Must-Watch Netflix Movies Coming In 2021 And Beyond

In spite of the relative novelty of Netflix as a major film studio, plenty of massive stars have already worked with the streamer on projects of wildly varying scope. Netflix has become a regular producer of Oscar bait like The Irishman and this year's most nominated film in Mank, but it also produces plenty of action movies, comedies, and horror movies that debut exclusively on the service. 

In 2021, the studio has plenty of high-profile projects for viewers. While some of these movies may have been originally intended for theatrical distribution, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many more movies with major actors debuting only on Netflix or another streaming service. Now, Netflix is mixing titles that it produced from the start with others that it acquired at some point after they were made. Here's a look at the best Netflix has to offer in 2021 and beyond, in every genre imaginable.

The Woman in the Window is based on the blockbuster novel of the same name, and stars Amy Adams as an agoraphobic doctor who spends a little too much time watching the lives of her neighbors. One day, she sees something she shouldn't have at her picture-perfect neighbor's house, and the rest of the book's thriller elements kick in from there. 

Adams isn't exactly a stranger to pulpy material. She was the star of Sharp Objects, a miniseries based on a thriller that managed to pull plenty of real pathos from the pages of its source material. The Woman in the Window, which is directed by Atonement and Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright, could bring a similar level of prestige to fairly trashy material. 

The Woman in the Window also stars Gary Oldman and Anthony Mackie, and is sure to be highly entertaining. The Woman in the Window hits Netflix on May 14. 

Beckett has the kind of cast that makes it a must-see even before you know anything else about it. The movie, which follows a couple who are ensnared in a dangerous conspiracy while on vacation in Greece, stars John David Washington, Alicia Vikander, Boyd Holbrook, and Vicky Krieps.

Since his breakthrough performance in BlackKklansmen, Washington has proven to be a star in the making with roles in films like Tenet and Malcolm and Marie. Vikander won an Oscar a few years back and she remains a star worth paying attention to. Holbrook often plays villains, and Krieps is best known for her starring role opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread. Ferdinando Cito Filomarino is set to direct the project, and Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino will serve as a producer. Given the all-star lineup that's been assembled, Beckett, which was previously titled Born to be Murdered, promises to be a thriller in the truest sense of the word.

Jennifer Lawrence has been acting less frequently in recent years. The last film she appeared in was X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but the last project she truly starred in was 2018's Red Sparrow. Now, the actress is set to return with Don't Look Up, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and was written and directed by The Big Short director Adam McKay. 

The movie is clearly one of Netflix's biggest projects this year, and features a truly bonkers cast even without factoring in the leads. The cast also includes Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Chris Evans, Ariana Grande, and Kid Cudi. Given the cast that's been assembled for the project, it's clear that Netflix has a lot of hopes that Don't Look Up could factor into the awards race. 

The movie focuses on two low-level astronomers who are attempting to warn mankind about an asteroid that will soon destroy Earth. The astronomers go on a media tour to achieve this goal, and the movie has readily apparent parallels to the real-world problems humanity faces around climate change. McKay, DiCaprio and Lawrence have all been fairly outspoken about their feelings about the climate crisis, and it seems that they've now decided to make a movie about it. Given the high-profile nature of the project, expectations for the movie will also be quite high, and we're excited to see whether Don't Look Up will be able to meet them.

Adapted from a popular and acclaimed Danish movie of the same name, The Guilty features an all-star cast both in front of and behind the camera. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a police officer who's demoted to desk duty and feels conflicted after he receives a 9-1-1 call from a woman who claims she's been kidnapped. 

In addition to Gyllenhaal, the movie also stars Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Paul Dano and Peter Sarsgaard and was written by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto. If that pedigree wasn't enough, Antoine Fuqua is directing the film. The director knows how to create arresting thrillers, especially in the world of law enforcement. His most famous movie is probably still Training Day, which won Denzel Washington an Oscar and offered a look at a side of policing that most audiences at the time weren't accustomed to seeing.

Author Jojo Moyes has already had some success on the big screen thanks to the adaptation of her blockbuster novel Me Before You. With The Last Letter From Your Lover, Netflix is attempting to replicate some of that success, and make another movie that will reduce audiences to weepy messes. 

The movie tells a dual narrative. It follows Ellie, a present day journalist in London who discovers letters from the 1960s between Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley) and Anthony O'Hare (Callum Turner) and becomes obsessed with the love story that unfolds within them. Ellie becomes more and more determined to discover the identities of the lovers described in the letters, one of whom loses their memory in a car accident. 

Jones, in particular, seems excited by the role. "The moment I was sent the script, the stars just aligned," she told Entertainment Weekly. "I liked how human it was; it was just an immediate response. It had such fun to it, as well as being quite emotional." 

Like all of Moyes's novels, The Last Letter From Your Lover is above all else, a movie designed to make its reader inconsolable. The film adaptation, which is being directed by Augustine Frizzell, will surely leave audiences in a puddle of their own tears whether it's any good or not. 

Based on a novel by Walter Dean Myer, Monster follows a young boy whose world is turned completely upside down after he's accused of murder. Kelvin Harrison Jr. — best known for arthouse films like Luce and Waves — stars in the lead role, and he's surrounded by supporting players like Jennifer Hudson, John David Washington, Jeffrey Wright and A$AP Rocky. 

The film is coming from first-time director Anthony Mandler, who to this point is best known now as a director of music videos. He's worked with Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and the Jonas Brothers. Now that Mandler is moving his talents into a longer format, it's hard to know exactly what to expect. Even so, given the serious nature of the subject matter and the all-star cast he's managed to assemble, there's plenty of reason to be hopeful about Monster.

Monster is set to hit Netflix on May 7. 

Red Notice feels like a Fast and Furious film without the franchise tag. The movie, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, follows an Interpol agent who is charged with tracking down the world's most notorious art thief. The movie is an action comedy that reteams Johnson with director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who he's already worked with on Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. 

It's unclear exactly what tone Red Notice will strike. Reynolds' presence suggests that the movie will feature some quips, and Johnson is known to be fairly capable as a comedic performer. Red Notice is one of the biggest projects that Netflix has coming down the pike in 2021, thanks mainly to the all-star cast that has been assembled for the film. 

Thus far in his career, Johnson has largely starred in movies that debuted in theaters, and Red Notice represents one of his first moves toward the world of streaming. The movie doesn't have an exact release date yet, but Netflix gave it plenty of hype in its 2021 trailer for the year, so the movie should be out before we see 2022.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is already known as a hugely prolific creator. The mind behind In the Heights and the Broadway smash Hamilton rocketed to fame following the latter show's success, and has remained a prominent figure ever since. Although Miranda has composed music for films, and has even helped to shepherd In the Heights to the big screen, he has yet to step into the director's chair himself, until now. 

tick, tick...BOOM stars film stars Andrew Garfield as an aspiring Broadway composer whose goal is to write the next great Broadway phenomenon, even as he worries that his upcoming 30th birthday means he's missed his window. 

Although the movie certainly has parallels to Miranda's life, it's based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name by the late Jonathan Larson, writer and composer of Rent. It will be interesting to see how Miranda's sensibilities work with or against a text that he didn't actually create. tick, tick...BOOM doesn't have a premiere date yet, but it's supposed to hit Netflix in 2021. 

This is a horror franchise worth getting excited about. The Fear Street films adapt R.L. Stine's novels of the same name, and follow a group of teenagers in a town in Ohio who begin investigating a string of murders that may be connected. Fear Street is the first installment, but the books were a series, and the first film and as well as the two sequels were shot at the same time. 

There were initial plans to release each film in the series in theaters with space in between, but that plan eventually changed. Now, Deadline reports that Netflix is planning to release each installment in the franchise a month apart, which will allow each movie some breathing room and keep the conversation around the franchise at a fever pitch. 

Although most of the members of the cast are young unknowns, there are some familiar faces filling out the supporting cast for the project. Those faces include Gillian Jacobs and Ashley Zukerman. While it's unclear when the first movie in this trilogy will be released, Netflix is clearly hoping to keep viewers hooked the platform by providing a regular dose of scares. 

Lena Waithe is one of the most prolific creators on the planet, and her latest project is set to make its debut on Netflix. Beauty tells the story of a rising pop story who's in a relationship with a butch lesbian. When she signs a major recording contract, her identity and her relationship begin to disappear. The film is set to star Gracie Marie Bradley, and will be directed by Andrew Dosunmo. 

Although Waithe is not a musician, the story of Beauty seems to speak at least partially to her own experience as a young, Black lesbian who is suddenly faced with enormous levels of success. Waithe has experienced this success in recent years thanks to both her on-camera roles and her work as a screenwriter behind the scenes. Now, it seems Waithe may be writing a story about what it means to reckon with your fame, and how you can remain true to yourself inside of a system of celebrity that is designed to sand off the rough edges of a person's identity. 

Beauty doesn't have an official release date yet, but will hit Netflix at some point in the future.