Aliens, animals and more avatars! Here's what to expect from Hollywood in 2025

A still from Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Release Date: May 23
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell,
In the two decades since the release of the original groundbreaking spy drama, the makers of the Mission Impossible franchise have managed to capture the attention of cinemagoers across generations. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt for what is believed to be the final edition of the franchise as he prepares to fight against the powerful AI known as "the Entity". In the month-old teaser-trailer that was cut for the film, the makers took fans on a nostalgic ride by featuring footage from the Brian De Palma-directed 1996 film Mission: Impossible. That the dialogue writers succeeded in teasing fans was evident in the outpouring of love that they received on social media, with fans reacting to Hunt's concluding appeal: "I need you to trust me, one last time."

A direct sequel to 2022's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, this edition has also been helmed by Christopher McQuarri, who has directed every Mission Impossible offering since 2015's Rogue Nation. Accompanying Cruise in his final mission as an IMF agent will be Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis.

F1

Release Date: June 27
Cast: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris
Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski joins hands with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to present a sports drama that sees a retired Formula One racer, played by Brad Pitt, take a young rookie prodigy (Damson Idris) under his wing. Pitt's Sonny Hayes was forced into retirement in the 1990s following a horrible crash. Given that the movie was shot during the Grand Prix races, real-life Formula One teams and drivers will also appear in it.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Release Date: December 19
Cast: Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington
James Cameron is set to take viewers on another visually spectacular journey to the planet of Pandora with Avatar: Fire and Ash, his third film from the celebrated franchise that was introduced in 2009. While little has been revealed about the plot, Zoe Saldana gave fans a glimpse into her journey in the film as her character grapples with the loss of a child. While it isn't until the end of 2025 that the film will be released, fans can rest assured that they have a lot more to look forward to from the stable--Cameron is shooting the fourth film, and a fifth one is in the pipeline.

Superman

Release Date: July 11
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan
James Gunn inarguably takes on a challenge in presenting an age-old superhero in a new avatar with the upcoming edition of Superman. While fans seemed weary on learning that their gritty Henry Cavill-led superhero was set to be replaced by a younger and optimistic avatar (helmed by David Corenswet), Gunn is set to welcome them to familiar territory with a film that inhabits the full spectrum of DC Comics characters. Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, join the actor in this endeavour.

How to Train Your Dragon

Release Date: June 13
Cast: Gerard Butler, Mason Thames, Nico Parker
Fifteen years after the animated feature was released, the adventure is set to return in a live-action format. Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the first instalment of the franchise before returning to helm the rest of the trilogy, is set to take charge of this project. Gerard Butler will reprise his role as Stoick the Vast, opposite franchise newcomer Mason Thames who stars as his overlooked son, Hiccup. The 2010 animated film How to Train Your Dragon was loosely based on the 2003 novel of the same name, by Cressida Cowell.