All the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, and Genre Films to Watch Out for This Summer

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)

The long-awaited, highly anticipated prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road sees Anya Taylor-Joy take over for Charlize Theron in a film that will expand George Miller’s Mad Max wasteland.

Twisters (July 19)

The long-awaited, highly anticipated sequel to the 1996 hit Twister. It’s unclear what, if any, connection there will be to the earlier film—but Twisters won’t need it considering it’s got Glen Powell starring along with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos.

Trap (August 9)

The long-awaited, highly... kidding. Seriously though, the latest film from M. Night Shyamalan looks intense. Josh Hartnett stars as a serial killer who takes his daughter to a concert only to discover the entire concert is part of a scheme to capture him.

Jackpot (August 15 on Prime Video)

Paul Feig directs this action comedy set in an alternate reality where people are allowed to kill you if you win the lottery. So a new winner (Awkafina) hires a bodyguard (John Cena) to protect her. Simu Liu plays the villain.

A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28)

The summer’s biggest horror movie is a prequel and expansion to the already popular Quiet Place franchise. Taking the action away from the suburbs and into the big city, we watch the first day the aliens with the big ears arrive from a whole new perspective. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o stars along with Stranger Things breakout and soon-to-be Fantastic Four superhero Joseph Quinn.

The Strangers Chapter 1 (May 17)

In 2008, a small film called The Strangers came out about a group of masked strangers who invade a couple’s vacation home. Where did they come from? Were they the first? The answers begin in this prequel from director Renny Harlin.

In a Violent Nature (May 31)

This Sundance horror film takes the classic structure of a masked killer hunting a group of teens and flips it. The audience follows the killer, not the teens, in what promises to be a gory time at the movies. Read our review here.

Handling the Undead (May 31)

Another unconventional Sundance horror movie, Handling the Undead follows three different stories of people dealing with the immediate grief and consequences of a loved one being turned into a zombie. Our review called it “the most somber zombie movie” ever.

The Watchers (June 7)

Before M. Night Shyamalan releases his new film, his daughter Ishana releases her feature debut about a group of relative strangers who are captured and watched by a mysterious entity. Dakota Fanning stars.

Trim Season (June 7)

Friends hoping to make some money trimming marijuana at a cabin in Northern California realize the owner of the cabin has some devilish secrets.

The Exorcism (June 21)

Russell Crowe’s new exorcism movie. No, not that new Russell Crowe exorcism movie, which is a sequel to that other Russell Crowe exorcism movie. This one stars him as an actor who begins to lose his shit while making a supernatural movie. Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, and David Hyde Pierce co-star.

MaXXXine (July 5)

The third film in Ti West’s homegrown horror franchise follows the adult film star Maxine (Mia Goth) as she takes her talents to Hollywood. Following the events of X and Pearl, anything is possible this time.

Longlegs (July 12)

Osgood Perkins, son of legendary actor Anthony Perkins, continues his methodical, impressive horror career with this story of an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) on the hunt for a serial killer. Nicolas Cage is in the film too and our hopes are very, very high.

The Last Breath (July 26)

The late Julian Sands stars in this film about a group of friends who go on a scuba trip only to get stuck in a World War II vessel and surrounded by sharks.

Cuckoo (August 9)

Hunter Schafer, Jessica Henwick, and Dan Stevens star in this creepy story of an American girl who moves to be with her father in Germany and begins to unravel a disturbing mystery while at their vacation home.

Starve Acre (July TBD)

Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark star in this period piece as parents who face some difficult challenges when their child begins acting strangely.

Alien: Romulus (August 16)

With this film set between the events of Alien and Aliens, director Fede Alvarez hopes to bring the iconic franchise back to its face-hugging, chest-bursting roots. Cailee Spaeny stars.

I Saw the TV Glow (May 17)

The critically acclaimed Sundance hit is already in theaters but opens wide this week. It stars Justice Smith as a teen whose mind, and world, is changed when a friend (Brigette Lundy-Pain) introduces him to a cult TV show.

Atlas (May 24 on Netflix)

Jennifer Lopez stars as an anti-AI scientist who is forced to trust the sentient technology when a renegade robot goes on the loose. Simu Liu and Sterling K. Brown co-star.

Latency (June 14)

A professional gamer has her hands full when she’s asked to test and advanced AI that reads her mind. Sasha Luss and Alexis Ren star.

Agent Recon (June 21)

Chuck Norris stars in this sci-fi action... wait. Did I just say Chuck Norris is in a new sci-fi film this summer? Yes, yes I did. It’ll also be on digital and on demand.

Borderlands (August 9)

After what was apparently a tumultuous production featuring multiple directors and other shuffles, the adaptation of the video game Borderlands is coming to a theater near you. The cast is stacked (Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, Jack Black) and credited director Eli Roth is always fun to watch. But, we’re skeptical.

Deadpool and Wolverine (July 26)

“Let’s fucking go.” That’s not only the battle cry for the characters in Deadpool and Wolverine, but superhero movie fans everywhere. It’s not one, not two, but three films in one that fans have long been waiting for: a third Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman teaming up, and the X-Men joining the MCU. If it’s half as fun as we’re all hoping, it’ll be unforgettable.

The Crow (August 23)

The only other major superhero film this season is this adaptation of the James O’Barr comic series starring Bill Skarsgård as the Crow, a man posthumously given superpowers to avenge his murder. It was famously adapted in 1994 with star Brandon Lee, and that film’s cult status puts a lot of pressure on this one. But we’re holding out hope for something special.

Fly Me to the Moon (July 12)

Not fantasy in the traditional sense, but Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson star in a fictional take on the space race where NASA filmed a fake version of the moon landing just in case it didn’t work. TV’s DC superman Greg Berlanti directs.

If (May 17)

Writer-director John Krasinski imagines a world where imaginary friends exist (with the voices of Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, George Clooney, and more), and a young girl and her friend (Ryan Reynolds) have to fight to save it.

Tuesday (June 7)

Icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as a mother who comes face to face with Death. But it’s not the Grim Reaper, it’s a talking bird.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (June 8-10)

Just a reminder that the original three films, in their full extended edition cuts, are being rereleased from their new 4K transfers for the first time.

Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps (July 28)

Sean Astin, Christopher Lloyd, Eddie Izzard, and others co-star in this fantasy about a man who finds out he’s been cursed to never get married and must break the spell.

Harold and the Purple Crayon (August 2)

Zachary Levi stars in the adaptation of the popular children’s book about a character who leaps off the pages with a magic crayon and begins to discover what life is like in the real world.

Robot Dreams (May 31)

An Oscar nominee this year, Robot Dreams finally hits theaters this year thanks to Neon. It’s the heartwarming tale of a world of pets in which a dog builds a robot to be its best friend

Thelma the Unicorn (May 17 on Netflix)

In this movie co-written and co-directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Thelma is a pony who dreams of pop stardom, and achieves it when she pretends to be something she’s not: a unicorn. Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, and Jon Heder provide some of the voices.

The Garfield Movie (May 24)

Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson lead a star-studded voice cast in an attempt to bring the hugely popular, lasagna-loving chunky cat back to big-screen success.

Inside Out 2 (June 14)

Pixar is back to its sequel ways, this time containing the story of young Riley and the emotions in her head. Now that she’s entering puberty, the emotions we know from the first film are suppressed by new emotions and a battle for Riley’s mind begins.

Ultraman Rising (June 14 on Netflix)

Ultraman has faced many villains in his life, but he’s never had to take care of a 35-foot-tall baby kaiju. And that’s the hook of this latest animated adventure.

Despicable Me 4 (July 3)

Groo and his minions are back as the now-growing family has to defend itself when an old foe returns. Not that the story matters anymore. Fans just want to see those wild yellow creatures do dumb stuff and if their master Groo is around? All the better.

Johnny Puff: Secret Mission (July 12)

A superhero puffin, voiced by Johnny Depp, sets off to save the world from evil.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (August 2 on Netflix)

Netflix gets its very own SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff.

io9 is a primarily sci-fi, fantasy, genre site so we don’t cover every movie. But here are a few that sort of, maybe, kind of fit in. 

Thelma (June 21)

Not traditionally an io9 movie, we just had to call this one out cause it’s so great... and has a pseudo-blend of fantasy and tech. It’s the story of a older woman (June Squibb) who sets out to get revenge after she’s victimized by a phone scam. Think The Beekeeper but it’s June Squibb instead of Jason Statham.

Space Cadet (July 4 on Prime Video)

Emma Roberts stars in what sort of sounds like a modern twist on Space Camp as a girl who lies to get herself into a highly competitive NASA program.

Blink Twice (August 23)

Catwoman herself, Zoe Kravitz, directs an odd-looking film about a billionaire (Channing Tatum) who hosts an eclectic group of friends and strangers on his island. We don’t know what’s going on but we’re intrigued.

They Listen (August 30)

Originally scheduled for release last summer, then taken off the schedule entirely, and then put back on recently, we have no idea what this Chris Weitz film is about. It stars John Cho, Katherine Waterston, David Dastmalchian, and Keith Carradine.

Y2K (TBD)

Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney co-wrote and directed this oddball comedy about friends who have to battle some sort of evil at a party on New Year’s Eve 1999. Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison star.