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Summer movies play it safe with sequels, prequels and remakes

Every summer comes with a glut of what Hollywood studios judge to be commercially “safe” projects, including remakes, sequels, prequels, plus features based on TV shows, comic books, games, toys, theme park attractions and anything else promising a built-in audience to calm the nerves of jittery producers.

This summer even gives us sequels to prequels and prequels to prequels, starting with Ridley Scott's “Alien: Covenant” (a sequel to a prequel).

Al Gore's “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” is a rare sequel more interested in raising awareness than box office receipts.

As far as big-budget productions go, Christopher Nolan's sweeping historical war drama “Dunkirk” looks highly promising.

Then we've got a slate of indie films and documentaries that might just give us a better view of the world than your average formula tentpole feature.

At the top: Matthew Heineman's “City of Ghosts,” a report on Syrian citizen journalists who risk their lives to document and expose abuses by the Islamic State.

If the summer movies of 2017 have a silver lining, tint it pink.

Women rock - and roll out some big cinematic guns this season, led by Sofia Coppola directing the remake “The Beguiled,” Kathryn Bigelow directing “Detroit” and Patty Jenkins heading up the comic-book-based sequel “Wonder Woman.”

Raunchy female bonding movies are on the docket, as well as estrogen action figures such as Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman. Charlize Theron's “Atomic Blonde” and Sofia Boutella's “The Mummy.”

So, here are several high-profile movies least likely to give producers pre-release ulcers this summer. Release dates are seldom etched in stone, so check listings regularly during the next three months.

<b>May</b>

“Alien: Covenant” - This sixth H.R. Giger-inspired creature feature is set 10 years after “Prometheus” and 20 years before “Alien.” Michael Fassbender's android from “Prometheus” returns with an updated twin. Double the trouble. May 19.

“Baywatch” - From “Horrible Bosses” director Seth Gordon comes this looks-to-be-wacky parody of the popular slow-motion lifeguard TV series. Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario provide the body of experience here, with “Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra as the beach baddie. May 25.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” - Javier Bardem plays a new villain in this theme-park inspired fourth sequel. He seeks revenge on Johnny Depp's Capt. Jack Sparrow. May 26.

<b>June</b>

“Wonder Woman” - Gal Gadot's Amazonian warrior teams with Chris Pine to stop a nutty German (Danny Huston) from deploying weapons of mass destruction during World War I. June 2.

"Spider-Man: Homecoming"

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” - Can a reboot be rebooted? Guess so. Tom Holland's Peter Parker is just 15 now, and his moldy old Aunt May is played by still-hottie Marisa Tomei. Be prepared for adolescent angst, with Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Keaton. June 7.

"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie"

“Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” - An animated comedy in which fourth-grade rebels (voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch) hypnotize their principal (Ed Helms) into thinking he's the superhero of their homemade comic books. Based on the children's works by author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. June 2.

“The Mummy” - Details are under wraps, but we know that Sofia Boutella makes a much more attractive mummy than Boris Karloff. She intends to destroy the world. Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe try to stop her. At least Cruise does. Not sure about the other guy. June 9.

“It Comes at Night” - In another one of those dystopian worlds, a man (Christopher Abbott) possibly infected with a deadly virus is given shelter by a well-meaning family (Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr.). June 9.

“The Book of Henry” - An 11-year-old genius (Jaeden Lieberher) springs into disturbing action when he suspects his neighbor (Maddie Ziegler) is being abused by her stepfather (Dean Norris). With Naomi Watts. June 16.

“Cars 3” - The least of the Pixar animated movie series returns with talking race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) facing stiff competition from faster, higher-tech vehicles such as evil Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). A cute coupe named Sterling (Nathan Fillion) races to McQueen's aid. June 16.

“Rough Night” - When five female friends accidentally kill a male stripper during a wild bachelorette party, Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Zoë Kravitz and Ilana Glazer do their best to outgross “The Hangover,” “Bridesmaids” and “Snatched.” With humor, of course. June 16.

"Transformers: The Last Knight"

“Transformers: The Last Knight” - The fifth installment in one of the least inspiring cinematic franchises ever brings back Mark Wahlberg plus Hot Rod the Autobot and Anthony Hopkins. The plot? Seriously? June 23.

"Baby Driver"

“Baby Driver” - Yes, you baby boomers, the song by Simon and Garfunkel inspired the title of this action thriller directed by Edgar “Shaun of the Dead” Wright, starring Ansel Elgort as a getaway-car driver. With Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx. June 28.

“Despicable Me 3” - Steve Carell doubles his workload in this next installment of the animated franchise both as Gru and his long-lost twin brother, Dru. Gru and new wife (Kristen Wiig) meet a has-been child star (Trey Parker) who can't let go of the 1980s. Cue the soundtrack from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” June 30.

“The House” - Cash-strapped parents of a college-bound daughter come up with a zany plan to raise educational funds: turn their suburban home into an illegal casino. Doesn't sound funny until you add Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler as the parents, and Jason Mantzoukas as the guy who sells them on the idea. June 30.

“The Beguiled” - Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this remake of a 1971 Clint Eastwood Civil War thriller about a wounded Union soldier whose sexual manipulations miff students and staff at the Southern boarding school that took him in. With Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst. June 30.

<b>July</b>

“War for the Planet of the Apes” - Caesar the chimpanzee (again played by Andy Serkis with help from motion-capture technology) battles Woody Harrelson's inhuman human colonel. July 14.

“A Ghost Story” - A strange tale of a widow (Rooney Mara) haunted by the spirit of her late husband (Casey Affleck, draped in a white sheet with two eye holes poked out) who hangs around the house like a load of laundry. July 14.

"Dunkirk"

“Dunkirk” - Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh star in Christopher Nolan's epic recreation of the World War II battle on a French beach where 300,000 Allied soldiers were rescued by volunteers on fishing boats, fire ships, barges and other vessels from the Nazis. A true story, too. July 21.

"Girls Trip"

“Girls Trip” - Oh, oh. Five more female friends hit New Orleans' Essence Music Festival for a good time. And wind up competing with “Rough Night” for the same audience looking for raunchy comedy. With Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kate Walsh, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish. July 21.

“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” - Writer-director Luc Besson trains his comic book sensibility on a French series about a space cop (Dane DeHaan, who still looks like Leonardo DiCaprio's little bro) and his sidekick (Cara Delevingne) who protect their humongous space station from a mysterious threat. July 21.

“Atomic Blonde” - Stuntman David Leitch, director of the amazing “John Wick” films, directs Charlize Theron as a secret agent in an action-packed, graphic-novel-inspired thriller with James McAvoy and Sofia Boutella. July 28.

<b>August</b>

"Detroit"

“Detroit” - “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty” director Kathryn Bigelow examines the infamous 1967 riot in Detroit where police and the National Guard clashed violently with black residents, killing dozens and injuring more than 1,000 people. John Boyega, Algee Smith and Will Poulter star. Aug. 4.

"The Dark Tower"

“The Dark Tower” - Nikolaj Arcel's adaptation of Stephen King's sci-fi/western-fantasy books stars Idris Elba as Gunslinger, who's pursued, along with a young boy (Tom Taylor), across the desert by Matthew McConaughey's Man in Black. Aug. 4.

“Annabelle: Creation” - After giving us the fits with his horror tale “Lights Out,” Swedish director David F. Sandberg picks up the prequel to the horror doll hit “Annabelle,” a prequel to “The Conjuring.” Aug. 11.

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