Predictions For 2025

A lot of things are in flux for 2025 in the real world so let's settle in for some predictions as to what could happen in the world of entertainment.

1. GTA VI Is Delayed To 2026

It's been a year since we got the first teaser for Grand Theft Auto VI and it's been relative radio silence since. I don't think you need a massive marketing push for a game of this magnitude but the complete radio silence for the full calendar year before the release is questionable. Plus, if the Switch successor is coming in the first half of the year, that does take a good amount of wind out of the sails for this game.

2. Elio Causes Disney To Double Down On Sequels

Elio is currently slated to open against the live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon. At this point, there is not exactly a place to move the release of Elio where it wouldn't potentially step on the toes of another Disney release. In that head-to-head match-up, Elio bombs in the short-term regardless of quality. If the movie is great, it may level out or become a Disney+ hit but the damage will be done. In fact, there's a non-zero chance that Disney foregoes the marketing for this movie to a large degree and just view this as a tax write off. Zootopia 2 will likely do well in November and 2026 has Toy Story 5 and Ice Age 6 which will reiterate the internal message that only franchises sell.

3. Snow White Does Worse Than The Little Mermaid

Snow White comes out in March and we're already seeing a lack of a push from Disney in the marketing department. I've seen the trailer once in a theater since it's been released. The far right will hail this as a victory and, you know what, they're partially right. This decision is Disney bowing to their hate machine who have decided that the casting of Rachel Zegler was such an affront that they had to spend years dragging the movie down.

4. Superman Slightly Underperforms, DC Universe Is Immediately Put In Jeopardy

Let's set the stage for July 2025 a little bit. Superman opens on July 11th. Two weeks prior is Jurassic World Rebirth and two weeks after is Fantastic Four: The First Steps. There is a distinct possibility that First Steps introduces Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in advance of 2026's Avengers: Doomsday. We know there is a boost to movies that lead to Avengers films and that could hurt the long-term legs of Superman. I'm not saying the movie will do terribly, even with that harm, if the movie is high enough quality (and I think it will), it could still do just under a billion but I think WB will view anything under a billion as a failure considering the year they just had. Does this shift Gunn's plans? We probably won't know until late in the year or early 2026 but if WB gets more directly involved, I'd expect a DCU Batman film to become priority one.

5. Blade Is Officially Dated For November 2026

Marvel is hellbent on this Blade movie coming out and I'd like to see Mahershala Ali actually suit up at some point. That said, at a certain point the movie has to come out and there will be an announcement coming this year that it will release in November 2026 with production beginning in the back half of the year. Marvel probably does not want to go with only one release in 2026 so Blade's six or so years of development will finally bear fruit.

6. The Trailer For The Mandalorian And Grogu Makes The Rounds At Events Before Being Released In October

This is probably the boldest prediction on here because it's most specific. I think the trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu will be released in 2025 late in the year because they've finished production. I think they use it to generate hype at the year's major live events. The trailer will probably appear at Star Wars Celebration, San Diego Comic Con, CCXP, and D23. My prediction for a public release would be October 6th. This would be during the Monday Night Football game in week 5 or 6 which Disney likes to use for trailer releases and would be the same week that TRON: Aries releases. This would give them the space to promote the film before Predator: Badlands and Avatar: Fire and Ash, both of which can put up solid numbers.

7. Marvel Removes The February 2026 Release Date From The Schedule

Self-explanatory. Marvel still has an untitled movie slated for February 2026, or a little over a year away, and there is no movie currently in production to possibly hit that date. Since production is complete on Fantastic Four, it's unlikely they're holding that date as a backup just in case of a delay so they probably will just vacate the date and throw a 20th Century or Searchlight release in its slot.

8. The Scale Back Of Content On Disney+ Becomes Noticeable

So 2025 is stacked from Marvel and Star Wars but there's a noticeable lack of content in production going beyond 2025. Sure there's Vision Quest but beyond that there isn't too much coming down the line. D23 will be the formal announcement of the retooling of the release slate for a downturn in content quantity in 2026 and beyond. It will be presented as prioritizing quality over quantity in a departure from the previous strategy.

9. New Jedi Order Is Officially Slated For December 2027

Despite numerous delays, New Jedi Order officially enters production in late 2025 for release in 2027. Besides Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac will also be confirmed to return. There will be no word on the Heir to the Empire movie or the Dawn of the Jedi movie, especially since the former is pending at least Ahsoka's ending.

10. Dune Messiah Is Officially Slated For December 2026

Pretty simple prediction here, the untitled Denis Villeneuve movie for Legendary slated for 2026 is officially confirmed to be Dune Messiah. It will also be confirmed to be Villeneuve's last Dune movie.