As one year ends and another begins, the film industry insists that old acquaintances should not be forgotten. A bimonthly helping of sequels is coming to a theater near you in 2025, with continuations of long-running franchises, including Avatar, Mission: Impossible, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a couple of overdue follow-ups like Zootopia 2, Paddington In Peru, and Tron: Ares. But those we know nothing about, such as the mysterious Predator sequel Badlands, are the ones we’re most excited about.
Ease into a new year with some familiar faces and check out some of 2025’s most anticipated sequels, and also Jurassic World Rebirth.
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Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera (January 10)
Six years is too long to wait for a sequel to Den Of Thieves, the 2018 heist thriller-cum-instant-cable-classic that operates like Heat with a concussion (complimentary). Reuniting with his former enemy, Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) links up with walking whiskey flask “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler in his scummiest scumbag performance), who’s tired of working with the so-called “good guys” of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and wants in on honest criminality, not simply police corruption. Big Nick catches up with Donnie in Europe, where they will pool their talents for a massive diamond heist. One hopes Pantera retains the original’s junky action movie atmosphere, proving once again why Gerard Butler is king of January.
Paddington In Peru (February 14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTvudSGfHRI
As is typically the case when a new Paddington movie floats politely into theaters, the world could use the rain-ready teddy. Returning for a third installment, Paddington takes his first steps without Sally Hawkins (Emily Mortimer takes over as Molly Brown) and director Paul King, who is currently serving a life sentence in the Wonka factory. Commercial vet Dougal Wilson will make his feature debut stepping in for King, but it remains to be seen if Paddington (Ben Whishaw), now searching for his Aunt Lucy in Darkest Peru, can withstand so much change. Nevertheless, a heaping helping of marmalade would hit the spot right now. As always, our prayers are with the little guy because we’d hate to give a hard stare to a Paddington movie.
Thunderbolts* (May 2)
Marvel should swap the much-discussed asterisk in the title for its upcoming superhero team-up Thunderbolts* for a question mark. With its cache ebbing and flowing post-Endgame—its biggest flop was followed by one of its biggest hits—the studio is doubling down on change and putting second-stringers in the starting lineup. While we wait to see how a new Captain America handles himself off streaming, Thunderbolts* makes a whole movie out of Avengers rejects (played by Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, and Lewis Pullman—with ringers Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Rachel Weisz) led by Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Marvel’s banter wizards better be working overtime on this one, because if Thunderbolts* isn’t funny, what are we even doing here?
Final Destination: Bloodlines (May 16)
Finally, some real sequels. It’s been 14 long years since the Grim Reaper last greased the tracks of his sadistic Rube Goldberg machines, and fans are ready for some of the most implausible death scenarios the hooded menace can think of. We don’t know what the plot of this new entry is (and probably couldn’t explain the plot of the last five), but Final Destination: Bloodlines has a lot to live up to—Final Destination 5 made for a surprisingly satisfying closed loop.
Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning (May 23)
Ethan Hunt’s mission, should he choose to accept it, is to reckon one final time. For what is supposedly the actor’s last Mission after 30 years on the run, Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie want to go out on a high note, especially after the somewhat underwhelming response to Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One. We’ve already seen some pretty spectacular stunts in the trailer, as well as more callbacks and references to other franchise entries, which Dead Reckoning played to enthralling effect. But will Cruise succeed in his life’s mission of killing himself on screen for our entertainment? We’ll find out on May 23.
28 Years Later (June 20)
In 2002, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and Cillian Murphy made zombie movies move faster than any zombie movie had moved before. Twenty-two years later, they’re ready to make the dead sprint again with 28 Years Later, part one of a diptych of legacy sequels surrounding the still-running problem of undead Brits. 28 Years Later’s plot is still a bit hazy, though we know there are doctors in this movie, and one of them is Ralph Fiennes playing a post-apocalyptic general practitioner helping a young boy’s sick mother (thoughts and prayers with that woman). There’s also some talk of a Bone Temple, which will be further explored in 2026’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
M3gan 2.0 (June 27)
Thanks to some tight dance moves and a macabre sense of humor, 2022’s M3gan slayed all day at the box office. The surprise hit served memes and scares in equal measure, priming its audience for an even campier sequel. Rest assured, M3gan 2.0 is booting up for a summer release, stepping away from the January doldrums of its predecessor and tiding us over until she and Annabelle can get their own team-up movie together. We’re asking again: Annabelle Loves M3gan, when?
Jurassic World Rebirth (July 2)
Universal was so preoccupied with whether or not it could, it didn’t stop to think if it should keep rebooting the praying-for-extinction Jurassic Park franchise. Ignoring the warnings of Dr. Ian Malcolm (and Jeff Goldblum, who “enjoyed trying to make [Jurassic World Dominion] good”), the studio is ramping up another Jurassic Park trilogy. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One and 2014’s Godzilla) and written by original series screenwriter David Koepp, Rebirth stars Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali. Still, all the talent in the world can’t hide the fact that there is very little mosquito blood left to drain. Even if critics hate Jurassic World Rebirth (and with a title like that, how could they?), the franchise continues to put butts in seats, which would make Dr. John Hammond proud.
Downton Abbey 3 (September 12)
They’re ba-a-a-ck. After the Crawley family’s brief dalliance with showbiz in Downton Abbey: A New Era, Julian Fellowes’ long-running upstairs-downstairs epic returns with Paul Giamatti in tow. He’ll have big shoes to fill as Downton Abb3y will be the first trip to Yorkshire since Dame Maggie Smith’s passing last year. There isn’t much known about this trilogy capper, but we won’t say no to some Giamatti in period clothing.
Tron: Ares (October 10)
Photo: Disney
Fifteen years after Disney last revved its neon Light Cycle, Tron: Ares arrives at a time more primed for sucked-into-a-video game narratives than the first two Tron movies ever imagined. Now that American audiences have been Welcomed To The Jungle via the Jumanji reboots, they may be more interested in Disney’s long-running computer-generated experiments. It won’t be easy, given how much of the sequel is still shrouded in mystery, save for one damning exception: The movie stars Jared Leto.
Predator: Badlands (November 7)
Director Dan Trachtenberg hit the bullseye with Prey, 2022’s surprising Predator prequel, pitting the monster against a Comanche warrior in 1719 and giving audiences the first truly great Predator movie since 1988. Trachtenberg’s follow-up, Predator: Badlands, takes the opposite route, sending the Predator to an alien planet far into the future. It’s another big gamble that does not, in any way, sound as attractive as a Predator in the 1700s. There are some things to pique our interest, though, including Elle Fanning playing two characters. That said, Trachtenberg promises the Predator is the protagonist this time, and “Predator is the hero” is never as fun as “Predator is going to rip your face off.” But Trachtenberg’s formal daredevilry has paid off in the past. Secrecy did 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey plenty of favors; the less we hear about Badlands is probably for the better.
Wicked: For Good (November 21)
Ever wonder how the Wicked Witch got so wicked? Wicked: For Good promises to settle the matter…for good. It’s hard to imagine there being even more to the story that wasn’t explored in the overlong Part One, but that movie did set up a few dangling threads that need tying. For what it’s worth, the second half of Wicked, the musical, doesn’t have a great reputation, with many scratching their heads at the idea of splitting the show into two movies in the first place. If Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo already sang the show’s best songs, why should we follow a yellow brick road towards For Good? We’ll at least keep holding space for another bizarre press tour filled with finger-holding.
Zootopia 2 (November 26)
Unlike Moana 2, Zootopia 2 wasn’t cobbled together from a discarded TV show and forced into theaters to refresh the brand for a 2026 live-action movie (allegedly). Still, the long-overdue sequel arrives nearly a decade after Disney’s colossal hit about a detective bunny rabbit and a con artist fox. Specifics are scarce, but Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Wilde (Jason Bateman) will return to the streets of Zootopia for another round of ill-advised metaphors about policing. Oh, and, yes, Shakira will be there too.
Avatar: Fire And Ash (December 19)
Our fingers are crossed that Fire And Ash comes out this year, but these Avatar sequels tend to be tardy. Not that we’re complaining, because they also tend to overdeliver. James Cameron’s third trip to Pandora again concerns the ongoing adventures of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his Na’vi bride Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) fighting off the continued colonization and ecological devastation of the latter’s homeland. This time, though, the call is coming from inside the house, with Pandora’s “Ash people,” a new Na’vi tribe Cameron’s been hyping, taking shots at the Sully clan. The joke’s on them, though, because that family is formidable.
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