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Summer movie preview: Sequels, retreads and some originalsApr 25, 2013 (The News & Advance - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Summer movie season will officially be upon us when "Iron Man 3" hits theaters next weekend. "Star Trek Into Darkness" and "The Hangover Part III" will follow in mid- to late May, and then the real fun begins, with everything from "Man of Steel" to "World War Z" to "The Wolverine." Here's a round-up of what comes out when, divided up by genre. Remember release dates always are subject to change, so check local listings before heading to the theater. Superheroes --Iron Man 3 (May 3): Robert Downey, Jr., is back as billionaire Tony Stark in what is supposed to be the final installment of the franchise. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle return as Pepper Potts, Stark's Gal Friday-turned-gal pal, and Col. James Rhodes, respectively, and Ben Kinglsey stars as bad guy Mandarin. --Man of Steel (June 14): Zack Snyder, the guy behind "300," reboots the franchise with Henry Cavill ("The Tudors") as Clark Kent/Superman. He'll be joined by Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as Zod and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Ma and Pa Kent. --The Wolverine (July 26): Hugh Jackman returns as the titular X-Man, 13 years after he starred in the original film (the character got its first spinoff film in 2009). Post-apocalyptic tales --After Earth (May 31): Will Smith and real-life son Jaden stars as a father/son space ranger team who crash land on Earth 1,000 years after humans have abandoned it. --World War Z (June 21): Brad Pitt stars in an adaptation of the 2007 novel about the aftermath of a zombie invasion. The story has been tweaked, and Pitt instead plays a U.N. worker trying to stop the invasion (in the book, the character is investigating what happened after the fact). --Pacific Rim (July 12): Monstrous sea creatures are the enemy here, with Charlie Hunnam ("Sons of Anarchy") starring as a pilot who controls one of the robots humans have created to fight them. Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") directed, so it could be more than your standard aliensversus- humans tale. --Elysium (Aug. 9): Matt Damon stars as a man living in a poverty-stricken, wartorn Earth, circa 2154, while the rich live in a space station -- run by Jodie Foster -- that orbits above. --The Colony (Aug. 23): Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne are living underground as survivors of a future ice age. Action/adventure/sci fi --Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17): Captain Kirk, Spock and the crew are back, this time battling a mysterious bad guy played by "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch (spoiler alert: rumor has it he's Khan). --Fast & Furious 6 (May 24): Yep, another one. --White House Down (June 28): Channing Tatum is a secret service agent protecting the president, played by Jamie Foxx. --The Lone Ranger (July 3): Johnny Deep is Tonto to Armie Hammer's titular ranger in this update of the western. --Red 2 (July 19): A sequel to the 2010 action comedy starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich as retired CIA agents. --R.I.P.D. (July 19): Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges team up as undead cops -- from the Rest In Peace Department -- who fight things that go bump in the night. Bridges' lawman is from the 1800s, while Reynolds' is a modern day cop. --300: Rise of an Empire (Aug. 2): A Greek general leads an army against King Xerxes in this follow-up film. --2 Guns (Aug. 2): Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are a DEA agent and naval intelligence officer investigating each other. --Kick-Ass 2 (Aug. 16): Jim Carrey joins the cast -- alongside original stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Moretz -- as a new vigilante fighting Christopher Mintz-Plasse's supervillain (McLovin!). --The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Aug. 23): Cassandra Clare's best-selling young adult novels, about a teenager who finds out she's connected to a supernatural world, get the big screen treatment. --Getaway (Aug. 30): Ethan Hawke is a former race car driver looking for his abducted wife, and Selena Gomez (huh ) is a computer hacker who helps him out. Comedies --Peeples (May 10): Craig Robinson ("The Office") stars as a man visiting the Hamptons to meet his rich girlfriend's (Kerry Washington, "Scandal") parents. --The Hangover Part III (May 24): The guys reunite for one last hurrah, as Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) help Alan (Zach Galifianakis) deal with his father's death. --The Internship (June 7): "Wedding Crashers" costars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson reteam as two guys vying for a job at Google. --Much Ado About Nothing (June 7): Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly") shot this low-budget feature at his house and filled the cast with friends that include Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof. --This Is the End (June 12): Celebrities like Seth Rogen (who also wrote and directed with pal Evan Goldberg), James Franco, Emma Watson and Jonah Hill play themselves facing the apocalypse while partying at Franco's house. --The Heat (June 28): Funny ladies Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are mismatched partners in this buddy cop comedy, helmed by "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig. --Grown Ups 2 (July 12): All the guys -- Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James and David Spade -- are back. --Girl Most Likely (July 19): Kristen Wiig stars as a playwright forced to move in with her kooky mother (Annette Benning) in this dramedy. --We're the Millers (Aug. 9): A drug dealer ("SNL" star Jason Sudeikis), a stripper (Jennifer Aniston) and two teens (Emma Roberts, Will Poulter) pose as a family so he can smuggle drugs across the Mexican border. --Austenland (Aug. 16): Keri Russell stars as woman so obsessed with Jane Austen that she visits a fantasy camp built around her novels, looking for her very own Mr. Darcy. Dramas/thrillers --The Great Gatsby (May 10): Baz Luhrmann ("Romeo & Juliet," "Moulin Rouge") directs Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire in this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. --Before Midnight (May 24): Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reunite with director Richard Linklater for another chapter of the romance that began 18 years ago in "Before Sunrise" and was continued nine years later in "Before Sunset." --Now You See Me (May 31): Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher play members of a high-tech magic group that robs banks, and Mark Ruffalo is the FBI agent hot on their trail. --The Purge (May 31): A husband and wife (Ethan Hawke, again, and "Game of Thrones" star Lena Headey) must survive when all crime is legal for one night. Creepy masks are involved, so you might want to skip this one. --The Bling Ring (June 14): This ripped-from- the-headlines tale, directed by Sofia Coppola, stars EmmaWatson as the leader of a group of teenage girls who rob celebrities' L.A. mansions (real-life victims included Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan). Horror --The Conjuring (July 19): Paranormal investigators (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) help a family living in a haunted farmhouse. Animated --Epic (May 24): Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell, Beyonce and Christoph Waltz provide the voices for this magical forest-set tale. --Monsters University (June 21): "Monsters, Inc." characters Sully (voiced by John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) get the origin story treatment that flashes back to their college days. --Despicable Me 2 (July 3): Steve Carell again gives voice to reformed super villain Gru, who is raising three adopted daughters when a new threat arises. --Turbo (July 17): A suddenly speedy snail (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) competes in the Indy 500. ___ (c)2013 The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) Visit The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) at www.newsadvance.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |