[WATCH] After The Hobbit: which films will be the heavy-hitters of 2013?

Given that we all survive the supposedly incoming apocalypse (more of that to your right), 2013 appears to be stuffed with high-end, high-budget and high-concept science fiction blockbusters as regards cinematic output.

Rounding off a year that saw the conclusion of one hugely popular fantasy series (Harry Potter) and the beginning of another (The Hobbit), while vampires and zombies also remained a favourite genre-drug of choice, 2013 appears to be 'steelier' in more ways than one.

We'll leave the reasons why for the anthropologists to hash out, but it appears that popular consciousness is once again ready to embrace a heavy dose of futuristic scenarios and technological wizardry.

But as ever, the picture isn't nearly so clear cut, and coupled with - of course - the second instalment of The Hobbit trilogy ('There and Back Again'), there will be other genres to work their way out of the wood (metal?) work.

Starting with the first selection out of the - literal and metaphoric - stable...

The Lone Ranger

Having hit the radio waves round the time of the First World War, The Lone Ranger and his Native American sidekick Tonto are pretty much part of American folklore... but will the Wild West crime-fighting duo prove to be palatable to a global audience in an upcoming big budget production "from the people who brought you Pirates of the Caribbean"? Well, with Johnny Depp as Tonto (adjusting for political correctness, Depp transforms to character into a shaman-like mentor, rather than dim-witted sidekick) and The Social Network's statuesque Armie Hammer in the titular role, the project looks to be laundered clean for consumption by uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and true to his back-catalogue, we can expect a brash and loud remix of a very old and pretty much forgotten property.

The trailers reveal something that looks like a mix between Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes - all sepia-toned, steam-festooned and surprisingly explosive Victoriana - and (shudder) Wild Wild West. Make of that what you will.

Pacific Rim

With the painful-and-brilliant fantasia Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Mexican director, producer, writer and all-round story-spewing machine Guilliermo del Toro cemented a reputation as a dark horse to be respected. Lest we forget: he's an established cult presence in his native country, has ridden the rocky slopes of Hollywood before, taking plenty of risks in the process - Blade 2, the 'Hellboy' movies - and nearly came close to directing The Hobbit.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that a filmmaker with so many projects in the bag, and with such a feverish, prodigious imagination, will now be in the limelight with Pacific Rim, possibly one of the easiest films to summarise in recent history: extra-dimensional creatures pop up from some celestial chasm to destroy us all; the military responds by sending in giant, human-operated robots.

Though it sounds like a shallow premise, del Toro's encyclopaedic knowledge of every genre he works in is bound to embellish the proceedings with some interesting flourishes.

Not to mention that the trailer has already unveiled what will likely be the cinematic catchphrase of the year. Capping off an inspirational speech, Idris Elba's captain character barks: "Tonight, we are cancelling the apocalypse!"

Star Trek Into Darkness

Compared to other sci-fi/fantasy franchises, JJ Abrams's upgrade of the Star Trek films has had a leisurely time of it - launching in 2009 with the appropriately-stripped down title 'Star Trek', Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield) gave the beloved but often stuff space opera a new lease of life: gone is William Shatner's pot-bellied Captain Kirk, to be replaced by the fresh-faced Chris Pine, who is joined by an appropriately attractive crew (Zachary Quinto, Alice Eve, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and others).

But where the original was a boyish space-adventure sprinkled with some on-board tension between Spock (Quinto) and Kirk, this time things appear to be getting darker. A mysterious bad guy - the internet has been rife with speculation on his actual identity, which Abrams and co. were keen to stoke - played by the British thesp du jour Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Hobbit) looks to be stirring some serious calamity for our heroes... and the explosive-but-ominous trailer hints that not all of them will be coming out of this sophomore effort alive.

Iron Man 3

It's clearly a product of the capitalist Hollywood studio machine at its most viciously greedy, but the Iron Man films - the original Iron Man (2008) served as the inaugural project of Marvel Studios, after the comic book company decided to call the shots on the big-screen version of the characters - are also a story of hope.

After all, they helped dredge up the talented actor Robert Downey Jr from a Charlie Sheen-like drug-and-alcohol miasma. But not only that: the rogueish star of Chaplin proved to be an excellent fit for the titular role of Tony Stark - a decadent (read: alcoholic) industrialist-cum-engineering prodigy who turns to heroism after a brush with death. Downey's swagger lent coolness to a geeky property and endeared him to a hoard of movie-goers. The character, of course, also helped save the day in the hugely successful Marvel team-up feature Avengers Assemble.

But writer-director Shane Black (who also had a hand in rescuing Downey from the druggie doldrums by giving him the central part in the hugely likeable detective-black-comedy Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) appears keen to rain on his parade.

Just like a mysterious enemy will cast a pall over the brash Star Trek franchise, Iron Man will meet his match with Ben Kingsley's Mandarin - an international terrorist who will strike very close to home.

It appears that next year, our heroes will be forced to work overtime.