The most exciting movies and TV shows to watch in 2025

There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming year.

Happy New Year! It’s the time of epic hangovers, ambitious resolutions and, most of all, looking forward at what’s to come.

And in terms of movies and TV, at least, there’s plenty to get excited about. So read on as we take a look at the biggest, most exciting things to add to your watchlist in 2025.

The classic Universal monsters return from the dead

The classic Lon Chaney Jr incarnation of the Wolfman, a hairy, pug-nosed monster man


Back in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Universal Studios had a run of horror films that were so popular, so influential, that they cemented their monstrous villains as all-time screen legends. We’re talking Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, the Wolf Man and more: the granddaddies of on-screen terror.

There have been numerous attempts to resurrect these classic monsters over the decades, some successful - The Mummy (1999) - some not - The Mummy (2017) - but 2025 is shaping up to be the year when these old favourites finally rise from the grave in a big way.

Kicking things off is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu - technically not part of the Universal stable, but a remake of an unofficial adaptation of Dracula - swiftly followed by Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man. Then, later in the year, we have a mad science one-two punch in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride and, most excitingly, master of the macabre Guillermo Del Toro’s new adaptation of Frankenstein.

It’s a great time to be a monster fan.

Marvel makes a comeback… maybe

Red Guardian, a Russian superhero played by David Harbour, stands awkwardly leaning against a wall


Marvel Studios has had a rough time of it lately. After the transcendent success of Avengers: Endgame the superhero powerhouse has been on a bit of a downward slide, leading to some embarrassing critical (Secret Invasion) and commercial (The Marvels) failures.

But don’t count the studio out just yet - after all, Deadpool & Wolverine, the 34th(!) MCU film, was still the second highest-grossing film of the year. Plus, with a renewed focus on quality over quantity and some exciting stuff on the horizon, 2025 could see the House of Ideas claw its way back to the top.

Marvel’s year begins on somewhat shaky territory with Captain America: Brave New World which, on the one hand, has been reportedly getting mixed reactions from test screenings, and on the other has Harrison Ford turning into a Hulk - surely one of the greatest things ever put on screen.

Then comes Thunderbolts*, which looks like a genuinely fun return to form, and the highly-anticipated Fantastic Four: First Steps, which marks the first proper outing for Marvel’s First Family since the studio regained the film rights in 2019. And then there’s Daredevil: Born Again (more on that later).

In the (censored) words of Marvel’s new golden boy Deadpool: let’s freaking go!

The dawn of the DCU

Superman, here played by David Corenswet, walks determinedly away from an angry crowd


For all of Marvel’s big screen success, their arch-rivals DC have consistently struggled to capture the same kind of enthusiasm. Warner Bros. attempt at spinning up a cinematic universe - the DCEU - finally fizzled out with 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a film that seemed to be met with a collective shrug from moviegoers.

It’s not all been bad - HBO’s The Penguin might have been the best TV show of 2024 - but DC is about to return in a big way in 2025. James Gunn, the main creative force behind the brand new, rebooted DCU, will finally, properly reveal his vision for the superhero studio in July’s Superman.

The trailer - released just before Christmas - took the Internet by storm. Krypto the Super Dog! Lex Luthor packing heat! Guy Gardner’s horrific bowl cut! With bright, poppy colours and a tone of earnest hope, this glimpse of the DCU is the polar opposite of the grim, self-serious stuff that came before.

It’s a breath of fresh air for the DC characters, and hopefully the start of something big.

Sequels, sequels, sequels

A man hangs precariously from the struts of a biplane


As usual, Hollywood is betting big on existing properties in 2025, but this year there are some genuine reasons to get excited about the endless torrent of sequels and reboots.

Jurassic World: Rebirth promises a bit of a reboot for the series - only three years after 2022’s messy, disappointing Jurassic World: Dominion. This time Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson will be chased by prehistoric beasties, but the most exciting factors are behind the camera: director Gareth Edwards, who made the underrated 2014 Godzilla, and writer David Koepp, who penned the original Jurassic Park.

Tom Cruise returns for another (final?) impossible mission in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Expect more intrigue and death-defying stunts as Ethan Hunt puts everything on the line to stop a rogue AI.

Speaking of evil algorithms, Netflix will be releasing a sequel to Happy Gilmore of all things, as well as Wake Up Dead Man, the latest in Rian Johnson’s series of excellent Benoit Blanc mystery films (following Knives Out and Glass Onion).

And that’s just scratching the surface. 2025 will also see the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the latest installment in James Cameron’s epic sci-fi saga, 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s sequel to their own classic zombie thriller, and the second and final part of Jon M Chu’s phenomenally successful Wicked adaptation.

Some fan-favourite TV shows FINALLY get new seasons

Two '80s kids look worriedly at something offscreen - probably a monster


Remember the days when you could expect your favourite TV show to return at the same time every year, like clockwork? In the age of streaming, that time has seemingly passed… but on the bright side, it looks like 2025 is the year when all your recent faves finally come back.

After a three-year break, Netflix mega-hit Stranger Things will finally return for a fifth and final season. Expect emotions to run high as the loveable band of nerds and outcasts face off against the demonic Vecna one last time.

Sticking with the streamer, fans can also expect new seasons of WednesdayThe Witcher (sans Henry Cavill), Black MirrorThe SandmanSquid Game (yes, again) and the third and final part of Cobra Kai’s sixth season.

Elsewhere, 2025 sees the return of critically-acclaimed shows like SeveranceSlow HorsesThe White LotusAndor and Yellowjackets. Perhaps one of the most anticipated is the second season of HBO’s beautifully horrific post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us, which promises to adapt the divisive - but utterly brilliant - sequel to the original blockbuster video game.

Then there’s Daredevil: Born Again, Disney’s attempt at reviving the acclaimed Netflix superhero show from 2015. After some significant reworking behind the scenes, this brings back the core cast - including Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson and Vincent D’Onofrio as the terrifying Wilson Fisk - and, hopefully, the same thoughtful, adult tone and brutal, bone-crunching violence that made Netflix iteration such a hit.

TV spin-offs galore

Pennywise, a demonic creature masquerading as a clown, smiles sinisterly at the screen


It’s not all returning shows though; there’s plenty of new TV to get stuck into in 2025, the most exciting of which are spin-offs of popular movies and TV shows.

The world of Westeros returns after last year’s somewhat divisive sophomore season of House of the Dragon, this time in new series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This is set before the original show (but not as long ago as HOTD), and follows the adventures of roving hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg.

Staying on the theme of prequel series, Welcome to Derry will explore the titular New England town before the events of the It movies. Set in the ‘60s, the show will see a brand new cast of characters face off against the evil presence that lives in Derry’s sewers, and will reportedly also cover the origin of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård, reprising his role from the films).

And finally we have Alien: Earth, a brand new vision of cosmic terror from acclaimed creator Noah Hawley (Fargo) which will see the nefarious xenomorphs unleashed on our home planet. Scary stuff.

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