From ‘Guardians’ to ‘Wonder Woman’ and beyond: Your guide to summer movies

In Hollywood, summer starts May 5 with a bang: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” probably the biggest movie of the season. And then pretty much every week it’s one blockbuster after another. Here are the more notable offerings. (Note: Dates can change in the blink of an eye.)

May 5

The big one:

▪ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”: James Gunn’s first “Guardians” blew up expectations and grossed more than $773 million worldwide. The sequel brings back Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as they explore exactly who is Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

Also opening:

▪ “The Dinner”: In this thriller, two couples — Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall — gather for a tense meal to discuss what their sons have wrought.

▪ “Risk”: A documentary on WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”).

May 12

The big ones:

▪ “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”: Guy Ritchie, who already reimagined Sherlock Holmes, now takes on the Excalibur legend, with Charlie Hunnam as the man who would be king.

▪ “Snatched”: Amy Schumer is a freewheeling daughter who takes her uptight mother (Goldie Hawn) on a South American vacation that turns into a kidnapping adventure.

Also opening:

▪ “The Wall”: As an Iraqi sniper fires away, soldiers John Cena and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are trapped behind a you-know-what.

▪ “3 Generations”: Elle Fanning plays a teen transitioning from female to male. The other generations: Naomi Watts as the supportive mom and Susan Sarandon as the pushy grandma.

May 19

The big one:

▪ “Alien: Covenant”: Twenty years before “Alien” takes place and 10 years after “Prometheus” comes director Ridley Scott’s latest terrifying space odyssey. Katherine Waterston and android Michael Fassbender star.

Also opening:

▪ “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul”: In this fourth installment based on Jeff Kinney’s kids’ books, Greg (Jason Ian Drucker) dreams of becoming famous while on a family road trip.

▪ “Everything, Everything”: Amandla Stenberg (Rue in “The Hunger Games”) stars in this adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s romance novel about a teen with a frail immune system who falls for the new boy next door (Nick Robinson).

▪ “Norman”: Richard Gere is a glad-handing New York manipulator who gets in over his head.

May 26

The big ones:

▪ “Baywatch”: In this revival of the cheesy ’90s TV series, lifeguards Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron bare their pecs and go after a beachside drug-smuggling operation.

▪ “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”: Johnny Depp is back as Captain Jack, once again seeking treasure — the trident of Poseidon. Javier Bardem is the bad guy out to get him, and Brenton Thwaites joins the franchise as Orlando Bloom’s son.

Also opening:

▪ “The Lovers”: Debra Winger and Tracy Letts are a long-married philandering couple who embark on an unusual affair — with each other.

June 2

The big one:

▪ “Wonder Woman”: Gal Gadot stole the show in “Batman v Superman.” Now her superhero gets her own movie, an origin story of her Amazonian homeland and her valiant deeds in World War I. Directed by Patty Jenkins (who grew up in Lawrence).

Also opening:

▪ “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”: Dav Pilkey’s hilarious kids books get an animated adaptation, with Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch voicing the obstreperous kids and Ed Helms as their delusional principal.

June 9

The big one:

▪ “The Mummy”: This mummy could have been a mommy. In a gender flip, Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman”) is the angry ancient princess, and Tom Cruise is the man who must face her.

Also opening:

▪ “It Comes at Night”: A deadly worldwide pandemic has Joel Edgerton and his family under siege.

▪ “Megan Leavey”: In this true story, Kate Mara is a Marine corporal who bonds with a combat dog as they deploy to Iraq.

▪ “My Cousin Rachel”: Sam Claflin is an Englishman who falls for his cousin (Rachel Weisz) but suspects her of murder. Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier.

June 16

The big one:

▪ “Cars 3”: Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) needs to modernize his technique, with the help of a slick businesscar voiced by Nathan Fillion.

Also opening:

▪ “47 Meters Down”: Mandy Moore and Claire Holt are sisters stranded in a shark cage on the ocean floor.

▪ “All Eyez on Me”: A biopic about the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

▪ “The Book of Henry”: Naomi Watts is a single mom whose son wants to help the girl next door. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, who soon goes big budget with “Star Wars: Episode IX.”

▪ “Rough Night”: A bachelorette party involving Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell and Scarlett Johansson gets way out of control when a male stripper dies.

June 23

The big one:

▪ “Transformers: The Last Knight”: King Arthur again? Apparently the legend of the shape-shifting robots goes back to Arthurian times. Anthony Hopkins joins a returning Mark Wahlberg.

Also opening:

▪ “The Bad Batch”: In this dystopian horror thriller, a young woman is captured by cannibals. In Texas.

June 28

▪ “Baby Driver”: Director Edgar Wright left KC’s Paul Rudd and “Ant-Man” over creative differences with the studio and moved on to this passion project. Ansel Elgort is a getaway driver who agrees to a difficult heist with Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey.

June 30

The big one:

▪ “Despicable Me 3”: Gru (Steve Carell) reunites with his long-lost twin brother Dru (also voiced by Carell), who tries to lure him back to his dastardly ways.

Also opening:

▪ “Amityville: The Awakening”: Stupid family moves into a haunted house.

▪ “The Beguiled”: During the Civil War, a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) finds refuge at an all-girls boarding school, where the students (especially Elle Fanning) aren’t as innocent as they appear. From writer/director Sofia Coppola, remaking the 1971 Clint Eastwood version.

▪ “Dean”: Father and son Kevin Kline and Demetri Martin cope with grief.

▪ “The House”: To regain the college fund they lost, Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell launch a gambling ring in their basement.

July 7

The big one:

▪ “Spider-Man: Homecoming”: We met this incarnation of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in the last Avengers flick. Now he gets his own movie — and villain, Vulture (Michael Keaton).

Also opening:

▪ “Patti Cake$”: A Sundance Festival favorite about an aspiring New Jersey rapper (played by Australian Danielle Macdonald).

July 14

The big one:

▪ “War for the Planet of the Apes”: In this third installment, Caesar (Andy Serkis) gets angry as he guides his apes in a battle against humans, led by a brutal Woody Harrelson.

Also opening:

▪ “The Big Sick”: Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley”) tells the true story of how his girlfriend — now his wife — went into a coma.

▪ “Midnight Sun”: Sounds a lot like “Everything, Everything.” A girl (Bella Thorne) can’t go outside because she’s deathly allergic to the sun, but then she meets Patrick Schwarzenegger (yup, Arnold’s son).

▪ “Wish Upon”: A music box grants a teen seven wishes, with deadly consequences.

July 21

The big ones:

▪ “Dunkirk”: Writer/director Christopher Nolan takes us to the French coast of World War II, where Allied forces (including Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles!!) are looking for escape.

▪ “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”: Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne are space cops in an eye-popping intergalactic city. Director Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element”) adapts the French graphic novel.

Also opening:

▪ “Girls Trip”: Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah road trip their way into trouble.

July 28

The big one:

▪ “Atomic Blonde”: Charlize Theron is a lethal 1980s British secret agent dropped into Berlin to break up a spy ring.

Also opening:

▪ “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”: Ten years later, former veep Al Gore updates his fight for renewable energy.

▪ “The Emoji Movie”: An animated adventure about the doo-dads on your phone. Why we care: KC’s Rob Riggle voices an ice cream cone, and Patrick Stewart is Poop.

Aug. 4

The big one:

▪ “The Dark Tower”: Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey star in the adaptation of Stephen King’s sci-fi Western.

Also opening:

▪ “Detroit”: Kathryn Bigelow, who won an Oscar for “The Hurt Locker,” commemorates the 50th anniversary of this city’s riots with a drama starring John Boyega and Anthony Mackie.

▪ “Ingrid Goes West”: In this satire, Aubrey Plaza is a loner who befriends an Instagram celebrity (Elizabeth Olsen).

▪ “Step”: Documentary about a Baltimore step dance team.

Aug. 11

▪ “Annabelle: Creation”: The possessed doll lives on.

▪ “The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature”: Will Arnett and his animated pals try to stop a developer from destroying their home.

▪ “Wind River”: Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen try to solve a murder on a Native American reservation.

Aug. 18

▪ “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”: Ryan Reynolds is an agent assigned to protect assassin Samuel L. Jackson from Gary Oldman.

▪ “Logan Lucky”: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough plan a heist during a NASCAR race. Steven Soderbergh, who awhile ago insisted he was retiring, is back to direct.

Aug. 25

▪ “Polaroid”: In this horror film, a high school outcast takes pictures with an old camera. Uh-oh.

▪ “Tulip Fever”: In 17th century Amsterdam a married woman hopes to run away with her lover. With Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan and Christoph Waltz.

Aug. 30

▪ “Leap!”: They’re everywhere this summer: Elle Fanning and Dane DeHaan voice this animated tale of an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina in Paris.

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "From ‘Guardians’ to ‘Wonder Woman’ and beyond: Your guide to summer movies."