There’s a lot about this new year that I’m looking forward to. At least 25 of them are movies or TV shows–generally sequels, franchise instalments, video game adaptations or follow-ups seasons to TV shows that I’ve watched.

Well, I can’t actually say that I’m especially looking forward to all of these, but I am aware that they are happening and there is some chance that I will watch them. Let’s have a look at what I have in mind, and and rank ’em based on how much I am excited to see them.

25. A Minecraft Movie

Expected in cinemas on April 4.

Actually, I’m not looking forward to this movie at all. But the film looks so pointless and uninteresting that I had to include it here, on the clear bottom of the pile. If I watch it, it’ll just be to see if it’s as ridiculous as it looks. My daughter is a big fan of Minecraft the game, and she has no intention of watching this. I think as soon as she found out the film was a portal fantasy, akin to Jumanji, rather than just an extrapolation of the world, like The Lego Movie, she was put ff.

24. How to Train Your Dragon

Expected in cinemas on June 13

OK, so we all know that live action adaptations of animated classics are mostly the pits.And the teaser for the live action How to Train Your Dragon didn’t inspire confidence, especially with Toothless (the titular dragon), who seems to hew a little too closely to his animated look. I know most of the time people complain when adaptations (of any sort) change things from the source material, but at a glance it feels like the world shifted to live action but the dragon was just copied and pasted from the original film, which makes a strange look.

So in truth, I’m not actually looking forward to this movie all that much and am not all that interested in seeing it. But I include it since it does have that recognisable IP quality that makes it a movie I’m at least aware of this far away from the release date. And it does have going for it the fact that this is a Dreamworks movie and not Disney–Dreamworks are less tested in this animation-to-live action adaptation arena so who knows, maybe they’ll do something great.

23. Ironheart

Expected on Disney+ starting on June 25

The MCU has, as many know, been home to a lot of mid to mediocre to outright bad projects over the last five years, and one of these was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. One of the mid aspects of that film was Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who now gets her own six-episode series on Disney+. I am not actually looking forward to this is any way, but I have a pretty high tolerance for the mid-level superhero stuff. And I have a daughter who is at least excited by the Riri Williams from the comics, and is hopeful (though not confident) that this show might do a good with her.

22. Star Trek: Section 31

Expected on Paramount+ on January 24

The only reason this ranks better than Ironheart is that it’s a movie and not a series, so it can be over and done with a lot quicker. I don’t really like the Section 31 concept in Star Trek, I had loads of problems with Star Trek Discovery (which the aspect of Star Trek that this movie is most connected to), and I think our media landscape is oversaturated with Michelle Yeoh (and she was one of my least favorite things in Discovery). So I’ll definitely watch this–I watch pretty much everything that is part of Star Trek, but I’m not hopeful about it.

Of course, I’ll be very glad to be wrong.

21. The Thursday Murder Club

Expected on Netflix sometime in 2025

I don’t know a lot about this. I haven’t read the novel it’s based on, and I don’t know the actual plot. But I do know it’s a high-profile mystery story project, and I am excited to see these continue to be part of a year’s regular movie releases. And this movie has got a fun cast that includes Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Richard E. Grant, Paul Freeman, Ingrid Oliver and more. So yeah, bring it on!

20. Captain America: Brave New World

Expected in cinemas on February 14

I mentioned the mediocre run of projects from Marvel that we’ve had for a while–Captain America: Brave New World does not actually look like it’ll be the movie to break that trend, even with high profile inclusions like having Captain America in the title, having a Hulk in the trailer, and having Harrison Ford in the cast. But still…who knows…maybe? Whilst I doubt this will be my Valentine’s Day date with my wife, I’ll probably see it in the cinema I’m guessing.

19. Jurassic World Rebirth

Expected in cinemas on July 2

Now this is exactly what we need–another Jurassic Park film. Oh well, who knows, it might be awesome. And in fact, even if it’s tremendously stupid, it’s always fun to see dinosaurs menacing people, and this time the cast seems to be all new. This is good–I think we’ve worked the nostalgic need to see everybody from the original trilogy again out of our system. So bring it on–let’s see if we can squeeze another couple of hours of fun out of this thing.

I’m only disappointed that the the producers still haven’t opted to pursue my “Jurassic Avenger” idea from a few years ago. Come on guys, it’s not too late…!

18. Karate Kid Legends

Expected May 30

I’m not the biggest Karate Kid fan, but I’ve seen the original film with Ralph Macchio, I watched the Jackie Chan remake on the plane once, and I saw the first couple of episodes of Cobra Kai when it was free on Youtube, and I enjoyed them all. The trailer for Karate Kid Legends, featuring both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan looked pretty good, and makes the film look like a fun attempt to do a nostalgia-driven legacy sequel (as opposed to a pointless attempt). I don’t know if I’ll actually go to the cinemas to see this, but if I do I think it might be enjoyable along the same lines that Top Gun Maverick or Twisters was.

17. Wonder Man

Expected on Disney+ in December

Wonder Man an upcoming Marvel show about a super-powered guy who is cast as an actor in a superhero TV series which is being produced in the fictional world of the MCU. It’s being released under a “Marvel Spotlight” banner, which means you shouldn’t expect it to have some great impact on the greater story of the MCU. (Of course, at the moment, the only reason we have any sense of the greater story of the MCU at all is the promotional hype about another Avengers movie and Robert Downey jr appearing as Doctor Doom.). This is similar to Echo and Agatha All Along, both of which I skipped completely because of either overwhelming disinterest or because the projects were actively off-putting to me. But Wonder Man looks like it could be fun–like the sort of light-hearted comic book goofiness that She-Hulk was trying to be in its better moments.

16. Daredevil: Born Again

Expected on Disney+ on March 4

The last and highest ranked of the Marvel TV shows on this countdown, Born Again would be much much higher if it weren’t for the fact that we’ve already had a good Daredevil show, and its hard to imagine this one being anything but a let-down compared to it. But who knows, maybe it will feel like a solid fourth season to the Netflix series, existing it seems in the same continuity and with much of the same cast. Either way, I’m sure I’ll watch it and judge it like the old fan I am.

15. Thunderbolts*

Expected in cinemas on May 2

Thunderbolts* is maybe the entry on this whole countdown that I’ve watched the most advanced promotional material for, and it’s left me with a very mixed general impression. Some of it looks like good, snarky superhero fun featuring a bunch of characters who I mostly like. But other bits just look like cringeworthy but weak efforts to recapture the magic of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Which tone will eventually prove dominant? I don’t know, but there is a very solid chance I’ll be in the cinemas to find out.

14. Stranger Things 5

Expected on Netflix sometime in 2025

Time was, a new Stranger Things season would have been a massive source of hype and anticipation for the year, but now it doesn’t actually crack into the upper half of my list. I loved the early years of this show but found the fourth season to have some severe weaknesses in terms of pacing, scene construction, the use of some of its characters. It’s made me lose confidence in the show in a big way (in spite of how good some of it was, ie Sadie Sink running to the sound of Kate Bush). I’m hopeful that they will pull things together to make for strong finale, but I’m wary.

13. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Expected on Netflix sometime in 2025

Landing in the middle of this pile is the next sequel to Knives Out, featuring Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc investigating another crime. I enjoyed both of the first two films, and so another instalment is welcome, though not something I’m actively aware of most of the time. It will suddenly show up on Netflix at some point through the year, and then its safe bet that I’ll check it out.

12. Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Expected in cinemas on May 23

I’ve always enjoyed the Mission Impossible series, even with its wild shifts in quality. I have the unpopular opinion that the best movie in the franchise was Mission Impossible III, followed by Mission Impossible Fallout, aka #6 in the series. So I was disappointed when #7 (the now awkwardly titled Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One) was nowhere near up to that level, in spite of the fact that it featured a lot of the same cast under the same director.

So anyway, all that to say, I’m in for Part 8, but not fully confident. However, it’s been a year–I may be over the fact that they killed off Rebecca Ferguson in the last movie, and therefore more prone to enjoy it. We’ll see.

11. Silo – Season 2, episodes 8-10

Already on Apple TV+

Speaking of Rebecca Ferguson, there is Silo, the first follow-up season to a series that I’ve seen to show up on this list. I’m limiting this entry to the last three episodes of season 2 because those are the only ones that came out in 2025, which was a boundary for this list. I actually thought the first season of the show was a bit lacklustre–intriguing but a chore to get through. But I have watched so far the first two episodes of the second season and thought the first one was excellent, and the second one was fine, so that’s raised my expectations quite a bit. Time will tell if they are met or disappointed.

10. Only Murders in the Building season 5

Hoped for sometime in 2025 on Disney+ (at least, here in Australia)

Actually, I don’t know anything about the fifth season of Only Murders in the Building, in terms of production or release. The last season of the comedy-mystery ended with another murder, setting up a new season, and the first four were released every year from 2021-2024, in spite of pandemics and strikes and everything else, so I am hopeful. It’s a clever show that provides a fun experience, so another season would be welcome.

9. All Creatures Great and Small season 6

Anticipated late in 2025 on Britbox (for me in Australia)

All Creatures Great and Small will most likely feature a lot less murder then most things on this list, but even with the smaller stakes, it’s a really nice series that many in my family enjoy watching together. Even so, we somehow managed to miss the fifth season entirely, so we’ll no doubt catch up on that over the year before the sixth season debuts, presumably late in 2025.

8. Andor season 2

Expected on Disney+ starting on April 22

The second season of what is easily the best live-action Star Wars series hits in April. This is the show that like no other makes you feel how terrible life is under the Empire, and so the story of how the rebellion comes to be and how different figures become involved is incredibly gripping. Having said that, the first season took some effort to get into, and so I think this might be similar–good drama, but not as fun to watch as some other things.

7. Wicked: For Good

Expected in cinemas on November 21

I only saw Wicked a few days ago, and had some mixed feelings about it. But there is no doubt it was a sumptuous production anchored by a couple of incredible vocal performances. I’m totally down for the second half of the story, and would be happy to see it in the cinemas as well.

6. Doctor Who season 2 (aka series 15)

Expected on Disney + maaaaybe in May? It’s hard to tell

Doctor Who is ostensibly my favorite show but it’s been a few years since it would have been my favorite thing in a given year. I hope that the next season is great because I always hope that, but if recent evidence is any indication it will probably be a mixed bag. I do enjoy Ncuti Gatwa’s performance and so there will probably always be something fun to watch, and I’ll surely be there for every episode.

5. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Expected in cinemas on July 25

There has never been a good Fantastic Four movie, but maybe that will all change on July 25. Of course, that’s how I also felt in 2015 when Josh Trank’s movie was coming out, and we all saw how that worked out. There is a lot about this movie that I’m not excited about in terms of the casting and the 1960s parallel-earth setting, but still the prospects of a good version of this property makes me very excited. I don’t know why exactly–I’m not the biggest Fantastic Four fan. I think it’s just the way the concept mixes science fiction with such a heavy dose of fantasy and wonder–if it’s done well, the I think it’d be a unique transporting experience.

4. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3

Expected on Paramount+ sometime in 2025

Strange New Worlds is for me an easy pick for the best modern day Star Trek series. I am a huge fan of the mix of classic standalone episodes with modern character development and story progression. It completely avoids the pacing problems which have plagued both Picard and Discovery. And Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike is one of the best characters in the franchise. The second season ended on a cliffhanger (a bold move in these streaming service days) and so we’ve been eagerly anticipating the follow-up, not so much because “I need to know what happens next”, but more because I want to see this series continue to a point where it can reach a logical ending.

3. Tron: Ares

Expected in cinemas on October 10

I have no reason to think this film will be particularly good, but I still rank it very highly because I just loooove Tron. I’ve been saying for years that I’d trade all future Star Wars projects if I could just a third Tron movie. That’s an exaggeration of course, but only barely. This third film stars Jared Leto, an obviously skilled actor that I’ve never seen in anything that I liked. Maybe this will be the one! I’ve also just learned that Jeff Bridges is reappearing in spite of apparently dying in the previous film. Of course, he might not be playing Kevin Flynn…but maybe he is, and maybe it will be awesome! Oh well, even if he’s not (playing Flynn) and even if it’s not (awesome), I’m ready for Tron to continue.

2. Severance season 2

Expected tomorrow…TOMORROW!…on Apple TV+

This is the show that prompted me to write this post and upload it today. Severance was one of the best new shows I’ve seen recently–a great mix of character, concept and compelling conflict–and we all have been hanging out for the next season. And now, after almost three years, it’s finally here. The series is about an office of workers who live “severed lives”–their brains have been permanently altered so they have no memory or awareness of their existence outside of work, and their “outties” (as they call them) have no idea what happens while they are at work. And from this idea, the show crafts a story that is about power and control, conformity, individuality, rebellion, mental health, the nature of what it is to be a person, and so much more.

There is the danger that the show could end up dragging on and circling around its mysteries without every landing in a satisfactory way (remember Lost?) but hopefully in the more controlled production schedule and episode count of the streaming era, this won’t happen.

1. Superman

Expected in cinemas July 11

Without a doubt, this is the thing I’m looking forward to the most. Superman is one of my favorite characters of any sort, which of course means that his movie might make me really happy (Superman the Movie and Superman II) or it might leave me bitterly disappointed (Superman Returns and Man of Steel, sigh). I guess I keep hoping that each of these films will re-capture the magic of seeing the early Christopher Reeve films when I was a kid, and they keep letting me down. It’s not that I want them to be the same as those earlier movies, I just want them to have that same hopeful, inspirational feel, but with all the strengths of modern day storytelling.

I don’t really know David Corenswet at all, but I love Rachel Brosnahan from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and she strikes me as an ideal Lois Lane. And I only know Nicholas Hoult from a bunch of mediocre-to-bad X-Men movies, but he looks good as Lex Luthor in the trailer.

That teaser-trailer looks absolutely crazy–Krypto is there and what the heck is that in the sky behind Clark and Lois while they seem to be sharing their emotional moment??!–but does nothing to dissuade me from thinking this movie could be awesome. It’s not that I’m the most confident that the movie will be great–it’s that if it is, it will make me the happiest out of everything else that I know about coming out in 2025.