June is finally here and with it comes the start of the summer movie season. It’s an exciting time, but as usual, a lot of this year’s summer releases are adaptations or the next entries in a long franchise. So, it can be a little intimidating making sure you’re “ready” for a movie.
That’s why we’ve prepared this handy guide of summer movie releases and the materials that they’re adapted from, inspired by, or the previous entries in the franchise that they’re a part of. Most of the items listed are in the CPL catalog, but a few need to be requested via MeL interloan.
May 24, 2024
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
This film serves as an origin story for the titular character first played by Charlize Theron in writer/director George Miller’s 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, which is available for check out on DVD. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Furiosa in this film that also stars Chris Hemsworth. Miller is once again writing and directing.
The Garfield Movie
Jim Davis’s immortal comic strip cat returns in a brand-new animated film featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, and Hannah Waddingham. The best way to get ready for this film is to read one of the books in the Garfield Classics line like Garfield Tips the Scales, or any of the many other books that collect Davis’s Garfield strips.
June 7, 2024
The Crow
This “reimagining” of director Alex Proyas’ 1994 film of the same name is directed by Rupert Sanders and casts Bill Skarsgård as the titular, vengeful, revenant named Eric Draven. You can check out the original film starring the late Brandon Lee on DVD. You could also check out the 1989 comic series by writer/artist James O’Barr that inspired the original film.
Bad Boys 4
Stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back for the fourth installment of this buddy-action franchise set in Miami. They’re joined by co-stars Vanessa Hudgens and Rhea Seehorn and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. You can catch up on the series or refresh your memory with the third film Bad Boys for Life as well as the first and second entries in the series.
June 14, 2024
Inside Out 2
This sequel to the hit Pixar film about the anthropomorphic emotions that live inside a young girl jumps ahead to the complex and comical world of teenage emotions. Returning cast members Amy Poehler, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith are joined by new cast members Maya Hawke and Ayo Edebiri. You can refresh your memory of the first film by borrowing it from our collection.
June 21, 2024
It Ends with Us
This adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s breakthrough 2016 novel stars Blake Lively, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar and Justin Baldoni. You can see how it compares to the novel by checking out a copy.
June 28, 2024
A Quiet Place: Day One
The third installment in this series about a murderous, predatory alien species with acute hearing that have devastated Earth takes us back to the day the creatures invaded. The story follows a new cast that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff. CPL can help you rewatch both the first and second films in the series.
July 3, 2024
Despicable Me 4
In this new installment of the animated film series, the supervillain Gru and his family, which now includes a new son, are forced to go on the run when they’re targeted by a new supervillain. Steve Carell returns to voice Gru and Kristen Wiig reprises her role as his wife, Lucy. Will Ferrell plays the film’s new antagonist. You can binge watch the first three films along with three other Illumination animated movies by checking out this collection.
July 19, 2024
Twisters
This standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister once again follows intrepid storm chasers who test their luck and mettle against the fury of a massive storm. The film’s cast includes Glen Powell, David Corenswet, and Kiernan Shipka. If you want to revisit the original movie to see how it compares, we have the DVD.
July 26, 2024
Deadpool and Wolverine
Ryan Reynold’s titular “Merc with a Mouth” finally enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this third installment of the Deadpool film franchise. Assisting him in this big transition is Hugh Jackman who reprises his role as Wolverine for probably the last time. You can refresh your memory of Deadpool and Deadpool 2 by checking out our DVDs, and if you’re looking for a graphic novel that captures the chaos when Wolverine and Deadpool team up, try The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.
August 9, 2024
Borderlands
Writer/director Eli Roth’s adaptation of this bestselling, sci-fi, action, comedy, shooter video game series stars Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart. If you want to familiarize yourself with some of the characters and concepts of the game, we have Borderlands 3 for the PS4 available to check out.
August 16, 2024
Alien: Romulus
Writer/director Fede Álvarez’s new installment in the Alien franchise stars Isabela Merced and takes place between the first two films in the series. It’s meant to be a standalone tale, but if you want to revisit those two classic, sci-fi horror films, we have both Alien and Aliens in our collection.
August 30, 2024
Kraven the Hunter
Sony’s latest attempt at making a Spider-Man movie without Spider-Man puts the spotlight on the web-slinger’s titular Russian adversary. In this film, he’s played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The rest of the cast includes Russell Crow, Ariana DeBose and Christopher Abbott. J.C. Chandor directed the film. There are a number of great Spider-Man comic stories featuring Kraven, but one of the best is Kraven’s Last Hunt.
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