The 25 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2013

If you're planning on visiting a multiplex this weekend, be warned: It's going to be a madhouse. Big theater chains are ready to unveil the season's first surefire blockbuster: Iron Man 3, the latest Robert Downey Jr.-led superhero adventure that, per critics worldwide, is the best Tony Stark installment yet. Box office analysts are predicting that Marvel's first post-The Avengers movie will earn more than a whopping $140 million this weekend. Yes, it's officially summer time.

Across Hollywood's major studios, there's at least one high-profile new film opening every weekend from now through the end of August—that overcrowded AMC Loews isn't going to empty out much anytime soon. The good news: Complex is here to let you know which upcoming, soon to be widely released flicks are worth thinking and caring about. Check out the 25 most anticipated movies of summer 2013 and start planning ahead for those hot, pre-beach Friday and Saturday nights when rooftop bars aren't all that appealing.

NOTE: Save some calendar space, because we'll be back with an accompanying list of the summer's most promising independent movies next Monday morning.

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Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Brad Pitt, Mirielle Enos, James Badge Dale, David Morse, Matthew Fox, Eric West, Elyes Gabel, Abigail Hargrove
Release Date: June 21

Book lovers who've read Max Brooks’ engrossing 2006 novel World War Z are well aware of the kind of epic live action entertainment it could yield if given the right, expansive treatment.

Written as an exhaustive, multi-story oral history of an undead apocalypse, it's one of those grandiose, dense, and endlessly riveting books that demands a TV miniseries, at the least—how in George A. Romero’s name could anyone successfully condense it into a two-hour movie? Especially director Marc Forster, the guy responsible for the disappointing action flicks Quantum of Solace (2008) and Machine Gun Preacher (2011).

The answer, unfortunately, isn't one fans of the book were hoping for, at least based on World War Z's problematic trailer. The story seems to have been boiled down to one man's experience, a guy played by a seemingly out-of-place Brad Pitt. And those awful swarms of CG, fake-looking zombies? The folks who worked on I Am Legend's creature effects aren't even impressed.

Are we looking at 2013's biggest must-watch train wreck here? Probably, but a pleasant surprise would be emphatically welcomed.

Director: Todd Phillips
Stars: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, John Goodman, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung
Release Date: May 24

Last summer, as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises concluded, emotions were high with the realization that there won't be anymore Nolan-helmed Batman movies. When The Hangover Part III wraps up this summer, deuces shall be thrown up and sighs of relief will happen in rapid succession. Why? Because anyone with even a shred of common sense still can't get over the laziness and sheer unfunniness of 2011's The Hangover Part II.

To say that director Todd Phillips has a lot of making up to do would be an understatement. To his and the second sequel's credit, the plot here switches away from the first two movies' next-morning mystery approaches and focuses more on the Wolf Pack getting hired by a nefarious type (John Goodman) to locate Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who's on the run. Which, it should be noted, raises concern: Jeong Hangover performances qualify as two of the most obnoxious acting turns of all time.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Isabelle Fuhrman, Zoe Kravitz, Kristofer Hivju, Sophie Okonedo, David Denman, Gabriel Caste
Release Date: June 7

They say honesty's the best policy, so here it comes: The anticipation surrounding After Earth has more to do with its potential trainwreck status than it does any genuine excitement over what's seen in early trailers.

The pessimism is unavoidable. Why? Well, for starters, the futuristic sci-fi/action flick's central protagonist—a deputized traveler from the planet Nova Prime who crash-lands on a ravaged and predator-infested Earth—is played by Jaden Smith, nepotism's best friend. Worse than that, though, is the presence of director M. Night Shyamalan, the once compelling filmmaker who's career has almost no credibility left.

But come on—After Earth also features Jaden's megastar pops, Mr. Will Smith, and he's always good for some quality popcorn entertainment, right? Especially since he's coming off the well-received Men in Black 3. Oh, wait…his three films prior to MI3 were I Am Legend, Hancock, and Seven Pounds; meaning, the wackness could still be flowing within him. OK, bring those negative assumptions back.

Director: Noam Murro
Stars: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Jack O'Connell, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson
Release Date: August 2

Now that cable television has given blood-and-sandals fans a string of brutally violent Spartacus TV shows, does the world really need another 300 movie? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that Israeli director Noam Murro's follow-up to Zack Snyder's 2007 hit isn't without its charms.

For one, 300: Rise of an Empire was co-produced by Snyder and, like the original film, is based on one of Frank Miller's graphic novels (here, it's Xerxes). Even more promising is the film's emphasis on an ass-kicking woman this time around: Artemisia, played the always scene-stealing Eva Green. (Watch Dark Shadows to see how well she can upgrade dreary pictures.)

Sounds good, right? The coast isn't totally clear, unfortunately: Murro's only major pre-300 credit is the easily forgettable 2008 dramedy Smart People, which, as far as we can recall, features no scenes in which Ellen Page and/or Dennis Quaid engage in any action whatsoever. Keep those red flags handy.

Director: Adam Wingard
Stars: Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, Nicholas Tucci, Barbara Cramtpon, Rob Moran, Ti West, Margaret Laney, Wendy Glenn
Release Date: August 23

Every year, the genre-heavy film festivals held across the world unveil the next big things in horror. Way back in 2011, the movie that had that kind of premiere impact was You’re Next, and since then, it's been at the top of horror fans' must-see lists. Questions of whether it'd ever get a release date or not were answered late last year when an August slot was announced by Lionsgate.

Now, the whole world will finally see if all of the hype is justified. At SXSW in March, we found You're Next to be impressively solid. Combining dark humor, home invasion intensity, and elaborate slasher movie gore, independent director Adam Wingard’s heavily buzzed about flick has bloggers and horror’s talking heads tossing out hyperbole to the tune of “it’s the new Scream!”

Whether it’s as revolutionary as Wes Craven’s tongue-in-cheek 1996 smash or not, though, shouldn’t be of anyone’s concern—You’re Next is just an unpretentious blast. Take a look at those slick feline masks that the killers wear in the image above, which bring to mind The Strangers, in the best possible way. Or get excited about gorgeous leading lady Sharni Vinson, who, according to critics, is primed for “iconic final girl in a horror movie” status.

Director: Jeff Wadlow
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, Donald Faison, Robert Emms, Lindy Booth, Clark Duke, Daniel Kaluuya, John Leguizamo, Morris Chestnut
Release Date: August 16

Kick-Ass, the 2010 superhero subversion based on Mark Millar's graphic novels, occupies a special place within Hollywood's current costumed avenger trend. Without much CGI or any supernatural powers, it's the blue-collar teenager's version of, say, Batman Begins, and one that proved to be a sleeper hit in a year where Iron Man 2 received the loudest praise.

And, naturally, like any decent superhero flick, it's ripe for a sequel. Thus, there's Kick-Ass 2, with a new director (Jeff Wadlow replaces Matthew Vaughn), the original cast returning (sans Nicolas Cage), and a slew of new self-made heroes and villains (including ones played Jim Carrey and Donald Faison).

As long as Chloë Moretz's badass Hit-Girl is still prominently featured, we're totally on board with this.

Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Stars: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, James Marsden, Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos, Fred Ward
Release Date: August 2

The world needs another Lethal Weapon-esque action duo—might Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg fill that role? You certainly couldn't ask for a better pair of physically capable and comedically savvy box office draws than the pair, present in Contraband director Baltasar Kormakur's adaptation of the Boom! Studios graphic novel about a DEA agent and Naval Intelligence Officer, equally hot-headed, joining forces to make the CIA pay for setting them up.

And what if 2 Guns turns out to be, well, another Contraband (read: narratively challenged)? There's always former Complex cover girl Paula Patton, the film's most appealing co-star. Her participation is always a plus.

Director: James Mangold
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Svetlana Khodchenkova
Release Date: July 26

The less said about 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the better. OK, let's say one thing: With disposable side heroes (Will.i.am as Wraith—seriously?), dull action, and a muddled script, it's arguably the worst superhero movie of the last decade.

But, hey, comic book fans are suckers for the clawed Logan's ass-kicking ways, so there will always be room for some talented filmmaker to give Hugh Jackman's Wolverine the standalone movie he deserves. Fingers crossed that James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma)—who'll bring Wolverine to Japan for a one-off adventure—is that guy.

Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, William Fichtner, Ruth Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Barry Pepper, Mason Cook, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, James Frain, Harry Treadaway
Release Date: July 3

Of course Johnny Depp is playing Tonto in a big screen update of The Lone Ranger, the iconic gunslinger radio serial that inspired the popular 1950s TV series of the same name. It's the next logical step for the actor who scored Oscar nominations for his performances as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and who's apparently no longer interested in taking on roles outside of big-budget projects based on old TV shows or amusement park rides.

But damn if The Lone Ranger's first full trailer doesn't look exciting. Credit goes to director Gore Verbinski, the visually proficient filmmaker behind the first three Pirates films (aka the good ones) who certainly knows his way around a massive, enthralling action sequence. And we're also not mad at the casting of Armie Hammer as the title character, a role that should make him a household name and capitalize on his great work in The Social Network.

Director: Robert Schwentke
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Miller, Mary-Louise Parker, Robert Knepper, Mike O'Malley
Release Date: June 28

We'd feel bad for Ryan Reynolds if not for his history of dating Scarlett Johansson and marriage to Blake Lively. Outside of his courtships with beautiful actresses, he's been on a bit of a cold streak. Once thought to be Hollywood's next big leading man, Reynolds had a rough 2011, headlining a pair of critically abused and largely audience-ignored summer releases, Green Lantern and The Change-Up. Last year, he achieved much more success with Safe House, but only a film industry ignoramus wouldn't credit that film's success to his bankable co-star, Denzel Washington.

In this summer's high-concept genre comedy R.I.P.D., however, could Reynolds have finally found that elusive franchise he's been seeking? Hell, how about just a blockbuster triumph? The film's Men in Black-esque construct certainly bodes well for it: Reynolds and Jeff Bridges play a couple of lawmen trying to take down the deviant who sent the former's character into the afterlife.

A plethora of CGI ghoulies, plenty of wisecracking one-liners, and swimsuit model Marisa Miller portraying Bridges' earthbound vessel should help R.I.P.D. be, at the very least, curiously entertaining. For Reynolds' sake, though, let's hope for more than just that.

Director: Paul Feig
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Bichir, Bill Burr, Spoken Reasons, Nathan Corddry
Release Date: June 28

All signs point to a box office juggernaut here, folks. It's all in The Heat's comedic ingredients. First, it's directed by the ever-solid Paul Feig, a hot commodity in Hollywood right now who's coming off the massive success of 2011's all-woman romp Bridesmaids. And then there's co-star Melissa McCarthy, a certified big-screen A-lister who was recently able to push the otherwise rudimentary Identity Thief well past a $100 million gross.

Put McCarthy alongside Sandra Bullock, aka America's Oscar-winning sweetheart, in a buddy-cop comedy about two tough-as-nails law enforcers hunting down a Russian mobster and you've got the potential to at least flirt with the notion of matching Bridesmaids' $288 million domestic intake. Best of all, The Heat's trailers have been genuinely funny.

Director: James DeMonaco
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, Max Burkholder, Rhys Wakefield, Edwin Hodge
Release Date: June 7

Get ready for the summer of home invasion horror. In addition to the aforementioned You're Next, there's The Purge, the latest lo-fi genre flick produced by grand facilitator Jason Blum (producer of the Paranormal Activity movies, Insidious, and Sinister). Why's the seemingly generic The Purge so high on this countdown? Because it boasts one of the most intriguing horror plots in recent years.

Set in 2022, writer-director James DeMonaco's potential sleeper hit takes place on the one night of the year when all crime, including homicide, is legal—that's right, for 12 hours, people are allowed to rob, rape, pillage, terrorize, and/or kill anything or anyone in sight.

That being the case, the fact that The Purge takes place inside one family's house and not, you know, out in public is disheartening. The same goes for its, we hope, unintentional allusions to The Strangers (check out those creepy masks). But we'd be lying if said the film's intense trailer isn't a real attention-grabber.

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna, Alice Braga, William Fichtner
Release Date: August 9

First-time directors couldn't ask for a more auspicious and impactful debut movie than District 9, the 2009 Oscar-nominated, bloody sci-fi allegory from South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. With such a triumphant introduction typically comes carte blanche to make whatever the hell you want for a sophomore picture, and, very easily, Blomkamp could've cashed out and taken on a major remake, reboot, or sequel. Instead, he pushed another one of his self-written properties through. Respect due.

He even nabbed Matt Damon to topline the flick, titled Elysium, and it looks like the A-list actor is about to get grittier than ever before. Set in the year 2159, Elysium finds Damon playing an ex-con in a world where wealthy people live in a luxurious space station while the less-fortunate reside on an overpopulated, resource-deficient Earth.

So, basically, it's George A. Romero's politically charged Land of the Dead, but with enormous weapons (like the gun in Damon's hands above) replacing flesh-eating zombies. Works for us.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Adelaide Clemens
Release Date: May 10

Is there a better example of great casting in a 2013 movie than Leonardo DiCaprio playing Jay Gatsby in the latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel? Re-teaming 17 years later with his glamorously visual Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrmann, DiCaprio seems poised to body the Gatsby role, that of a notorious 1920s playboy who spends the summer of 1922 cavorting with his neighbor, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), and the beautiful Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan).

Another plus for Luhrmann's high-stakes picture: It'll be the first movie-scoring project for Jay-Z, who's on-board as the soundtrack's overseer.

Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Barcuhel, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Rihanna, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart
Release Date: June 12

Judd Apatow must think about This is the End and feel like a proud father.

The super-producer and successful director of hits like Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, and Superbad isn't involved, but This Is the End is a direct byproduct of the Apatow machine. A raunchy, joke-heavy look at the apocalypse, it's written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who wrote Pineapple Express and Superbad), and stars a venerable who's who of Apatow alums: Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson.

Really, how can This is the End not be the year's funniest movie?

Director: Justin Lin
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Joe Taslim, Elsa Pataky, Rita Ora
Release Date: May 24

If 2011's Fast Five would've simply followed the "cars, chicks, and one-liners" motif of the previous The Fast and the Furious movies, we wouldn't have been all that excited by it, frankly. But director Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan wisely mixed things up, focusing less on whips and more on an Ocean's Eleven-styled heist gambit, and, as a result, Fast Five was one of the year's biggest surprises.

Unbroken formulas need not be fixed, so both Lin and Morgan are back in action for The Fast and the Furious 6, as is new franchise star Dwayne Johnson as the bruising Secret Service Agent. Not much is know about the plot's specifics, but let's venture to guess that Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and the rest of their homes piss off the authorities while pulling fast ones on some crime boss. And newcomer Gina Carano gets us all hot and bothered while knocking dudes to the ground. Consider our engines revved.

Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, James Woods, Garcelle Beauvais, Lance Reddick, Joey King
Release Date: June 28

2013's most random cinematic trend: movies about terrorist plots against the White House. First, in March, there was director Antoine Fuqua's Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler as a Secret Service Agent fighting against Korean baddies who've taken the President (Aaron Eckhart) hostage. And it was an embarrassment.

The better choice: White House Down, directed by summer blockbuster veteran Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow). The plot is basically identical to Olympus Has Fallen, but the cast is much cooler: Channing Tatum is the agent and Jamie Foxx is the president.

Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller
Release Date: May 17

Excuse the title. However unfortunate Star Trek Into Darkness may sound rolling off the tongue, the movie itself seems to be anything but silly.

Back in the director's chair, following the enormous success of his whip-smart 2009 Star Trek franchise reboot, the prolific J.J. Abrams is bringing the Enterprise crew into darker, more apocalyptic terrain with this sequel, and the early trailer is a real knockout. By the looks of things, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the rest of the space-traveling team contend against an enigmatic terrorist (seriously on-the-rise British actor Benedict Cumberbatch) who's catastrophically attacked the Starfleet outfit.

Just who exactly Cumberbatch is playing (some people think it could be the infamous Star Trek villain Khan, or at least an iteration of him) and if Spock will bite the dust or not (another hot-button rumor) are questions that fanboys can't wait to have answered.

Director: Louis Leterrier
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Common, Michael Kelly
Release Date: May 31

Did you watch Christopher Nolan's twisty magician flick The Prestige, love it, but wish there'd been more action? If so, Now You See Me should fulfill those wishes. Directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans), it's about the Four Horsemen, a quartet of tricksters (Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco) who pull off an insane financial stunt: They "magically" transfer a sleazy millionaire's funds into audience members' bank accounts.

Being that it's all about the sleight of hand, Now You See Me has the potential to be the year's most brain-scrambling popcorn movie, albeit one made by the same guy behind The Transporter and Transporter 2. So, yeah, not as heady as Nolan's pic.

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Clifton Collins Jr., Diego Klattenhoff, Max Martini, Burn Gorman, Robert Kazinsky
Release Date: July 12

Before Peter Jackson reclaimed the throne to direct The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, fanboy favorite Guillermo del Toro (The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth) was, at the time, hard at work in pre-production to helm the current box office smash. When he stepped off the project, rather than go back to the world of Spanish-language indies, del Toro opted to give another Hollywood blockbuster a try, one that's basically Godzilla vs. Transformers.

Not that we're complaining. Although it reeks of familiarity, Pacific Rim has all the ingredients for a badass summer tentpole: first-rate CGI, wall-to-wall action, and a likable cast of gifted character actors (including Idris Elba, Sons of Anarchy duo Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia funnyman Charlie Day). And if anyone can turn a potential Transformers knockoff into something transcendent, it's definitely the ever-imaginative del Toro.

Director: Sofia Coppola
Stars: Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Leslie Mann, Erin Daniels, Gavin Rossdale, Carlos Miranda
Release Date: June 14

Imagine a teenage girl and her BFFs burglarizing Paris Hilton's house, stuffing the heiress' Louis Vuitton tote bag with her diamonds and bottle of Grey Goose, all while dressed in the socialite's Louboutins. It sounds like the plot of a Bret Easton Ellis novel, but it's real life. From October 2008 to August 2009, a quintet of bored, Perez Hilton-obsessed Valley kids, who'd come to be known as "The Hollywood Hills Burglars," "The Burglar Bunch," and "The Bling Ring," not only knocked off the former Simple Life star, but also Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge and Rachel Bilson. Their reason? Those celebs just, like, had cute stuff.

Inspired by the Vanity Fair story "The Suspect Wore Louboutins" by Nancy Jo Sales, Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation) is bringing the news story to the big screen. Led by a virtually unknown cast, save for a grown-up Emma Watson, The Bling Ring, a bizarro Spring Breakers-meets-MTV's The Hills, promises to be the guilty pleasure of the summer. —TA

Director: James Wan
Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Mackenzie Foy, Shnaley Caswell, Shannon Kook, Joey King, Hayley McFarland
Release Date: July 19

The year of James Wan will soon begin. In addition to September's Insidious Chapter 2, the Saw mastermind's two-sided stake at becoming the horror genre's biggest working director will kick off with The Conjuring. If early word can be believed, we're in for something truly special.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple who spent the late 1970s and early '80s collecting paychecks for digging into ghostly happenings from families living in haunted houses (they famously worked on the case that inspired The Amityville Horror). The Conjuring, specifically, is based on the book House of Darkness, House of Light: The True Story, written by Andrea Perron, whose Rhode Island home harbored spirits and who employed the Warrens back in the '70s.

As for that aforementioned "early word," The Conjuring originally had a somewhat dismissible January 25 release date, but ecstatic responses from test screenings prompted Warner Bros. to push the pic back to a prime-for-exposure mid-July date. How's that for a vote of confidence?

Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike
Release Date: August 23

While promoting their hilarious buddy cop comedy Hot Fuzz in 2007, director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost talked up the fact that the film was the second installment in a planned trilogy of sorts, which started with the cult classic horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004). Well, finally, here's the third part, and it sounds appropriately epic.

In The World's End (co-written by Wright and Pegg), five old friends reconnect as adults to go on a massive, beer-fueled pub crawl that they want to conclude inside the legendary bar The World's End. Where that leads exactly is being kept secretive by all involved with the movie, but word that the mission affects "mankind" (per the official plot synopsis) hints at a possible pre-apocalyptic conflict. Nothing, we're sure, an excessive number of pints can't solve.

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Harry Lennix, Christopher Meloni
Release Date: June 14

Can blockbuster champ Christopher Nolan do for Superman what he did for Batman with his Dark Knight trilogy? That's the central, pressing question surrounding Man of Steel, which Nolan both produced and shares story credit with screenwriter David S. Goyer (another Dark Knight veteran).

Looking to remove some of the DC Comics' character's campiness, the Man of Steel team (guided by 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder) have replaced the comic book playfulness of previous movies and gone full-on dark. One look at the moody, intense trailer proves two things: Henry Cavill already makes for a convincing Clark Kent (unlike, you know, Brandon Routh in the unsatisfying 2006 flick Superman Returns), and Christopher Nolan sure loves pairing superheroes with ominous soundtracks and man-on-the-edge themes.

Which worked out pretty well for him and Gotham City's caped crusader, didn't it?

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Burke, Vithaya Pansringam, Rathar Phongam
Release Date: July 19

The last time Ryan Gosling linked up with Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, they made the brilliantly progressive action flick Drive, our no-brainer choice for 2011's best movie. So, naturally, their next collaboration, Only God Forgives, registers highly on the must-see scale. But thanks to its intriguing plot synopsis, Refn's latest sounds like it could be even crazier than Drive.

Gosling, once again playing against his pretty-boy swag, stars as a guy who runs a Thai boxing club in order to hide his family's drug hustle and has to track down and eliminate the people who've killed his brother. Check out his battered face up above—your boy Gosling is in for some real lumps. Anyone who's seen Refn's hypnotically brutal Bronson (starring a ferocious Tom Hardy) knows what could be in store. And needed to see Only God Forgives yesterday.