Summer movie preview: 'If,' 'Furiosa,' 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' 25 more

This summer’s movie season can be described in one word: Normal.

Sounds underwhelming, you say? Actually, it might be a good thing.

Last summer was an anomaly: a head-spinning $4 billion bonanza driven by two titles, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” And while the season had its share of disappointments (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” comes immediately to mind), it also proved that post-COVID audiences were indeed returning to theaters. Hollywood's new game plan for this summer, then, is the old one: sequels, spinoffs, reboots and still more sequels.

To wit: On the action front there are new installments of “Mad Max,” “John Wick” and “Bad Boys.” (And would you believe 1996’s “Twister” is finally getting a sequel?) Family-friendly titles include new episodes of “Despicable Me,” “Inside Out” and “Garfield.” Horror fans can scream along with “A Quiet Place: Day One,” a reboot titled “The Strangers: Chapter 1” and the seventh “Alien” movie. And here’s an interesting revival: “The Crow,” a do-over of the 1994 cult film that starred Brandon Lee.

The season’s most hotly anticipated title, Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” – starring fan favorites Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman -- may also be the season’s biggest litmus test. Not long ago, the superhero studio was effortlessly scoring $100 million openings. Then came weak showings from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” followed by the stunning flops of “The Marvels” and “Madame Web.” Suddenly, superhero fatigue feels very real: “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the only Marvel Cinematic Universe title slated for this year. That said, its online trailer racked up 365 million views in 24 hours – a record – and a $1 billion gross doesn’t seem unrealistic.

Here are the big movies Hollywood is hoping you’ll see this summer:

IN THEATERS NOW 

THE FALL GUY Ryan Gosling plays a stuntman investigating the mystery of a missing actor in this action-comedy. It’s based (very loosely) on the 1980s television series. Also starring Emily Blunt. Directed by David Leitch (“Atomic Blonde," “Bullet Train”).

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES In a world where apes are civilized and humans scavenge in the wild, one young simian discovers secrets about his society’s past. Wes Ball (“The Maze Runner”) directs the first new feature in a franchise that has been dormant since 2017.

MAY 17

IF

A young girl (Cailey Fleming) discovers the power to see other people’s Imaginary friends in this family-friendly fantasy. Starring Ryan Reynolds; Steve Carell and Phoebe Waller-Bridge provide character voices. Written and directed by John Krasinski (“A Quiet Place”).

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 A young woman and her fiancé are terrorized by a gang of masked killers. Renny Harlin (“Cliffhanger”) directs this re-do of the 2008 horror film. Starring Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez.

BACK TO BLACK

A biopic of the gifted, self-destructive English pop star Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela). Nick Cave and Warren Ellis provide the score; the cast includes Jack O’Connell and Leslie Manville. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere Boy”).

MAY 24

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA

George Miller’s prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road” casts Anya Taylor-Joy as a young woman making her way home across a post-apocalyptic landscape. With Chris Hemsworth as the Warlord Dementus.

THE GARFIELD MOVIE The latest animated film about the lasagna-loving cat features Chris Pratt in the title role, while Samuel L. Jackson plays his long-lost father, Vic. Also with Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”) and Ving Rhames.

HIT MAN A nerdy college professor (Glen Powell) takes on an unusual side gig: assisting local police by pretending to be a hit man. Richard Linklater’s latest, a crowd-pleaser at the Venice Film Festival, is based on a true story. It starts streaming June 7 on Netflix.

JUNE 6

BALLERINA The “John Wick” franchise gets its first spin-off, with Ana de Armas in the title role. Len Wiseman (“Live Free or Die Hard”) directs. With Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves. Earlier this year, Lionsgate bumped this title up a day for a Thursday release.

JUNE 7

BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE

The fourth film in the action franchise finds Will Smith continuing his post-slap comeback (after 2022’s “Emancipation”) alongside old pal Martin Lawrence. The two once again play Miami cops – but this time on the run from the law. With Vanessa Hudgens.

JUNE 14

INSIDE OUT 2 Riley, the preteen girl from Pixar’s animated “Inside Out,” is hitting adolescence, which means her mind contains a new set of emotions: Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

JUNE 21

KINDS OF KINDNESS

Searchlight Pictures is quickly following Emma Stone’s Oscar win for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” with the pair’s new film. It’s a triptych of stories: a man trying to take control of his life, a woman searching for a spiritual leader and a police officer whose missing wife suddenly returns. With Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau and Margaret Qualley.

FANCY DANCE Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) plays a woman who leaves the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma to find her missing sister. With Isabel Deroy-Olson and Shea Whigham. The film premieres June 28 on Apple TV+.

THE BIKERIDERS Austin Butler (“Elvis”) stars in a crime drama about the Vandals, a Midwestern motorcycle club that evolves from a community-based group into a more sinister organization. With Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon.

JUNE 28

A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE

A prequel to John Krasinski’s hit horror film about alien creatures who hunt humans by sound. The only official synopsis from Paramount Pictures is this: “Experience the day the world went quiet.” Starring Lupito Nyong’o. Michael Sarnoski (2021’s “Pig”) directs.

HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 1

Kevin Costner capitalizes on his “Yellowstone” success as the producer and star of this two-part Western set during the Civil War. “Chapter 2” follows on Aug. 16. With Dale Dickey, Jena Malone and Sienna Miller.

JULY 3

DESPICABLE ME 4

Steve Carell returns as Gru, the world’s nicest supervillain, in Universal’s latest addition to its hit animated franchise. The voice cast includes Will Ferrell as a new nemesis, Maxime Le Mal.

JULY 12

SING SING Rising star Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) plays a wrongfully convicted felon who begins acting in a prison theater group. Greg Kwedar’s drama is based on a real-life original production staged at Sing Sing and features a cast of formerly incarcerated actors.

FLY ME TO THE MOON

In the run-up to the Apollo 11 moon mission, two NASA staffers (Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum) concoct a fake landing as a backup plan. Directed by Greg Berlanti, of TV’s “Dawson’s Creek” and “Supergirl.”

JULY 19

TWISTERS

Glen Powell (“Top Gun”) notches his sixth film in two years with this sequel to the 1996 blockbuster. He plays a “tornado wrangler” whose mantra is: “You don’t face your fears – you ride ‘em.” With Katy O'Brian and Anthony Ramos.

JULY 26

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Here it is, Marvel fans -- the long-awaited duet between Ryan Reynolds as a snarky mercenary and Hugh Jackman as a human mustelid. Expect many MCU cameos and off-color jokes.

AUG. 2

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON

A live-action adaptation of Crockett Johnson’s 1955 children’s classic about a little boy whose crayon can create worlds. With Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery and Zooey Deschanel.

AUG. 9

BORDERLANDS Horror director Eli Roth switches gears for this video-game adaptation about a treasure hunter (Cate Blanchett) searching for a missing girl. The cast includes Gina Gershon, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis.

TRAP A father (Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a massive concert, only to discover that the entire event is an elaborate ruse to catch a serial killer. The latest from M. Night Shyamalan features his daughter, Saleka, as the pop star Lady Raven.

IT ENDS WITH US Blake Lively plays a woman with a traumatic past who falls for a handsome neurosurgeon (Justin Baldoni, who also directs). This is the first feature-film adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel. With Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj.

AUG. 16

ALIEN: ROMULUS Ridley Scott produces the seventh film in his “Alien” franchise but hands directing duties to Fede Álvarez (2013’s “Evil Dead”). The story follows several young space colonizers scavenging a derelict craft. With Cailee Spaeny and Archie Renaux.

AUG. 23

THE CROW A murdered musician is resurrected to embark on a mission of revenge. Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise the Clown in “It,” takes the title role in this do-over of the 1994 cult favorite. Also starring FKA Twigs.

BLINK TWICE A lavish party on a billionaire’s island takes a sinister turn in this horror-thriller from debut director Zöe Kravitz, who also co-wrote. With Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat and Christian Slater.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman