On the back of its thus far flawless viral marketing campaign, followed by a spooky trailer steeped in dread, Barbarian director Zach Cregger’s Weapons has emerged as a major dark horse in the summer movie season. The logline is simple: 17 kids go missing at exactly the same time in the dead of night in the same small Pennsylvania town, leaving the locals to grapple with a terrifying mystery. Speaking to the huge amount of buzz Creggers’ film has built in the movie world, the Weapons script was subject to a vicious bidding war before it went into production; soon after losing out, Get Out horror mogul Jordan Peele allegedly cut ties with his management staff. All in all, it’s about as hot as horror properties get.
2. 28 Years Later (June 20)
Rumours of a sequel in the 28 series have circulated since the release of 28 Weeks Later, which came out way-back-when in 2007. Now we finally have 28 Years Later, which looks to pick up on events almost three decades after the escape of those rage-infected chimps saw the swift collapse of the still-quarantined UK. Plot details are very much under wraps, but we know it will at least in part concern a NATO squad that travel to Northern England for yet-to-be-disclosed reasons. Plus, Jack O’Connell will appear as a cult figure, while Ralph Fiennes is playing a post-apocalyptic doctor. The first trailer was one of the best we’ve seen in years, and the second has ramped up our anticipation tenfold. There are big plans for a trilogy, with sequel The Bone Temple already in production for a January release.
1. F1 (June 27)
Look, you never know for sure, but we’d put a big bet on F1 topping the podium come the end of the summer movie season. Two reasons: firstly, it’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, who looks to replicate his Top Gun: Maverick success with another story about an aging anti-establishment hot shot going for one last dance; secondly, said hero is played by Brad Pitt, whose name remains synonymous with “box office” in the minds of most global movie goers. All told, it pretty much looks like the Top Gun sequel with race cars instead of jet planes. And that’s one formula for sure-fire success we can get behind.
This story originally appeared in British GQ.