It’s not every month you get three huge sequels arriving in cinemas that all look pretty damn good. June will see the Australian releases of Ocean’s 8, The Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Here’s what you need to know about all three.
Ocean’s 8 (June 7)
It’s the all-female Oceans 11 spin-off, fronted by a stellar cast including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson and Helena Bonham Carter. According to online buzz, there will be lots of cameos to give the film even more female oomph, from the likes of Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, Katie Holmes and Kylie Jenner.
In Ocean’s 8, Bullock plays Debbie Ocean, a professional bank robber whose brother is the famous conman Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney in the recent films and Frank Sinatra in the 1960 original). She and an expert crew attempt to orchestrate the ‘heist of the century’ at the annual, star-studded Met Gala in New York. Director Gary Ross steers the ship, taking over from the previous series director, Steven Soberbergh.
The Incredibles 2 (June 14)
The 2004 family film The Incredibles remains one of Pixar’s most beloved movies (even though they have a lot of beloved movies). This belated sequel was written and directed by Brad Bird, who also wrote and directed the original. Bird has floated the possibility of a sequel since as early as 2007.
The Incredibles 2 resumes where the first film ended. The Parr family struggle to maintain ordinary lives, with Mr. Incredible staying at home and caring for the children, including Baby Jack-Jack. This involves discovering Jack-Jack’s superpowers.
According to Bird, one of the key challenges in making this movie involved differentiating it from the pack, given there are so many superhero films these days. In the same interview, while discussing the length of time between drinks for The Incredibles movies, he said: “It makes no financial sense to wait this long. It’s sheerly we had a story we wanted to tell.”
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 21)
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the dinosaur park is back up and running. This time nothing goes wrong. The creatures stay inside their enclosures, business is good, and everybody stays safe.
OK, maybe not. In the second of a planned Jurassic World trilogy, Chris Pratt returns as Owen Grady, a former dinosaur trainer who has to deal with a whole lot of intense things. Such as…escaped dinosaurs. The story of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes place where its predecessor left off, with the titular theme park destroyed, and the dinosaurs roaming freely on the island.
An impending volcanic eruption threats their existence, so Grady and his girlfriend (Bruce Dallas Howard) launch an attempt to try and save them. Things don’t go exactly right, and a large and intelligent dino embarks on a reign of terror.
