This is my third year of doing a most anticipated list and I have to say it is a lot of fun. It always gets me excited about what is to come and lets me reflect on how expectation lived up to reality.

Of my Top 10 films last year two have been postponed into next year. American audiences will get to see Nosferatu in 2024 but we have to wait until New Year’s Day in the UK. Whilst Mickey 17 has changed date three times in the release calendar and now is looking at a March release date. The trailers for both films have increased my anticipation to incredibly high levels. Of the other eight films I have to say it was a high success rate with only Megalopolis landing really wide of the mark, but I always knew that could be a disaster based on its gestation period and director.

In a couple days I will post my favourite films of the year and you can see where the others featured in my list. For now though lets look forward to 2025.

1. The Battle Of Baktan Cross

Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson is a phenomenal talent and any movie project of his is always hugely anticipated by me. Little is known about this film and until very recently it did not even have a title, so it would not surprise me if I was talking about this film by a different name in next year’s article. What we know so far is that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim and Benicio Del Toro and is loosely based on a book by Thomas Pynchon named Vineland. Anderson’s Inherent Vice was also based on one of Pynchon’s novels so he clearly is a fan of the author. If you want to check out my thoughts on Anderson’s body of work check these out:

• Paul Thomas Anderson Retrospective
• Licorice Pizza

The Battle of Baktan Cross is currently earmarked for release in August.

2. The Phoenician Scheme

Writer/Director Wes Anderson is a phenomenal talent and any movie project of his is always hugely anticipated by me. Wes Anderson’s latest film only takes second place to P.T. Anderson on this year’s list by virtue of him having released films more recently and therefore me not being as starved for his next project. Perhaps even less is known about this project than my number one choice with its plot being referred to as an espionage comedy-drama. Wes Anderson co-wrote this feature with Roman Coppola making it their sixth collaboration on writing duties and as per most Anderson films it features a huge ensemble cast that includes; Benicio Del Toro, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Cera, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (the above image is a picture of her in Anderson’s Asteroid City). If you want to check out my thoughts on Anderson’s body of work check these out:

• Wes Anderson Retrospective
• The French Dispatch
• Asteroid City
• The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar & Other Tales

The Phoenician Scheme is meant to be debuting at the Berlinale Film Festival in February so I hope that we should not have to wait too long after that to see it.

3. 28 Years Later

In a stunning example of recency bias 28 Years Later has rocketed up this list thanks to its truly exceptional teaser trailer released in December. Whilst the third film in this trilogy was on my radar, it was much lower on this list when it was in draft form. Then the trailer arrived featuring the Rudyard Kipling poem “Boots” as read by actor Taylor Holmes in a recording made in 1915. It makes the horror trailer perfectly chilling to go along with the images of zombies terrorising Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes. But the more I read about the film the more interesting it gets.

Writer/Director combo of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle are returning to the franchise after sitting out sequel 28 Weeks Later. The entire film was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max. A sequel entitled “28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple” was shot back to back with this film and directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman (2021) & The Marvels). And Danny Boyle has confirmed he is working on this being a trilogy of sequels suggesting one more film to round off the series.

I will definitely be returning to the original films shortly before this film’s release scheduled for June.

4. Superman

I am both excited and terrified at what Superman might be. On November 1st, 2022 James Gunn and his producing partner Peter Safran assumed their positions as Co-Chairperson’s and CEO’s of the newly branded “DC Studios” and placed in control of all films, television and animation projects relating to DC. The DC universe limped out a final few projects as they wrapped up and Superman will be the first major flagship release under this new leadership.

James Gunn is of course best known for his superb Marvel Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 / Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3) and The Suicide Squad for DC. All of those films prove his understanding and affinity for the Superhero movie. But the tone of those superhero squads seems some way away from Superman. But lets have some faith in Gunn’s track record and hope that we get another Superman to remember.

Casting wise we have the relatively unknown David Corenswet in the lead role as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

Superman is planned to fly into the cinema in July.

5. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

The title change is allegedly due to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One underperforming at the Box Office, but “The Final Reckoning” is the direct sequel to Dead Reckoning which will also drop the “Part One” from the title.

Tom Cruise returns with Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg to perform more outlandish stunts in the thrilling action series.

If you want to read all my thoughts on the series to date check out my ranked article where I review all of the films and rank both the villains and the movies:

• Mission: Impossible – Ranked

Ethan Hunt and his team return in May.

6. The Bride!

The Bride! is being called a musical science fiction movie inspired by the 1935 film “Bride Of Frankenstein” which is based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. And as crazy as that might sound the talent that is behind the feature gives me hope that it might be genuinely brilliant.

It is written, produced and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal whose directorial debut The Lost Daughter was incredibly promising. And stars Jessie Buckley as The Bride (seen in the image above), Christian Bale as Frankenstein, Jake Gyllenhaal (Maggie’s brother), Peter Sarsgaard (Maggie’s husband), Penelope Cruz, Annette Benning and Julianne Hough.

Radiohead and The Smile guitarist Jonny Greenwood is on scoring duties as well.

The Bride! is due to arrive in cinemas in September.

7. The Fantastic Four

Marvel have three big movies releasing in 2025. Captain America: Brave New World arrives in February followed by Thunderbolts in May. But it is The Fantastic Four that intrigues me the most. The comics have a wealth of exciting storylines and fantastic (sorry!) characters that have never really been capitalised on in the previous three films based on them. So I am hoping that their inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will change all of that.

Director Matt Shakman will be making his feature film debut, but is an experienced TV director with episodes of Mad Men, Fargo, Game Of Thrones and Succession behind him the hope is that he can step up to the big screen. His involvement to date with Marvel is as the director of the WandaVision series which certainly showed a flare for kitsch that might come in handy for The Fantastic Four.

The casting choices appear to be interesting as well. The reliable Pedro Pascal is Reed Richards. Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible) is Sue Storm. Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) is Johnny Storm. Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) is Ben Grimm. Julia Garner is The Silver Surfer. And Ralph Ineson is Galactus.

The Fantastic Four arrive July 25th.

8. The Running Man

A remake! Hollywood should be making original films! Well sometimes remakes are spectacularly good and at the time of writing the top twenty highest grossing movies of 2024 are all sequels or based on existing material. So until people actually make original films profitable Hollywood is going to look at films with built in audiences. So why should we care about this one?

Firstly, it will be co-written and directed by Edgar Wright the man behind Spaced, Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Baby Driver and Last Night In Soho. So we know straight away that it should have a lot of style, great action and a cool soundtrack.

Secondly, it will star Glen Powell who is currently about as close to an old fashioned leading man that Hollywood has right now. Top Gun Maverick, Twisters and Hit Man have shown his range and charisma to lead a film. Alongside him are Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Josh Brolin and William H. Macy.

And finally, this is meant to be a more faithful adaptation of the Stephen King novel than the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film. So we can at least expect something different from that version.

This one is expected November 21st.

9. Predator: Badlands & Possible Secret Predator Film

Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey (2022) did so well on streaming services that 20th Century Studios and Disney were kicking themselves they did not put it out in cinemas. Thankfully that meant we got to see Alien: Romulus on the big screen, but it also meant that they gave Trachtenberg free reign to make more Predator films.

Badlands has been shrouded in secrecy and all that is known currently is that Elle Fanning will star as one of two sisters trying to survive against the mightiest hunters the universe has to offer. But even more secret is another film directed by Trachtenberg that studio executive Steve Asbell says is shot and will be released in 2025 as well. The question of what it is and how it will be released is unknown. For all we know it is an animation coming to streaming or another live action film landing in the cinema. Or perhaps it is all just hype and does not exist?

Badlands is slated for November 7th. The possible secret film has no date.

10. Sinners

The dream combination of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan joins together again for a vampire genre movie. Coogler has previously directed Jordan in Black Panther, Fruitvale Station and Creed.

Coogler writes, produces and directs Jordan in the dual roles of twins Elijah and Elias. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell and Delroy Lindo supporting.

This one arrives April 18th.

And What About..?

Films in last year’s list that were delayed:

• Nosferatu – Robert Eggers feature was Number 5 on my list last year and honestly is one of my most anticipated movies this year. Releases January 1st.
• Mickey 17 – Bong Joon Ho’s feature was Number 10 on my list last year and the trailer showing Robert Pattinson in his dual role makes this look like a must watch this year. Releases March 7th.
• Ballerina – Ana de Armas steps into the world of John Wick in this spin off movie directed by Len Wiseman who is best known for the Underworld series. Releases June 7th.

Acting titans whose films veer between genius and horrific these days:

• Alto Knights – Robert De Niro takes on dual roles as rival mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello in a film written by Nicholas Pileggi (writer of Wiseguy, which Goodfellas is adapted from) and directed by Barry Levinson (director of Rain Man, The Natural and Diner). This film will likely be awful or special based on the current form of these artists but we can only think positive thoughts for now. Releases March 21st.
• The Ritual – Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star as priests in a horror movie about exorcisms. I probably have more faith in Dan Stevens recent track record than Pacino’s but the fact that Stevens was a late replacement for Ben Foster does not inspire confidence. Releases April 18th.

Giant blockbuster sequels that should deliver the goods:

• Wicked: Part Two – Wicked was fantastic. Lets hope the second half is just as good. Releases November 21st.
• Jurassic World: Rebirth – The franchise has already had two trilogies and now they have handed the reigns to Director Gareth Edwards, most famous for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Creator. Scarlett Johansson will head this story up alongside Mahershala Ali. Releases July 2nd.
• Avatar: Fire And Ash – Who would ever bet against James Cameron and a Christmas release date? Avatar and Avatar: The Way Of Water broke box office records, but will people be bored of blue people in stunning CGI worlds by Christmas 2025? Releases December 19th.

A double bill from auteur Steven Soderbergh:

• Presence – A haunted house movie starring Lucy Liu and Julia Fox. Releases January 17th.
• Black Bag – A spy thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rege-Jean Page, Naomie Harris and Pierce Brosnan. Releases March 14th.

Animations turning into live action:

• Lilo & Stitch – Disney continue turning their classic animations into live action. Releases May 23rd
• How To Train Your Dragon – And DreamWorks have decided to get in on this money spinning format! Releases June 13th

So there we go… 19 new films to look forward to… if you do not count the 3 I already mentioned last year! What are you looking forward to?