A summer of action and adventure

With “Iron Man” kicking off the increasingly misnamed summer movie season on Friday, we’ve prepared a sampling of some of the films that seem most likely to beckon butts into theater seats as the season gets under way. Hollywood is fickle, so release dates are subject to change.

May 9

“Speed Racer” — The classic Japanese animated series comes to life in this adaptation directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, their first movie since 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions.” Starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon.

May 16

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” — The second “Chronicles” film, “Prince Caspian” picks up a year after the Pevensie children’s first adventure in Narnia. When they return, they find more than 1,000 years have passed there and a villainous king is keeping the rightful heir from the throne.

May 22

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” — Indy puts on his fedora and unwinds his whip for one more adventure in this long-awaited sequel starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett.

May 30

“Sex and the City: The Movie” — The big-screen adaptation of the frankly adult HBO comedy series reunites the main cast, though the word is that a prominent character will die in the course of the film.

June 6

“You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” — Adam Sandler plays an Israeli soldier who fakes his death to open a salon in New York. Co-written by Sandler, Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel.

“Kung Fu Panda” — A lazy animated panda voiced by Jack Black — who else? — must train in the martial arts to defeat an evil warrior and fulfill a prophecy.

June 13

“The Incredible Hulk” — Edward Norton takes on the role Bruce Banner and his angry green giant alter-ego in this reboot of the franchise, which disregards Ang Lee’s 2003 take on the character.

“The Happening”— M. Night Shyamalan’s next film ditches the fairy-tale style of “Lady in the Water” for a return to the suspenseful storytelling that built his career, this time with an apocalyptic crisis.

June 20

“Get Smart” — Steve Carell is Maxwell Smart in this revival of the goofy 1960s spy parody show. Also starring Anne Hathaway and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

June 27

“Wall-E”— Pixar’s nearly dialogue-free animated film is about a robot — the only one remaining of what was supposed to be legions working to clean up a trash-covered Earth. This lonely rover falls in love with a probe robot sent to check up on progress of the cleanup.

July 4

“Hancock” — Will Smith as a publicly hated, alcoholic superhero who teams up with a publicist to rehabilitate his image.

July 11

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” — Directed by Guillermo del Toro, recently named to helm the upcoming “Hobbit” duology, “Hellboy II” pits the dry-witted demon against an army of mythical creatures out to destroy humanity. Ron Perlman reprises the title role, and he’ll be joined by co-stars Selma Blair and Doug Jones.

July 18

“The Dark Knight” — Heath Ledger is dead, but his Joker lives on to torment Christian Bale’s Batman in this highly anticipated sequel. Look for Aaron Eckhardt as Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, later known as the villainous Two-Face.

July 25

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe”— Mulder and Scully have been absent a long time, but late this summer they’ll return in the second “X-Files” movie. Plot details are sketchy, but the film picks up in the present day as the agents are called on to help solve a new case.

— Justin Hoeger