Summer 2012 Movie Preview

'Tis the season of the bombastic blockbuster. The spring movie season has come to an end (so long Katniss!) and so now we eagerly await what is arguably the ultimate fanboy movie summer of all time. Our preview begins with the long-awaited arrival of Earth's Mightiest Heroes on the big screen and ends with old timey bandits, seeing the return of Spidey and the swan song of Batman along the way. Here then is our rundown of all the IGN-centric films that you need to catch this summer!

Release Date: May 4 (US); April 26 (UK); April 25 (AU)

Studio: Marvel/Disney


It's finally here! The first true superhero mash-up film has arrived, from none other than writer-director Joss Whedon (Serenity), who knows a thing or two about how to bring an ensemble group of fantastical characters to the big screen. With Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and the rest finally teaming up, and advance word from critics sounding pretty strong, the only questions now seem to be how well the film will do at the box office -- and how Marvel can top themselves after this! Dare we say it? Avengers assemble!




Release Date: May 11 (US); May 11 (UK); May 10 (AU)

Studio: Warner Bros.


We know what you're thinking. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp… again? Yep, again. In what must be their thirteenth teaming (actually, it's only their eighth), the duo remake Dark Shadows, the daytime horror soap from the 1960s. Depp stars as the vampire Barnabas Collins, who awakens after a two-century slumber to find that his descendents are a bunch of weirdos circa 1972. Textbook quirky comedy ala Tim Burton!




Release Date: May 16 (US); May 18 (UK); May 16 (AU)

Studio: Paramount


Sacha Baron Cohen reunites with director Larry Charles for what appears to be a slightly more conventional comedy than the pair's previous films together, Borat and Bruno. Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen, leader of the Republic of Wadiya (and bedder of Megan Fox), who will do whatever it takes to save his land from democracy. But will audiences take to a non-mockumentary approach with Cohen in the lead role? They better, or else he'll Seacrest them with Kim Jong-il's ashes&!




Release Date: May 18 (US); April 11 (UK); April 12 (AU)

Studio: Universal


While some folks might be quick to make the "You sunk my Battleship" jokes here, be aware that this film is already out internationally -- and it's a big hit as well. So "You sunk my Battleship 2" jokes might be more in order by the time the U.S. finally gets director Peter Berg's big-screen variation on the classic board game. Starring beautiful people Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna, the film is also full of beautiful Transformers-esque visual effects and beautifully nasty-ass aliens. Of course it's a hit!




Release Date: May 25 (US); May 25 (UK); May 24 (AU)

Studio: Columbia Pictures


It took 10 years, but Agents J and K are back -- as are Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones -- in a time-travel story that sees Josh Brolin joining the franchise as the young Agent K back in 1969. Emma Thompson and Alice Eve also are onboard (as Agent O, old and young versions), but wherefore art thou Rip Torn?! Director Barry Sonnenfeld, who's helming once again, has said that the script was far from complete when production began and as a result there was a big break in the filming schedule. A tentpole movies without a finished script? Never!




Release Date: May 25 (US); June 22 (UK); May 31 (AU)

Studio: Warner Bros.


From Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli comes this tale of a group of tourists who stumble upon a deserted city -- the same city that once was home to the men and women who manned the Chernobyl nuclear reactor before the infamous catastrophe that took place there in 1986. Little else is known about the film at this time, including how far into schlock it will go in its flirtation with a real-life tragedy.




Release Date: May 25 (US); May 25 (UK); TBD (AU)

Studio: Focus Features


Writer-director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore) is back with his latest idiosyncratic outing, a period piece about young love in the 1960s. Moonrise Kingdom stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand in the story of what happens when a boy and girl (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) run off together and everyone in their New England town goes looking for them. Anderson co-scripted the film with Roman Coppola (son of Francis Ford), who he also worked with on The Darjeeling Limited.