Movies That Will Blow Everyone Away In 2025

In the early months of 2023, "M3GAN" emerged as a runaway horror hit for Universal Pictures, setting the stage for another round of adventures for the killer doll and the family she's out to keep, no matter the cost. It took just days for the studio to greenlight a sequel after the film's premiere, confirming that "M3GAN 2.0" would reunite writer Akela Cooper and stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, with director Gerald Johnstone also potentially returning for the second film.

We still don't know much about what the follow-up will do in terms of story, but the original film leaves a teaser that suggests M3GAN has managed to survive as a piece of software moving between systems, so it's possible she'll get a new body (and a few new dances) the second time around. Whatever happens, we know we won't want to miss it. We also won't have all that long to wait, as the sequel is set to be one of the first major releases of 2025.

"M3GAN 2.0" hits theaters January 17, 2025.

In 2025, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will see something of a power shift, as Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes the lead role of Captain America for the first time on the big screen. The Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" showed us Wilson's road to picking up the shield, going through many obstacles along the way. Now, it'll be up to him to show us his version of the First Avenger.

"Captain America: Brave New World" is co-written by "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" showrunner Malcolm Spellman and directed by Julius Onah ("The Cloverfield Paradox"). The film's plot is still under wraps, but we expect it to focus heavily on what kind of Captain America Sam Wilson wants to be, and how he shows his skills in a fight against new enemies. We don't yet know exactly who those new enemies are, but we do know the film features a cast that includes Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Liv Tyler, and perhaps most excitingly, Harrison Ford as President Thunderbolt Ross.

"Captain America: Brave New World" reports for duty on February 14, 2025.

The Walt Disney Company has spent a lot of time over the last decade making live-action updates of its animated classics. But, despite an ever-growing roster of new live-action films, Disney's original animated masterpiece hasn't gotten the adaptation treatment ... until now. In 2025, "Snow White" will finally head into the remake realm, and she'll do it with A-list talent behind her.

Directed by Marc Webb ("The Amazing Spider-Man") and written by Greta Gerwig ("Barbie") and Erin Cressida Wilson ("The Girl on the Train"), this new vision of Snow White's tale will star Rachel Zegler, the breakout lead from Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," in the title role. But of course, every Snow White needs an evil queen, and for that honor Webb and company turned to Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot. Throw in the promise of some new songs and storytelling twists, and it's got Event Movie written all over it — if only because we all want to see how Disney will rework its breakthrough animated film.

"Snow White" arrives March 21, 2026.

In the fall of 2023, "Halloween" and "Halloween Kills" director David Gordon Green stepped up to deliver a new legacy sequel for a different horror franchise. Set 50 years after the first film, "The Exorcist: Believer" combines old and new characters to tell a story of possession in a small Southern community, with original "Exorcist" star Ellen Burstyn along for the ride. But the story doesn't end here.

"Believer" was announced as the first part in a new trilogy of "Exorcist" films, and the second film in the saga, "The Exorcist: Deceiver," will arrive in 2025. Though we know the title and the projected release date, there's still a lot about this movie that's very uncertain. We're not sure if Green will return to direct the second installment, and while there's certainly room for stars like Burstyn, Ann Dowd, and Leslie Odom Jr. to return for the sequel, we don't know casting news yet either. What we do know is that the film is on the horizon, and we'll hopefully get more news soon.

"The Exorcist: Deceiver" is set for an April 18, 2025 release.

In 2021, we learned the plan for the future of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise is back-to-back seventh and eighth installments, shot almost simultaneously and geared toward a massive sendoff of Tom Cruise's lead character, Ethan Hunt. Now, it seems many of those plans have changed, but no matter what the story turns out to be, we're still getting an eighth movie in 2025.

Cruise will of course return as Hunt, alongside writer-director Christopher McQuarrie and stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, and Pom Klementieff. Originally billed as "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two," the film now has no official subtitle, as things get somewhat retooled following the release of "Dead Reckoning Part One." What the new title will be isn't clear, and it's also not clear that the film is intended as a conclusion, as McQuarrie has noted there are still plenty of ideas for more installments.

However it turns out, "Mission: Impossible 8" is set to hit theaters May 23, 2025, so we'll know more soon enough.

"Moana" is still less than a decade old, but the story of an island girl who finds a way to navigate the oceans and save her homeland also stands as one of Disney's great 21st century success stories. It's no wonder, then, that the studio is hoping to take that success and turn it into box office gold in the form of a live-action remake. That's right, live-action "Moana" is coming, and it'll probably look a lot like the animated "Moana."

Why? Well, the film will once again feature Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui, bringing his animated role to life on the big screen alongside a still-unannounced new Moana. Original star Auli'i Cravalho is set to serve as an executive producer on the film, while "Hamilton" director Thomas Kail will helm the action. Beyond that, we still don't know much about what this new version of "Moana" will bring to the table, but we do know that it's hitting theaters June 27, 2025.

In November 2022, James Gunn became co-head of DC Studios, and in the process ushered in a new era for DC's superhero films. In 2025, the first fruits of all that work will finally emerge in the form of "Superman: Legacy," the first standalone Superman film since "Man of Steel" more than a decade earlier.

Written and directed by Gunn, the new film is set to star a younger version of the title character, thus introducing a new version of the DC universe that Gunn and company can build out into something exciting. In March 2023, Gunn revealed that David Corenswet is his choice to play the new Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane. This casting news sets the stage for an exciting new era of Superman stories, but that's only the beginning. The film is also set to tap other DC heroes, including Nathan Fillion as a big-screen version of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, in its quest to create a new universe that Gunn and company can use as a sandbox for years to come. We can't wait for this one.

"Superman: Legacy" is in theaters July 11, 2025.

One of the most acclaimed genre films of 2022, Matt Reeves' "The Batman" gave us a moody, exciting new spin on the Dark Knight, played with brooding intensity by Robert Pattinson. The film was a success both critically and commercially, setting things up for a sequel featuring more adventures for the latest actor to don the cape and cowl. In 2025, after a three-year-wait, we get to see what's next.

As the title suggests, "The Batman Part II" will pick up after the events of the first film, and show us what this universe's version of Bruce Wayne will face next. Reeves is once again back in the director's chair, but beyond that we don't have too many details regarding the story or the returning cast. There are, of course, plenty of avenues and dark alleys in Gotham City to explore, and we're eager to see which one Reeves chooses this time. Plus, since this is considered an "Elseworlds" title separate from James Gunn's main DC universe, Reeves can do whatever he wants.

"The Batman Part II" arrives October 3, 2026.

In 2023, the Broadway smash "Wicked" celebrated 20 years as one of the most successful musicals of its era. In 2024, the celebration will continue with the release of "Wicked: Part One," the first half of a massive film adaptation from "In The Heights" director John M. Chu. But of course, as the title suggests, the first film is only half the story. In 2025, we'll get to see the conclusion.

"Wicked: Part Two" will feature all of the same talent from part one, including Chu in the director's chair and a cast that includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Galinda, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz himself. The film, based on the musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name, is set to tell the "true story" of the witches of Oz, complete with hit songs like "Defying Gravity" and "For Good."

What we still don't know at this point is where exactly "Part One" will cut the story off to set up "Part Two," but we don't have that much longer to wait. "Wicked: Part One" hits theaters November 27, 2024, followed by "Part Two" almost exactly a year later on November 26, 2025.

In the fall of 2023, director Eli Roth finally made good on a years-old promise and released "Thanksgiving," the feature-length version of his "Grindhouse" trailer about a small New England town stalked by a killer in a pilgrim mask. The film was an immediate hit with critics and audiences, putting up great numbers for a horror film. Now, we know that in 2025, we can expect a follow-up.

Roth announced in late November 2023 that "Thanksgiving 2" will be coming in two years, as the filmmaker will take a year off to work on the script, then shoot the sequel to the story of a town plagued by a killer posing as John Carver, its Pilgrim founder. We don't have any details yet as to what the film will do to top the first movie's dose of holiday-themed gore, but we know that the original "Thanksgiving" leaves us with the setup for a sequel, and we know that there's still plenty of story left to mine for future helpings of the franchise.

"Thanksgiving 2" arrives in 2025. It doesn't have a firm release date yet, but expect this one to come sometime around Turkey Day.