Hollywood heroes are expanding their age demographic this summer.
With a new karate kid, a middle-aged iron man, the return of the school girl-teen wolf-vampire love triangle, and a 1,500-year-old sorcerer, studios seem to have something for everyone from 9 to 999.
The busy season starts May 7 with Robert Downey Jr. in heavy-metal mode again in “Iron Man 2,” as the billionaire inventor turned superhero fights public pressure to share his technology and faces a new enemy (Mickey Rourke) with his own arsenal of gadgets.
Things never get easier, for an action hero or an actor hoping his sequel can outdo his blockbuster original.
“I just thought it was going to be easier and more fun, but I thought, you know what? Maybe you’ve got to really roll up our sleeves,” Downey said. “We had to really, really, really redouble our efforts to kind of make it something that seemed it would stand next to the first one.”
Hollywood’s onslaught continues with something new on the action and fantasy front virtually every weekend.
Along with Iron Man, there are other familiar characters, led by Bella, Edward and Jacob, the lovesick threesome played by Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (releasing June 30). Part three has Bella preparing for high school graduation amid a string of killings, vengeful bloodsuckers and her choice of a prom date — vampire Edward or werewolf Jacob.
Other old friends: “The A-Team” (June 11), an update of the TV show with Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel in a tale of ex-Special Forces soldiers trying to clear their names after a frame-up; “The Last Airbender” (July 2), M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation of the TV cartoon about a youth with mystical powers that can reunite four warring nations; “The Karate Kid” (June 11), a remake starring Jaden Smith as an American youth who becomes a martial-arts underdog with help from an unorthodox mentor (Jackie Chan); and “Robin Hood” (May 14), Ridley Scott’s new take on the 13th century hero, with Russell Crowe as the wily bandit and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian.
Scott said he aimed to tell a story about a real man coming home to England from the wars, rather than the glossy legend that Robin Hood has become.
“He’s a guy who’s been on the road, as opposed to a guy walking around with a feather in his hat and wearing a little green skirt. I never liked that Robin Hood. I couldn’t buy it,” Scott said. “The film starts to build the process of how Robin becomes Robin Hood. In a funny way, it’s like a prequel to Robin Hood.”
Amid the familiar titles, Hollywood has a few new heroes coming. Angelina Jolie stars in “Salt” (July 23) as a CIA agent out to prove her innocence after a defector denounces her as a Russian spy.
Also on the run is Jake Gyllenhaal in producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s video-game adaptation “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (May 28), about an adopted royal falsely accused of murder and battling for a magic dagger that can alter time.
Nicolas Cage reunites with “National Treasure” creators Bruckheimer and Jon Turteltaub for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (July 16), playing an ancient wizard who takes on a protege (Jay Baruchel) in modern times to fight a scheming enemy.
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz join up for “Knight and Day” (June 25), an action comedy about a rogue agent who drags a bystander into a deadly globe-trotting adventure of car chases, gunplay — and, of course, unexpected romance.
“There’s a moment where he could let me go out of it. It’s this moment that he decides. This is where the love story comes in,” Diaz said.
With Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Inception” (July 16), director Christopher Nolan returns to the same midsummer weekend that brought his blockbuster Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” two years ago. DiCaprio stars as a man using technology to enter people’s dreams and steal their ideas.
Since Nolan conceived the story a decade ago, technology has advanced in a way that makes the central notion — sneaking into other people’s minds — more resonant for audiences, he said.
“There are concepts in the telling of the tale to do with alternate realities, to do with the way you would navigate through somebody else’s mind, that are very analogous to the way that you use even your iPod or menu systems. The way the Internet links people together,” Nolan said. “I think it was a more alien idea 10 years ago.”
Other action and fantasy highlights:
• “Predators” (July 9): Adrien Brody heads a band of human warriors stalked by alien hunters in this revival of the 1980s sci-fi franchise.
• “Jonah Hex” (June 18): Josh Brolin and Megan Fox star in a supernatural Western about a gunslinger tracking a villain who aims to unleash hell.
• “The Adjustment Bureau” (July 30): Matt Damon’s a politician battling mysterious forces aiming to squelch his romance with a ballerina (Emily Blunt).
• “The Expendables” (Aug. 13): Sylvester Stallone directs and stars alongside Jet Li and Jason Statham in a tale of mercenaries betrayed on a mission.
• “Killers” (June 4): The honeymoon’s over for newlyweds in this action comedy about a wife (Katherine Heigl) who learns her husband (Ashton Kutcher) is a hit man.
• “Takers” (Aug. 20): A cop (Matt Dillon) takes on a team of expert bank robbers (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy).
• “Piranha 3D” (Aug. 27): Spring break becomes feeding time at a lake resort besieged by prehistoric man-eating fish.
• “Beastly” (July 30): A teen take on “Beauty and the Beast” stars Vanessa Hudgens as the key to salvation for a youth (Alex Pettyfer) hideously transformed by a curse.
• “Splice” (June 4): Genetic researchers (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) create a sexy but dangerous hybrid out of human and animal DNA.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More