My earliest most anticipated movie ever was
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. I was 5 when I saw
The Phantom Menace (it, I think, being the first movie I've seen in IMAX) and only 8 when I saw
Attack of the Clones. There were some scenes I thought were pretty cool in TPM, especially on such a large screen; but the Geonosis battle scene in AotC was what really drew me into S
tar Wars. I watched all the other movies since then and was beyond excited for the saga finale. Thank you, George Lucas, for making some of my favorite movies and theatergoing moments from my childhood.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens and
Star Wars: The Last Jedi also make my list, but if only the sequel trilogy in its entirety (though I still enjoyed it) lived up to the greatness of TFA...... (Also, as much as I love Taika Waititi, I'd rather see George be involved again - at least just once - in the franchise HE created.)
Also on my list are
Godzilla,
Godzilla: King of the Monsters and
Godzilla vs. Kong. I loved Godzilla as a kid, so I was obviously thrilled at the announcement of the 2014 movie and had the eye of a hawk for trailers and clips. I finally saw it in IMAX, absolutely loved it, and have been salivating since then for the sequel to be released (which was five LONG years later - that were worth it). It was, and still is, fun imagining what my favorite Toho monsters would look like in CGI glory and thinking about what other original monsters they could come up with. I wish I'd avoided the trailers for KotM before seeing the movie itself, but if the IMAX trailer wasn't one of the best (if not *the* best) for a blockbuster movie I've ever seen...... I'm also look thrilled to see Toho's monster cinematic universe.
Avengers: Infinity War and
Avengers: Endgame are on my list too. I saw
Infinity War with my dad and twice again by myself; then saw
Endgame with my friend, again with my dad, and once more by myself in the downtown small theater (this time with the Stan Lee tribute after the credits). I was ecstatic when the Marvel logo rolled onto the screen during
Infinity War, but strangely didn't have that same feeling as I was watching the opening of
Endgame. I guess I had so much fun watching
Infinity War that I was curious, more than anything, to see how
Endgame would match up - but boy, did it blow me away. I'm glad I actually saw it with my friend and had someone to fanboy over what I just watched with (as I don't often see movies with anyone but my dad, if anyone at all); and there were so many scenes I was excited for my dad to see as I was watching it again with him.
The Dark Knight and
The Dark Knight Rises make the cut also. I wasn't into comic books as a kid, but something about the next big Batman movie not even having 'Batman' in the title and the images of Heath Ledger's Joker with the messy makeup and all-around creepily psychopathic appearance made me really look forward to seeing the creative vision for TDK. Christopher Nolan became one of my favorite film directors after I saw it, and TDKR was the perfect ending for what I now consider my favorite film trilogy. Tom Hardy's Bane voice is still so addicting to listen to.
Other movies I've had much anticipation for watching......
- King Kong (2005) and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. Semi-related to each other and to The Lord of the Rings, with King Kong directed by Peter Jackson and with Andy Serkis as Kong and Mowgli directed by Andy Serkis and produced by Warner Bros. A 2005 remake of a movie about a giant gorilla fighting T-rexes and the human characters coming across multiple other man-eating creatures? Sounded like the action/adventure movie of a lifetime to 12-year-old me, and it's still one of my very favorite movies (in spite of what many other people apparently say about it). I was also highly looking forward to a non-Disneyfied live-action take on Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book when it was announced; and I wanted it to do well, but sadly, the 2016 Jungle Book movie stole all the thunder. I still adore both Jungle Book movies, and my animal-loving heart is still joyed that someone actually used a brown hyena in a movie.

- Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017). 12-year-old me: "A universally acclaimed fairy tale movie that's rated R for strong brutal violence? I'm curious, to say the least." 23-year-old me watching each trailer for TSoW, familiar with and praising of Guillermo del Toro's artistic determination and style: "A movie with a large amphibious creature as a main character that looks like anything BUT a shallow monster movie?? Looks like another masterpiece-to-be from the Mexican Tim Burton."