The year 2025 is upon us, and it is shaping up to be a truly spectacular pop culture-wise. From the top franchises returning with highly anticipated sequels and fresh faces arriving, to very promising unknowns in every medium, fans will have their watch list fully stacked for the next 12 months.
Take a look at what to expect below.
Most Anticipated Movies of 2025
Explore blockbuster hits slated for release in 2025.
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Thunderbolts
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
- From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
- F1
- Superman
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America will return to the big screens with the fourth film in the series, but this time around it won’t be Steve Rogers who helms the iconic shield. Julius Onah takes over the director helm from the Russo brothers. A direct continuation of the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the upcoming movie will follow Sam Wilson as the new Captain America.
The 35th movie of the MCU will follow Captain America dealing with the consequences of an international incident and facing off against the newly-elected president of the United States, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, who over the course of the movie becomes the Red Hulk. Ross will be portrayed by Harrison Ford for the very first time.
Giancarlo Esposito will also debut in the MCU as the villain Sidewinder, while Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson return to the series for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, reprising their roles as Betty Ross and the Leader respectively.
Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025.
Thunderbolts
Phase Five of the MCU will conclude with the formation of a whole new superhero team, the Thunderbolts. First teased in 2021, the movie was officially confirmed in June 2022, with Jake Schreier being announced as the director.
Much of the plot is still unknown, besides the Thunderbolts getting assembled and sent on missions for the American government. Most of the team has already appeared in various MCU movies and TV series, including Sebastian Stan, who will portray the leader of the team as Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, and Olga Kurylenko.
Lewis Pullman will debut in the MCU as the troubled Sentry while Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laurence Fishburne, and Rachel Weisz also return to the franchise.
Thunderbolts is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2025.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
The eighth movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise will be a direct sequel to the previous movie in the franchise, the 2023s Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, with director Christopher McQuarrie shooting them back-to-back.
Of course, Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt for the eighth time, with Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett all also reprising their roles again.
The movie will pick from where it left the audience last time around, as Ethan Hunt and his allies will attempt to defeat Gabriel and destroy the Entity once and for all. While there have been some rumors swirling that this could be the swan song for the iconic M:I film series, there has been no confirmation whether there's any truth to it.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2025.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
For the fans of John Wick who might be unsure what the future will hold for their beloved action movie franchise, the wait is almost over, as the fifth film in the series is set to arrive this summer.
Lionsgate’s plans for the spin-off began way back in 2017, only a few months after the second movie, John Wick: Chapter 2, was released. The initial script was later repurposed for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and rewrites began. At the end of 2019, Len Wiseman was announced as the director for the spin-off, with the casting calls starting in May 2020.
In the Spring of 2022 at CinemaCon, the release of the film was officially announced and Ana De Armas, who had been in negotiations to star in the movie for the last few months, was confirmed for the role of the titular ballerina-assassin Eve Macarro. Filming officially began later that year in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
The plot of the movie revolves around De Armas's character training with the Ruska Roma assassins with the aim of avenging the death of her father. The movie will take place between the events of the third and fourth John Wick movies.
Keanu Reeves is set to return as John Wick, while Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, and Lance Reddick will also reprise their roles from the franchise. The new roles of Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, and Gabriel Byrne are yet to be revealed.
Ballerina is scheduled to be released on June 6, 2025.
F1
Where does the director Joseph Kosinski go next after his brilliant Top Gun: Maverick? To the Formula One race track with Brad Pitt, who will portray a former star of the sport, Sonny Hayes, who comes out of retirement to mentor a rookie driver.
Damson Idris will star as the aforementioned rookie, while Javier Bardem will be the team owner who talks Pitt’s character out of his retirement which was caused by a horrifying accident during a race.
Expect cameos from the Formula One biggest stars as parts of the movie were shot over actual Grand Prix weekends.
F1 is scheduled for release on June 27, 2025.
Superman
As DC Extended Universe is officially over, 2025 will see the full reboot of the DC series movie franchise finally come to fruition, as the DC Studios new co-CEO James Gunn has directed and written the first movie of the new DC Universe, which will also kick off its Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
The first Superman solo movie since 2013 will star David Corenswet as the eponymous character. The movie won’t be another origin story and will follow Clark Kent, as he looks to reconcile his alien heritage with his adoptive human family. Many other DC characters will debut on the big screen, including Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Metamorpho.
Rachel Brosnahan will debut as Louis Lane, while Nicholas Hoult, who also was initially contending for the Superman role, will portray the villainous Lex Luthor.
Superman is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
One of the most recognizable Marvel Comics superhero teams is finally arriving in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025. This will be the fifth time Marvel's first family goes live-action.
In 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, allowing Marvel Studios to regain rights to various characters, including the Fantastic Four. The first time one of the characters appeared in MCU was in 2022, when John Krasinski appeared as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, yet only as a one-time version of the character.
The upcoming movie was first announced in December 2020, with Jon Watts attached to direct, yet dropped out later and was replaced by Matt Shakman. The casting process for the film began in 2023, with the official announcement arriving in February 2024.
The ensemble cast for the movie will star Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Ralph Ineson will appear as the villain of the movie, Galactus. Julia Garner is set to appear as the Silver Surfer, while John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonn's roles are yet unrevealed. Following the internet-breaking announcement, Robert Downey Jr. is expected to receive his first appearance as Doctor Doom in this movie as well.
Most of the film’s plot has been kept under wraps, but what we do know is that it will be set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth. This time it won’t be yet another origin story as the previous films, and instead, the already-established Fantastic Four will try to protect their home from being devoured by Galactus. The movie will also kick off MCU’s Phase Six.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to be released on July 25, 2025.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Looks like the fans of James Cameron’s epic franchise won’t have to wait another 13 years between films, as the third movie is set to come just before the Holidays.
Shot simultaneously with the 2022s Avatar: The Way of Water, the plot for the third film has been kept under tight wraps, yet is expected to directly continue the story from the second movie.
Most of the cast from the first two movies is set to return, including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kate Winslet.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is scheduled for release on December 19, 2025.
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Upcoming TV Series for 2025
Dive into the most talked-about TV series coming to streaming platforms and cable networks.
- The White Lotus
- Daredevil: Born Again
- The Studio
- Andor
- The Last of Us
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Stranger Things
The White Lotus
The fans of the anthology series will soon take the third, likely once again dysfunctional, vacation. Following Hawaii and Sicity, the third season of The White Lotus will continue to take place in a new setting, which this time around will be Thailand.
As expected the third season will also feature an ensemble cast, including Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Leslie Bibb, and many more. While they all will play new characters, the possibility of familiar faces also returning is not out of the question.
Season 3 of The White Lotus is set to premiere in February 2025 on HBO.
Daredevil: Born Again
It has been a long time for the fans of Daredevil to wait for since The Man Without Fear last starred in his own solo show as the series ended on Netflix back in 2018.
A lot has changed ever since then, with the rights to the characters fully returning back to Marvel, and for quite some time it was unclear whether the critically acclaimed cast would even return. In December 2021 it was confirmed that Charlie Cox would return as Matt Murdock for MCU, as well as other main cast members, including Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle.
The plot is set to continue the story from the original three seasons, set in New York City five years later. The new season will have nine episodes, and the second season is already in the works too.
Daredevil: Born Again is set to premiere on March 4, 2025 on Disney+.
The Studio
Can art and business coexist in Hollywood in 2025? Seth Rogen is preparing to find out in his new comedy series, where he will star as Matt Remick, an executive at a legacy film studio.
Rogen is also the co-creator for the new series which will feature star-studded appearances, including Martin Scorcese, Bryan Cranston, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Charlize Theron, Anthony Mackie, and more.
The Studio is set to premiere on March 26, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Andor
The prequel series to the Star Wars prequel movie Rogue One is set to conclude with its second season, which will continue to follow rebel spy Cassian Andor during the period leading to the events depicted in the two films.
Diego Luna will, of course, continue to reprise the titular character, with the 12-episode-long plot set over the course of four years, ultimately leading up to the opening of Rogue One.
Season 2 of Andor is set to premiere on April 22, 2025, on Disney+.
The Last of Us
The inevitable continuation of the post-apocalyptic story of Joel and Ellie is almost upon us, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning to their critically and commercially acclaimed roles.
Set five years after the end of the first season, the second season will introduce viewers with Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Rutina Wesley as Maria, Isabela Merced as Dina, and more. The same as the first season, the second will also be based on the video game franchise, this time the Part II.
Season 2 of The Last of Us is set to premiere in early 2025 on HBO.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
The fans of the Game of Thrones franchise can prepare to take yet another trip to Westeros in 2025, as new prequel series are set to arrive from the world created by George R. R. Martin.
Set in a period between the events of House of Dragon and Game of Thrones, the new series will follow the adventures of the knight Sir Duncan the Tall, who finds a courageous squire, Egg. The six episodes will show Westeros, where the Targaryens are in the later stages of their rule.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to premiere in 2025 on HBO.
Stranger Things
The coming-of-age sci-fi horror drama series is set to culminate with its fifth season which will consist of eight episodes.
The story will be picking up from where it last left during the previous fourth season in 2022, with the setting of the final episodes being the fall of 1987.
The final season will feature newly cast Linda Hamilton, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux. Of course, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown,
Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, and the other beloved main cast members also return for the final hurrah.
Stranger Things season 5 is set to be released in 2025 on Netflix.
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Reality TV in 2025: What to Watch
Reality TV fans will be spoiled for choice in 2025.
The Bachelor
A bachelor is preparing to find the right one from a list of romantic interests once again, as The Bachelor series is returning for the 29th time in 2025.
This time around 30-year-old day trader Grant Ellis from Houston, Texas will star in the show to eliminate the ladies until he finds the one he wishes to propose to. This is actually his second chance at finding true love! Reality series fans might remember him from appearing in the Season 21 of The Bachelorette.
Season 29 of The Bachelor is set to premiere on January 27, 2025, on ABC.
American Idol
The unscripted singing competition is nearing the return for its 23rd season overall. Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie are coming as the judges while Katy Perry rejected her seat to focus on her solo music career. Ryan Seacrest will once again return as the show’s host.
In 2025 the third judge of the competition instead was announced to be singer Carrie Underwood. She herself is an Idol alumnus, winning the show 20 years ago and thus launching her multi-Grammy-winning career.
Season 8 of American Idol is set to premiere on March 9, 2025, on ABC.
Wildcard Kitchen
The high-stakes culinary competition and its host Eric Adjepong will return for its sophomore season, following its massively successful debut in 2024.
Expect even more unexpected challenges and twists, as yet another three chefs per episode will test their personal relationships as they play poker after hours and try to create special dishes that are determined in accordance to cards dealt with while having big bets of money on the line.
Season 2 of Wildcard Kitchen is set to premiere in 2025 on Food Network.
