So we’re already a few weeks (and two entries) into the summer of 2023 (my bad), but there’s still plenty of time to marvel at the movie roster Hollywood has assembled for our ticket buying pleasure. If you’ll pardon me channeling my inner ChandlerBing, have you seen June’s lineup? In fact, this is the fist time in years (Pandemic notwithstanding) that August has looked pretty enticing (like January, August is usually a graveyard for movie releases). So here are the ten titles (and one honourable mention) I’m looking forward to the most over the next few months. I have varying degrees of anticipation for most, and a few will undoubtedly disappoint but I’m looking forward to 2023’s summer movie season just the same. As has become the standard, there are a few streaming entries on this list, a trend that will only continue as Hollywood and fans alike adapt to the new paradigm that the streaming wars have ushered in. Enjoy.
Honourable Mention: The Little Mermaid (May 26): Before we get into the main course, I thought I’d kick things off by tossing this morsel into the meat grinder. Am I a huge fan of the original animated classic? Nope. Am I a Disney Princess fan? That’s adorable. Am I going to see it just to spite the haters and racists who ranted and raved and are threatening to boycott it because it *CHECKS NOTES AND GRABS PEARLS* has a black mermaid? You betcha. You’re move knuckle draggers . . .
10. The Flash (June 16th): OK, OK, I am officially looking forward to this one. A couple of months ago I was planning on ignoring this flick entirely. Nothing about the story excited me, I’ve never been a fan of the character, was planning on avoiding the Ezra Miller drama entirely, couldn’t care less about the character (The Flash CW show went for how many seasons again?) never really cared for the character and the fact that this movie is one of the last entries in a movie universe that is about to be erased all knocked it down a notch or ten on my excitement scale. The way Warner and DC did Batgirl dirty also took some more wind out of this movie’s sails. But after seeing the first trailer-and most importantly Michael Keaton back in the Batsuit-I am officially (slightly) stoked for The Flash. I won’t be surprised if it sucks and I definitely won’t be surprised if it ignites another round of online wars between DC fans, Marvel fans, Snyder fans and every other human being on the planet. But at the end of today, the comic book loving kid who lives where my adult sensibilities should be can’t wait to park his brain and just soak up every nerdy second.
9. Elemental (June 16th): It’s been a tough go for Pixar lately. COVID-19 cut the box office legs out from under Onward and sent its next three movies to DisneyPlus (a move which disgruntled no shortage of employees at the animated juggernaut, especially with Disney releasing other animated features to theatres while giving Pixar the cold shoulder). And then Lightyear, their first theatrical release since March of 2020 (what feels like a century or three ago) went sideways fast. Here’s hoping a large bag of popcorn that Elemental, an animated fairy tale retelling of Romeo and Juliet, can redeem the former powerhouse. If not Disney could have two giant problems on its hands (the other one rhyming with ACLU) . . .
8. Blue Beetle (August 18th): So here’s something I didn’t have on my 2023 movie bingo card-I’m actually kind of looking forward to DC’s Blue Beetle movie adaptation. Which is weird because while I don’t have anything against the character, I’m not exactly a fan of him either. And like everyone else on the planet I’m ready to write off the DCEU as it winds down and we wait for the James Gunn lead DCU. And when a studio dumps a movie in the middle of August? Well that’s where a lot of movies go to die. But watching the movie’s first trailer kind of stirred a lazy nostalgia, the same nostalgia that was impressed by Ms. Marvel (which I kind of liked) and the animated Spider-Verse movies. If any movie on this list is going to a sleeper summer hit or turn into a cult fan fave fan, it’ll probably be Blue Beetle.
7. Secret Invasion (June 21st): Finally, the Fury has returned to the MCU.Marvel is finally adding a gritty entry to compliment its 30 plus FX spectacles and superhero sagas. Don’t get me wrong, watching armies of Avengers fend off alien invasions and space gods duke it out with interstellar warlords has it’s appeal, but it’s about time we saw what goes on behind the glossy, glamorous curtain of a world full of super beings and futuristic technology. It takes a lot of morally dubious grease to keep the wheels of our regular, real world civilization turning; what would it require to keep the MCU chugging along? Not only does it look like Secret Invasion will show off Nick Fury in a way that we’ve never seen him before (a possible origin story we’ve been waiting 15 years for), but may offer a springboard into X-Men or Fantastic Four. Hey, if they tossed a mutant teasing easter egg at the end of Ms. Marvel, imagine what they could do here.
6. Oppenheimer (July 21st): Summer movies shouldn’t just be flashy, FX spectacles full of ridiculous action and pure popcorn absurdity. We should always be treated to at least one or two thinking films, ones that make us question what we thought we knew or look at things from a new perspective. And leave it to Christopher Nolan to give 2023’s blockbuster season its dose of intellectual gravitas. No longer chasing an Oscar and free of Warner Bros interference, Nolan and lead Cillian Murphy (of Peaky Blinders brilliance) bring one of the most quietly influential and pivotal lives of human history to the silver screen. And they’re using some groundbreaking technology to do it. Not to mention one hell of a supporting cast. Nolan may no longer be catering to the Academy, but Oppenheimer has Oscar written all over it and I can’t wait to watch it sandwiched in between mind-numbing summer blockbusters.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy (May 5th): The MCU has collected some cinematic bruises lately. Some self-inflicted and some not, but it was in a dubious place before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania delivered another body blow to the franchise. And not only is Volume 3 the end of the Guardians trilogy (didn’t they also say that about Thor: Ragnarok before we got a fourth Thor flick?), but also James Gunn’s Marvel swan song before he reinvents DC’s ailing movie brand. Both Marvel and Gunn have a lot riding on the success of Guardians 3 and hopefully that pivotal importance shows up in the product on screen. The first two Guardians movies were pure popcorn fun and last year’s Christmas Special was a nice little ride as well. Can the franchise keep that up while blending in the necessary sentiment and injecting some much needed steam into the MCU? Or will this be another big budget swing and a miss for Kevin Feige and company?
4. Ahsoka (August): Despite some recent belly aching (and underwhelming ratings), The Mandalorian has done a lot for the Star Wars franchise. Like, a lot. And it did it by mashing Star Wars flavoured sci-fi with spaghetti westerns, turning Mando into an intergalactic Man With No Name and Grogu into his faithful sidekick. Word is Ahsoka-who was introduced in The Mandalorian and even showed up in The Book of Fett-is taking a similar approach. It looks like Anakin’s former Padawan will be a star faring ronin, a masterless Samurai hunting her infamous quarry across the galaxy while shunning the ways and hypocrisy of the Jedi. A samurai with a lightsaber who wields the Force and fighting a hopefully memorable villain? If they can pull that off sign me up. But let’s all also hope Ahsoka hits it out of the park if for no other reason that to bid Ray Stevenson a final, fond and well deserved farewell.
3. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning-Part One (July 12th): Remember when I said that Oppenheimer was this summer’s thinking fan’s movie? Well the Mission Impossible franchise has always been the thinking fan’s action movie franchise. The high octane action has usually been married to some high brow execution, with each title including at least one innovative and mind blowing stunt. The franchise has gone sideways once or twice with this formula, but if you’re delivering a seventh movie in a big budget series, you’re doing something right. And there’s absolutely no reason to believe that the seventh (and second last) entry in the MI line won’t deliver the same mixture of actions and brains. Given the pride Tom Cruise and Paramount studios protect this franchise with, questions about Mission Impossible’s quality feel like no brainers. Perhaps the real question is if Dead Reckoning can deliver all of that while also setting up the series finale with the eighth and final film.
2. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (June 2nd): Into The Spider-Verse was one of my favourite movies of 2018. Everything from the story to the writing to the innovative animation style just made it pop. The COVID-19 Pandemic forced me to wait nearly half a decade for the sequel and I am chomping at the bit to see it. With Marvel now having finally unveiled the concept of the multi-verse, it looks like ATSV is going for story telling broke with the concept. That could be a great thing-but it could also be an absolute disaster. While I am preparing myself for the catastrophe part of the equation (Hollywood can only fool you so many times before you constantly embrace your inner pragmatist), I am hoping the film makers can stick a quality landing. And let’s be honest, Marvel needs a fun, quirky out-of-the-box Miles Morales right now to balance the MCU proper while it gets it’s box office ducks in a row.
1. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June 9th): I am ready to be hurt again. Here’s the skinny; The Transformers were my passion of choice as a kid. By far. Even for a born and bread nerd with an attention span shorter than the lifespan of a fruit fly. The cartoons, the toys, the comic books, I ate up as much as I could and was desperately saddened when the fad passed as quickly as it came. I loved the first live action movie in 2007 (sixteen years ago? Really?), but it was all downhill from there as the movies became more about the effects and less than actual plot. Or story. Or anything else. Then came 2016’s Bumblebee, which gave the franchise a much needed course correction. Rise of the Beasts trailers have got me pumped for this newest instalment and I am beyond ecstatic that it is following in the footsteps of the aforementioned Bumblebee despite initial reports (I.e. fears) that the franchise was returning to the frenetic, overloud Micheal Bay formula. Casting fan favourites like Ron Pearlman and Michelle Yeo plus including the Beast Wars gang and Unicorn? Rise of the Beasts looks like a Transformer nerdgasm in waiting. I’m hoping that I can just walk in, shut my brain off and munch over priced popcorn for a few hours while watching Optimus and the gang kick Deception ass. And isn’t that what summer movies are all about?
Image All Rights Reserved Paramount Studios and Hasbro
