When the first trailer for the long-awaited reunion of Ryan Reynolds and Australian actor Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine hit the internet in April, its worldwide fandom couldn’t wait to unpack potential plot lines, surprise cameo appearances and Marvel MCU villains.

In cinemas July 26, CinemaBlend‘s movie expert Mike Reyes reckons Deadpool 3 is “bound to be crammed with a huge amount of easter eggs, cameos, and connections between MCU past, present and future”.

He’s spotted two X-men movie characters, a temple built within a giant dead Ant-Man, and speculates Blade‘s Wesley Snipes and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra could weave their magic in some form.

At one point, the two heroes jump through a portal – different to a Time Variance Authority doorway – which tends to suggest the pair “drop into key moments” in MCU’s first four Avengers outings.

Given it is Marvel’s only franchise film this year, Reyes says “one could assume this hearty beast will take some time to digest”.

In a bid to get cinema back on track with blockbusters like Deadpool after the infamous US writers and actors strike last year, several of the major Hollywood studios are finally delivering on original and clever movies to get us all through our winter.

Austin Butler, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning hit, returns in The Bikeriders alongside a gritty Tom Hardy, delivering a story loosely based on the Chicago Outlaws from the 1960s.

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum join forces to fake the moon landing with a plot-line set around NASA’s Apollo 11 landing, and Kevin Costner finally gets a chance to show off his next big cowboy movie after abandoning any future with Yellowstone.

And remember the original 1996 Twister movie starring storm-chasers Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton?

There’s a stand alone sequel, and it’s all about climate change.

Fly Me to the Moon, July 11

Described as “a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing”, Johansson plays marketing expert, Kelly Jones, who is directed by the White House to stage a fake moon landing if the mission blew up.

Set in 1969, NASA was dealing with a poor reputation and public image, and competition from the Russians.

Tatum plays launch director Cole Davis and the supporting cast is headlined by none other than Woody Harrelson of Hunger Games and Zombieland fame.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, July 4

We now know why Oscar winner Kevin Costner had to drop out of Yellowstone, as he directs and stars in a “multi-faceted chronicle, spanning 15 years of pre-and post-Civil War expansion” and settlement of the American West.

“Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue and explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won – and lost – through blood, sweat and tears,” reads the official synopsis.

Pitched as a “true cinematic event”, Costner’s story of America will have multiple chapters, and has an ensemble cast including Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington.

The Bikeriders, July 4

Following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members, 20th Century Studios and New Regency has delivered one big action thriller.

Starring Jodie Comer, Butler and Hardy, the film is inspired by bike enthusiast and biker Danny Lyon, who chronicled the life of an American biker in pictures in a 1968 book of the same name.

“Cleverly nodding to the raucous style of Goodfellas, The Bikeriders is a gangster movie and road movie all at once, swapping mobs and Italian restaurants for hogs and dive bars,” writes Men’s Health.

Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, July 4

Over 45 years Midnight Oil helped shape modern Australia – remember the “Sorry” t-shirts they wore at the 2000 Sydney Olympics? –  and this is their trailblazing story for the first time on film.

Sunflower, July 4

A semi-autobiographical movie set in Melbourne, this is the story of 17-year-old Leo who leads a seemingly typical suburban life but keeps deep secrets about his sexuality.

Twisters, July 11

Universal Pictures is finally delivering on its promise of a sequel to to the 1996 blockbuster Twister, after the teaser was shown during Super Bowl LVIII in February.

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, known for his Oscar-nominated work on Minari, this adrenaline-fueled thriller stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick).

Edgar-Jones portrays Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by past encounters with tornadoes, now drawn back into the fray by the promise of a revolutionary tracking system.

Powell is Tyler Owens, a charismatic storm chaser who thrives on the thrill of the chase, and together, they head into the perfect  Oklahoma storm.

Kinds of Kindness, July 11

If you were a fan of Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe in Poor Things last year, director Yorgos Lanthimos has got the gang back for “a triptych fable”.

It follows a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life, a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person, and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.