Summer movie season starts big with spin-offs of streaming hits The Mandalorian and Jack Ryan, and sequels to The Devil Wears Prada and Mortal Kombat. Thankfully, there’s also some cinematic counterprogramming for those who didn’t do their extensive amount of homework, including original horror films, the latest from Boots Riley, and a big plate of creepypasta. Summer loving happens so fast, so let’s not wait for our May film preview.
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep strike a pose once again in a legacy sequel dealing with the death of print. Set 20 years later, Andy (Hathaway) returns to Runway to help Miranda Priestly (Streep) pitch an old foe, Emily (Blunt), now a Dior exec, on investing in the magazine. Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) returns to make sure they look good while doing it.
Adam Scott plays an ornery author who heads to a remote part of Ireland to spread the ashes of his late, beloved parents. But his stay at a quaint inn is disturbed by bug-eyed freaks that aren’t pure hokum. The latest from Oddity helmer Damian McCarthy promises a menacing and claustrophobic trip to the Emerald Isle.
Offering some reprieve to fans worn out from trips to Pandora, James Cameron’s first non-Avatar film since 2005 is a 3D concert film co-directed by Billie Eilish. Captured during two Manchester concerts from Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard And Soft” world tour, Cameron uses his 3D cameras, typically reserved for Na’vi, to execute Eilish’s vision.
Round two, fight! Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) joins the battle for the Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat II, which promises even more characters, finishers, and Easter eggs that gamers crave. Threatened by the malevolent reign of Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), returning champions and familiar faces from the video games square off in another winner-takes-all bone-breaking tournament.
From the guys who brought you Chernobyl and Minions: The Rise Of Gru, The Sheep Detectives is a talking-animal whodunit from the flock’s perspective. After their paperback-reading shepherd (Hugh Jackman) is murdered mid-mystery, the game is a-hoof, and it’s up to sheep (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein, and Rhys Darby) to solve the case.
Obsession (May 15)
Be careful what you wish for, because the monkey’s paw mythos takes a new form in Obsession. A hopeless young romantic (Michael Johnston) cracks his “One Wish Willow,” a pre-packaged wishbone made of sticks, and wishes that his unrequited love (Inde Navarrette) would fall for him. Unfortunately, she’s a bit clingy, and her behavior quickly turns violent.
Is God Is (May 15)
Based on writer-director Aleshea Harris’ play, Is God Is is a stylish revenge story about unforgiveness. At the behest of their dying mother (Vivica A. Fox), two sisters (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) set out on a road trip to hunt down the abusive father (Sterling K. Brown) who tried to burn them all alive.
In The Grey (May 15)
Guy Ritchie reunites with Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal for In The Grey, the director’s latest high-fashion crime film. The sixth Ritchie movie this decade sees Cavill and Gyllenhaal play mercenaries who dance between the moral and immoral (they live In The Grey, you see) to recover $10 billion stolen by an evil kingpin.
Jack Ryan: Ghost War (May 20)
Everyone’s favorite CIA analyst ain’t afraid of no ghost…war. John Krasinski brings Prime Video’s favorite Tom Clancy character to the movies for his first Jack Ryan film (and the first proper Ryan feature since 2014), following four seasons of television. Pulled back into the life by James Greer (Wendell Pierce), Ryan (Krasinski) sets out to stop a radicalized military group from sending a message of violence.
The Mandalorian And Grogu (May 22)
The first Star Wars film in seven years joins Jack Ryan as two of the first big-screen adaptations of streaming series. Set between the original trilogy and the Disney sequels, the film follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu (Baby Yoda) as they infiltrate the Hutts’ palace in search of Rotta The Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), the late Jabba’s son. Martin Scorsese, somehow, also makes an appearance.
I Love Boosters (May 22)
Boots Riley’s long-awaited follow-up to Sorry To Bother You liberates stylish caper comedies from Hollywood’s finest retail stores. With a vibrant look and singular perspective, Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, and Eiza González play a gang of shoplifters with their eyes on fashionista Christine Smith’s (Demi Moore) high-priced wares.
The Breadwinner (May 29)
Nate Bargatze cashes in his chips as America’s clean comedian for a Mr. Mom comedy about a father of three who finally becomes a parent. After his wife (Mandy Moore) hits it big on Shark Tank, Nate (Bargatze) becomes a stay-at-home girl dad, dealing with home reno from Will Forte and three kids he doesn’t know how to manage.
Backrooms (May 29)
Based on writer-director Kane Parsons’ YouTube series, which, in turn, was based on a couple of pictures of a hobby shop basement that scared 4chan, the feature-film version of Backrooms continues the growing popularity of liminal-space horror. This time, a therapist (Renate Reinsve) enters Clark’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) furniture store basement, which appears to be the gateway to another dimension, in search of a missing patient.
Pressure (May 29)
In the untold story of the weatherman behind D-Day, James Stagg (Andrew Scott), a Royal Air Force meteorologist, has the unfortunate duty of telling General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) to delay the invasion of Normandy due to an oncoming storm system. With a cast including Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, and Damian Lewis, Pressure revels in the drama of Stagg’s high-stakes forecast, which determined the outlook of the next century.
More May premieres:
May 1
Animal Farm
May 12
Marty, Life Is Short
May 15
The Wizard Of The Kremlin
May 22
Tuner
The Salt Path
Passenger
Ask E. Jean