A cowboy, a caped superhero, a hammer-wielding deity and a little mermaid will be amongst the many characters that will welcome you in 2013. And if that’s not enough, how about dinosaurs roaming the earth in 3D or a man in iron suit saving the day… interesting, isn’t it?

Each year brings an array of movies that fans wait eagerly for. The most anticipated movie of 2013 is, undoubtedly, Man of Steel.

Through this film, releasing on June 14, Superman (Henry Cavill) will return to the big screen after a seven-year hiatus. Fans of Jurassic Park will disagree as they want to watch their favourite film in 3D which will be releasing on April 5. Similarly, GI Joe fans would be hoping that the sequel to the first GI Joe movie, aptly titled GI Joe: Retaliation. will sweep the box office by storm when it is released on March 29.

The only film that will challenge the sure-shot domination of Man of Steel would be Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (May 3), where Robert Downey Jr. will don the iron suit and save the world in his own style.

Then there is the successful franchise of Star Trek which will make a comeback through Star Trek into Darkness (May 17). The Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp will feature in the Lone Ranger (July 3) — but as Tonto, his man Friday, a role he chose himself due to resemblance with his native American ancestry. Arnie Hammer will play the lead role as both men will try to seek justice in the Wild West.

The second half of the year will bring three sequels — Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (August 16), Thor: The Dark World (November 8) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 22). All three movies are highly awaited and it would be interesting to see which flick scores and which bombs at the box office.

Many animated flicks are slated for release too. We will have Dorothy of Oz and Jack The Giant Slayer, Dino Time, Escape from Planet Earth, Monsters University and The Smurfs 2. Disney’s The Little Mermaid will be re-released in 3D, whereas the year will be capped by The Hobbit: There and Back Again, which would hope to ride on the success of the first instalment released in 2012.

As you may have guessed by now, the cowboy is Long Ranger, the caped superhero is Superman, Thor is the hammer-wielding God while Disney’s The Little Mermaid is the little mermaid we talked about at the start. There is a lot to watch in 2013, so brace yourself, the year promises to be as exciting as its predecessors.