Lucky for us, sequel season comes early this year, with three hugely successful franchises arriving in May.

Spider-Man 3
(Opens May 4th, Sony)
Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace

Spiderman-3 kicks off summer when it swings into theatres, and fans of the 1.6 billion dollar franchise will not be disappointed. Finally, shy everyman Peter Parker (Maguire) doesn’t have to choose between his superhero responsibilities and having a personal life. In fact, things are going so well with his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Dunst), he even plans on proposing. But with obstacles such as not one, but three villains, including an alien goo that threatens to turn him to the dark side with a powerful, new black suit, Spidey has his work cut out for him. With a running time of 156 minutes, director Sam Raimi allows his characters to breathe, fleshing out the motivation behind this new crop of villains: Harry Osborn as the New Goblin (Franco), Venom (Grace) and Sandman (Haden Church) – the most visually stunning evil-doer to date. There’s plenty of moving parts to keep things interesting in this highly anticipated follow-up that stays true to the franchise. And with vivid characters, thrilling action sequences, and a litany of flawless special effects, moviegoers will be in for a treat.

Shrek the Third
(Opens May 18th, DreamWorks)
Starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas

Running a kingdom isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but when Shrek’s new father-in-law becomes deathly ill, the swamp-homesick ogre is tapped to become heir to the kingdom of Far, Far Away. With the help of his faithful companions, Donkey (Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Banderas), Shrek (Myers) must find a suitable replacement or face stuffy royal life for the rest of his days. Sadly, the only candidate for the job is Fiona’s long lost rebel cousin Artie, (Justin Timberlake) who turns out to be a high school slacker. Meanwhile, back at the palace, Fiona (Diaz) must fend off a coup d’etat from Shrek’s nemesis, the jilted Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) with the help of a gaggle of her royal girlfriends – brilliantly cast in the form of Amy Sedaris, Maya Rudolph and Cheri Oteri.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
(Opens May 25th, Buena Vista)
Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush

In this third installment that supposedly marks the end of the highly bankable trilogy, Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) forge a surprising alliance with Captain Barbossa (Rush), sailing off the map to save Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) from the murky depths of Davey Jones’ Locker. Sweetening Disney’s treasured franchise is action star Chow Yun-Fat and Rolling Stone icon Keith Richards as Jack’s father. Expect more of the same jaw-dropping effects, sprawling action sequences and bawdy humour in this final adventure that promises to have a titanic finale.

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