8 Pre-Summer Movies that Look Great
A new year brings a new batch of movies to look forward to! It used to be that all of the good ones came out in the summer or during awards season in the fall, but that’s not the case anymore. Exhibit A: Everything Everywhere All at Once hit theaters last year in the usually sleepy month of March, and now it’s the Best Picture Oscar frontrunner.
Here are 8 of the movies coming out in March, April and May that I’m most excited about. (In February it’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Magic Mike’s Last Dance.)
Scream VI – March 10: Fresh off the unexpected success of last year’s Scream AND Netflix’s Wednesday, Jenna Ortega returns to be tormented by Ghostface yet again—along with franchise faves Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Hayden Panettiere. However, for the first time ever the killings move out of Woodsboro and into the Big Apple.
John Wick: Chapter 4 – March 24: Keanu Reeves is back as the tortured ex-assassin battling to finally be free of the evil forces behind “The High Table.” Since Chapters 4 and 5 were filmed back to back, I’m thankful we don’t have to worry about Wick leaving us for good just yet.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie – April 7: Is this the time to air my decades-old complaint that they didn’t just spell out “Brothers”? No? Fine. I’ll still suck it up and catch Chris Pratt voicing Mario and Jack Black voicing the dastardly Bowser as the characters from one of my favorite childhood video games get the big-screen treatment. It’s time for Mario and Luigi to level up!
Renfield – April 28: After I watched the Renfield trailer I was like, “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS” because it looks crazy, and therefore it’s a perfect movie to star Nicolas Cage. Nicolas Cage … as a modern-day Count Dracula, no less. Seriously, I can’t wait. Nicholas Hoult plays the title character, who’s the vampire’s assistant. All is well until Renfield falls in love and wants to run off with his new amore (played by Awkwafina). Something’s telling me that Dracula isn’t going to let him go without a fight—or a bite!
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. – April 28: Dang … between this and Mario I feel like my formative years are front and center again. It’s actually kind of amazing that Hollywood hasn’t previously adapted this 1970 coming-of-age classic by Judy Blume. Ant-Man's Abby Ryder Fortson stars as the titular sixth grader, Rachel McAdams plays her mom, and Kathy Bates plays her grandma.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 – May 5: When a movie’s trailer makes you cry, you know you’re in for it. And when I saw that there’s a scene of little baby Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in Vol. 3, I lost it. Clearly the Guardians (Cooper, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff) have to find where the 2014 version of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) went after she disappeared at the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame. And then I think it’s going to be time for “one last mission” for our ragtag band of outcasts. After being wowed by The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+, I am so ready for this next chapter.
Fast X - May 19: Um, clearly there was always going to be a 10th Fast and Furious franchise movie because how cool is that title? This time around it’s Jason Momoa as the baddie who’s out for Dom (Vin Diesel) and the rest of the crew.
The Little Mermaid – May 26: Once again I get to take a trip back in time and remember when I broke up with my college boyfriend after he dared shush me as I was singing along to a theatrical rerelease of Disney’s beloved 1989 animated classic. Now in this live-action remake of the same name, Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle plays the lovesick Ariel, who sings her way into becoming a human in order to be with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). With Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Daveed Diggs voicing Sebastian, I can’t wait to go back under the sea.