2025 is a packed year for the big screen, full of superhero action movies like “Thunderbolts,” “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” It’s also another year of live-action remakes and sequels, like “Lilo & Stitch” and “Wicked: For Good.” In fact, most of the movies on this list of upcoming releases are either sequels, live-action remakes, or part of a larger franchise. Sprinkled in, however, are standalone works like “Mickey 17” and “Sinners” that signify the branching out of different directors into new genres and creative exploration.
Here are some upcoming movies in 2025 that you won’t want to miss.
- “Mickey 17” (March 7)
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“Mickey 17,” starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo, is about an employee named Mickey (Pattinson), who is sent to another world with the goal of colonizing it. His particular role in the mission is as an “Expendable,” meaning he takes on all the missions that may (usually) result in death, because he can be printed out again the next day. Bong Joon-ho, the film’s director, is best known for directing the movie “Parasite” in 2019, which was the first foreign language film to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars, taking home a total of four awards just one night. The film is based off of the 2022 science fiction novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton, but Ashton has remarked that the film adaptation will deviate quite a bit from its source material.
- “Sinners” (April 18)
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Ryan Coogler, best known for directing the “Black Panther” film series, is taking his discography to a new genre with his upcoming thriller movie, “Sinners”, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Michael B. Jordan. In the film, Jordan plays two twin brothers who return home to find that things have changed, and horrors await them. Not many other details are given on the plot, but when it comes to horror movies filled with suspense, you’d want the audience to at least sit down in the theater before they already know what happens. The recently-released trailers showcase gory scenes of vampires and brutal murders, set to the soundtrack of 1920s-esque jazzy blues. Between this and “Nosferatu” in 2024, we’ll have to see if the resurgence of vampire movies within the horror genre is still to come.
- “Thunderbolts” (may 2)
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“Thunderbolts,” starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, and many more, centers around a sort of “anti-hero” group within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Former villains, such as the Winter Soldier (or Bucky Barnes) and Black Widow’s sister, Yelena, are forced to come together to fight against a new threat when the Avengers are no longer there to take it on. Given that some of the recent MCU film installments have been disappointing, such as “The Marvels” and “Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” there’s a level of warranted skepticism surrounding the movie. But the movie is also stacked with characters that for the most part have only been side characters in their other MCU projects, which poses new dynamics and character narratives.
- “Lilo & Stitch” (May 23)
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In a seemingly never ending plight of live-action remakes, Disney’s well known (and loved) “Lilo & Stitch” animated film from 2002 is getting a live-action reboot this spring. Only a small teaser has been released, as well as an advertisement during the recent Super Bowl where Stitch runs onto the field, so no actual clips from the movie have been released yet. The movie comes at a controversial time when fans are frustrated with Disney for pumping out remake after sequel instead of coming up with more original content, but if done right the movie could become a rare Disney live-action remake success such as “Cinderella” (2015) or “Beauty and the Beast” (2017).
- “How to train your dragon” (june 13)
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Another live-action remake coming out this year, “How to Train Your Dragon” is getting its remake just fifteen years after the original film in 2010. The live action film stars Mason Thames and Nico Parker as Hiccup and Astrid, and maintains the animated and cartoonish look of the dragon Toothless. Based on the minor trailers and teasers dropped so far of the film, it seems to be an exact replay of the animated film, but in live-action format. Which leaves the question: why make it? The latest installment in the animated film series, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” only came out in 2019. Given the limited information on the film though, it’ll be interesting to see what new aspects of the story a live-action take may offer such a beloved classic.
- “Jurassic world rebirth” (july 2)
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Not much is known about the seventh installation in the classic Jurassic Park series, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” other than what can be inferred from a recently released trailer. Notably, this installation differentiates itself from some of the other more recent films by not including (at least to our knowledge) any members of the original cast. Moving away from plays on nostalgia in an attempt to garner attention for the movie may be a good move though, as it takes on a different sort of plot than the rest of the series. The movie stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali as their characters seek out the prehistoric creatures located on the original research facility for the park, a forbidden area, with the goal of harvesting DNA from them that could be used to save human lives. How exactly the DNA could be used isn’t clear, but given such an exciting cast and a trailer packed with vigorous action sequences, I think it’s worth giving this sequel a chance.
- “Superman” (july 11)
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After enough Superman being cast over the years to form a Justice League of their own, the newest installment in one of the most popular superhero series is returning to the big screen with “Superman,” directed by James Gunn. David Corenswet, a relatively new name, has been cast in Superman alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Personally, I was thrilled seeing Gunn continue on with the superhero genre even outside of the MCU given the masterpiece that was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” after Marvel had dropped one disappointing film after another. Besides the initial trailer recently released, the movie also made a cameo in the “Puppy Bowl” show recently, showing James Gunn with his dog as he talked about Superman’s dog, Krypto.
- “the fantastic four: First steps” (july 25)
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After “Superman” comes another modern take on a classic film series, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” The Fantastic Four are considered the MCU’s first “super family.” And rather than another remake, this film takes us back to the 60s for the origin stories of these characters, starring Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal and Ralph Ineson as the main four. The recently released trailer has sparked tons of excitement for the film with its 60s-esque color palette and soundtrack, accompanied by stunning visuals and glimpses of action.
- “Wicked: For good” (Nov. 21)
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After “Wicked” took a musical medley to the big screen in 2024, seeing wild success in the box office and now in the ongoing season of award shows, “Wicked: For Good” is the direct sequel. It’ll pick up where the first film left off and finish the story of the “Wicked” musical, from what is known, still sticking to the original script. The film, like its predecessor, stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum and many more. Grande recently shared that the sequel will have a different tone and feeling to it than the first one, that it’ll be a bit darker and deal with the consequences of the actions in the first film. Fans of the musical and film alike are excited for the second installment and conclusion to the rendition of this classic.
- “Frankenstein” (Undated)
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Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming film, “Frankenstein,” is the latest rendition of the classic gothic horror story, starring Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth and Oscar Isaac. Who’s playing who isn’t exactly clear, but given the recent first look images released from the film, it seems that Isaac is portraying Victor Frankenstein, which means Elordi is likely playing the monster, and Goth playing Penelope. Del Toro, being best known for his rendition on the Pinochio tale in 2022, is known for his gothic take on movies such as “Crimson Peak,” with stunning visuals and a stellar cast. As more is released about the film, it’ll be interesting to see how del Toro’s rendition holds up to the original.
- “Wake up dead man: A knives out mystery” (undated)
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The third movie in the Knives Out series, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” hasn’t revealed much in terms of the plot, but we do know it’s apparently detective Benoit Blanc’s “most dangerous case yet.” Detective Blanc will return of course, played by Daniel Craig. Similarly to the last two films, the cast is stacked, to name a few: Cailee Spaeny, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington and Josh O’Connor.
- “die, my love” (undated)
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“Die, My Love,” is a horror/comedy movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson and LaKeith Stanfield, based on the 2019 novel “Die, My Love” by Ariana Harwicz. In this film, Lawrence plays a mother struggling with psychosis as she’s engulfed by her emotions. The film will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but as of now, not much else is known about it. Given Lawrence’s recent branching out into new genres and character archetypes as an actress, I’m excited to see her take on more comedy-related roles as such, and to see how the story plays out.