In a summer of remakes, will 'The Lion King' reign supreme?

The only thing new about 2019's summer movies might well be Captain Marvel's restyled coif.

A depressing thought, perhaps, but only if you're looking for something edgy, challenging, bold and original in the summer cinema.

For decades, the summer film season has relied on an ultra-risk-adverse slate of remakes, reboots, spinoffs, franchise features and big stars to boost the studios' bottom lines. Meanwhile on television, daringly unpredictable, cutting-edge series such as “Game of Thrones,” “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Stranger Things” continue to capture the public's coveted time and attention.

Should Hollywood studios be afraid that people seem to be more excited about the last season of “Game of Thrones” than the summer movies?

Maybe not, because look what's coming up:

Gotta see

<b>“The Lion King” (July 19)</b> - Normally, a CGI update of Walt Disney's animated classic would muster the same reaction as Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's “Psycho.” But director Jon Favreau pulled off an excellent CGI redo with 2016's “Jungle Book.” Expectations run high, especially with James Earl Jones again lending his pipes to Mufasa, as he did way back in 1994.

<b>“Toy Story 4” (June 21) -</b> Because “Toy Story 3” proved to be even better than No. 2, Pixar's third sequel harbors high hopes. Woody's old flame Bo Peep returns to help Woody find a missing plastic character named Forky. “Us” creator Jordan Peele joins the voice cast of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack and Keanu Reeves.

From here on, the movies get dicey, because even the pedigree of a successful franchise can't guarantee a film's popularity or quality, as “Solo: A Star Wars Story” proved. We will have to wait to see how good these so-called “safe bets” will be.

Sequels

<b>“John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum” (May 17)</b> - Insane action sequences and eye-popping production designs return as Keanu Reeves' un-retired professional assassin goes on the lam after violating the “No-Kill” zone of the Continental sanctuary for contract killers. But do we even need a plot to be enthralled by the action? Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne and Anjelica Huston also star, but the dog always gets the best scenes.

<b>

“The Secret Life of Pets 2” (June 7)</b> - I hope this animated comedy for kids doesn't follow its 2016 original film that glorified bullying and taught children that violence can solve problems quickly and efficiently. At least filmmakers hired Patton Oswalt to replace disgraced comic Louis C.K. as the voice of Max the dog.

<b>“Shaft” (June 14) -</b> Three generations of Shafts appear: Richard Roundtree (the original 1971 John Shaft), Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft II from the 2000 reboot) and Jesse T. Usher (Shaft II's son, an MIT-educated FBI agent).

<b>

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” (July 2)</b> - Wait. If Spidey turned into ashes and blew away at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War,” how can he be alive to star in this movie? Doesn't this spoil something that happens in “Avengers Endgame” for those who haven't yet seen it? Tom Holland, the best movie Spidey so far, faces off against Jake Gyllenhaal's villainous Mysterio.

Reboots

<b>“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (May 31)</b> - Another Godzilla movie? Really? Human stars Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe take a metaphorical back seat to monster superstars Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah, once again threatening to put real estate insurance companies out of business.

<b>

“Men in Black International” (June 14)</b> - Goodbye Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Hello Thor and Valkyrie, alias Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson in the fourth MB Marvel comic book movie. They investigate the assassination of an emissary from an alien government - a global hunt compromised by an alien mole in the agency.

<b>“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (June 7)</b> - A young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), a character who died in 2006's “The Last Stand,” anchors this fourth chapter in the rebooted series that started with “X-Men: First Class.” Set in 1992, the story puts Jean at odds with her fellow mutants after receiving mysterious new powers while in space.

Remakes

<b>

“Aladdin” (May 24)</b> - Will Smith didn't worry about losing his “Men in Black” gig. He picked up the Genie role in Michael Ritchie's live-action remake of Disney's 1992 animation classic starring Robin Williams. Mena Massoud plays Aladdin. Naomi Scott plays Princess Jasmine. But is the world prepared for a fantasy from the director of the lackluster films “Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Swept Away” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”?

<b>“Child's Play” (June 21)</b> - A horror tale based on the evil doll that terrorized Chicago in 1988's first franchise installment. A seemingly innocent action figure is given to a little boy by his mother (Aubrey Plaza), not realizing it harbors a homicidal entity. Brad Dourif voiced the original Chucky. Mark Hamill takes over here.

Spinoffs

<b>“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (Aug. 2)</b> - Dwayne Johnson teams with Jason Statham in this “Fast & Furious” spinoff directed by impressive stunt coordinator-turned-director David Leitch, the guy who gave us the lickety-split thriller “John Wick.”

Good bets

<b>“The Dead Don't Die” (June 24) </b>- Auteur Jim Jarmusch directs a horror-comedy about small-town cops battling the reanimated corpses of (mostly) an all-star cast, including Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Carol Kane and Rosie Perez.

<b>

“Rocketman” (May 31)</b> - Taron Egerton plays gay 1970s rock icon Elton John in a musical biography from director Dexter Fletcher, the filmmaker who stepped in (anonymously) to complete the Oscar-winning Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” after the exit of original director Bryan Singer.

<b>“Yesterday” (June 28)</b> - A global blackout wipes away Earth's memory of the Beatles, all except for a singer-songwriter named Jack (Himesh Patel), now hailed as a genius for the Fab 4 music he takes credit for. A rom-com directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis, the writer/director of the fabulous “Love Actually.”

<b>“Where'd You Go, Bernadette” (Aug. 16) -</b> Based on Maria Semple's comic 2012 bestseller, about a harried, agoraphobic mom who goes missing, the film adaptation stars Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and local product Emma Nelson. The teen - whose dad is West Dundee mayor Chris Nelson - plays Bernadette's daughter.