DUBAI: Here are eight blockbusters coming your way over the next few months.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Release date: July 26
In what will likely be the summer’s biggest box-office draw, the now-retired Wade Wilson — aka the indestructible mercenary Deadpool — is pulled from his sedate existence by the Time Variance Authority and forced into carrying out a mission with fellow anti-hero Wolverine, of X-Men fame. Both men reluctantly engage in a task that “will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
‘Hit Man’
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio
Release date: May 24 (June 7, Netflix)
Action-comedy from one of the best directors around. Gary Johnson (Powell, who co-wrote the movie with Linklater) is a straight-laced college professor who moonlights as a fake hitman to entrap criminals for the local police department. But when he falls for a prospective client, Madisson (Arjona), Gary gets in way above his head, and his lies start to catch up with him. The bizarre premise is actually based on a true story (although Linklater has stressed that his film is not a faithful recreation of events).
‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’
Directors: Adil & Bilall
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens
Release date: June 7
Detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) are back for a fourth big-screen outing. This time, they’re investigating their own, when their late captain is accused of having been working with drug cartels. The two men set out to clear their captain’s name and find out who in the Miami PD could be responsible for framing him, only to be set up themselves and forced to go on the run.
‘Inside Out 2’
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black
Release date: June 14
The sequel to Pixar’s much-loved “Inside Out” — about a young girl called Riley and the five personified emotions that determine her thoughts and actions — finds Riley entering her teenage years, and ushering in some new emotions (Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy) who throw off the delicate equilibrium achieved by the veterans Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
‘The Bikeriders’
Director: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy
Release date: June 21
Nichols’ tale of the exploits of the fictional Chicago-based biker gang the Outlaws MC over the course of the 1960s is inspired by the photo-book of the same name by Danny Lyon. What, at first, is intended as a place of refuge and sanctuary for local outsiders where they can feel free to be themselves evolves — or devolves — into a violent crime organization.
‘Despicable Me 4’
Director: Chris Renaud
Voice cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin
Release date: July 3
Gru — once a supervillain, now an agent for good — is living happily with his wife (and fellow agent) Lucy, their three adopted daughters, and their newborn baby boy. But when Maxime Le Mal, the dangerous criminal that Gru helped put away, escapes from prison, Gru and his family (and, of course, his Minions) must go on the run.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’
Director: Greg Berlanti
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Anna Garcia
Release date: July 12
Set in the Space Race of the 1960s, Berlanti’s romantic comedy-drama finds NASA director Cole Davis preparing for the launch of Apollo 11. An already stressful situation is made worse when he falls for marketing specialist Kelly Jones, whom the government has appointed to stage a fake moon landing in case anything goes wrong with the real deal.
‘Borderlands’
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black
Release date: August 9
With video-game adaptations no longer the dross they used to be, thanks to the success of TV shows like “The Last of Us” and “Fallout,” hopes are high for this star-studded take on Gearbox Software’s all-action looter-shooter. Blanchett plays Lillith — a much-feared outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora on a mission to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful man, Atlas. To achieve her goal, she teams up with a band of misfits to tackle monsters and bandits and find the girl.
