May has only just started, and snow still whitens the Catskills, but with the advent of monster hit Avengers: Infinity War there’s no doubt, in the eyes of Hollywood, surf’s up and you better be beach body ready.
Here’s our round-up of the ten likely eye-popping blockbusters and summer sleepers rolling into a theater near you.
Deadpool 2: Derivative is a virtue in Marvel’s action-packed, smart-alecky, kickass action-in-a-blender adventure starring Ryan Reynolds in the title role opposite new-villain-on-the-block Josh Brolin as Cable. With Gotham’s Morena Baccarin as the requisite bombshell front and center, expect stunt-master turned director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) to light a fire under the franchise. (May 18)
Solo: A Star Wars Story: Can Aiden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) step into the dusty boots of Harrison Ford to play iconic badass antihero Han Solo? We’ll soon see as the long-awaited prequel that reunites Solo and his furry co-pilot Chewbacca on their first mission into the galaxy. Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover also star with Ron Howard behind the camera working from a script by father-son team Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan. (May 25)
SuperFly: Pimp life gets a new paint job in Director X’s remake of the 1972 Blaxploitation classic scored by Curtis Mayfield that became part of the soundtrack of the seventies. This time around, power trio Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire), Trevor Jackson (TV’s grown-ish) and Jason Mitchell (Mudbound, Detroit) get down and dirty in the drug business. Jennifer Morrison plays the po-po in hot pursuit. (June 15)
Incredibles 2: Brad Bird flies back for the highly anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning 2004 Pixar animated favorite about a funky family of superheroes trying to maintain a low profile in suburbia. In this update, when matriarch Elastigirl (voice of Holly Hunter) gets a new job making the planet safe for humanity, childrearing becomes the challenging focus for frustrated stay-at-home-dad Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (voice of Craig T. Nelson). (June 15)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: In another franchise that now seems as old as the dinosaurs at its center, Chris Pratt gets the call to rescue the last remaining dinos on the wrecked Isla Nublar off the Central American coast where once a theme park honoring the prehistoric stood so proudly. Given Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as the star, expect a ratatatat combo of action and humor with a refreshingly self-effacing effect. Bryce Dallas Howard costars and Jeff Goldblum returns to deliver dire warnings about the relationship between man and nature that nobody will heed. (June 22)
Three Identical Strangers: Tim Wardle’s mind-blowing documentary arrives like a bat out of Sundance (where it scored a Special Jury Award) with this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story: a trio of lookalike strangers meet in New York in 1980 when they’re 19. Freaked by the discovery, what’s initially a joyful reunion of brothers last united in the womb becomes a mind-blowing journey as they discover the horrible secret that underlies their separation at birth. (June 29)
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Will the monstrous opening for Avengers: Infinity War with its herds of A-list superheroes squash this comic teaming of two lesser lights in the Marvel pantheon? Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne/The Wasp buzz about trying to unearth deep dark secrets from the past in a post-Captain America: Civil War setting. Why not? (July 6)
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot: That wacky couple Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill star in a life-affirming rehab biopic about an Oregon slacker, John Callahan (Phoenix), whose drinking lands him in a wheelchair – and ultimately leads to (yikes!) redemption as an artist. Director Gus Van Sant goes hunting goodwill in this feel-bad, feel-good buddy story based on the famed cartoonist. Rooney Mara and Jack Black also star. (July 13)
The Equalizer 2: Denzel Washington goes all action franchise in Antoine Fuqua’s kickass sequel to the blockbuster TV reboot. The crime thriller puts old-school retired assassin Robert McCall (Washington) on a collision course with violent villains who victimize the weak and oppressed. His ace in the hole is that folks are always underestimating a man on the far side of sixty: Just don’t call him “Pops.” Pedro Pascal and Melissa Leo co-star. (July 18)
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