The movies of 2020: Two from Pixar, James Bond’s new adventure and — finally — the ‘Top Gun’ sequel

Nailed it!

Also: I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Some 363 days ago, the Sun-Times headline read:

19 for 2019: The movies this year that Roeper can’t wait to see

In the accompanying piece, I mentioned the likes of “Captain Marvel,” “Us,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “John Wick: Chapter Three,” “Ad Astra,” “Ford vs. Ferrari,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Joker.”

Not a disappointing clunker in the bunch, people!

Then again, I also expressed great optimism about “Gemini Man,” which wound up on my list of the WORST films of the year, as well as “The Goldfinch,” a putative prestige project that turned out to be dull, smug, irritating and condescending.

“This one feels like a multiple Oscar contender,” I wrote of “The Goldfinch.”

Update: “Hobbs & Shaw” has a better chance of scoring an Academy Awards nod than “The Goldfinch.”

Ah, but that’s the fun part about compiling these annual previews.

Every year, I know some of the films I highlight will meet or exceed my expectations, while others will break my cinematic heart.

As always, the suspense is killing me.

With that in mind, here’s my pre-season ranking, in order of announced release dates, of the 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2020.

‘Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’ (Feb. 7)

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is no longer involved with the Joker (Jared Leto edition), has a fresh new look — and is starring in an R-rated spinoff of the quite awful (and PG-13) “Suicide Squad” from 2016. This could be the first badass superhero movie of the new decade — or the first stinker.

‘Fantasy Island’ (Feb. 14)

Hollywood continues to rummage through the Campy TV Show Storage Bin in search of recyclable material. (Please, no more “Charlie’s Angels” reboots!)

But I like the premise of this one. With Michael Pena in the role of our host, Mr. Roarke, this “Fantasy Island” sounds like a darker, more “Twilight Zone”-esque take on the series, as the guests’ fantasies turn into life-threatening nightmares.

‘Onward’ (March 6)

Since 1995 and the release of the first “Toy Story,” I’ve been a full-out Pixar superfan, and I’m almost never disappointed when the animated franchise dynasty rolls out the latest team effort. “Onward” is set in a world filled with incredible beings who have magical powers—but now the magic has all but disappeared, with potentially disastrous and sure-to-be-funny consequences.

‘A Quiet Place II’ (March 20)

A message for the “spoiler-sports” who revisited the instant minor horror classic of 2018 and picked apart the plot: LEAVE IT ALONE.

You can slide virtually every horror film ever made under the microscope and find plot holes. The thrill is in enjoying the ride DESPITE the logic-bending moments.

I’m stoked for the sequel, in no small part because John Krasinski writes and directs, and the wonderful Emily Blunt (Krasinski’s wife), Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe reprise their roles from the original.

‘The Lovebirds’ (April 3)

Screwball comedy is one of the most difficult genres of all, but when done right, it can make for the kind of movie you watch over and over through the years. Here’s hoping that’s the case with this rom-com from Michael Showalter (co-creator of the “Wet Hot American Summer” franchise), starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae in the story of a couple on the verge of a breakup who get involved in the obligatory murder mystery and have to clear their names — AND decide if they’ll stay together.

‘No Time to Die” (April 8)

Daniel Craig, arguably the best of the Bonds (and when I say “arguably,” I mean let’s please not argue about it just now), makes his fifth and final appearance in the 25th installment of the franchise. The gifted Rami Malek plays the primary villain, and Lea Seydoux reprises her role from “Spectre” as Dr. Madeleine Swann. Lashana Lynch’s Nomi reportedly will be given the “007” designation — but that doesn’t mean she’ll be “the next James Bond.” The “007” label is a code name assigned to an agent. James Bond is a specific character.”

‘Black Widow’ (May 1)

The Avengers will never assemble again as a full team, but many will live on in sequels and spinoffs — and in this case, a prequel giving the full origin-story treatment to one of the most intriguing and complex members of the Marvel Universe: Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.

‘Greyhound’ (May 8)

Tom Hanks wrote, produced and stars in the story of Cmdr. Ernest Krause of the U.S. Navy and the Battle of the Atlantic.

Given Hanks’ track record as star and/or producer of World War II projects (“Saving Private Ryan,” “The Pacific”), it will be a surprise if “Greyhound” falls short of greatness.

‘Candyman’ (June 12)

Jordan Peele is the co-writer and co-producer of this direct sequel to the Chicago-set 1992 original, and yes, the one and only Tony Todd returns as the title character. There’s an explosion of talent associated with this project, from Peele’s involvement to director Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods”) to stars such as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen”) and Teyonah Parris (“Mad Men,” “Dear White People,” “Chi-Raq”).

‘Soul’ (June 19)

Pixar’s summer 2020 entry is the story of one Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle school teacher whose soul is literally separated from his body. This is the first Pixar film with a black character as the lead, and it also sounds as if it could be one of the most ambitious and spiritually focused stories the animators have done to date.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (June 25)

Paramount Pictures

In the mid- to late 1980s, the go-to title to show off one’s state-of-the-art home theater system was the laser disc of “Top Gun” (1986), with its ear-rattling sound and its dazzling visuals and of course “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins.

Not to mention Tom Cruise and all those teeth and all that charm.

The original “Top Gun” is hardly a classic, and some of the sequences are painfully hokey and dated — but come on, don’t lose that lovin’ feeling for the long-rumored, much-anticipated, they’re-finally-doing-it! sequel, with Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles as Maverick and Iceman, respectively, and a stellar supporting cast including Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm and Ed Harris.

‘Tenet’ (July 17)

Writer-director Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight” trilogy,” “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk”) is on that short list of directors whose every film feels like an event. In “Tenet,” John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh star in the time-bending story of an elite black ops unit charged with preventing World War III.

‘Morbius’ (July 31)

After getting short-changed with precious little screen time as the Joker in “Suicide Squad,” Jared Leto gets his superhero title shot as Michael Morbius, a scientist whose attempt to cure his own rare blood disease leaves him as a kind of …

VAMPIRE!

‘Let Him Go’ (Aug. 21)

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane have the kind of timeless, old-school looks and movie-star charm that would have made them stars in any decade since the dawn of talking pictures. In “Let Him Go,” they play grandparents (OUCH) who leave their Montana ranch to rescue their grandson from the clutches of mysterious family living off the grid somewhere in the Dakotas.

‘Last Night in Soho’ (Sept. 25)

Edgar Wright (“Hot Fuzz,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Baby Driver”) is one of the most talented and versatile directors of his generation. Like Quentin Tarantino, he’s one of those movie directors who is obviously a huge movie superfan as well. “Last Night in Soho” is a time-tripping psychological thriller, set partially in 1960s London and featuring budding stars Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy as well legendary veterans Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg.

‘The Many Saints of Newark’ (Sept. 25)

It’s the prequel to “The Sopranos,” and if that’s not enough to get you excited, I’m not sure we even know each other after all these years.

‘Bios’ (Oct. 2)

Tom Hanks plays an aging, ailing inventor who might just be the last man on Earth. He builds an android named Jeff to keep him and his dog company as he takes a trip across the country.

Sounds like a mash-up of some of previous Hanks films, singles, including “Castaway,” “Philadelphia,” “Cloud Atlas,” “Forrest Gump” and even “Turner & Hooch.”

‘Stillwater’ (Nov. 6)

No, this isn’t an “Almost Famous” spinoff about the briefly popular band from the 1970s. The brilliant writer-director Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight,” “Good Night, and Good Luck”) writes and helms this crime drama starring Matt Damon as an oil rig roughneck from Oklahoma who is in way over his head when he travels to Southern France to try to exonerate his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), who has been imprisoned for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

‘Dune’ (Dec. 18)

Let’s just forget about the 1984 disaster and welcome this new adaptation (the first of a two-parter) of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. Denis Villeneuve (“Prisoners,” “Sicario,” “Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”) directs an all-star ensemble including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard in this far-future sci-fi epic.

‘West Side Story’ (Dec. 18)

Twentieth Century Fox

Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner team up for a musical said to be more faithful to the original Broadway musical than the 1961 film adaptation.

With giants such as Spielberg and Kushner guiding the way, “West Side Story” has a lot going for it.

And even if it all somehow goes sideways we know it can’t possibly be as horrific as “Cats.”

(Other highly anticipated, likely 2020 releases with no specific premiere dates set: “Flag Day,” “Newsflash,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Hillbilly Elegy,” “On the Rocks,” “Worth.”)