Maybe it’s just our imagination, but music seems to be playing a bigger role in cinema of late. We’ve seen musical docu-dramas (Straight Outta Compton) and original musicals (La La Land) win awards; we’ve seen films in which the soundtrack determines the pace of the action and generates all the attention (Baby Driver); we’ve seen movies about jazz bands (Whiplash) and an explosively popular series about a cappella (Pitch Perfect); we’ve even seen a superhero franchise revolving around “Awesome Mixtapes” (Guardians Of The Galaxy). And that’s all just in the last few years.

Simply put, there are opportunities nowadays to go to the movies as much to take in inventive soundtracks and/or original music as to watch an actual story unfold. It’s been a terrific development for innumerable artists, and it’s something that looks ready to continue in 2018. Because of this, we’re writing this brief preview of some of the most promising music-based films for the upcoming year.

A Star Is Born

There’s been a sort of mini-trend over several years of films about pairs of artists working together to break into the industry. It probably launched with Once, the charming Irish indie that came out of nowhere (with a virtually non-existent budget) to win Best Original Song at the Oscars. Begin Again followed a similar format with a bigger budget and more established actors. And in between, Music & Lyrics took a somewhat different approach, with a washed up artist looking to get back in the game, but it felt similar nonetheless. These have all been endearing films with enjoyable music, and A Star Is Born (a remake, incidentally) looks to be more of the same. This time around Lady Gaga will star as an up-and-comer being guided by a professional musician in Bradley Cooper.

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia! was a huge hit – a cinematic adaptation of a Broadway show that carried the same special energy as a stage musical. The sequel will be more of an experiment, but this will be a beautiful film packed with famous cast members and revolving completely around the songs. It’s not exactly a traditional soundtrack, but it ought to be plenty of fun.

First Man

This is actually a film about Neil Armstrong, the “first man” to walk on the moon. But odds are it’ll wind up being a renowned music movie. Why? Well, because it comes from the young directing maestro Damien Chazelle, who helmed both Whiplash and La La Land. The first was something of an instant indie classic revolving entirely around jazz drumming, and the second earned 14 Oscar nominations – up there for the most ever nods with All About Eve and Titanic. Throw in the fact that Armstrong supposedly had a jazz band in high school and it’s safe to say Chazelle is going to make this a very musical film, one way or the other. It should have a terrific soundtrack, hopefully with a blend of known jazz and original music.

Mary Poppins Returns

This is the one we know least about on this list, because it’s not simply a remake of Mary Poppins. Rather, it’s a sort of continuation of the story in which Poppins (now played by Emily Blunt) visits the children when they’re grown up. We do know that it will be another musical, however, as well as that it also stars Meryl Streep – so it ought to be another blockbuster revolving around music.

Bohemian Rhapsody

This might be the one music fans from all eras should be most excited about. Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic about Queen singer Freddie Mercury, starring Rami Malek. The actor is best known for his role as the lead in television’s Mr. Robot, and has achieved an uncanny likeness to Mercury judging by early set photos. Naturally this is going to be packed with recognizable tracks from Queen, and they’re even going to be using authentic Mercury recordings. Though Malek is going to be singing some as well. He’s said that he’s been at Abbey Road Studios working on his voice for the role, which should make it all the more interesting.