We’re knee-deep in summer blockbusters right now, with the latest Michael Bay effects-heavy extravaganza “Transformers” opening a few days ago, and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” “The Simpsons Movie” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” coming up fast on the horizon.
But for those of you who are really into planning and filling out those calendars early, it’s worth looking ahead to the summer blockbusters we’ll be lining up for at the multiplex a year from now. By then, of course, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Evan Almighty” and “Spider-Man 3” will just be cluttering Netflix queues and arriving on HBO.
The big enchilada for next summer is almost certain to be the fourth, long-delayed installment of the “Indiana Jones” saga. Shooting on “Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods” (that’s the working title, at least) started last month, and re-teams Harrison Ford as the whip-wielding archaeologist with director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas. The cast includes Cate Blanchett, Jim Broadbent and John Hurt and it will be released May 22.
That’s a pretty tight shooting and editing schedule, so you’ve got to figure that Spielberg and company will be pulling some late-nighters about 10 months from now.
Next May will also see the latest “Narnia” yarn, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (May 15), a remake of the sci-fi classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (May 9) and “Iron Man,” the newest comic book adaptation, this one starring Robert Downey Jr. (May 2).
Comic book heroes also are going to figure into the schedule in June and July of next year. “The Dark Knight,” the follow-up to 2005’s “Batman Returns,” is set for July 18, with Christian Bale, Michael Caine and director Christopher Nolan all coming back. Notably absent is Mrs. Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes. The green guy with anger management issues, “The Incredible Hulk,” will also be returning on June 13, this time with the estimable Edward Norton as Bruce Banner.
And any summer movie season inevitably features sequels aplenty, and a year from now we’ll have “The Mummy 3” to kick around (July 3), along with “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” (Aug. 1) and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (Aug. 
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No movie season dedicated to brainlessness, popcorn-munching and frivolity would be complete without an old TV series being exhumed and brought to the big screen, and that’s going to be the case with “Get Smart.” Steve Carrell will be playing the secret agent Maxwell Smart, with the very-easy-on-the-eyes Anne Hathaway cast as Agent 99 (June 20).
The Wachowski Brothers have been laying low since the two “Matrix” sequels in 2003, but they’re due to re-emerge next year in a live-action adaptation of the “Speed Racer” animated series. It’s set to be in theaters May 9 and will star Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci and Emile Hirsch. And no doubt director M. Night Shyamalan has been licking his wounds after last summer’s floperoo, “The Lady in the Water,” but he’ll be back a year from now with the thriller “The Happening.” It will star Mark Wahlberg and is due next June 13.
Will Smith, one of the biggest stars of the last several summers, will be in the drama “John Hancock” next July 2 along with Charlize Theron. And, as someone who absolutely despised it on stage, I have my doubts about the movie version of “Mamma Mia!,” set for release July 18, 2008. The Abba-based musical stars Meryl Streep and is produced by Tom Hanks, so there’s reason for hope, but I still have some pretty strong reservations.
