Summer starts strangely early this year thanks to the Disney-Marvel pop-culture machine. The studio pushed its long-awaited "Avengers: Infinity War" from May 4 to April 27, which in turn led Warner Bros. to bump its action-blockbuster "Rampage" a week earlier to last Friday _ and now the summer movie season is basically starting in early spring. Here's a look at some of the big movies coming.
'AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR' (APRIL 27)
Nearly every character who has ever appeared in a Marvel movie � from Iron Man to Nebula � will come together in this, the 19th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It involves those Infinity Stones we've been hearing about for so many years.
'DEADPOOL 2' (MAY 18)
Ryan Reynolds returns as the black-humored antihero Deadpool in this follow-up to the R-rated megahit from 2016. It's Marvel's version of its own counterculture, a rude satire of superhero cliches. Josh Brolin plays Cable, marking his second turn as a supervillain this year; he also plays Thanos in ?Avengers: Infinity War. ?
'SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY' (MAY 25)
The origin story of ace pilot Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) has had a bumpy ride. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller left the film to be replaced by Ron Howard; a teaser trailer, released in February, met with lukewarm media response; and a French artist accused Disney of plagiarizing several of his album covers for the film's posters. Nevertheless, the very idea of a stand-alone film about one of the best-loved characters in the "Star Wars" franchise would seem to guarantee a big turnout.
'OCEAN'S 8' (JUNE 8)
This all-female spinoff of the "Ocean's 11" series stars Sandra Bullock as the sister of Danny Ocean (George Clooney, in the previous films), and they apparently share a gene for masterminding heists. The intriguingly eclectic cast includes Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Awkwafina and Helena Bonham Carter.
'SICARIO 2: SOLDADO' (JUNE 29)
Denis Villeneuve's 2015 action flick "Sicario" seems an unlikely film to launch a sequel. It was a moody, downbeat crime-drama about morally dubious FBI agents chasing Mexican drug kingpins. Nevertheless, it was a critical favorite and an unexpected hit, earning a healthy $89 million worldwide. Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin reprise their roles as sketchy law enforcers in the sequel directed by Stefano Sollima.
'ANT-MAN AND THE WASP' (JULY 6)
It's about time, said Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne when she received her own superhero costume at the end of 2015's "Ant-Man." As it turns out, Wonder Woman stole a bit of her thunder, but in this sequel, van Dyne shows what she can do as The Wasp. Paul Rudd returns as the amiable Ant-Man along with Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym.
