The most anticipated summer movies of 2023

Cast: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Kiersey ClemonsDirector: Andy MuschiettiYou won’t find a more troubled film hitting theaters this summer than . The DC superhero flick had been in development since at least 2014, with four directors departing the project over creative differences before Andy Muschietti (It) took over in 2020. But even finishing the film didn’t put an end to its problems: throughout 2022, star , which led to some disturbing allegations regarding their personal life. For now, WB seems to be leaning hard into a “pay no attention to the person behind the curtain” strategy regarding Miller, and the truly shocking thing is that it seems to be working. Early buzz for the multiverse-spanning film has been overwhelmingly (almost suspiciously) effusive, and both fans and the press are leaning hard into the excitement about Michael Keaton’s return as Batman over 30 years after he last donned the cape and cowl in . Less exciting is Ben Affleck’s return as a Batman from a different universe, but living in Keaton’s shadow is really the least of the indignities Affleck has suffered while wearing the Batsuit. [Jen Lennon]

Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien BrodyDirector: Wes AndersonLike many auteur directors, Wes Anderson’s films don’t always make a big impact at the box office, despite their critical acclaim. And even , with its massive ensemble cast full of bankable stars, isn’t going to win the weekend box office when it premieres. That’s because it’s going up against The Flash, which is a much more standard summer blockbuster.But, even if it doesn’t make a splash at the box office, Asteroid City is giving kinda perfect summer movie vibes. It centers on a junior Stargazer convention taking place in a small desert town in 1955, following the exploits of the kids and their parents as they try to relax and enjoy the environment for a few days. It’s dreamy, a little surreal, and gorgeous: if you’re looking for a movie that actually evokes the feeling of a warm summer night, this is it. [Jen Lennon]

Cast: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, Yvonne OrjiDirector: Tim StoryThe jumping-off point for this horror-comedy is the trope that the African-American character used to be the first one to die in horror movies of the ’80s and ’90s. In , an all-Black group of friends staying at a cabin in the woods is terrorized by a masked killer who demands that they each rank their level of blackness so he knows the correct order in which to kill them.Directed by Tim Story, the man behind Barbershop and the Ride Along franchise, The Blackening seems to satirize the same horror-movie stereotypes that the first four Scary Movie flicks did … times 10! The movie’s poster reads—in all caps—“WE CAN’T ALL DIE FIRST.” [Robert B. DeSalvo]

No Hard Feelings Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Moss-Bachrach.Director: Gene StupnitskyStep aside, PC police, because the ’90s-era raunchy comedy is back in . Jennifer Lawrence stars as a cash-strapped Uber driver about to lose her childhood home when she happens upon an easy-money gig; she’s hired by wealthy parents to seduce their dateless wonder of an introverted, nerdy 19-year-old son before he leaves for college. Turns out her bold promise to “date his brains out” is much harder to fulfill than she thought.The never-bad Matthew Broderick and the criminally underused Laura Benanti are the parents of the young teen, played by Andrew Barth Feldman. The key ingredient here is Lawrence, who’s never starred in a comedy quite like this, let alone a studio comedy and, we bet, is going to let loose. No Hard Feelings is directed by Gene Stupnitsky who gave us 2019’s pre-teen F-bomb fest Good Boys and started as a writer on NBC’s The Office. We’re getting There’s Something About Mary vibes here or possibly The Hangover, where the shenanigans get increasingly R-rated, frantic, and over-the-top. [Mark Keizer]

Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, Mads MikkelsenDirector: James MangoldThe fifth and final film in the franchise, is set in 1969 during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Harrison Ford returns as Dr. Indiana Jones, a college professor and archeologist who is none too pleased to find out that the U.S. government has recruited former Nazis to help NASA beat the Russians to the Moon. Fans who have been following Indiana Jones’ adventures since Raiders Of The Lost Ark are excited to see Ford’s final turn as the character as well as the de-aging effects on the actor seen in the trailer for flashback sequences. When we last saw Indy at the end of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, he had just gotten married to long-time love Marian Ravenwood (Karen Allen), the mother of his son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Since neither Allen nor LaBeouf are listed in the credits for The Dial Of Destiny—the first Indiana Jones movie not directed by Steven Spielberg—we’re curious what kind of ending is in store for several generations’ favorite whip-cracking adventurer. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Andrew AstorDirector: Patrick WilsonPatrick Wilson, who plays Josh Lambert in Insidious, reprises his role and takes the director’s chair for , the fifth film in the horror franchise. Set 10 years after the events in 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2, the movie begins with Josh dropping off Dalton (Ty Simpkins) at an idyllic college university. Dalton’s college dreams soon turn nightmarish when evil entities from his past return to terrorize him and his family.Wilson’s grounded performances in the first two Insidious movies were key to the supernatural franchise’s ongoing success, so we’re curious what he’ll bring to the table as the director of this installment. We’re also happy to see Lin Shaye return as psychic and series regular Elise Rainier, but it’s unclear if she somehow survived her apparent on-screen death many movies ago or if she now only exists as a spiritual presence. Hopefully whatever the explanation is makes sense, as well as the movie’s title, which has had several changes. Most recently it was updated from Insidious: Fear The Dark to Insidious: The Red Door. Aside from the recent naming confusion, this series about another realm known as the Further has remained pretty consistent in terms of scares and quality, so we hope Wilson keeps the spooky franchise on course. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Cast: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Henry Czerny, Cary ElwesDirector: Christopher McQuarrie is the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt and the third entry to be directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The movie was shot back-to-back with Dead Reckoning Part Two in locations such as Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.Not much is known about the plot of Dead Reckoning Part One but your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have as great of a time as you did in the previous Mission: Impossible movies, especially when it comes to the stunts. Brad Bird filmed Cruise hanging off the side of the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol, then McQuarrie had him dangling from a plane taking off in Rogue Nation, so we can’t wait to see what McQuarrie talked one of the biggest stars on the planet into doing this time. From the trailer, it looks as if Cruise does some fighting on top of a moving train, so be sure to appreciate any real stunts during an era when most movie magic is generated via CGI. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Helen Mirren, Will Ferrell, Michael CeraDirector: Greta GerwigGreta Gerwig’s is the first live-action Barbie movie. Not much is known about the plot, but it appears that there is a “Barbie world” in which Margot Robbie plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays her boyfriend, Ken. There are also different iterations of both characters, such as Simu Liu playing another Ken and Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie (i.e., the doll that gets her hair chopped off and face scribbled on by kids). We expect lots of dancing, music, and PINK (in all caps) as those in the Barbie world try to come to terms with the idea of the “real world” beyond them. The most exciting aspect about Barbie is that it’s probably not going to be anything like people expect … personally, we’re hoping for “playfully demented.” The movie received a PG-13 rating, which means it’s aiming for a broader audience than the usual age range of children who play with the actual Mattel dolls. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Director: Christopher NolanCast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, and Gary Oldman.Yes, yes, we know that Christopher Nolan’s latest film, , about the creation and detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb, is going up against Greta Gerwig’s plastic fantastic toy story, Barbie, on July 21. Hilarious. But please remember to get excited about Nolan’s newest, which is based on the work of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the Manhattan Project who was later christened “the father of the atomic bomb.” Cillian Murphy plays the title theoretical physicist and he’s backed by a cast as stacked as Wes Anderson’s summer entry, Asteroid City.Ever the craftsman, Nolan shot part of the film in black-and-white using IMAX cameras, a first for the large format. Even more impressive, he recreated the very first nuclear detonation—conducted in July, 1945—using all practical effects and no CGI. According to the Dark Knight director, the film isn’t a straight biopic and is filtered through the lens of “time and trying to get the experience of how one person moves through time, and how they process it.” OK, we’re not sure what that means but the film, also written by Nolan, reportedly (and hopefully) tackles Oppenheimer’s crisis of conscious as he creates a weapon so powerful that many thought its detonation would literally destroy the world. Oppenheimer is, by far, one of the event films of the summer. Nolan’s 12th feature is bound to be one of big ideas and big visuals and if the emotional stakes feel equally big, we’ll be talking about the film again this awards season. [Mark Keizer]

Cast: Rosario Dawson, Chase Dillon, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Sanfield, Jared Leto, Danny DeVito, Tiffany Haddish, and Jamie Lee CurtisDirector: Justin SimienTwo decades after the mediocre and mostly forgotten adaptation starring Eddie Murphy, Disney is taking another stab at a film, based on the iconic theme-park attraction. Director Justin Simien (Dear White People) seems to be taking a much more faithful approach this time around, incorporating thematic and design elements directly from the ride. Fans have already spotted several Easter eggs in the trailer, and that’s just a small taste of what’s in store.The reboot stars Rosario Dawson as a single mom who moves into the mansion with her son (Chase Dillon) only to find out it’s full of “grim, grinning ghosts.” To get rid of them she enlists a team of specialists, including a priest (Owen Wilson), a historian (Danny DeVito), a psychic (Tiffany Haddish), and a local tour guide with experience in the paranormal (LaKeith Stanfield). Also be on the lookout for some familiar faces in the roles of beloved characters from the attraction, like Jared Leto as The Hatbox Ghost, Winona Ryder as The Black Widow Bride, and newly minted Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis—boy is that fun to say—as Madame Leota. [Cindy White]

Cast: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sienna Guillory, Cliff Curtis, Skyler Samuels, Page KennedyDirector: Ben WheatleyJason Statham returns as rescue diver Jonas Taylor in , the first sequel to the 2018 box office hit The Meg. Not much is known about the plot of Meg 2, but it’s safe to say that another presumed-extinct ancient shark known as a megalodon will surface to terrorize swimmers and those in need of a bigger boat.British director Ben Wheatley previously directed the dystopian thriller High-Rise and the sci-fi/horror film In The Earth. We’re hoping he can make the megalodon look and move a little less like a video game than it did in the previous movie. Summer isn’t complete without a killer-fish movie, so fingers crossed that Meg 2 has some bite. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ayo EdibiriDirector: Jeff RoweIf its title is to be believed, has a leg up over nearly every other attempt to bring the superhero team to the big screen. Over and over again, TMNT films have failed to capture the absolute chaos that the Turtles wreak at every turn. But Mutant Mayhem, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, is proudly leaning into the comics’ anarchic aesthetic.It also helps that these Turtles are voiced by actual teenagers, which, when coupled with the film’s scribbly, lo-fi art style, lends an air of authenticity to their antics. Plus, a vibes-first hangout movie featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just sounds cool. [Jen Lennon]

Cast: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon HounsouDirector: Neill BlomkampAs you can probably guess, is based on the Sony PlayStation game of the same name, but that’s only part of it. The plot is actually inspired by the true story of Jann Mardenborough, the youngest winner of the GT Academy tournament, which rewards talented players with a chance to drive actual race cars on the professional circuit. Archie Madekwe stars as the young gamer-turned-racer, alongside David Harbour as his trainer and Orlando Bloom as the marketing executive behind it all.Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has been in the video-game-adjacent space before, having helmed a trilogy of short films set in the Halo universe. He was also at one time attached to a Halo feature film, though the project fell apart before getting very far. This will be his biggest undertaking yet, with massive set pieces and “body-vibrating” sound that puts you right in the middle of the track. For fans of motorsports—either virtual or in the real world—this promises to be a pretty thrilling moviegoing experience. [Cindy White]

Cast: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Javier BotetDirector: André Øvredal is a horror film based on “The Captain’s Log” chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Those familiar with Dracula know that strange events happen on the Demeter as the merchant ship makes its way from Transylvania to England with the vampire Dracula (Javier Botet) on board. Liam Cunningham plays the ship’s captain, David Dastmalchian plays the Demeter’s first mate, Aisling Franciosi plays a stowaway, and Corey Hawkins plays the doctor Clemens.Bragi F. Schut wrote the initial screenplay for The Last Voyage Of The Demeter way back in 2002, so the story has had a long journey to the screen. The movie languished in development hell for years with several directors attached before settling on Norwegian helmer André Øvredal, the man behind the cult favorite Trollhunter as well as The Autopsy Of Jane Doe. Here’s hoping he creates the kind of eerie mood on the doomed Demeter that he did with those two films. [Robert B. DeSalvo]

Cast: Xolo Maridueña, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillén, George Lopez, Bruna Marquezine, and Raoul Max TrujilloDirector: Angel Manuel SotoAlthough the comic-book character known as Blue Beetle goes all the way back to 1939, the version we’ll meet in this film made his first appearance in the pages of the DC universe in 2006. Like in the comics, Jaime Reyes (Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña) is an ordinary young man who stumbles upon an alien artifact called the Scarab and inadvertently bonds with it. The symbiote allows him to summon an armored suit that gives him superpowers. Yes, like that other guy in that other franchise, and also sometimes his arachnid-inspired protege. What’s different, and fun, about Jaime’s situation is that his whole familia gets in on the act.In the confused mess of which upcoming DC films will belong to which universe, it appears that may be one of the few DCEU films (which includes most of the Justice League installments up to this point, ending with the upcoming sequel Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom) that could live on in some form in the new DC Universe, as envisioned by current studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran. It will depend on the appetite for comic-book superheroes on the big screen by late summer, and whether Blue Beetle’s status as a prominent Latino role model outweighs any potential fatigue. [Cindy White]