2025 is well and truly here (and somehow already a month in?!), meaning there’s a whole new set of films on the way to get us excited.
It’s early days though, as there are sure to be some cinematic gems that get announced later in the year at film festivals and at quite short notice on streaming platforms.
There are a lot of films on our radar, and we are waiting with bated breath for their release. Avatar 3: Fire And Ash, for example, will be hitting the big screen after a three-year hiatus for the film series. Yorgos Lanthimos released two films last year, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, and it seems that he is still on a roll with his newest movie Bugonia set to come out at the tail end of 2025.
However, these are the films that have got us buzzing with anticipation, whether its Ari Aster's new horror release Eddington or Bong Joon Ho's first directing role since Parasite.
The Monkey
Words by Alastair Stevenson
I’ve detailed why I think horror is a fantastic genre that, when done right, can truly showcase why audio is often equally as important as what’s on screen when drawing an emotive response out of the viewer. And that’s why I’m super excited about The Monkey, which is set to hit cinemas at the end of February.
Based on a short story by Stephen King, it is set to tell the story of twin brothers who discover a haunted monkey toy. The story itself isn’t top in many fan’s list of the iconic author’s best works for good reason – read it and you’ll see what I mean. But the fact the film is being directed by Oz Perkins, who’s responsible for Longlegs, a stellar horror that uses audio to build a sense of suspense and dread terrifyingly well, means that I can’t help but get a little excited. That’s why I’ve already got my wallet ready to book a ticket at a cinema I know has a decent audio set-up.
Release date: February 2025
Mickey 17
Words by Kashfia Kabir
From Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho comes this sci-fi adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel, where Robert Pattinson plays an “expendable” – the term given to disposable crew members on particularly dangerous space missions, as they can be ‘renewed’ if their body dies but with most of their memories still intact. One of these iterations, Mickey 17, inexplicably survives and goes head to head with its replacement, and shenanigans ensue. There are echoes of a similar concept seen in Duncan Jones’s more contemplative and lonely Moon (2009), but Mickey 17 has a wildly different energy. The trailer is punchy, surprisingly action-heavy and with the blend of satirical bite and black comedy we’ve come to expect from Bong Joon-ho, while Pattinson’s wide-eyed innocence is mixed with a manic, anarchic energy – it feels like it’ll be an exhilarating and weird ride.
Release date: March 2025
28 Years Later
Words by Tom Parsons
With the greatest respect to my esteemed colleagues, 28 Years Later is clearly the only correct answer to the question of what is the most exciting upcoming film of 2025. A sequel to 28 Weeks Later (itself a sequel to 28 Days Later) has been in the offing since way back in 2007, and those of us who have grown weary of waiting are being rewarded: 28 Years Later is just the first of three new entries in the British zombie horror series.
All of the three new films have been written by the brilliant Alex Garland, who wrote the first movie and is simply one of the best writers (The Beach) and directors (Ex Machina) of his generation, and this first movie is being directed by Danny Boyle, who of course directed 28 Days Later and a whole load of other awesome films besides.
As the name suggests, the events of 28 Years Later occur 28 years after the outbreak of the ‘rage’ virus that turns people into mindless, blood-thirsty animals. The story is focused on a father and son who must leave the relative safety of their island community and venture deep into the infected mainland.
Danny Boyle is known for pushing the film-making envelope (remember how revolutionary Slumdog Millionaire was at the time?), so I’m expecting a movie that looks and sounds stunning – and is, of course, heart-pumpingly terrifying.
Release date: June 2025
Superman
Words by Andy Madden
As someone whose first memory of Superman was watching the legendary Christopher Reeve take on Terence Stamp’s General Zod, I’ve been pretty disappointed by recent efforts to reboot everyone’s favourite red-pants-wearing superhero.
But maybe, just maybe, 2025 will be the year Superman saves the world and DC gives the franchise a huge shot in the arm. First impressions are promising with the trailer giving us a good glimpse of David Cornswet (House Of Cards, The Politician) as both the bumbling, satchel-wielding Clarke Kent and his alter-ego, complete with slicked-back hairpiece of steel.
You can see the influence of having James Gunn (Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker) at the helm, with a bright, punchy and extremely colourful picture seemingly on the cards plus epic action sequences and an interesting collection of characters to get to know.
And the soundtrack. Let’s not forget about one of the most iconic themes in cinema, never mind superhero movies. The brief snippet used in the teaser trailer certainly gave me goosebumps and I’m excited to hear just how John Murphy (Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3) puts his spin on proceedings. Fingers crossed it doesn’t turn out to be my Kryptonite.
Release date: July 2025
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Words by Harry McKerrell
When the first Fantastic Four movie arrived in 2005, critics and audiences alike all but dismissed it (and its Rise Of The Silver Surfer sequel) as little more than lightweight fluff for the popcorn-munching masses. That was until 2015’s Miles Teller-fronted disaster-piece of a reboot landed with all of the grace and poise of a dead body thrown from a 12th-floor window, and made the original films look positively Shakespearean by comparison.
Superhero flick fans everywhere, then, are praying that this time, surely, surely, they can’t foul it up again for one of the globe’s most iconic heroic quartets. Fronted by the talents of Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby and helmed by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, could 2025’s optimistically titled Fantastic Four: First Steps be the sparkling redemptive adventure we’ve been waiting for?
Release date: July 2025
Tron: Ares
Words by Lewis Empson
I'll lay my cards out on the table here; I'm a huge fan of Tron Legacy. Is the 2010 sci-fi action flick a great movie? Probably not, on account of its messy plot and creepy de-aged Jeff Bridges; but I remember being mesmerised by its neon visuals, enthralling action scenes and, most importantly, exceptional soundtrack crafted by the legendary (and sadly now defunct) French DJ duo Daft Punk.
So, when a third iteration was announced, it quickly became my most anticipated film of 2025. News began flooding in, including the casting of Jared Leto – who is either in masterpieces like Blade Runner 2049, or less well-received flicks such as Morbius – alongside the likes of Gillian Anderson (The X Files), Evan Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Greta Lee (Past Lives), and, of course, Jeff Bridges is returning for the new movie.
I'm ready for more dazzling visuals and a new electronic soundtrack, this time helmed by the legendary Nine Inch Nails in all their glory. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed some of my favourite soundtracks of all time, including The Social Network, HBO's Watchmen, and more recently Challengers – so my expectations are understandably high.
Release date: October 2025
The Running Man
Words by Joe Svetlik
Stephen King was unhappy with the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 adaptation of his 1982 novel. Main character Ben Richards is described as scrawny in the book, so you can see where King was coming from. But then the Arnie version is a very different beast to King’s source novel, complete with Roger Moore-style quips and villains straight out of Gladiators. This version – helmed by Shaun Of The Dead’s Edgar Wright – promises to hew much closer to King’s much darker vision (the book was set in 2025, for one thing), and stars Glen Powell in the role of Richards. A crumbling world economy, America as a totalitarian dystopia, a widening gap between rich and poor… how far-fetched.
Release date: November 2025
Eddington
Words by Becky Roberts
Truth is, we don't know much about Eddington yet; there isn't even a teaser, let alone a trailer, to give us a taste of Ari Aster's next movie. But it's certainly got the theoretical potential of Usain Bolt on steroids. After all, we have Aster not only in the director's chair holding his own script but also teaming up once again with studio A24; Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone leading a nigh-on perfect ensemble that includes Michael Ward from The Old Guard; and the gorgeous plains and plateaus of New Mexico as the shooting location. How about that for a 'movie of the year' prospect, eh?
Shot last spring and expected to launch this year, the "contemporary western," which looks likely to also blend horror and black comedy in one juicy, genre-spanning smoothie, centres on a couple stranded during the Covid pandemic in a small New Mexico town that turns nightmarish by nightfall. It's Aster all over and there's nothing to suggest its cinematography won't be as visceral, unsettling and utterly compelling as that of his previous films, notably horror shockers Hereditary and Midsommar, but also his surrealist drama Beau Is Afraid. Get ready for the Wild West at its spectacular best.
Release date: TBD
Wildwood
Words by Robyn Quick
The film studio Laika is known for its beautiful stop-motion films, made painstakingly one frame at a time in a process that takes years. Its last release was in 2019 with the mediocre Missing Link, and since then, myself and other animation nerds have been eagerly awaiting the release of the studio's newest film, Wildwood.
There hasn’t been a whole lot of information about the film released as of yet, but we know it is a coming-of-age story following 13-year-old Prue who must venture into mystical woods to find her younger brother who has been stolen away by a murder of crows (as you do). At the helm of the project is Travis Knight, whose previous directing credits include Laika’s Kubo And The Two Strings. With Knight telling Empire that it is the “hardest thing” the studio has taken on, I am so excited to see them tell this enchanting story.
Release date: TBD
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