US release date: July 11
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Could the third time be a charm for the Fantastic Four? That’s what fans are wondering about this superhero team, who seem to be cursed when it comes to movie adaptations of their work. In 2005, we got Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans as the foursome; 10 years later, it was Kate Mara, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell. For The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the cast is undoubtedly impressive: Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic; Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. But perhaps the missing ingredient in previous iterations has been the creative force behind the camera, which in this case is Matt Shakman, who is better known for his television career, where he has helmed episodes of Game of Thrones, WandaVision, The Great, and—most prolifically—more than 40 installments of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, including the fan-favorite “The Nightman Cometh.”
US release date: July 25
The Battle of Baktan Cross
Just because we have no idea what Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie is about doesn’t mean we aren’t dying to learn more. Especially based on what we do know about it. Namely: That it will be Anderson’s first movie released in IMAX, and that it will feature an all-star cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Wood Harris, and Alana Haim.
US release date: August 8
The Bride!
Like a more indie Greta Gerwig, actor-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal has been quietly building up an impressive filmography behind the camera. Five years after nabbing an Oscar nomination (her second) in 2022 for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Lost Daughter, Gyllenhaal is following that film up—and hopping on the Universal Monster Movie bandwagon—with this remake of Bride of Frankenstein, which the writer-director aims to imbue with a strong feminist sensibility. The film will reunite Gyllenhaal with Jessie Buckley, who she directed to a Best Supporting Actress nomination in The Lost Daughter and here plays the eponymous spouse of Frankenstein’s monster, who will be played by Christian Bale—reuniting Gyllenhaal with her former Batman costar. Maggie’s brother Jake and husband Peter Sarsgaard will also appear. Though an official date for the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth, has yet to be announced, it sounds as if this pair of films could make for a great mini-marathon.
US release date: September 26
Bugonia
Would it really be a true year for movies if we didn’t get at least one absurdist comedy from Yorgos Lanthimos? (The answer: no.) Will Tracy (The Menu) will pen the script for this English-language remake of Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet! The film will reunite Lanthimos with current muse Emma Stone, who will play the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists (one of them played by Jesse Plemons, now another member of Lanthimos’ regular stable) who believe she is an alien with plans of taking over Planet Earth.
US release date: November 7
Avatar: Fire and Ash
No matter how much time passes, or how much the original Avatar seems to disappear from the cultural conversation, there’s no denying that James Cameron’s blue people know how to put butts in seats. Despite it feeling like the second film in the series didn’t get a whole lot of buzz following its release, nor was it met with an overwhelming amount of positive chatter, The Way of Water still somehow earned enough money ($2.3 billion and some change) to secure its place as the third-highest-grossing movie of all time—knocking Titanic down to #4 and sitting just underneath the original Avatar (2009) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). From what we know about the movie, the “Ash” of the title refers to a far less kindhearted group of Na’vi who are changing everything we know about Pandora.
US release date: December 19
Peaky Blinders
One year after Oppenheimer (and the Barbenheimer phenomenon) made Cillian Murphy one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, the Irish actor is returning to his roots. For more than a decade, Murphy has portrayed gangster-turned-politician Tommy Selby in the Steven Knight–created period crime show, Peaky Blinders. Soon, he’ll be reprising the part for Knight’s big-screen version of the series. He’ll be joined by several familiar faces, including Stephen Graham, Sophie Rundle, and Paul Anderson, with a slate of exciting additions to the cast, including Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, and Tim Roth. Though it’s possible that we won’t see the big-screen version of Peaky Blinders until early 2026, logging our anticipation certainly can’t hurt. Who knows—maybe it can even help?
US release date: 2025/2026
