Belated and transient, the spring has finally decided to make its splashy appearance with the sunny days; summer, by extension, is just around the corner. Well away with the haze of the pandemic that has encroached upon the film and television industry for three years, this summer will undoubtedly offer everyone a splendid feast. For me, it’s anxiously waiting for a promised thrilling ride with Christopher Nolan’s cinematic sensation Oppenheimer or Pixar’s latest entry Elemental, while at the same time eagerly anticipating the premiere of arthouse gems like Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, or Wang Bing’s Jeunesse. Though, arguably, there’s still the ordeal of finals week to survive, Street’s decided to offer you a treat of all the incoming blockbusters, returning series, and quirky originals that are set to premiere in summer 2023.
— Weike Li, Film & TV Editor
Yellowstone Season 5, Part II
Pull out your cowboy boots and dust off your hat—after a handful of months off, season 5 of Yellowstone is finally set to resume this summer! Much to the delight of viewers, we will return to the breathtaking beauty of The Yellowstone, a highly contentious ranch in Montana passed down through generations in the Dutton family. Yellowstone is a show that breathes life back into the Western genre with its saddleback gun fights, family drama, and political skirmishing. Starring famed actor Kevin Costner, the show deals with ownership, love, and loyalty all against the backdrop of a state torn between wealthy developers, ranchers, and Native Americans. It is one of the most watched shows of the year, with complexity and intrigue capable of drawing diverse audiences. Don’t miss out and catch up before Yellowstone makes its summer return.
— Jessa Glassman, Arts Beat
Barbie
She’s an astronaut, a scientist, a fashion designer, and the first female president of the United States—she’s Barbie! And this summer, she’s coming to a theater near you.
Greta Gerwig’s big campy ode to the classic plastic doll is my most anticipated movie of the summer. Out July 21, the film looks to follow Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken seemingly busting out of Barbieland for the Real World.
As a person who subjected my Barbies through copious existential crises, this is absolutely the film for me and for seven–year–old me. But even if you didn’t create elaborate tragic inner lives for your dolls, this flashy, funny, summer romcom is for everybody. It’s got great hair, beach parties, and beautiful people galore. What more could you ask for?
— Catherine Sorrentino, Film & TV Beat
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
As we await the arrival of season 3 of Netflix’s hit TV Show, Bridgerton, producers have decided to gift us a spinoff prequel to the series. Coming out May 4, 2023, the limited series, entitled Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, will tell the origin story of Queen Charlotte, the first Black monarch (although there is some historical debate about this) and beloved character in the main show. It follows Queen Charlotte, as she comes to London to marry King George III, and navigates becoming an agent of change in England. The Netflix description says, “Young Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George of England sparks an epic love story and transforms high society in this “Bridgerton” universe prequel.” Other popular characters from the main show who will appear in the spinoff include the young Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. The show will be sure to include everything we love about the original: romance, drama, and lots of string quartet versions of famous pop songs.
— Emma Marks, Film & TV Beat
Spider–Man: Across the Spider–Verse
In 2018, Spider–Man: Into the Spider–Verse’s innovative, eye–catching animation transformed Hollywood, kickstarting modern cinema’s most pervasive trend: the multiverse. The Oscar–winning, box–office surprise blended 2D hand–drawn and 3D computer animation styles to create a distinctive, comic book–like image, beckoning an animation revolution. Now, the film’s imminent sequel, Spider–Man: Across the Spider–Verse, is promising to do the same, featuring six unique animation styles, each attached to a specific Spider–Man universe.
Like Into the Spider–Verse, the sequel will explore the alternate dimensions of Marvel Comics, introducing the Spider Society, a group of Spider–People with whom Miles Morales must save the Multiverse. The first film’s colorful, dynamic array of characters—Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson)—are set to return, while characters such as Spider–Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), Spider–Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac, who appeared in a post-credits scene), and Spider–Woman (Issa Rae) are to be introduced. Together, they must deal with the threat of The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a villain with the ability to open interdimensional portals, in what promises to be another psychedelic yet poignant narrative triumph.
Not only was Into the Spider–Verse a perfect Spider–Man movie, it was a perfect superhero movie, maybe the best ever made. It’s certainly a tough act to follow, but with a star–studded cast, vibrant, game–changing animation, and America’s most beloved hero at the center, here’s to hoping Across the Spider-Verse can beat the sequel curse.
— Kayla Cotter, Film & TV Beat and Social Media Editor
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 5
The final season of this period dramedy starts airing April 14th with the first three episodes being released on Amazon Prime. But if you haven’t watched the other four seasons yet, the rest of season five is being released weekly—so if you go fast, you can probably catch up. This fast–paced, hard–hitting Amy Sherman–Palladino (of Gilmore Girls fame) show follows Midge Maisel, a late 1950s housewife from the Upper West Side of Manhattan who becomes a stand–up comic. It’s, as expected, packed with jokes, but it’s also packed with a lot of heart. If you, like me, enjoy humor, scandal, pretty fantastic set dec, Alex Borstein, old–timey New York accents, and painfully accurate representations of needling Jewish parents, this is the show for you.
— Isaac Pollock, Film & TV Beat
Joy Ride
Raunchy comedies are back in style and Joy Ride (2023) is proof of that. Starring newly Oscar–nominated Stephanie Hsu and directed by Crazy Rich Asians (2018) screenwriter, Adele Lim, Joy Ride follows four friends as their business trip to Asia goes awry and they end up undergoing a journey more intense than what they initially expected. An action–packed, humorous, and unique summer movie, Joy Ride promises to be an entertaining R–rated comedy that doesn’t shy away from its deeper themes of identity and family. Movies that revel in their ridiculousness appear to be in short supply when much of the landscape is made up of typical studio blockbusters, but Joy Ride seems to be the perfectly insane, absurd and almost preposterous summer film.
— Mollie Benn, Film & TV Beat
How Do You Live?
A decade after The Wind Rises, legendary filmmaker Miyazaki Hayao’s returning after his retirement announcement in 2013 with his newest animation work How Do You Live? that certainly has all the inklings of a final swan song. Slated to be released in Japan on July 14, 2023, How Do You Live? is an adaptation of Miyazaki’s favorite childhood book of the same title, a 1937 YA novel written by Genzaburo Yoshino exploring spiritual growth, poverty, and the meaning of life. An English translation of the book was just recently published for the first time, with a foreword by Neil Gaiman.
I was, without exaggeration, moved to tears with the announcement of the film’s title and its release date. Miyazaki Hayao has dedicated his entire career to grappling with complex notions of love, violence, hatred, kindness, always with a deeply humanitarian perspective in discovering the best of who we are and who we can be. At the culmination of a famed filmography, there’s no doubt that one must listen to what he has to say for the ultimate question of life: How do you live?
— Weike Li, Film & TV Editor
