HERE COMES the cavalry
The other films that are set to assault the multiplexes this silly season…
Sta r Trek Beyond Shohreh Aghdashloo swaps The Expanse’s government bigwig for ‘High Command of the Federation’ as a late addition to reshoots for the threequel. Don’t be fazed: things aren’t necessarily getting messy. Reshoots are normal and the trailer suggests incoming director Justin Lin has the laughs, scraps, vertiginous falls and Enterprise-bashing crash-fetishism down pat. ETA 22 July
The Conjuring 2
Furious 7’ s James Wan swaps car jumps for jump scares with his sequel to 2013’s wardrobe-rattler. Expect deep chills and malevolent music-boxes as paranormal pros the Warrens (Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson) encounter Enfield’s famous poltergeist. For scare-hounds, the summer’s pre-eminent low-laughs, multi-shocks
Ghostbusters alternative beckons. ETA 17 June Absolutely Fab ulous: The Movie Break out the Bolly: like The Inbetweeners gone AWOL, Edina and Patsy (Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley) hit the glam motherlode with a French Riviera-set movie makeover. “Ravishingly funny,” promises Lumley: and a busy guest-list (including Jane Horrocks, Cara Delevingne) should help give David Brent a run for his TV-to-film money this summer. ETA 1 July Independence Da y: Resurgence “Definitely bigger than the last one,” promises Jeff Goldblum, lest anyone feared Mr size-matters Roland Emmerich would downscale the sequel. Worry not: a 20-year wait has given Bill Pullman time to get beardy and the aliens time to get buff. If 10 Cloverfield Lane frustrated on the destructo-porn front, mark the date. ETA 24 June
Pete’s Dragon
Jurassic World’s Bryce Dallas Howard sticks with the towering beasties for Ain’t Them Bodies Saints auteur David Lowery’s intriguing “re-imagining”. When Howard’s ranger finds feral woods-child Pete (Oakes Fegley), she also meets his winged protector, who could be the BFG’s main challenger for child/ creature bonding fables this summer. ETA 12 August