2025 is in full swing now there are a bunch of upcoming sci-fi movies to get excited about. Sure, the year faltered out of the gate with the underwhelming Section 31, but there are some fantastic-looking movies on the way that should wash that taste out of our mouths.
From Avatar 3 to Tron: Ares, this year marks a monumental one for returning franchises, but quite unusually, the vast majority of the list below are brand-new entries to the sci-fi movie sphere. Many come from established backgrounds as books or graphic novels like the recently released Mickey 17 or The Electric State, but regardless, we’ve got a lot of time for fresh takes on the genre.
Looking at 2025’s lineup, we’re seeing an abundance of potential entries onto our best sci-fi movies of all time list, with A-list stars including Chris Pratt, Aaron Paul, and Scarlet Johansen all looking to further carve a name for themselves in this exciting landscape of cinema.
Most of this list will turn up in theaters first, but many of them will launch directly on streaming platforms, so be sure to check out our guide to the best streaming deals for 2025. Right, let’s blast off into our upcoming sci-fi movies list.
Updated 08/04/25: Removed Mickey 17, The Electric State, and Ash as these movies have all now released.
Thunderbolts (May 2, 2025)
- Release Date: May 2, 2025
- Cast: Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sebastian Stan, Rachel Weisz
Why take just one villain from the MCU, when you can have a group of supervillains working on behalf of the government? Thunderbolts* are a team of antiheroes, reformed (apparently) and they're brought in to protect the world. Thunderbolts is basically Marvel’s answer to DC’s Suicide Squad.
For the movie, we’ve got David Harbour returning as Captain America’s Russian counterpart, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova — Black Widow’s adoptive younger sister. We don’t know much about the plot as of yet, but Thunderbolts is lining up a stellar cast filled with big names even beyond the main team.
We're talking Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Wyatt Russell, and Hannah John-Kamen, who have all had their hand in sci-fi/superhero titles before, on the big and small screen.
Elio (June 13, 2025)
- Release Date: June 13, 2025
- Cast: Yonas Kibreab, America Ferrera, Jameela Jamil, Brad Garrett
Pixar is no stranger to sci-fi. With iconic movies like WALL-E, Onward, Robots, Elemental, and Lightyear under their belt, so their upcoming title, Elio, is much-anticipated.
11-year-old Elio Solis accidentally finds himself beamed up to an interplanetary organization known as Communiverse to speak with intergalactic beings. A string of errors leads to him being mistaken for the Ambassador of Planet Earth. He's only a kid though, so he must adapt, form alien bonds, and prove his right to represent human life to the rest of the universe.
While Elio struggles to fit in on Earth, the movie suggests that perhaps there’s a place in the universe for him as he becomes entangled in the intergalactic misadventure. Despite working across Turning Red, Lightyear, Coco, and The Good Dinosaur, this is director Adrian Molina's first foray into writing and directing his very own Pixar movie.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (July 2, 2025)
- Release Date: July 2, 2025
- Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend
Life found a way and Jurassic Park is back with Jurassic World Rebirth. This new installment stands apart from the sequel trilogy that concluded with Jurassic World: Dominion and is set to usher in the "new Jurassic era".
Set five years after Dominion, an expedition heads to an isolated region to extract the DNA of three massive prehistoric creatures for a “groundbreaking medical breakthrough.”
As is the case any time dinosaurs are involved, it’s not going to be easy and chances are good that someone is getting munched by a T.rex. Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey and Black Widow's Scarlett Johansson are signed up for the titular roles, with Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend also joining the cast in 2024 as Duncan Kincaid and Martin Krebs respectively.
Superman (July 11, 2025)
- Release date: July 11, 2025
- Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Isabela Merced
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s 2025’s Superman. For a long while now, the MCU has dominated the sci-fi movie landscape, but it’s finally time for Superman to fly the DCU into existence with a soft reboot of the previous DCEU. And, who better to do it than Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn?
This is not a Man of Steel sequel, as relative newcomer David Corenswet takes on the role of the iconic Clark Kent / Superman as he embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human family in Smallville. By the looks of things, this will be a younger, less experienced Superman than we saw Henry Cavill portray.
All the usual supporting suspects will appear with Lois Lane played by Rachel Brosnahan, and Lex Luthor played by Nicholas Hoult. There are some nods to the wider DCEU in the trailer, with a Green Lantern even making an appearance, played by Nathan Fillion. There’s a lot of hype over this one, and it’s mere months away.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25, 2025)
- Release date: July 25, 2025
- Cast: Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Julia Garner
Marvel isn’t going to let Superman go unopposed, lining up their latest installment of The Fantastic Four for a July collision. Another reboot, this time spearheaded by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a live-action take set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world.
The Fantastic Four must protect Earth from a cosmic being called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). It’s been a long time coming since the last Fantastic Four back in 2015 — a decade in fact — but Marvel Studios seem confident.
When it comes to The Fantastic Four cast, we’ve got man-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal takes on Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby stars as the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch, and The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing.
Mercy (Aug. 15, 2025)
- Release Date: August 15, 2025
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, Noah Fearnley
Chris Pratt has been busy. Aside from The Electric State and leaving the Jurassic Park franchise behind, Chris Pratt joins the cast of the upcoming sci-fi thriller, Mercy. Little is known about the plot, aside from it will follow a detective accused of a crime for which he is forced to prove his innocence. It’s directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted), which may hint at the style of movie we could expect here, but they’ve been very good at keeping it under wraps for now.
A flurry of cast members joined the movie with Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, and Noah Fearnley all starring. Filming wrapped in May, so as the cast and crew head into post-production, we can wait for more details as we head towards the August 2025 release date.
Tron: Ares (Oct. 10, 2025)
- Release Date: October 10, 2025
- Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson, Evan Peters
Tron is back with a standalone sequel to Tron: Legacy. As per its official description, Tron: Ares will follow a program, Ares (Jared Leto), which is sent from the digital world to the real world on a dangerous mission. It marks humankind’s first encounter with AI in the real world, so expect the unexpected.
After suffering from the delays of the SAG-AFTRA strikes (yes, we’re still talking about those), the cast and crew finally wrapped filming in May 2024. There are some incredible actors onboard with new appearances from Greta Lee, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Evan Peters, along with Jeff Bridges who will be reprising his role as Kevin Flynn from the previous movies.
Predator: Badlands (Nov. 7, 2025)
- Release Date: November 7, 2025
- Cast: Elle Fanning, TBA
While we’ve collated the Predator movies ranked, worst to best, this new installment is set to be something the franchise has never seen before. It brings back returning Prey director, Dan Trachtenberg, and he’s not done shaking up the film series as this time he’s focusing on the Predator as the main character.
Speaking to Empire, he revealed: “The creature is front and centre, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you can connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.”
Considering how well he did with Prey, we’re incredibly excited to see what he does with Badlands. Plot details are unknown at this point, and only one cast announcement has been made, with The Great’s Elle Fanning on board - we’ll keep you updated when we hear more.
Bugonia (Nov. 7, 2025)
- Release Date: November 7, 2025
- Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone, Cedric Dumornay
Director Yorgos Lanthimos is no stranger to working with Emma Stone and for his next movie, he’s at it again. This time round, it’s for Bugonia, a sci-fi flick following two conspiracy-obsessed men who kidnap the CEO of a major company. Why? Because they think she’s an alien who is about to destroy Earth. It sort of already exists, though not in English, as this is based on the South Korean film Save the Green Planet! However for this take, the gender swap of the central character sees Emma Stone cast as the female CEO.
We don’t know much else, other than that Jesse Plemons is onboard as Teddy, one of the conspiracists, and his mother is played by Alicia Silverstone. We also know that filming began in July 2024, so all seems well for hitting that November 2025 release date.
The Running Man (Nov. 21, 2025)
- Release Date: November 21, 2025
- Cast: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Katy M. O’Brian, Lee Pace
No, you’re not imagining things — The Running Man already exists. In 1982, Stephen King released the book of the same name (under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) and in 1987, they made a film of it. Now, in 2025, Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy director Edgar Wright is bringing it back. As per the official description, “In 2025, a game show called The Running Man has people chased by murderous Hunters across the world to win money.”
In 1987, The Running Man was Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time round, it’s Glenn Powell starring as Ben Richards, who volunteers to be 2025’s The Running Man for the deadly show. If he wins, he gets a cash prize that he can use to help his family and sick child. Of course, if he loses, well, he’s dead.
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec. 19, 2025)
- Release Date: December 19, 2025
- Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Oona Chaplin
While fans of Avatar waited 13 years for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, there won’t be such a long wait for the next in the franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which drops in December this year.
To be fair, director James Cameron made it very clear after Avatar’s success that this day was always going to come and there’s already Avatar 4 and 5 reportedly in various stages of production for 2029 and 2031 release dates.
In Avatar: Fire and Ash, different cultures are explored including the ‘Ash People’ - a fiery version of Na’vi, but other than that, the plot remains firmly under lock and key. What we do know is that for the third movie, the original cast will be returning to reprise their roles - that’s Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, to name but a few. Joining the cast in new roles are David Thewlis and Oona Chaplin.
City Rush 4 (TBA 2025)
- Release Date: TBA 2025
- Cast: Eric Roberts, Anna Rezan, George Tounas, Krishna Gandhi
Special agent Ace (George Tounas) returns for the latest entry into this series of short independent crime sci-fi movies. The next short — releasing across Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, and Tubi — follows a new threat for Ace and Nea that throws them back into the action. A mysterious gangster boss is leading an influx of crime, a virus, and android assassins. All of which need to be stopped by the agents.
While the first two shorts in the series were only ten minutes long, City Rush 4 looks set to follow in the third’s footsteps at just under an hour. As seen in the previous installment, City Rush 3, Eric Roberts will also be returning. With no official release date just yet, we’ll update here when we know more.
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