The new year brings a brand-new slate of movies. While we might still be reeling from 2024’s hits such as Challengers and We Live in Time, 2025 promises another impressive collection of films. Let’s take a look ahead.
Sequels and reboots:
2025 is set to be the year of the franchise, starting in January with Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man, a Universal monster movie similar to his 2020 feature The Invisible Man. Horror fans can also head to theatres on June 29 to see Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, the next installment of the zombie franchise featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and possibly a zombified Cillian Murphy.
Following it on June 27 is Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN 2.0 with Allison Williams reprising her role. Some secretive upcoming installments include Zootopia 2 (Nov. 26), Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 (Dec. 5), TRON: Ares (Oct. 10) and The Naked Gun (Aug. 1) directed by The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer. Alongside these is James Gunn’s Superman movie set to release on July 11.
Two of the most highly anticipated franchise installments of 2025 are Avatar: Fire and Ash, and Wicked: For Good. James Cameron ends the year with the third movie in his Avatar franchise on Dec. 19, while Jon M. Chu precedes it with the second part of the successful adaptation of Wicked on Nov. 21.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed franchise to follow in 2025, you can catch Paddington in Peru on Feb. 14, directed by Dougal Wilson and with Ben Whishaw returning as the voice of Paddington Bear.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):
This year, Marvel Studios has three movies slated to be released in 2025. The first MCU movie of 2025 is Captain America: Brave New World, directed by Julius Onah and set to be released on Feb. 14. This film marks Anthony Mackie’s first movie in the titular role. On May 2, Marvel Studios will release Thunderbolts*, featuring various MCU characters such as Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes.
The biggest MCU movie of 2025 is Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Another reboot on this list, the film will see Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards leading the team against Ralph Ineson’s Galactus. The movie is set to be released on July 25.
Live-Action Remakes:
As per usual, audiences can expect a few live-action remakes in 2025. The first live-action remake is less of a remake and more of a video game movie. Audiences can see Jack Black in A Minecraft Movie, releasing on April 4. Audiences aren’t overly hopeful about the movie’s quality, but it might at least be fun to watch.
On May 23, Lilo & Stitch is getting the Disney live-action treatment and is directed by Dean Fleicher Camp. The images so far seem promising and feature Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Chris Sanders returning as the voice of Stitch. Kicking off the summer on June 13 is the long-awaited live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. Directed by Dean DeBlois, the same director as the original filmand starring Mason Thames as Hiccup, the film will hopefully be a nostalgic love letter to the animated original.
Standalone Movies:
2025 also has an impressive list of standalone movies, starting on Jan. 10 with the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man and Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl starring Pamela Anderson. January will end with Companion, a horror romance starring Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher.
Following Companion, Jack Quaid returns later in the year for his action-comedy Novocaine on March 14. The latest standalone movie on this list Mickey 17 (Apr. 18) comes from Robert Pattinson and Parasite director Bong Joon-ho. In this sci-fi comedy Pattinson plays a series of clones sent on dangerous and intergalactic missions. With a large variety of movies coming out this year, there’s something for everybody.
Contributed Photo/ Warner Bros. Pictures on Youtube. The Minecraft Movie, releasing on April 4.
