From pirates and Potter to Peter Parker, there are lots of big-screen comebacks on the way this year – not to mention one or two brand new projects. Here's our pick of what not to miss.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Release date: 30 March

Despite a reasonably successful but now incredibly dated trilogy of films in the 1990s (Vanilla Ice was a guest star in the second instalment), the dark noir style that is specific to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles source comic has yet to be accurately adapted for the screen.

On early evidence, the trailer for this continuation of the saga has adopted the exact look and style that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s cult favourite employed with notable effect way back in 1984, with dark, muted colours contrasting sharply with the ridiculous premise.

Director Kevin Munroe’s take on the characters sees stylised CGI visuals married with slick action sequences and a slapstick style of humour. The story focuses on the Turtles lacking purpose after defeating their arch-enemy Shredder. They disband, but are forced to reunite when evil businessman Max Winters unleashes a gruesome menagerie of monsters on the city.

Sarah Michelle Gellar plays intrepid TV reporter April O’Neill, the Turtles’ contact with the outside world, while other voices are provided by Patrick Stewart, Chris Evans, Zhang Ziyi and, in his final role, veteran Japanese actor Mako, who voices Master Splinter, the Turtles’ rodent sensei. Anticipation level: 7/10

SUNSHINE

Release date: 6 April

Flying in quietly under the radar, Sunshine may well prove to be the highbrow sci-fi event of the year, as Danny Boyle returns to the genre for the first time since the critical and commercial success of 28 Days Later.

Boasting an eclectic international cast, the film reunites Boyle with Cillian Murphy and stars Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans and Rose Byrne as crewmembers of a spaceship attempting to reignite the failing Sun by detonating a warhead on its surface. As the mission starts to unravel, they begin to fight for their lives and sanity as an oxygen leak makes it apparent that not everybody will be able to make the journey back home…

Writer Alex Garland whose previous collaborations with Boyle resulted in a disappointing trip to The Beach and the far more rewarding 28 Days Later provides the script, which looks set to be strong on scientific accuracy – think 2001 rather than Star Wars. Dance band Underworld provide the soundtrack. Anticipation level: 9/10

SPIDER-MAN 3

Release date: 4 May

Tobey Maguire, reprising his role as puny Peter Parker, might well be quaking in his spandex as the villainous line- up of Sandman, Venom and Harry Osborn (taking on the mantle of the new Green Goblin) prepare for battle in the eagerly awaited Spider-Man 3. This time round, he also has to contend with his continuing troubled romance with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), the affections of Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), Aunt May’s increasing frail health, and a slick but deadly new alien costume.

Fans of the comic will know how the Gwen Stacy storyline should end, but Raimi is always keen to put a new twist on familiar material. He’ll have to deliver a superlative sequel to break the curse of the third film of any superhero series being a turkey (Superman III, Batman Forever and Blade Trinity all failed at the third hurdle), but with a trailer that looks visually and dramatically stunning, the principal cast returning for perhaps the last time (Maguire recently strongly hinted that this will be his last outing as the web-slinger), and capable actors as opposed to stars cast as the villains, this could be the highest swinging adventure yet. Anticipation level: 8/10

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

Release date: 25 May

Captain Barbossa returns to join Will and Elizabeth as they set sail for the Far East and the end of the known world to rescue Jack Sparrow, facing enemies and obstacles galore along the way.

Shot back-to-back with Dead Man’s Chest, à la Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, we hope that the third Pirates of the Caribbean regains the fun and narrative focus that eluded writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott and director Gore Verbinski the second time around.

Co-stars Jack Davenport, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Pryce and Mackenzie Crook are among the returning cast, swelled by Chow Yun-Fat as the fearsome Captain Sao Feng. There’s also Keith Richards’ much-publicised cameo as Jack Sparrow’s father to look forward to.

The title potentially refers not only to navigating off the map but also that this could be the last in the series, rather than milking it further. But only time and box office returns will tell... Anticipation level: 6/10

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

Release date: 15 June

Though the original was a critical disaster, the buzz for the sequel is warming up nicely, thanks to the combination of the first live action appearance of the Silver Surfer, alongside his giant, energy-consuming master, Galactus.

The Surfer, seen in the spectacular excerpt-come-trailer racing the Human Torch through the city before dragging him into space and throwing him towards the Earth, exudes precisely the right level of cool as befits the character.

The recent shots of the Fantasticar might have done little to dispel fears that the film will adopt the light tone of the original, but news that the storyline will closely follow the comic – with Doom instigating a nefarious plot to steal the Surfer’s powers, and Ben Grimm’s girlfriend, blind sculptress Alicia Masters, playing a larger role in the universal scheme of things – at least shows a healthy respect for the source material.

It would probably be wise to go in with low expectations but this could be a surprise and welcome success. Anticipation level: 6/10

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Release date: 13 July

In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry must form a secret society to defend himself and his friends against the dark forces, when the school downplays the threat from the evil Lord Voldemort’s return.

As the film series goes from strength to strength, the producers have continued to choose interesting directors for the recent movies. Taking up the reins for The Order of the Phoenix is British TV director David Yates, who was behind the acclaimed drama serials State of Play and Sex Traffic.

Don’t expect every plot nuance of the lengthy book to appear on screen, however. This is more of a transitory story, between the tumultuous events of Goblet of Fire and the major developments in Half-Blood Prince. But it does feature some highly significant revelations about Harry’s past.

With this film appearing around the same time as the final book, The Deathly Hallows, this could prove to be the biggest year ever for Pottermania. Anticipation level: 8/10

TRANSFORMERS

Release date: 27 July

The hotly anticipated live action film version of the animated series arrives in cinemas this summer, with the almost over-qualified Michael Bay delivering his vision of the raging war between the Autobots and Decepticons, as their battle moves to Earth in typically explosive style.

Though early word has it that the human characters take centre stage, the trailer highlights a sense of spectacle of the kind that only Bay can deliver, as massive robots hurl tanks around as if they were toys, and narrowly avoid stepping on small children. The history of Transformers has not been forgotten, either, with the original voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, returning to vocalise the live action version of the character.

With the cast signed for at least two more films, Transformers looks like being the next big cinema franchise. In terms of bang for your buck, this is most likely to deliver. Anticipation level: 9/10

THE INVASION

Release date: 14 September

Shrouded in secrecy, and allegedly the subject of extensive reshoots which have delayed its release by nearly a year, The Invasion (formerly The Visiting) is a new take on the much filmed Invasion of the Body Snatchers story.

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegal, best known for the World War II drama Downfall, the cast features Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman as psychiatrists who uncover a sinister alien invasion. Add support from Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright and former Body Snatcher victim Veronica Cartwright, and the potential seems to increase. Even the casting of rap star Q-Tip doesn’t seem too detrimental to the project.

Producer Joel Silver’s output can be hit and miss, but he has a track record for intelligent genre films, with The Matrix and V For Vendetta being well received both critically and commercially.

The Invasion could be a sleeper hit. Its quiet build-up, combined with the talent involved, makes revisiting the story an intriguing prospect rather than a tedious rehash. Anticipation level: 7/10

I AM LEGEND

Release date: 14 December

After a disease ravages the world, Robert Neville (Will Smith) seems to be the last living human on Earth, while everyone else has become vampiric creatures...

Based on Richard Matheson’s classic book, the story has reached the screen two times before: in The Last Man on Earth in 1964, starring Vincent Price, and in The Omega Man in 1976, starring Charlton Heston. However, we’re still waiting for the definitive movie version of this terrific apocalyptic tale.

This modern retelling has gone through a multitude of directors and leads since its incepton, including Ridley Scott directing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Bay directing Will Smith.

The I, Robot actor remains, but now the shots are being called by Francis Lawrence (Constantine), shooting a script adapted by Mark Protosevich. Though Constantine had its variable moments, it’s just possible that Lawrence might have the right eye to bring this devastating tale of the end of civilisation to life.

It might not become an all-time classic, but we’re cautiously optimistic, nonetheless. Anticipation level: 7/10

HIS DARK MATERIALS: THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Release date: December

When her friend is kidnapped, 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua leaves Oxford to embark on an arduous quest that takes her to the frozen north, where armoured polar bears go into battle and where the gateway to an alternate reality awaits...

Based on the first novel in Philip Pullman’s phenomenal His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass (also known in print as Northern Lights), is a complex story to film. It’s set initially in a different reality to our own, where people’s souls take the form of creatures called daemons, which accompany them everywhere.

With its mystical artefacts, witches and incredible beasts, it has every chance of being a tour de force of fantasy cinema, too. Pullman’s richly detailed universe blends classic and modern elements, while Lyra (played by British newcomer Dakota Blue Richards) is a mischievous and smart-talking heroine with mass appeal. The film’s cast also brings back the Bond duo of Daniel Craig and Eva Green.

Director Chris Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy) is a surprise choice and a genre newcomer, so we can but hope that Pullman’s famously anti-establishment tone remains intact, in subtext if nothing more overt. Anticipation level: 9/10