Indie and art-house films to look forward to this summer

My Cousin Rachel, The Book of Henry and Baby Driver, among others, should fascinate movie buffs.

Rachel Weisz stars as Rachel Ashley in My Cousin Rachel. Courtesy Fox Searchlight

Blockbusters are fun, but if you fancy a change of pace, there are plenty of interesting-looking indie and art-house films coming soon, plus a few untried big-budget properties that could become the blockbuster franchises of tomorrow.

My Cousin Rachel (June 9) stars Rachel Weisz in a British period drama based on Daphne du Maurier's ambiguous tale of a mysterious woman and the naive young farmer who falls for her.

The Book of Henry (June 16) is an intriguing prospect, with Naomi Watts playing a single mother-of-two (including Room's Jacob Tremblay). Directed by Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow, before he jumps into Star Wars: Episode IX, it could be the season's sleeper hit.

The coolest movie of the summer has to be Edgar Wright's Baby Driver (June 28). The Shaun of the Dead director returns with a story about a young getaway driver, played by Ansel Elgort, with support from Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm.

Wowing audiences already on the festival circuit, British movie Lady Macbeth (July 14) has little to do with Shakespeare. Newcomer Florence Pugh stars as a 19th-century bride, who avenges herself against the family she was sold into. It is the sort of breakout indie you can expect to pick up award nominations.

For those tired of sequels and superheroes, but in need of some bonkers sci-fi, Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (July 21) certainly fits the bill. Based on a 1960s French comic-book series, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne play two peacekeeping space travellers. Pop siren Rihanna co-stars alongside a host of alien beasties.

The Dark Tower (July 28), meanwhile, is the latest Stephen King adaptation, finally bringing to the screen his epic sci-fi/fantasy/Western series. Exactly how the film relates to the books is still under wraps, the rumour is that it is a sequel of sorts rather than a retelling. With Idris Elba as a gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as a sorcerer, it looks a tasty prospect either way, whether you have read the books or not.