Worst2First: My Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2025

Worst2First:
My Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2025

Summertime brings the big budget blockbusters to the big screen, and is the time of the year where cinemas see their highest profits. These ten films look to have audiences' butts in theater seats from May through August, and these are the ones I'm most excited to see.

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**
**DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**

#10

Jurassic Word: Rebirth

July 2

The "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" franchise has earned over a billion dollars worldwide, even though the last two "Jurassic World" films have a lot to be desired. Thinking the dinosaurs were indeed extinct on the big screen, they once again find new life in a standalone sequel to "Dominion" that came out in 2022. This time around we meet a new group of people who go to the old Jurassic Park to find DNA of dinosaurs from land, sea, and air that could be used to cure human ailments, but of course it's not that easy, as they're stalked on the island by the prehistoric predators. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bennett get their toes wet in the "Park/World" franchise, and maybe I'm too fatigued by the franchise, but I'm not overly excited to see it as others are.

#9

Hurry Up Tomorrow

May 16

Labeled a musical psychological thriller, "Hurry Up Tomorrow" looks at the darker side of fanaticism and worshiping celebrity. Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. "The Weeknd"), Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan star in this unique film where Tesfaye plays a fictionalized version of himself - a singer suffering from insomnia on the verse of a mental breakdown who meets a mysterious stranger that pulls him into an existential odyssey. This movie is unique in the fact that it's based off an album released by The Weeknd and directed by Trey Edward Shults, director of "Waves" and "It Comes at Night."

#8

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

May 23

Nearly 30 years ago, Tom Cruise re-vitalized the 1966 television series "Mission: Impossible" with the first movie, and since then it's spawned a total of eight films (including this one), amassing a cumulative total of over four billion dollars worldwide. Now it all ends with "The Final Reckoning," where Cruise's Ethan Hunt and his team are tasked with tracking down the mysterious Gabriel before he gets his hands on an AI program that could destroy the world. With a budget of over 400 million dollars, this is one of the most expensive movies ever made, and with the pedigree of its previous films (with the exception of the last, which was the victim of Barbenheimer), this looks to be a fitting end to the long-running franchise that spotlighted Cruise's insane stunts that has made him world famous.

#7

Final Destination: Bloodlines

May 16

The "Final Destination" franchise is a great series to make fun of, if not just for the simple fact that Death has a sense of humor. Each film is the same formula - someone has a vision of a catastrophe, they protect a certain group of people before it happens, and Death gets pissed off and comes after them one-by-one in intricately woven Rube Goldberg-style death traps. There's nothing new to any of the movies, but they're all entertaining in their own right (especially the second, with that highway scene that still gives people nightmares). Long thought dead, "Bloodlines" is going to re-vitalize the franchise as Death follows a family after the grandmother prevents a catastrophe decades earlier, and seemingly connects everything from all the movies to this point. This looks to be another blood-soaked joy ride if only dampened a little by mainstay Tony Todd's passing last year, as this serves as his final film.

#6

Megan 2.0

June 27

Horror's newest icon is back for a second go-around, and this movie is proof positive that the director of the first film had no idea he would have to direct a second. "Megan 2.0" is something totally different than the original, much like "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2" were vastly different, or "Alien" and "Aliens." Instead of another horror movie, "Megan 2.0" is taking the action route as Megan is re-created to stop an unstoppable killer android made to her specifications. This looks batty, insane, and downright silly, and I'm all for it.

#5

Thunderbolts*

May 2

The MCU's version of "Suicide Squad," "Thunderbolts*" brings together a gang of antiheroes to stop a world-ending threat, as long as they can learn to work together. Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and Olga Kurylenko star as Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, The Red Guardian, Ghost and Taskmaster as they fight the Void, the other personality of the powerful Sentry, played by Lewis Pullman. As the months went on I became more and more excited, and now I'm pumped to see how this all plays out.

#4

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

July 25

Marvel's first family has had subpar results on the big screen, as three "Fantastic Four" outings were met with mediocre reviews at best, and soul-crushing ones at worst. Now under the MCU umbrella, "First Steps" looks to be their best outing yet, and one that will establish them as the heroes we need. Set in a futuristic 1960s alternative world, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm become the Fantastic Four and must stop the intergalactic Galactus and his herald the Silver Surfer from annihilating the world. Skipping the traditional origin story, the FF are fully established already which will make for a more exciting outing, and Ralph Ineson's Galactus looks insane just from the brief glimpses we've gotten so far. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will take the family to new heights and I'm excited to see how it all pans out.

#3

Bring Her Back

May 30

An A24 horror film from the directors of the acclaimed "Talk to Me," "Bring Her Back" centers on a family who lost their mother and are introduced to their new sibling and foster mother, and learn she has a terrifying secret. Not much else is known about this film other than it stars Oscar-nominated actress Sally Hawkins and looks to be a terrifying, twisting story I can't wait to see play out.

#2

The Phoenician Scheme

June 6

Very few directors have maintained their integrity from movie to movie, and Wes Anderson is one of them. Once a trailer begins, you know an Anderson movie when you see it - he never changes his style, and to that we are all eternally grateful. He's gifted the world with the likes of "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The French Dispatch," "Isle of Dogs," "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "Asteroid City" among many, and now he returns with "The Phoenician Scheme," centering on an eccentric businessman and his nun daughter who become targets of tycoons, terrorists and assassins. Featuring another stellar ensemble cast including Benicio del Toro, newcomer Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch and others, this looks to be another rousing, hilarious caper from the ever-amazing Anderson.

#1

28 Years Later

June 20

Reuniting director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, "28 Years Later" is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed "28 Days Later" and "28 Weeks Later." 28 years after the Rage virus infected the world, a group of survivors live on an island connected to the mainland by a bridge, and when a father and son cross into the mainland on a mission, they discover the true horrors the outside world possesses. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jodi Comer and Jack O'Connell star in what will be another outstanding film in this stellar franchise.