Summer came early this year with Marvel unleashing their biggest film ever. This one was 10 years and 18 films in the making. Infinity War was great, but was that the best thing that we’re gonna see this summer? I’ll bet you anything, we won’t see any blockbuster come close to doing what Infinity War did at the box office, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t see some great movies released between now and August.
I could waste a lot of time giving you a list of every movie coming out between now and then, but you could just head over to IMDb if you wanted that. Instead, I want to let you know about 10 movies that have me excited this summer other than Infinity War. That doesn’t count because it was on the top of my list and it met and exceeded my expectations.
Deadpool 2 – May 18
Come on… Do I have to explain this one? It’s Ryan Reynolds back in the role that he was designed by our good Lord to play. I hope it can live up to the hype despite some production woes. It will be weird seeing Josh Brolin play another villain so soon after he tore my heart out as Thanos.
Solo: A Star Wars Movie – May 25
I’m not nearly as excited about this one. It looks pretty entertaining and from the brief bits of dialogue in the trailer it seems like Alden Ehrenreich is doing a passable job imitating Harrison Ford. I know all the fanboys will turn out in droves, but I think that the average moviegoer isn’t going to rush out to watch this scruffy looking nerf-herder.
Hereditary – June 8
Excuse me while I go change my pants. This trailer gives me nightmares. I’m not sure what the movie is going to do. I don’t know much about the first time director Ari Aster, except that he looks like he’s 14 and just learned that he can grow hair on his face. This doesn’t look like your normal style of horror movie, I’m hoping it follows in the footsteps of The Witch and The Babadook and does something different.
Oceans 8 – June 8
All female heist film by Steven Soderbergh. I don’t think it needed to be tied to the Ocean’s franchise, but I guess that makes it more bankable. I hope it’s good. The cast looks great. But it could end up being like the Ghostbusters remake if they aren’t careful.
Incredibles 2 – June 15
Finally! A sequel to my favorite Pixar movie. Forget Toy Story 4 and all that garbage. This thing has been cooking for 14 years and finally Brad Bird is delivering what looks like an impressive follow-up. I’ve already heard complaints that no one has aged, that he’s not bringing us to the present or at least giving us teenage Jack-Jack but at this point, I trust Pixar as a whole and Brad Bird specifically and I will be at the front of the line for this one.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado – June 29
Continuing the year of Josh Brolin, we get the follow-up to 2015’s Breakout hit Sicario. The first was directed by Denis Villeneuve who has now launched into the stratosphere with movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival under his belt. At first I was worried, but then I saw that Taylor Sheridan is back in the writer’s chair and he was hesitant to even call it a sequel. Hopes are tentatively high that this can be added to the flawless list on Sheridan’s resume.
Uncle Drew – June 29
I will be completely transparent. This movie is not made for me. I’m whiter than Nick Kroll (oh wait…), but even with that handicap, I still think this looks funny. Tiffany Haddish and the pure joy of watching some basketball superstars donning white hair and beards. This is going to make more money than Tyler Perry dressing in drag, and you can take that to the hoop.
Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6
We pick up with Ant-Man after the events of Captain America: Civil War and apparently he is on some type of house arrest. Hank Pym outfits a partner for him and we get lots of stuff getting smaller than normal and other things getting comically large. This should be a nice exhale after Marvel has been punching us in the gut with Black Panther and Infinity War, and who knows maybe we’ll get another piece of the Avengers 4 puzzle.
Mission Impossible: Fallout – July 27
Unpopular opinion: The Mission: Impossible franchise is more entertaining than James Bond or Jason Bourne. I can’t wait to watch Tom Cruise break his ankle in that scene from the trailer where he jumps from one building to another and shorts it. They take it to the next level and the touches of humor from Simon Pegg are great. Christopher McQuarrie has directed Tom Cruise excellently in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation as well as the original Jack Reacher film. I have no reason to doubt that this will not be a kick-ass ride.
The Darkest Minds – August 3
It’s not the New Mutants X-Men movie that I’ve been hoping for, but close enough. In essence, these teenagers are held captive by the government because they begin to develop powers. Some of them break out to form a resistance group to fight their oppressors. It is based on a YA novel by the same name written by Alexandra Bracken and directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson who previously directed The two Kung Fu Panda sequels.
What about you? Are you surprised by any of these? Do you have one that you are just dying to see? Did I leave something off? Let me know if the comments below or hit me up on social media.
