Showbits

May is behind us, and though the year's fifth month often marks the commencement of the summer blockbuster season, this year it may have also been the industry's apex. I say this not to disregard what's still to come — for example, fans of the TV series see great promise in a new trailer for The Incredible Hulk — but more to highlight the succession of big-name, big-budget films that have already graced the silver screen: Iron Man, Speed Racer, Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones.

It's a trend that looks likely to continue, as the schedules for future Mays are already filling with release dates. Here's what we can look forward to in 2009:

• 5/1: Wolverine (prequel to X-Men)
  
• 5/8: Star Trek XI
  
• 5/15: Angels and Demons (prequel to The Da Vinci Code)
  
• 5/22: Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (aka T4)
  

Those are four powerful franchises in quick succession, giving geeks galore something to salivate over. (Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, originally slated for May 2009, has been pushed back to 26-Jun-09.)

And according to ComingSoon.net, two of last month's films already have their sequels pencilled in: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is still scheduled for May 7, 2010, only a week after Iron Man 2."

Note that the movies listed for May 2008, 2009, and 2010 are all based on existing properties — the same comment I previously made on almost the entire summer 2008 lineup. Not that that's a bad thing, but is there nothing new under the sun?

C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia, will be adapted to the silver screen in time for a May 16th, 2008 release, say the IMDb and Wikipedia.

I learned of this upcoming film only from an offhand comment in a completely unrelated blog post. I'm surprised only that I haven't heard more news about it, not that it's in development: with every Harry Potter book making its way to Hollywood, to tap only the first entry in Lewis' classic fantasy series without considering its sequels would've been unnatural. But I'm concerned at the rate of adaptation. The Potter books progressed rather rapidly, with only 18 months or so between each release. There's twice that between the first two Narnia films, which is a long time for its young cast (which is indeed returning for the sequel) to grow up. Kids age faster than adults, if you know what I mean, so I wonder how long this cast will be feasible. OTOH, the cast of the Narnia books is more mutable than the Potter novels. Future sequels will not contain the same characters, so without resorting to recasting, they can still cycle in fresh, young faces as the series progresses.

It's something to look forward to — as if next month's Potter plethora weren't enough. Which series do you prefer?