You may have had the feeling that this year’s summer blockbuster season was already over… but the truth is, it’s only just begun.
Here’s a quick guide to all the upcoming movie releases that we’re excited to see, because there’s so much more to look forward to besides the highly anticipated Barbie and Oppenheimer (or as they’ve started calling it, Barbenheimer) double release.
Barbie, July 21
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, has already saturated the pop culture discourse so deeply that the film is going to have a hell of a time living up to the hype when it finally hits theaters this July.
But even if the Barbie movie itself doesn’t turn out to be particularly interesting, the Barbie phenomenon – this corporate intellectual property event that has been embroiled in controversies and political theater – has been fascinating to witness. And it seems like something we’ll be talking about by the end of the year when we look back on how strange 2023 was.
Oppenheimer, July 21
In addition to being one of director Christopher Nolan’s longest films, Oppenheimer is also shaping up to be one of his most ambitious, judging by the hype from Universal detailing all the practical effects employed in the project.
Similar to Barbie, Oppenheimer has already been caught in an unexpected wave of criticism that has more to do with what people think about the film than the essence of the project itself. But this also seems like a sign that Oppenheimer will become one of the most popular and overanalyzed releases of the year when it hits theaters.
They Cloned Tyrone, July 21
They Cloned Tyrone, Netflix’s sci-fi comedy inspired by blaxploitation, is going to be the perfect counterprogramming for those planning to stay at home on a day when many people will flock to theaters to immerse themselves in stories about living dolls and/or daring bomb makers.
Directed by Juel Taylor, the film brings together John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx as an unlikely trio who becomes a unifying force against a secret government plot to exploit impoverished black communities.
Haunted Mansion, July 28
We won’t know for sure until the movie hits theaters, but each trailer for Disney’s upcoming remake of The Haunted Mansion, directed by Justin Simien, has made the film surprisingly… decent?
While the movie may not scare anyone, it gives the impression of having a solid sense of what it wants to be (cool and eerie) and a genuine desire to translate the feeling of being on a wild ride into a film, which could potentially make for an interesting cinematic experience.
Blue Beetle, August 18
The plans of James Gunn and Peter Safran for Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC superhero film universe have garnered quite a bit of attention, especially now that The Flash has come and gone.
But Blue Beetle, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, is set to be one of the studio’s early projects in the largely rebooted cinematic universe and will likely play a significant role in shaping people’s opinions about what’s to come.
Poor Things, September 5
In director Yorgos Lanthimos’ adaptation of Poor Things, the death and subsequent resurrection of a young woman named Bella (Emma Stone) at the hands of an unorthodox scientist (Willem Dafoe) sets her free to live the kind of life she could never have imagined before her untimely demise.
When Bella crosses paths with a lawyer who is a bit too cool for his own good (Mark Ruffalo) and promises to show her the world, she’s unsure whether to suspect hidden motives. But watching the surreal adventure that Bella seems to control in the trailer for Poor Things, the intentions of others may be the least of her concerns.
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