The film adaptations of 2025: Superman flies, Fantastic Four clobbers, Daffy Duck saves the world

Fans of Stephen King’s short stories are eating well. Oz Perkins’ follow-up to Longlegs is about a cursed cymbal-clanging monkey toy that seemingly attracts horrifying deaths. In classic King form, the movie sees the monkey (and its trail of carnage) haunting a pair of young twins, who must reunite later in life to break the curse. The first collaboration between Perkins and producer James Wan, The Monkey stars Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, and Elijah Wood. It also looks like a bloody good time.

The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (February 28)

It’s still not quite clear why The Day The Earth Blew Up—the unexpected 2D Looney Tunes feature film—is receiving a theatrical release, while Coyote Vs. Acme stays locked in the WB water tower. But let’s not complain for fear of further Tune incarceration. We’re dying to see Daffy Duck and Porky Pig back on the big screen, and not part of a synergistic marketing ploy to get kids to watch The Devils. Strictly a Duck Dodgers-esque affair, the film follows Daffy and Porky (both voiced by Eric Bauza) as they discover an alien plot to blow up the Earth.

Snow White (March 21)

Another year, another live-action remake of a Disney classic. The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb attempts to realize the most beloved and influential animated motion picture of all time in three glorious dimensions, but the story remains the same on-screen and off. Snow White’s (Rachel Zegler) Evil Queen stepmother (Gal Gadot) talks to a magic mirror and exiles Snow White to the forest, where she meets seven weird little guys. Based on the trailer, though, reality isn’t doing those Dwarfs any favors. Grumpy, Dopey, Doc, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, and Happy look like melting wax potatoes. Snow White is also a culture war powder keg, facing the same racist backlash as The Little Mermaid, an all-too-common narrative that Disney still doesn’t seem equipped to navigate.

A Minecraft Movie (April 4)

The first 30 seconds of A Minecraft Movie’s trailer seems like an ad for child labor. Then again, this is adapting a game aimed at getting a pickaxe in those tiny hands, so that fits! The story of Steve (Jack Black), who dreamed since childhood of developing black lung from working in coal mines, gets sucked into a world free of coal dust but riddled with microtransactions. The first attempt at adapting Minecraft, the plotless video game that has become the bane of grade-school teachers the world over, looks appropriately goofy with Black and Jason Momoa yukking it up surrounded by the blocky, choppy effects of the game. Like The Lego Movie, A Minecraft Movie will seemingly focus more on the importance of playing than putting in a plot.

The Amateur (April 10)

Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek is back where he belongs: behind the keyboard. Playing a CIA decoder and mouse jockey in what can charitably be called Dork Deathwish (Dorkwish?), television’s favorite hacker is linking up with cyberspace’s best hacker sensei, Laurence Fishburne, to hunt down the terrorists who killed Malek’s wife. Holt McCallany plays Malek’s superior, a stuffed shirt who has to, in turn, hunt down the amateur assassin before he kills all these terrorists. We look forward to seeing the Robert Littell adaptation where it belongs, which is immediately following The Accountant on TNT.

Mickey 17 (April 18)

Mickey 17 has had almost as many release dates as there are Robert Pattinsons in the trailer, which keeps us from getting too excited about seeing Bong Joon-ho’s latest this April. While Warner Bros. might not have much faith in the picture as an Oscar or box office player, we’re ready to see whatever Bong has in store with his take on the Edward Ashton novel—whenever it does actually come out. Frankly, considering Bong delivered one of the best Best Picture winners ever, Warner Bros. should have more faith in the guy. Mickey 17 is about a dystopic future in which a space grunt is cloned and reincarnated every time he dies on the job. Plus, Pattinson does a funny voice. How could it miss? 

Lilo & Stich (May 28)

Look, we love Lilo & Stitch, and with all due respect to the Treasure Planet boosters out there, Lilo might be Disney’s final 2D animated masterpiece. Does it need a “live-action” remake? Not any more than Moana or Snow White does. Nevertheless, Lilo & Stitch feels the least dire of all these attempts (mostly because there’s no real-life Stitch for comparison). Still, the speed at which Disney burns through its source material is surprising. Disney assumes audiences will return for Stitch: A Lilo & Stitch Story in a few years, and maybe they will. But one of these days, the Mouse House will have to think of a new idea, and we very much look forward to that day. Heck, it couldn’t even be bothered to think of a fresh advertising campaign for this one. 

The Life Of Chuck (May 30)

After offering the last five years of his career to Netflix, horror maestro Mike Flanagan is diving back into Stephen King adaptations. Pulling from a 2020 novella, Flanagan’s adaptation of The Life Of Chuck seemingly offers a bit of a palate cleanser from the Hauntings and Midnights of his streaming days. Chuck pulls more from the Shawshank Redemption end of the King spectrum, with Tom Hiddleston optimistically facing doomsday to reportedly hilarious and emotional ends. 

How To Train Your Dragon (June 13)

Universal isn’t going to sit back and let Disney walk away with all the “live-action” remake money. The studio and Dragon’s stalwart director, Dean DeBlois, are taking Toothless for another spin. But, apparently, you can’t teach an old dragon new tricks. Unlike Disney’s photorealistic approach to The Lion King and Snow White, Toothless looks exactly like its animated counterpart, while those around him are boringly rendered in flesh and blood. 

Superman (July 11)

There’s always a lot riding on a Superman movie. The superhero urtext is a franchise foundation once again as James Gunn presents his revitalized vision for a DC film universe. David Corenswet stars as Big Blue in what looks to be a much more hopeful and gleefully silly version of the Man Of Steel than Man Of Steel. Still, it’s been nearly 50 years since the general public agreed on a Superman movie, and if Gunn’s doesn’t work, the new DCU might be over before it begins. Thankfully, he’s got a secret weapon: Krypto The Superdog. 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25)

Speaking of superhero roots, Marvel Comics’ first family is taking its First Steps this July. After decades of disappointing adaptations, Marvel hopes to get the Fantastic Four right. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) have been notoriously tricky characters to adapt—just ask filmmakers Tim Story and Josh Trank. Moreover, there is no ‌Fantastic Four without Doctor Doom, and we’ve heard nothing about Robert Downey Jr. showing up in Latveria for reshoots. Still, even though Galactus is the villain in First Steps, we wouldn’t be surprised if the former Tony Stark popped up in a post-credits scene.

The Naked Gun (August 1)

Liam Neeson is walking among the tombstones on hallowed ground with this remake of The Naked Gun, a reboot of the Leslie Nielsen cop-movie spoof. Thankfully, he’s off on the right foot. Directed by Lonely Islander Akiva Schaffer, Naked Gun smartly centers on another unflappable lead, one well-versed in the genre of holding a gun and looking for a killer. Nielsen’s success as a straight man made him a riotous Detective Frank Drebin. We’re sure Neeson will handle the situation maturely like a responsible adult. Isn’t that right, Mr. Poopy Pants?

The Bride! (September 26)

The first of two Frankenstein adaptations coming out this year, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s entry focuses primarily on The Bride, ahem, The Bride! Little is known about this reinterpretation of Mary Shelley and James Whale other than it stars Christian Bale as the Monster and Jessie Buckley as The Bride(!). Supposedly set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! sees Dr. Frankenstein enlisting the help of Dr. Euphronius, the mad scientist who trained him, to build himself a companion. We have to say, we’re only a little disappointed by the height of Buckley’s hair in the random photos we’ve seen. Hopefully, the movie has enough electricity to give the Bride the hair height she deserves. 

Michael (October 3)

Who knows what to expect from director Antoine Fuqua’s biopic about one of the most complicated, controversial, and revered figures in pop music, Michael Jackson? Though considering the production spent two years casting Michael, only to hire Jackson’s nephew Jaafar as the King Of Pop, we don’t expect Michael to dive into the allegations of child sexual abuse that tarnished his reputation before his shocking death in 2009. Michael follows the Moonwalker throughout his life, observing the highs and lows (but probably not too low) of his history-making career. Still, we have a hard time imagining Michael surpassing miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream as the definitive family history. Thankfully, as with most biopics, the music will be doing half of the entertaining.

The Running Man (November 21)

It’s about time a new Running Man hustled into theaters. One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most endearing ’80s sci-fi vehicles, The Running Man still has a lot of cultural relevance—and not just because the original Richard Bachman (a Stephen King pseudonym) novel is set in 2025. Glen Powell takes over for Arnie as the most dangerous game show contestant on TV, outrunning a league of hunters hoping to kill him before he can collect a cash prize. A mix of sci-fi thrills and gleefully violent satire, The Running Man could also be a bit of a comeback for Edgar Wright, who’s faltered a bit in his post-Cornetto Trilogy years. This proto Squid Game could meet the moment it helped build toward.

Frankenstein (TBD)

2025’s other Frankenstein adaptation comes from Netflix’s favorite horror auteur, Guillermo del Toro. One of those project-filmmaker matches made in heaven, the meeting of classic Universal Monster aesthetics and del Toro makes a lot of sense. Few, if any, modern Oscar winners treat Gothic and schlocky horror with as much reverence as del Toro, but we’d still like to know what will make his version different from all that came before. Between Poor Things and The Bride!, we’re lousy with Frankensteins these days. However, del Toro did cast Jacob Elordi as the Monster, leading us to believe his approach is “hot Frankenstein.” Well played.