Armas walks the red carpet in a replica of Gwyneth Paltrows 1999 Oscar-winning pink dress.
Kristen Stewart (a first-time nominee for the romantic comedyHappiest Season) stuns with a high-glam androgynous look.
Shes joined, famously, by her brother, Warren Beatty.
This is the first installment in Vulture columnist Joe Reids new ongoing series,Alternate Timelines.
For a rundown of our favorite films that managed to come out this year,head here.
