11 Must-See Movie Sequels Coming Out in 2025 (and 5 That Aren’t)
2025 will be an exciting year in movies as Hollywood continues to capitalize on successful franchises. The year promises to deliver several highly-anticipated sequels, including long-awaited continuations to new chapters in film’s biggest franchises.
However, not every sequel fans hope for is set to make the cut in 2025. Script delays, released changes, and more will put a pause on some series.
Movie sequels coming in 2025
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Feb. 13 on Peacock, Feb. 14 in theaters) Renée Zellweger (not Jennifer Lawrence), Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson are back for the fourth installment of the Bridget Jones series. The follow-up to 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby is based on the novel by Helen Fielding. Newcomers Isla Fisher, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Leo Woodall join the cast. It hits Peacock on Feb. 13 and theaters worldwide on Feb. 14.
Captain America: Brave New World (Feb. 14) The Marvel Cinematic Universe tries to get back on track with Anthony Mackie’s feature-film debut as Captain America. Harrison Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk from the late William Hurt. Plot details are limited, but it sounds like Brave New World will be a political thriller similar to The Winter Soldier.
The Accountant 2 (April 25) It’s been nearly a decade, but the sequel to The Accountant finally arrives. Ben Affleck returns to action movies as accountant/money launderer Christian Wolff. Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson also reprise their roles from the original. Director Gavin O’Connor hasn’t shared much about the plot but has expressed interest in making the series a trilogy.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (May 23) Whether this really is the final mission for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt remains to be seen. But we know we’ll see a conclusion to the events from 2023’s Dead Reckoning. Cruise will be joined by Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, and Esai Morales.
Karate Kid: Legends (May 30) Generations of Karate Kid fans can come together for Legends, the sixth film in the franchise. Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan are back for this one, set three years after the series finale of Netflix’s Cobra Kai.
28 Years Later (June 20) It was five years between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Now after 18 years, fans get 28 Years Later. The film follows a Rage Virus survivor who leaves a safely guarded island and journeys to the mainland. Original director Danny Boyle is back, as is star Cillian Murphy. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes join the cast for the 2025 film.
Jurassic World Rebirth (July 2) Scarlett Johansson gets her chance to lead a Jurassic Park movie when Rebirth arrives this summer. The standalone sequel to Jurassic World: Dominion sees Johansson as a covert operations specialist bringing paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) on a mission to obtain life-saving genetic material from dinosaurs living in isolation.
Freakier Friday (Aug. 8) It took 20 years, but Freaky Friday finally gets its long-awaited sequel. Nearly the entire cast is back, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Lucille Soong and Rosalind Chao.
Untitled Downton Abbey: A New Era sequel (Sept. 12) Fans are cordially invited to Downton Abbey one more time. The third film is expected to be the final in the franchise, bringing back key cast members such as Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, and Laura Carmichael. Paul Giamatti and Dominic West also return.
Wicked: For Good (Nov. 21) The musical adaptation that took the world by storm concludes in 2025. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande follow up their Oscar-worthy performances with part two, picking up right where Wicked left off.
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec. 19) Director James Cameron closes out 2025 with his third Avatar film. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, and Giovanni Ribisi return from Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. Actors David Thewlis and Oona Chaplin join the franchise as new characters, with at least two more movie sequels planned for 2029 and 2031.
Movie sequels not coming in 2025
Scream VII Production delays and behind-the-scenes drama plagued the seventh installment in the Scream franchise. Director Christopher Landon dropped out in 2023, not long after star Jenna Ortega left the project. Things finally got on track with Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox set to reprise their roles for a planned February 2026 release.
Avengers: Doomsday Marvel’s timeline changed drastically over the past few years. Plans for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty fell through following star Jonathan Majors’ legal issues. The delay allowed the next Avengers movie to be reworked to Avengers: Doomsday, with Robert Downey, Jr. rejoining the MCU as Doctor Doom for a May 1, 2026 release.
Toy Story 5 Development on a fifth Toy Story began in February 2023, despite star Tom Hanks once saying the fourth film was the finale. In December 2024, Tim Allen revealed he recorded his dialogue for Buzz Lightyear. Disney will release Toy Story 5 on June 19, 2026.
Shrek 5 The success of Shrek 2 led DreamWorks to plot out a franchise that would hit Shrek 5 by 2013. But those plans were scrapped, and Shrek hasn’t been on the big screen since 2010. But the studio worked through story hangups and casting questions to finally put together a fifth installment with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all returning. The movie hits theaters on July 1, 2026.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes earned mixed reviews but gave the franchise enough legs to continue with more movie sequels. Suzanne Collins announced another prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, that immediately got put into production for a film adaptation. Set 40 years after Songbirds & Snakes and 24 years before the Jennifer Lawrence original, the movie is planned for a November 2026 release.
