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23 new family movies coming out this summer
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Jude Law as Vortigern in "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword." - photo by Jeff Peterson
This summers looking just like all the ones before sequels and superhero movies as far as the eye can see, aliens, a ridiculous number of gorgeously rendered scenes of cities tumbling to the ground and explosions. And, of course, a smattering of 3-D animated movies for the kiddos.

Been there, done that.

For movie fans, however, theres always something exciting about the summer movie season, when Hollywood pulls out all the stops for its biggest, most bombastic productions, each year pushing the limits of what film can do and hopefully telling some good stories along the way.

And this year, there's a lot to be excited about. From a potentially epic first solo adventure for Wonder Woman to a new Mummy movie (and hopefully the start of a brand-new monster-centric movie-verse) to more Minions, there's something for just about every taste.

So, without further ado, heres a guide for families to this years summer movie lineup.

May

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword The always-stylish Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) directs this modern update of the Arthurian legends, exploring the once and future kings origins as a street-smart drifter reluctantly awakened to his destiny. Charlie Hunnam stars.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content and brief strong language

Release date: May 12

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul A Heffley family road trip goes spectacularly wrong when Greg tries to turn it into a trip to a video game convention.

MPAA rating: PG for some rude humor

Release date: May 19

Everything, Everything Based on the book by Nicola Yoon, this young adult adaptation follows the budding romance between a girl who, due to a rare disease, has to stay inside her hermetically sealed home and the boy who moves in next door.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief sensuality

Release date: May 19

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow. This time, the pirate-hunting ghost of his former nemesis Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) is hunting him, and his only chance of survival is the Trident of Poseidon and maybe a few familiar faces, too.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence and some suggestive content

Release date: May 26

June

Wonder Woman The best part of DCs cinematic universe so far finally gets her own movie, an origin story set during World War I. Chris Pine co-stars.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action and some suggestive content

Release date: June 2

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Faced with being put in separate classes as punishment for their over-the-top pranks, two best friends use hypnosis to convince their principal hes a superhero in this adaptation of the popular kids book series by Dav Pilkey.

MPAA rating: PG for mild rude humor throughout

Release date: June 2

The Mummy This is a re-imagining of the classic Universal monster movie set in the modern day, starring Sofia Boutella as the Mummy and Tom Cruise as the unfortunate guy who has to stop her.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG-13)

Release date: June 9

My Cousin Rachel This is an adaptation of a novel by Daphne du Maurier, who also wrote the Hitchcock classics The Birds and Rebecca. Convinced his guardian was murdered by his cousin, the beautiful, beguiling Rachel (Rachel Weisz), a man goes seeking revenge only to find his obsession taking an unexpected turn.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for some sexuality and brief strong language

Release date: June 9

Megan Leavey This is a true story about a marine (Rooney Mara) in Iraq and the combat dog she forms a special bond with.

MPAA rating: N/A

Release date: June 9

Cars 3 Lightning McQueen returns to the race circuit to prove hes still got it in this Pixar threequel.

MPAA rating: G

Release date: June 16

The Book of Henry Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Last Jedi helmer Colin Trevorrow takes a break from dinosaurs and lightsabers for this dramatic thriller about a mother (Naomi Watts) whose genius son (Jaeden Lieberher) uncovers a horrible truth and sets in motion a plan to stop it.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language

Release date: June 16

Transformers: The Last Knight What could be better than a second King Arthur movie in one summer? How about a King Arthur movie with giant shape-shifting robots?

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG-13)

Release date: June 23

Amityville: The Awakening: A down-on-her-luck single mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) moves with her three kids into the infamous Amityville house. Her luck does not improve.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for disturbing horror violence and terror, suggestive images, brief language and thematic material

Release date: June 30

Despicable Me 3: Steve Carrell takes on double duty this time around, voicing both Gru as well as his more attractive, more successful long-lost twin brother Dru, as the two team up for one last heist.

MPAA rating: PG for action and rude humor

Release date: June 30

July

Spider-Man: Homecoming Not quite an official Avenger yet, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is still just trying to survive high school and save New York from a villain named the Vulture (Michael Keaton) in the webheads first solo outing as part of the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. co-stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG-13)

Release date: July 7

War for the Planet of the Apes After suffering catastrophic losses that put the future of the apes in jeopardy, Caesar (Andy Serkis) is pitted against a bloodthirsty human colonel (Woody Harrelson) as each of them fights for the survival of their species.

MPAA rating: N/A (probable PG-13)

Release date: July 14

Dunkirk Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, this war drama tells the incredible story of a pivotal moment in the early days of World War II. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance and Cillian Murphy lead an ensemble cast.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense war experience and some language

Release date: July 21

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets The Fifth Element director Luc Besson returns to epic sci-fi spectacle with this colorful adaptation of a French comic series. Dane DeHaan stars as the titular Valerian with Cara Delevingne as Laureline, a pair of spatio-temporal agents racing to protect a city housing the knowledge and culture of countless alien civilizations.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG-13)

Release date: July 21

The Emoji Movie This is a movie about the hidden world inside your phone. Think Wreck-It Ralph but with emojis. It features the voices of T.J. Miller, Anna Faris and James Corden, among others.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG)

Release date: July 28

Brigsby Bear Filmed in Utah, this offbeat Sundance comedy stars Saturday Night Live cast member Kyle Mooney as a stunted 25-year-old obsessed with making a fake educational kids show from his unconventional childhood into a reality for everyone.

MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, brief sexuality, drug material and teen partying

Release date: July 28

August

The Dark Tower This is an adaptation of Stephen Kings sprawling, ambitious series of sci-fi/fantasy/Western books. Idris Elba stars as the Gunslinger, a man questing for the Dark Tower in the hopes of saving his world. Matthew McConaughey co-stars as the Man in Black.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG-13)

Release date: Aug. 4

The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature This is a sequel to the 2014 3-D animated movie starring Will Arnett as Surly the Squirrel. This time, Surly and friends have to band together to stop plans for building an amusement park right on top of where they live.

MPAA rating: N/A (probably PG)

Release date: Aug. 11

Leap! Flying under the radar is this Canadian/French 3-D animated movie featuring the voices of Elle Fanning and Dane DeHaan about an orphan girl who runs away to Paris in the hopes of making it as a ballerina.

MPAA rating: PG for some impolite humor and action

Release date: Aug. 30