Christopher Nolan tackling Homer's epic is exactly the kind of swing that makes summer moviegoing worthwhile: Matt Damon plays Odysseus fighting his way home through witches, sirens, and cyclopes to reunite with his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway. The cast reads like Nolan called in every favor he's accumulated over two decades: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, and more. Shot for IMAX by the director of Dunkirk and Oppenheimer, this is the summer's most anticipated film by a considerable distance. | © Universal Pictures
Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz loosely reimagines Marco Bellochio's 1965 family melodrama Fists in the Pocket as a story about a family regrouping in Catalonia after a major tragedy, an already unstable situation that threatens to collapse entirely when one of the sons brings home a new girlfriend. The setup sounds like a pressure cooker, which is exactly the kind of material this cast was built for. Elle Fanning, Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Tracy Letts, Pamela Anderson, and Lukas Gage in a slow-burning family implosion is a very compelling proposition. | © MUBI
Tom Holland and Zendaya are back, but the emotional stakes are higher than ever MJ has no memory of Peter Parker thanks to the mass memory wipe at the end of No Way Home, meaning he has to navigate losing the person he loves most while still being Spider-Man. Mark Ruffalo returns as the Hulk, Jon Bernthal reprises the Punisher, and Better Call Saul's Michael Mando brings Scorpion into the MCU for the first time. Sadie Sink and Tramell Tillman are also in undisclosed roles, which is the kind of casting news that keeps the speculation going right up until opening night. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
David Robert Mitchell turned a simple premise about a sexually transmitted curse into It Follows and a basic noir setup into Under the Silver Lake, so "a family in the 1980s notices strange things in their neighborhood" is more than enough to get excited about in his hands. Details beyond that logline are scarce, which feels very on-brand for a filmmaker who thrives on mystery and dread. Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway lead an eclectic cast that also includes My Old Ass breakout Maisy Stella and Sweet Tooth's Christian Convery, a strong group for whatever Mitchell has in store. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Disney's live-action remake machine rolls on with Moana, and at this point, the question of whether anyone asked for it is beside the point. Lilo & Stitch made a fortune last year, and the conveyor belt isn't stopping. Catherina Laga'aia takes on the title role, while Dwayne Johnson reprises Maui in the flesh rather than just in voice. The most genuinely interesting element is that director Thomas Kail, the man behind Hamilton and Fosse/Verdon, is an unexpected and intriguing choice for a Disney musical remake. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Milly Alcock steps into the spotlight after her memorable introduction at the end of Superman, this time leading her own DC film based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely's acclaimed comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The story follows Kara as she helps a teenager avenge her father's death while reckoning with the weight of being one of the last Kryptonians alive, a more grounded, personal premise than most superhero films attempt. Jason Momoa trading his Aquaman gear for an interstellar biker look to play fan-favorite mercenary Lobo is its own. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Olivia Wilde's return to directing puts two couples together at a dinner party that starts civil and quickly turns into something much messier. Wilde and Seth Rogen play one pair, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz the other. It was one of the standout surprises at Sundance this year, earning praise as a sharp, filthy comedy of manners that transcends the limitations of its single-location setup. Four actors that good, locked in a room together with grievances to air, is a pretty compelling proposition. | © A24
The Vast of Night was one of the more quietly impressive sci-fi films of recent years, so his follow-up is worth paying attention to even before you hear the pitch. Matthew McConaughey plays a beloved Oklahoma beekeeper whose livelihood is threatened when honey thieves start targeting his hives, leaving his former foster-care ward to track down who's responsible. The supporting cast of Kurt Russell, Cole Sprouse, Owen Teague, Tony Revolori, and Rob Morgan makes this one of the summer's most intriguing under-the-radar picks. | © Black Bear Pictures
Steven Spielberg returning to alien territory is enough to put this near the top of any summer watchlist, even with plot details still largely under wraps. What's known is that Josh O'Connor is on a mission to expose a government cover-up of first contact, Emily Blunt plays a weather person who appears to be communicating in alien languages, and there are apparently self-aware animals involved in nudging humanity toward some kind of revelation. Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson, and Wyatt Russell round out the cast, and honestly, "Spielberg UFO movie" was always going to be enough. | © Universal Pictures
The story behind D-Day has been told countless times. Still, this film focuses on a chapter most people have never heard of: a Scottish RAF meteorologist named James Stagg who predicted a storm on June 5th, 1944, and convinced Allied command to delay the invasion by 24 hours. Andrew Scott plays Stagg, Brendan Fraser steps in as Eisenhower, and the supporting cast includes Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, and Damian Lewis. Framing one of history's most consequential decisions as a meteorological thriller is an unusual swing, but an intriguing one. | © Focus Features
A road trip horror with a simple but effective setup: two friends stop to help at a car accident and pick up something they absolutely did not want along for the ride. Lou Llobell and Jacob Scipio play the unlucky duo, with Melissa Leo on hand as the expert on the urban legend behind the demonic hitchhiker. Norwegian director André Øvredal has The Autopsy of Jane Doe and The Last Voyage of the Demeter on his résumé, which suggests this will have more going for it than cheap scares. | © Paramount Pictures
Boots Riley follows up Sorry to Bother You with another satirical wild ride, this time centering on a crew of Oakland thieves led by Keke Palmer going up against a fast-fashion CEO played by Demi Moore. Riley's signature blend of radical politics and cartoonish absurdism is apparently cranked up even further here, which for fans of his debut is a genuinely exciting prospect. The supporting cast alone (Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Eiza González, and Poppy Liu) makes this one of the summer's most stacked ensembles. | © Universal Studios
The beloved Disney+ series leaps to the big screen, reuniting Pedro Pascal's stoic gunfighter with everyone's favorite Force-sensitive child for what promises to be their most cinematic adventure yet. Sigourney Weaver joins the franchise as a former rebel pilot leading an elite starfighter squad. At the same time, Jeremy Allen White plays Rotta the Hutt, which is not a sentence anyone saw coming. Series co-creator Dave Filoni is also back as Trapper Wolf, suggesting this one is being made by people who genuinely love what they're working on. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Curry Barker's debut feature turned heads at the Toronto International Film Festival with a premise that sounds simple enough: a lovesick teenager buys a mysterious item from a curio shop to win over the girl he's crazy about, and then takes it somewhere considerably darker. The monkey's paw logic kicks in fast, with the wish working out in all the wrong ways. Barker reportedly takes his time getting there, which only makes the eventual turn hit harder when it comes. | © Focus Features
Nearly two decades after the original, Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are all returning for another round in the fashion industry with the original director and screenwriter back as well, which is about as promising a sign as a sequel can offer. The new cast additions are equally eye-catching, bringing in Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Lady Gaga, and Donatella Versace playing herself. If the first film set the standard for sharp, stylish workplace comedy, this one has every ingredient to at least come close. | © 20th Century Studios
This summer's movie lineup is stacked, from Nolan going full Homer to Spielberg returning to alien territory to a dinner party that goes completely off the rails. These are the films worth clearing your calendar for between now and September.
