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Most anticipated movies of 2025, from 'Wicked: For Good' to 'Snow White'

Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times on

Published in Entertainment News

We never know exactly what a new year will bring — but we can at least be certain that it will be full of movies. Here are some titles to watch for in 2025; many of them are sequels or reboots, but a few look promisingly original.

Wishing all of us some rapt watching in the new year.

“Paddington in Peru”: The first two “Paddington” movies were absolute charmers; here’s hoping this one, in which the calamity-prone bear travels back to his homeland in search of his missing Aunt Lucy, follows that pattern. Hugh Grant’s not in the official cast list, but fingers crossed that he shows up somehow. (Feb. 14)

“Black Bag”: Steven Soderbergh’s latest is described by its distributor only as a “spy drama,” but take a look at this cast: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. That’s a gang of spies I’d watch anytime. (March 14)

“Snow White”: It’s been a long time coming, but the 1937 animated Disney fairy tale is finally getting a live-action remake, with Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”) as the title character and Gal Gadot as the wicked queen. Greta Gerwig is among the screenwriters; Marc Webb (“The Amazing Spider-Man”) directs. (March 21)

“Sinners”: Director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan have had numerous successful collaborations; among them the “Black Panther” movies, the “Creed” movies, and “ Fruitvale Station.” They’re reteaming for this thriller, in which a man and his brother return to their small town in the hopes of starting again — but find evil waiting for them. (April 18)

“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning”: I am enormously skeptical that this is really the final movie — surely Tom Cruise will be wanting to ride his motorbike off cliffs and suavely squint in sunglasses until the end of time — but nonetheless here we are with, supposedly, a grand finale. Bring on the stunts. (May 23)

“ Elio”: There’s been a release date delay, and a change of directors (from Adrian Molina to Domee Shi — who made the lovely “ Turning Red” — and Madeline Sharafian), but Pixar’s latest, about a little boy beamed onto a spaceship filled with aliens, is set to make a splash this summer. (June 13)

“28 Years Later”: Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland team up for a third postapocalyptic zombie film, following “28 Days Later” and “28 Weeks Later.” (Apparently “28 Months Later” was too obvious?) Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes star. (June 20)

 

“Jurassic World Rebirth”: This franchise never dies, because apparently there is no shortage of fictional people who think that bringing dinosaurs back to life won’t go wrong like it did all those other times. Jonathan Bailey (“Wicked,” “Bridgerton”), Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali are this year’s designated dino flee-ers. (July 2)

“The Naked Gun”: Liam Neeson would not have been the first name on my list to follow in the footsteps of Leslie Nielsen’s inept police detective Frank Drebin (of the sublimely silly “Naked Gun” movies of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s), but hey, why not? Pamela Anderson and Paul Walter Hauser co-star. (Aug. 1)

“Freakier Friday”: Reunion alert! Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Rosalind Chao, Stephen Tobolowsky and numerous others from the 2003 “Freaky Friday” return for a sequel, with presumably even more body-switching. (Aug. 8)

“Downton Abbey 3”: Speaking of franchises that live forever, here we are back again at Downton with the various well-hatted members of the titled Crawley family, and a plot that presumably involves some upstairs-downstairs drama. Here’s hoping they raise an on-screen glass to the late Maggie Smith, whose acid-tongued Dowager Countess will be greatly missed. (Sept. 12)

“The Bride”: This is quite possibly the movie I am most looking forward to in 2025: Maggie Gyllenhaal (whose directing debut “ The Lost Daughter” was lovely) creates a musical version of “The Bride of Frankenstein” set in 1930s Chicago, starring Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Julianne Hough, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz and Maggie’s brother Jake. (Sept. 26)

“Michael”: Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Equalizer”) directs a biopic of pop icon Michael Jackson, with Jaafar Jackson (Michael’s real-life nephew) playing the star. Colman Domingo is MJ’s father Joe Jackson; Nia Long is mother Katherine; Kat Graham plays Diana Ross and Kendrick Sampson plays Quincy Jones. (Oct. 3)

“Wicked: For Good”: Part one of Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the smash Broadway musical, released in November, was an absolute delight; here’s hoping that the second half defies gravity just as much. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande return as dueling witches in the Land of Oz; Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey wear spectacular costumes and provide wickedly good backup. (Nov. 21)

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”: After numerous delays — apparently time moves slowly in Pandora — James Cameron’s latest “Avatar” sequel is scheduled as a holiday release, featuring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, and more special effects than you can possibly imagine. (Dec. 19)


©2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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