The halfway mark of the year is (somehow) already here, and June has more films than ever for you to enjoy. It has a larger number of sequels and franchises than I’d like to see (surprise, surprise), but the polish and hype of those movies cannot be understated.
For your animation hit, make sure to check out Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The sequel to the hugely profitable and well received Into the Spider-Verse, this story finds Miles Morales/Spider-Man (Shameik Moore) being recruited by his love interest Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfield) to help save every universe of Spider-People. Other cast members include Jake Johnson, Issa Rae and Oscar Isaac, among many others. Although the film features no actual voice actors, it does look to be a stellar follow-up with beautiful animation and a fun hook of different art styles based on different universes. It hits theaters on June 2.
If you’re looking for more superheroes, don’t miss The Flash. Starring Ezra Miller as The Flash, the film takes the titular character – who appears in several other DC Universe related stories – and has him travel back in time to prevent his mother from dying. This, inadvertently, creates a universe where no metahumans (humans with superpowers) exist. Ben Affleck reprises his role as Batman, and Michael Keaton also shows up as an alternate universe Batman, donning the cape and cowl again for the first time since 1992’s Batman Returns. The DC extended universe is completely up in the air, so the meaningfulness of this film is debatable … but the spectacle will likely be dazzling when it releases on June 16.
Wes Anderson returns this month with Asteroid City. Set in 1955, the film concerns a stargazer convention in an American desert town. The trailer is exactly what you would expect from a coming-of-age story by Anderson, and the cast is crammed with his usual suspects: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton and literally twenty others of note. It has a limited release on June 16 before expanding on June 23.
For a sequel that is hopefully better than its last, take a look at Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Harrison Ford is back as our eponymous lead, this time with the backdrop of the Space Race of 1969. Nazis return as the primary villain, this time with the face of Mads Mikkelsen as the antagonist, along with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw, Jones’ goddaughter. Directed by James Mangold (Logan), the film looks to end Indiana Jones’ legacy on a high note when it comes to theaters on June 30.
Lastly, I implore you to watch the five minute short HIDARI. A stop-motion samurai film, the short offers attention to detail, amazing fight choreography and excellent use of music – all coming together to form a perfect pitch for a feature length narrative. The short uses wooden puppets to tell a story inspired by the life of Jingoro Hidari, a renowned 17th century sculptor whose life is shrouded in mystery. It’s currently on YouTube.
