MovieMuse 2025 Preview – Most Anticipated Movies and Shows

Yes, it is day 1 of 2025, and I’m already looking ahead to what films and series/shows are expected to be released this coming year.

2025 Preview – Most Anticipated/Notable Movies

25 Films already on the 2025 list! Note that not all of the ones in the list are pictured above. Some don’t have a poster yet, or even a logo. (I made a few of the above images from logos and/or set pictures that have been released.) And of course, there will be smaller films that aren’t even on my radar at this point. These aren’t a guarantee for me to see; I may learn more about these and change my mind about seeing them, and/or the scheduled release dates may shift for whatever reason. As usual, this is not everything. I know the live action Lilo & Stitch and Snow White movies are set for release, as is the John Wick spin-off Ballerina with Ana de Armas, but those aren’t on my “likely to see” list, especially with our closest theater closing (cry/sob/wail). But here’s what looks good (or bad) so far.

Screamboat (Jan 24) – Slasher horror version of the Disney short Steamboat Willie. Odd film for me to mention, right? I just felt I had to, since it will be the first known movie to take advantage of the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse entering the public domain in 2024.
Captain America: Brave New World (Feb 14) – Anthony Mackie’s first official film outing as Cap, with Harrison Ford assuming the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from William Hurt, who passed away in 2022. Did you know that was Ross’s nickname? Yeah, I didn’t either. It will probably be relevant…. (IYKYK; if you don’t, keep reading)
The Senior (Mar 7) – Based on the true story of Mike Flynt, who became a college football linebacker at the age of 59. Starring Michael Chiklis and Mary Stuart Masterson
Black Bag (Mar 14) – Steven Soderbergh spy film starring Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, and Tom Burke
The Electric State (Mar 14) – Russo Brothers film inspired by the graphic novel (but with an original story), with a spectacular cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito, and Stanley Tucci
Thunderbolts* (May 2) – Hmm, why does that name seem familiar…. 😉 While not quite The Avengers, the Marvel misfit “bad guys” comprised of “The New Black Widow” Yelana Belova (Florence Pugh), “The Winter Soldier” Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), “Black Widow’s Dad” Red Guardian (David Harbour), “U.S. Agent” John Walker (Wyatt Russell), “Ghost” Eva Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), and “Dreykov’s Daughter/Taskmaster” Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) team up to save the world from “even worse guys.”
Golden (May 9) – Musical comedy-drama set in the 1970s about the rise of the music industry and community in Virginia Beach, centered around the Atlantis Apartments. Co-produced by Pharrell Williams, who wrote some original songs and music for the film. (If you’re familiar with him or if you saw the Piece by Piece movie about him, then you are familiar with the Atlantis Apartments.)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (May 23) – Formerly Dead Reckoning Part 2, this might could possibly be the final installment featuring Cruise in the lead role, though no successor has been officially named.
Karate Kid: Legends (May 30) – Featuring Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, which is pretty much all you need to know about this movie.
Elio (June 13) – The newest Pixar, featuring a young boy who accidentally gets “beamed aboard” a space ship that is visiting Earth and goes on an intergalactic adventure.
How to Train Your Dragon (June 13) – I can’t decide if I want to see this or not. I mean, it looks absolutely perfect, but it’s actually so perfect that I’m not understanding the point of doing it. But hearing that spectacular theme music booming over the theater speakers makes my heart soar, so we just might have to.
F1 (June 27) – Brad Pitt bought himself a Formula 1 racing movie, bidding against Jerry Bruckheimer and others for the rights to this film. The early teasers look quite good.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (July 2) – Yes, they’re trying again. Yes, the last one was a huge disappointment. Yes, I’ll still see it, particularly with the cast they’ve managed to round up: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey.
Superman (July 11) – I truly can’t believe that we’re already doing yet another Superman reboot. Yes, I know it’s being done by James Gunn. Yes, I’ve seen the teaser. Yes, it looks (mostly) right, even if a certain actor looks absolutely dreadful as a particular character. But I’m hesitant to get my hopes up.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25) – Yet a third attempt at this particular Marvel series, this time set in the 1960s (thus the retro logo styling). Y’all know I love Pedro Pascal, but I don’t like the casting of him as Reed Richards. I’ll be perfectly happy for him to prove me wrong, though.
The Bride (Sep 19) – Updated version of Frankenstein’s Bride set in the 1930s, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, starring Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, and Annette Bening. For me, this one will depend on how “horror-y” it is.
Michael (Oct 3) – Biopic about Michael Jackson. Great cast, but I’m not sure how I feel about making the movie at all.
Tron: Ares (Oct 10) – With Jared Leto, Evan Peters, and Jodie Turner-Smith, the cast certainly has my attention. I think we’re some of the few people who actually liked Tron: Legacy. I hope this one will be good and do well.
Predator: Badlands (Nov 7) – These movies seem to be getting worse and worse as they go (though the second AvP was by far the worst, which is a shame, because the first one was excellent). They must have a lot of faith in it to be premiering it in the prime spot of the opening weekend of the “holiday season” of movies, especially considering they will be up against….
The Running Man (Nov 7) – Featuring 2024 “man of the year” Glen Powell, this will be a remake/update of the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pretty exciting cast featuring Katy O’Brian, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, and William H. Macy (among others), it should be an excellent start to the end of the year slate.
Now You See Me 3 (Nov 14) – The second movie in this series wasn’t very good, but this one will have the return of all of the original Four Horsemen (Isla Fisher was missing from the last one due to pregnancy). I’d really like to see them get back on track with this third film.
Wicked: For Good (Nov 21) – Waiting a year for this movie is going to be torture, but hopefully worth it, even though I know every single person familiar with the musical says that the second half is much weaker than the first half. (Which makes sense; you’ve separated the leads, and most of the fun of the first half is them interacting and playing off of each other.)
Zootopia 2 (Nov 26) – Once again, Disney has secured the coveted “Thanksgiving Wednesday” release slot, this time for Zootopia 2. We really enjoyed the first one, and most of the cast is back, so I’m hoping they can do a good job with the sequel.
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec 19) – The first movie is pretty good, the second movie was okay, and I’m getting more and more concerned as additional details are released for this film and the next. I’m sure we’ll see it, and I really hope it turns out to be great, but I’m not overly hopeful.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Release Date TBA) – Featuring the return of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the next in the Knives Out series (which really should be called “A Benoit Blanc Mystery,” but I also understand from a marketing perspective why it’s not) has wrapped principal photography and should be released sometime in 2025, though there has been no indication of precisely when. It is a Netflix production, but it may get a brief theatrical release like the previous two films have done.

2025 Preview – Most Anticipated/Notable Shows or Series

Again, this is not an all-inclusive list of things coming in 2025. It even excludes some very big things that I know are coming (Stranger Things, Wednesday, new Game of Thrones prequel, Euphoria, etc; it’s even missing a Marvel series that we aren’t overly enthused about), but we just don’t watch them and probably won’t now, unless someone puts up a really compelling argument. But this is a list of the things that we either will most likely see, or a couple of special honorable mentions because they’re just so “out of the box.”

The Rookie, Season 7 (Jan 7 on ABC) – One of our favorite network shows, we’re really looking forward to the return of John Nolan and company. Come on, Chen and Bradford, get it together (literally!!).
Will Trent, Season 3 (Jan 7 on ABC) – If any recent show may have overshadowed our love for The Rookie, it would be this one, though I’m a little suspicious of the changes seen in the previews so far. Watching it sounded like this in my head: “Yay, Will and Betty are back!! Wait, why does his face look like that? Will would never. And WHAT ON EARTH is he wearing? Wait, who is *that*?! I don’t know if I’m going to like this.” Fingers crossed that they can stay on track and keep up the good work.
The Pitt, New Series (Jan 9 on Max) – An emergency room/hospital series created by John Wells and starring Noah Wyle. Wait a second, didn’t they already make that series back in the 1990s?! The Michael Crichton estate sure thinks so. He was the creater of the show and author of the pilot episode of ER, and Crichton’s widow is suing for copyright infringement. Still, we know Wells and Wyle know how to do that kind of thing, so it should be pretty good.
Watson, New Series (Jan 26 on CBS) – Yes, that Watson, as in Holmes’s famed crime-solving partner, returning to his medical career after the death of his friend. Think House but (hopefully) less of a jerk. Starring Morris Chestnut, Eve Harlow, and Tommy O’Brien.
Paradise, New Series (Jan 28 on Hulu) – New series by Dan Fogelman (Bolt, Tangled, This is Us), about a secret service agent accused of murdering the president. This looks intense! Starring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, James Marsden, and Sarah Shahi.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, New Series (Jan 29 on Disney+) – Thought I would throw in this animated series for those of you with littles. Most of this list is decidedly adult fare in some form or fashion, so I wanted to mention this new series for kids that might appeal.
Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special (Feb 16 on NBC) – Having seen and enjoyed the recent film Saturday Night, I’m really looking forward to seeing this special retrospective.
Reacher, Season 3 (Feb 20 on Prime Video) – My dad has recommended this series to us, so we’ll pick it up at some point. Not sure if we’ll make it before the start of Season 3, though.
Suits: LA, New Series (Feb 23 on NBC) – Spin-off of the USA series Suits (which we actually watched when it premiered!), starring Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg.
Beyond the Gates, New Series (Feb 24 on CBS) – First new soap opera in 25 years, and also features a predominantly African-American cast. Interesting timing, since so many long running classics have ended during those same 25 years, to the point that my 20yo son doesn’t even know what a soap opera is. I wish them well! I may have only watched my soaps for a few years, but I would still peek in on them from time to time until they ended. I miss them.
Daredevil: Born Again, New Series (Mar 4 on Disney+) – So far, Disney/Marvel has been *very* unclear about whether this is a reboot or a continuation of the original Netflix series. The presence of Vincent D’Onofrio in the Echo series – as well as the recurrence of other actors and characters from that series – seems to imply continuation, but I’m hoping they will recap what I need to know, since I have no intention of watching any more of the first series than I watched the first time around. I loved Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, though, and I really hope the series is both good and watchable (for me) on a violence level.
The Residence (Mar 20 on Netflix) – There’s been a murder at the White House during a state dinner, and Cordelia Cupp is in charge of solving it. Given the cast, it’s likely to be a little lighter/less serious than, say, Paradise. Starring Uzo Abduba, Giancarlo Esposito, Susan Kelechi Watson, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Edwina Findley, and Randall Park.
The Artist, New Series (March on The Network) – Mini series in 7 parts, set around a Gilded Age murder. The Network is a new free ad-supported streaming service launched in 2024 (no affiliation; I’d never even heard of it until mention of this show ran across my feed somewhere), and they are pulling out all the stops trying to get your attention. This series features Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer, Danny Huston, Patti LuPone, Hank Azaria, Zachary Quinto, Clark Gregg, Katharine McPhee, and Jill Hennessy
Andor, Final Season (Apr 22 on Disney+) – This is THE #1 show I am looking forward to in 2025. I could skip the rest if I had to – even The Last of Us Season 2 – but not this one. Andor Season 1 is sure going to be a tough act to follow. I sure hope they’ve managed it correctly.
The Last of Us, Part 2 (Spring on HBO/Max) – I surprisingly did okay with this series, despite it being about “zombies” (even though no one is supposed to use that term). It was truly outstanding. I hope Part 2 continues to keep a somewhat restrained hand on the creepy reins as the series moves forward. And FYI, I hear they’ve very likely split the second game into two seasons.
Eyes of Wakanda, New Series (Aug 6 on Disney+) – A new animated Marvel series about Wakanda and the search and recovery of vibranium artifacts through the years. Very little info on this one, other than it will include Danai Gurira returning as the voice of Okoye.
Chad Powers, New Series (Fall on Hulu) – Yet more from the “it guy” of 2024, Glen Powell. This time, he’s a top rated college quarterback who ruins his potential for an NFL career, so he disguises himself and attempts to walk on to a struggling team elsewhere. Inspired by an episode of Eli’s Places on ESPN+, where a disguised Eli Manning tries out for Penn State.
Wonder Man, New Series (December on Disney+) – New Marvel series about Simon Williams, a “powered” actor auditioning for the part of Wonder Man. This new Marvel offering starss Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Demetrius Grosse, Ed Harris, Lauren Glazier, Josh Gad, and Ben Kingsley. “Wait a minite,” I hear you say (as my brain did when I read that in the article), “doesn’t Ben Kingsley already play a Marvel character?” Yes, yes he does, and he does so again here as Trevor Slattery. That alone will get me to watch this series!!
Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol, Christmas Special (December on ABC/Disney+) – We adore the Prep and Landing series, and I am so excited that a new installment is coming out! We watch the main two Prep and Landing “features” (about 45 minutes each) every Christmas Eve, including just last week. If you’re not familiar with them, you can find them on Disney+.
Alien: Earth, New Series (2025 on FX/Hulu) – Prequel series for the original Alien film, set 2 years prior to the events on LV-426. Starring Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Essie Davis, David Rysdahl, and Kit Young.
Death by Lightning, New Series (2025 on Netflix) – Drama series about the assassination of President James Garfield. Starring Betty Gilpin, Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, and Nick Offerman.
Duster, New Series (2025 on Max) – A new JJ Abrams series set in 1972 about the first Black female FBI agent.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Season 2 (2025 on Disney+) – We quite enjoyed the first season of this one, and by “we,” I mean the grown ups! Looking forward to the continuation of this series.
Phineas and Ferb, New Episodes (2025 on Disney/DisneyXD) – This is actually on this list for myself, my husband, and our “kid” who is now 20 but grew up on the Phineas and Ferb series. We all love it, and we were beyond thrilled to learn that they were going to make additional episodes!
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, New Series (2025 on Paramount+) – Exactly what it sounds like, though it seems that the circumstances behind why this is significant in the Star Trek universe is related to events in Star Trek: Discovery, which we have not seen. Other than Picard, we haven’t watched any of the Paramound+ Star Trek series. Guess we need to fix that. Starring Holly Hunter, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diane, Soe Steiner, and Tig Notaro (I love her! And I am aware that she’s in Star Trek: Discovery.)