Summer Movie Preview 2017: Sequels, Spinoffs, and Superheroes

Spider-Man: Homecoming Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr
Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (Photo © 2017 CTMG)

JULY 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7, 2017) starring Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, and Michael Keaton

The Plot: A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

War for the Planet of the Apes Poster

War for the Planet of the Apes (July 14, 2017) starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Judy Greer, and Terry Notary

The Plot: In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

Dunkirk (July 21, 2017) starring Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan and Tom Glynn-Carney

The Plot: Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (July 21, 2017) starring Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, and Rutger Hauer

The Plot: In the 28th century, Valerian (DeHaan) and Laureline (Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Atomic Blonde Poster

Atomic Blonde (July 28, 2017) starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones

The Plot: Oscar® winner Charlize Theron explodes into summer in Atomic Blonde, a breakneck action-thriller that follows MI6’s most lethal assassin through a ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors. The crown jewel of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service, Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is equal parts spycraft, sensuality and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission. Sent alone into Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (McAvoy) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies.

The Emoji Movie (July 28, 2017) featuring the voices of Steven Wright, T.J. Miller, James Corden, and Ilana Glazer

The Plot: The Emoji Movie unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial expression – except for Gene (Miller), an exuberant emoji who was born without a filter and is bursting with multiple expressions. Determined to become “normal” like the other emojis, Gene enlists the help of his handy best friend Hi-5 (Corden) and the notorious code breaker emoji Jailbreak (Glazer). Together, they embark on an epic “app-venture” through the apps on the phone, each its own wild and fun world, to find the Code that will fix Gene. But when a greater danger threatens the phone, the fate of all emojis depends on these three unlikely friends who must save their world before it’s deleted forever.

AUGUST 2017

The Dark Tower Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba
Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba in Columbia Pictures ‘The Dark Tower’ (Photo by Ilze Kitshoff © 2016 CTMG)

The Dark Tower (August 4, 2017) starring Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, and Jackie Earle Haley

The Plot: There are other worlds than these. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world’s most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black (McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

Detroit (August 4, 2017) starring John Boyega, Will Poulter, Chris Chalk, Laz Alonzo, John Krasinski, and Anthony Mackie

The Plot: Detroit tells the gripping story of one of the darkest moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of ’67.

Annabelle: Creation (August 11, 2017) starring Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Philippa Coulthard, Grace Fulton, Lou Lou Safran, Samara Lee, Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, and Tayler Buck

The Plot: In Annabelle: Creation, several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (August 18, 2017) starring Ryan Reynolds, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Elodie Yung, and Salma Hayek

The Plot: The Hitman’s Bodyguard is an action comedy about the world’s top protection agent (Reynolds) and his new client: a notorious hitman who came in from the cold (Jackson). They’ve been on opposite ends of a bullet for years. They hate each other. Now they’re stuck together and have 24 hours to get from England to The Hague. The only thing standing in their way is everything a murderous Eastern European dictator (Oldman) can throw at them.

Tulip Fever (August 25, 2017) starring Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, and Christoph Waltz

The Plot: In 17th Century Amsterdam, an orphaned girl (Vikander) is forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant (Christoph Waltz) – an unhappy “arrangement” that saves her from poverty. After her husband commissions a portrait, she begins a passionate affair with the painter (Dane DeHaan), a struggling young artist. Seeking to escape the merchant’s ever-reaching grasp, the lovers risk everything and enter the frenzied tulip bulb market, with the hope that the right bulb will make a fortune and buy their freedom.

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