2025 movie preview: Here are the titles we simply cannot wait for

CNN
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After a year filled with animated inner emotions, mutants, aliens, gladiators and witches, the new year will bring a crop of new (or, newly revisited) movies to choose from, as always.

Many upcoming films are sequels, reboots and franchise extensions, which can be chalked up to Hollywood’s penchant for playing it safe with known properties, but it’s also a testament to our collective desire to see where things go next for some of our most beloved characters and worlds.

While by no means exhaustive, here is a collection of some of the big movies to look out for in 2025:

It’s all in the title with this one, a Netflix spy movie marking the “return” of two beloved stars – Cameron Diaz, who had stepped away from the Hollywood feature film limelight for about ten years, and Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, who is back after some health problems. The pair previously teamed up for 2014’s musical “Annie.” “Back in Action” will start streaming on January 17.

After a relatively light year of content – with two welcome 2024 additions, in the movie sphere with “Deadpool & Wolverine” and on television with the deliciously witchy “Agatha All Along” – Marvel is beefing up again, bringing three new films to the MCU in 2025: “Captain America: Brave New World” (a.k.a. Cap’n America 4) in February, “Thunderbolts” in May and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” out on July 25. The latter of these stars Pedro Pascal, “Stranger Things” breakout Joseph Quinn, “The Bear’s” Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Vanessa Kirby, and amounts to the third big studio effort to bring this super-powered quartet to cinematic life (the first effort produced two movies, in 2005 and 2007, with a mostly ill-received reboot in 2015 with Miles Teller and Kate Mara).

Over on the other side of the comic book pond, James Gunn is getting ready to launch his version of the DC Universe in bombastic fashion with “Superman,” previously titled “Superman: Legacy,” starring David Corenswet and “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Rachel Brosnahan. This month’s teaser trailer previewed some drama and Clark Kent’s little (super)dog, too. “Superman” flies into theaters on July 11, two weeks ahead of “Fantastic Four.” (“Superman” is produced by DC Films, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

It’s been six years since visionary Korean director Bong Joon Ho wowed audiences with his Oscar-winning “Parasite.” His followup movie “Mickey 17” is finally coming in April after several delays. The film, which stars Robert Pattinson, looks to be a somewhat irreverent sci-fi comedy that nonetheless tackles some dark and heavy themes, following an “expendable” clone-type being who is tasked with a dangerous mission in outer space. “Mickey 17” docks in theaters on April 18. (The movie is a Warner Bros. Pictures release. The studio, like CNN, is part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

Speaking of sequels, this latest entry in the ever-expanding “Jurassic Park” dino-verse is getting points solely thanks to the cast, starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, fresh off some “Wicked” success. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is due on July 2.

From dinosaurs to dragons. Universal and DreamWorks are taking a tip from Disney and reimagining one of their own top-performing animated franchises, which (unbelievably) first came on the scene 15 years ago. The new movie looks to be a faithful live-action adaptation of the first film, based on the book by Cressida Cowell. “How to Train Your Dragon” soars into theaters June 13.

Speaking of big studio efforts to bring older properties back to cinematic life, this “Wolf Man” – not to be confused with 2010’s “The Wolfman” starring Benicio Del Toro – is an update to Universal’s classic monster movie from 1941, this time with “Girls” and “Poor Things” star Christopher Abbott in the hirsute titular role. “Wolf Man” crawls into theaters on January 17.

After the extended success of “Cobra Kai,” which started out on YouTube before finding new life on Netflix, the franchise returns to the big screen just over 40 years after Ralph Macchio first did the crane kick in the original 1984 classic. Jackie Chan is back in the sensei-like role of Mr. Han, a role he first portrayed in the 2010 reboot opposite Jayden Smith. The titular “kid” this time will be played by up-and-coming star Ben Wang. “Legends” hits theaters May 30.

After the blistering success of 2017’s “Paddington 2” (99% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is incredibly rare and impressive for a kid’s movie sequel), it was only a matter of time before we got this threequel, finding the charming stuffed bear Paddington in, well, Peru. Hugh Bonneville, Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton are all back for the ride, with Emily Mortimer joining the fun. “Paddington in Peru” comes to theaters on February 14.

The second part of this year’s biggest movie musical event is slated to fly into theaters almost one full year to the day after Part 1 collectively wowed us. The second installment of the cinematic adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, which in turn was adapted from the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, has been subtitled “For Good” in a nod to one of the show’s original songs. The sequel will catch up with now-estranged friends Elphaba and Glinda as they struggle to find their place in the big and wicked world of Oz. “Wicked: For Good” premieres in theaters on November 21, 2025.

After much hype and a fair amount of speculation, the Michael Jackson biopic will hit theaters in the new year, with the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar Jackson portraying the late superstar. The cast also includes Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, Nia Long and Larenz Tate. Sure to spark many “separate the art from the artist” debates, “Michael” will premiere in theaters on October 3.