Summer Movie Preview 2021

What summer movies are you most looking forward to?

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, 2021 has finally arrived at the greatest point of every cinephile’s annual indulgence, the Summer movie season! But with so many films coming out at this time, how is any self-respecting fan supposed to know what to see when there are so many options available? We’re here to help with our 2021 Summer Movie Preview!

We discuss each month in detail; every major release, as well as our picks of the smaller independent titles. May, June, July, and August all receive their fair due as we elaborate and debate on over 40 titles coming out this summer. We also discuss some independent and streaming gems to look for this year, and reveal the Listener Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2021.

Grab a pen and paper or your favorite app, because this is one episode you will want to take notes on. THIS is our 2021 Summer Movie Preview!

Discussed on this episode

• (0:00 – 1:14:22) Summer Movie Preview 2021
• (1:14:23 – 1:24:38) Reviews: High Road and North Hollywood | Recommendations
• Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider
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• Do your shopping via our Amazon Link!

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The full list of the Summer Movie Preview 2021 – Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes

 

May 21:

Army Of The Dead (2021)

Dave Bautista leads a group of mercenaries on a dangerous mission to rob a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak.

Starring: Omari Hardwick, Chris D’Elia, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt

Directed By: Zack Snyder

 

May 28:

Cruella (2021)

Disney reimagines the 101 Dalmations villain with the help of Emma Stone, who plays the titular aspiring fashion designer whose life takes a criminal turn.

Starring: Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Joel Fry

Directed By: Craig Gillespie

 

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

This sequel to the 2018 horror hit follows up with Abbott family as they seek shelter from the film’s sound-sensitive monsters and encounter fellow survivors.

Starring: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe

Directed By: John Krasinski

 

June 4:

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

The third chapter in the original Conjuring franchise finds paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) looking into a criminal who claims he was possessed by the devil.

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook

Directed By: Michael Chaves

 

Vivo (2021)

Lin-Manuel Miranda lends his voice to (and provides the songs for) this Sony Animation film about a musical kinkajou in Cuba who helps deliver a message to his his human partner’s old flame.

Directed By: Kirk DeMicco

 

June 11:

In the Heights (2021)

Speaking of Lin-Manuel Miranda, his hit Broadway musical about the people who live in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights also gets the big-screen treatment, thanks to Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu.

Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Anthony Ramos, Jimmy Smits, Lin-Manuel Miranda

Directed By: Jon M. Chu

 

June 16:

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021)

This follow-up to the 2017 action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as bodyguard Michael Bryce, who is enlisted by Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) to rescue her husband — and Michael’s rival — Darius (Samuel L. Jackson).

Starring: Ryan Reynolds

 

June 18:

Luca (2021)

Pixar’s latest offering is a coming-of-age tale about a boy who lives on the Italian Riviera and strikes up a friendship with another boy, only to discover they are both secretly sea monsters disguised as humans.

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Maya Rudolph, Jack Grazer, Jim Gaffigan

Directed By: Enrico Casarosa

 

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)

Beatrix Potter’s mischief-prone rabbit embarks on a second adventure as Peter (James Corden) wanders away from home and makes new friends as his family comes looking for him.

Starring: James Corden, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo

Directed By: Will Gluck

 

The Sparks Brothers (2021)

Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) helms this decades-spanning documentary about brothers Ron and Russell Mael, otherwise known as the influential rock duo Sparks.

Starring: Jane Wiedlin

Directed By: Edgar Wright

 

June 25:

F9 (2021)

Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his “family” are back in another action-packed blockbuster, as Dom faces off against he brother (John Cena) he tried to leave in the past.

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges

Directed By: Justin Lin

 

June 30:

Zola (2021)  

Based on a notoriously stranger-than-fiction series of viral tweets, Zola follows a Detroit waitress who road-trips to Florida with a stripper acquaintance and ends up spending the craziest two days of her life with her.

Starring: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Colman Domingo, Nicholas Braun

Directed By: Janicza Bravo 

 

July 9:

The Forever Purge (2021)

Set after 2016’s Purge: Election Year, in which the Purge was officially abolished, this next chapter in the franchise follows a Mexican couple who become stranded on a ranch and besieged by strangers who miss the good ol’ days.

Starring: Ana de la Reguera, Leven Rambin, Susie Abromeit, Tenoch Huerta Mejía

Directed By: Everardo Gout

 

Black Widow (2021)

Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as the Avengers super-spy in this prequel film that takes place directly after the events of Captain America: Civil War and finds Natasha grappling with her past as a double agent.

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle

Directed By: Cate Shortland

 

July 16:

Escape Room 2 (2021)

Though we don’t know exactly what the premise is yet, we know that Taylor Russell and Logan Miller will return to reprise their roles and continue the story from the Saw-inspired 2019 horror-thriller.

Starring: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Isabelle Fuhrman, Thomas Cocquerel

Directed By: Adam Robitel

 

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (2021)

Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor) sets his sights on another beloved pop culture icon, Anthony Bourdain, in this profile of the late celebrity chef’s incredible life.

Directed By: Morgan Neville

 

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

A full 25 years after the original Space Jam, LeBron James puts a new spin on the story. This time, Bron is transported to a digital world and must team up with the Looney Toons to defeat an evil AI’s Goon Squad in a game of hoops. 

Starring: Sonequa Martin-Green, Don Cheadle, Martin Klebba

Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee

 

July 23:

Old (2021)

1. Night Shyamalan’s latest follows a family on vacation who discover the secluded beach where they’re relaxing is mysteriously causing them to age rapidly. It seems straightforward, but you know Shyamalan loves his twists.

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Rufus Sewell, Gael García Bernal, Embeth Davidtz

Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan

 

Snake Eyes (2021)

This spin-off of the G.I. Joe universe is an origin story for the mute ninja/commando known as Snake Eyes, with Crazy Rich Asians’ breakout star Henry Golding in the title role.

Starring: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Samara Weaving, Úrsula Corberó

Directed By: Robert Schwentke

 

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2021)

Adam Sandler won’t be returning to voice Dracula, but everyone else is back in the final chapter of this series, which will see the focus shift more to Dracula’s daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) and her human husband Johnny (Andy Samberg).

Starring: Adam Sandler

Directed By: Derek Drymon

 

July 30:

The Green Knight (2021)

Writer-director David Lowery (The Old Man and the Gun) brings us a haunting vision of the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with Dev Patel in a medieval fantasy adventure splashed with a touch of horror.

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dev Patel, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury

Directed By: David Lowery

 

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Disney unleashes its next theme park ride-inspired movie, starring Emily Blunt as a scientist who hires Dwayne Johnson’s riverboat captain to take her down the Amazon in search of the mythical Tree of Life.

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall

Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra

 

Stillwater (2021)

Matt Damon stars in director Tom McCarthy’s (Spotlight) thriller about an Oklahoma oil-rig worker who travels to Marseille, France to clear his daughter’s name when when she is imprisoned for a crime she says she didn’t commit.

Directed By: Tom McCarthy

 

August 6th:

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Director James Gunn helms this soft reboot of the famously panned 2016 DC movie, with folks like John Cena and Idris Elba joining the group of criminals who are sent to take out a Nazi-era prison in South America.

Starring: Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Idris Elba

Directed By: James Gunn (II)

 

August 13:

Free Guy (2021)

What if a non-player character (NPC) in a video game suddenly became self-aware? That’s the idea behind Free Guy, an action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as Guy, the NPC in question who decides to take his destiny into his own hands.

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery

Directed By: Shawn Levy

 

“Don’t Breathe 2” (Aug. 13, in theaters). Stephen Lang reprises the role of the turf-defending blind man. The sequel is set in the years following the initial deadly home invasion, where Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) lives in quiet solace until his past sins catch up to him.

 

Respect (2021)

Aretha Franklin gets the biopic treatment courtesy of Jennifer Hudson, who stars as the legendary singer in her youth, alongside Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, and Marc Maron.

Starring: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald

Directed By: Liesl Tommy

 

August 20:

The Night House (2021)  88%

This psychological thriller follows a recent widow (Rebecca Hall) who, now alone in the house he built for her, begins to uncover the dark secrets of his past.

Starring: Rebecca Hall

Directed By: David Bruckner

 

“PAW Patrol: The Movie” (Aug. 20, in theaters). Ryder and the pups are called to Adventure City to stop Mayor Humdinger from turning the bustling metropolis into a state of chaos.

 

August 27:

Candyman (2021)

This sequel to the 1992 horror classic takes place in the same neighborhood, now gentrified, where an artist explores the legend of Candyman in his work and unknowingly opens a door he may not be able to close.

Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo

Directed By: Nia DaCosta

 

The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

Peter Jackson returns to documentary filmmaking with this portrait of the Fab Four and the making of the 1970 album Let It Be, recut from the footage that Michael Lindsay-Hogg captured for his film, also called Let It Be.

Starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

Directed By: Peter Jackson