2024 may have been the worst year for comic book movies in decades… But will 2025 be the best year for comic book movies? Maybe, maybe not. But there are still a lot of big releases coming out next year — including a highly anticipated showdown, an animated movie that might be the stealth hit of the year, and even a few TBDs, as well. And that’s exactly what we’re gonna delve into in Comic Book Club’s 2025 comic book movie preview.
That showdown? July brings on Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps within two weeks of each other. The former is the official live-action kickoff of James Gunn’s new DCU, and with it comes the hopes of 10 years of storytelling from DC Studios, James Gunn’s career, and the hopes of Warner Bros. Discovery. No biggie. Meanwhile, with the MCU in flux, they’re staking a lot on the fourth on-screen take on Fantastic Four.
Beyond that, we’ve got the animated Dog Man, the fourth Captain America movie, the scrappy underdogs of Thunderbolts*, and even maybe a Spawn movie and more. Read on for our comic book movie preview for 2025.
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Dog Man
Release Date: January 31, 2025
What’s It About? If you don’t know, Dog Man is probably the best-selling graphic novel series of our time. Written and drawn by Dav Pilkey, the series finds a cop who has a dog’s head sewed onto his body, and he becomes the greatest hero the world has ever known. The movie looks like a faithful adaptation of the story as Dog Man goes up against Petey, an evil cat… Only to find his clone, Lil Petey, has a special bond with the hero.
Who’s Involved? Peter Hastings is the voice of Dog Man, Pete Davidson is Petey, and Lucas Hopkins is Lil Petey. Isla Fisher, Lil Rel Howery, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, and Ricky Gervais flesh out the animated cast.
Why We’re Hyped: Did I mention Dog Man is a best-seller on the scale of, say, Harry Potter? Because it is, and based on the trailer the movie seems to perfectly channel the weird, earnest humor of the series. Despite all the Marvel vs DC this year brings, this might be the biggest comic book movie of 2025.
Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date: February 14, 2025
What’s It About? Now fully Captain America, Sam Wilson must battle a vast conspiracy, fight the Red Hulk, and shut down everyone who has been asking “when will the MCU deal with the events of Eternals?”
Who’s Involved? Anthony Mackie is backie as Sam Wilson, alongside Danny Ramirez as Falcon/Joauin Torres. Shira Haas plays Ruth, a Black Widow who is NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES an Israeli superhero named Sabra. Carl Lumbly plays Isaiah Bradley, Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson return from The Incredible Hulk as Betty Ross and The Leader, respectively, Harrison Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross (now President), and Xosha Roquemore also stars, alongside Giancarlo Esposito. Julius Onah directs.
Why We’re Hyped: …are we hyped, though? There’s been a slew of non-stop reshoots on this movie, even beyond what Marvel usually does. It also is jamming in a ton of other leftover ideas including reclaiming bits from Eternals, The Incredible Hulk, and Black Widow. Will Sam get lost in the midst of all this?
Thunderbolts*
Release Date: May 2, 2025
What’s It About? Well, we don’t know exactly what the plot is as of yet. But we do know a bunch of black ops-style characters get assembled for unknown reasons, along with a Superman-level character known simply as Bob (though comic book fans know he’s called The Sentry, and he’s bad news).
Who’s Involved? Returning from Black Widow is David Harbour as Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. Sebastian Stan is back as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier from various MCU projects. Wyatt Russell returns as U.S. Agent from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost is back from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Julia Louis-Dreyfus also returns as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from several guest-starring appearances. And Lewis Pullman is Bob. Jake Schreier directs.
Why We’re Hyped: While, as mentioned, the plot remains mostly a secret, these are a bunch of MCU favorites from a director known for comedy/action; and that’s what the trailer seems to be leaning into, rather than world-ending stakes. Also, what is up with that asterisk, huh? Probably “New Avengers” or “Dark Avengers,” but I guess we’ll see…
Superman
Release Date: July 11, 2025
What’s It About? The Man of Steel enters a world without hope, as he explores his Kryptonian heritage. That’s about all we got at the moment.
Who’s Involved? David Corenswet stars as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult is Lex Luthor. But wait, that’s not all! The movie also stars Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and more. Plus it’s written and directed by some guy named James Gunn.
Why We’re Hyped: While Creature Commandos is the aperitif, Superman is the live-action kickoff to James Gunn’s new DCU. There’s a lot riding on this movie, so fingers crossed they pull it off.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date: July 25, 2025
What’s It About? Set in a 1960’s retro-future world, The Fantastic Four head to space and encounter Galactus, the world-eater.
Who’s Involved? Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn star as Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, respectively. Also in the cast are Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, Natasha Lyonne, John Malkovich, and Paul Walter Hauser. Matt Shakman directs.
Why We’re Hyped: They couldn’t possibly get the Fantastic Four wrong a fourth time, right? Right?
The Old Guard 2
Release Date: TBD
What’s It About? A sequel to the hit Netflix movie based on the comic by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, it follows a group of immortal warriors who work as a sort of black ops team in the present. We don’t know the exact plot of the sequel, but there are more comics to draw from and the characters are, you know, immortal.
Who’s Involved? Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all return from the first movie. Uma Thurman and Henry Golding have joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Greg Rucka once again writes the script, though Victoria Mahoney takes over directing duties from Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Why We’re Hyped: The first movie was a delightful surprise, though this sequel was filmed back in 2022, then returned for two weeks of additional photography back in October of 2024. It’s unclear why the film has been on the shelf for so long, so hopefully it means taking the time to get it right and, uh, not the opposite reason.
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank
Release Date: TBD
What’s It About? Based on the Black Mask Studios comic by Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss, the title says it all… A kid named Paige decides to recruit three of her friends to pull off a bank heist. The reason? Her father is going to do it otherwise, and if he does he’ll go to jail for good.
Who’s Involved? Liam Neeson stars as the dad, alongside Talia Ryder, Noah Jupe, Whitney Peak, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Caylee Cowan. Frankie Shaw directs from a script she co-wrote.
Why We’re Hyped: The movie only started filming in December, but we’ll take a shot in the dark and say it could be released by the end of 2025. The comic is great, and perfect for a film adaptation.
King Spawn
Release Date: TBD
What’s It About? Spawn, but he’s the King of Hell.
Who’s Involved? Todd McFarlane announced a script was ready for the long-gestating project back in July, written by Matt Mixon, Malcolm Spellman, and Scott Silver. It’s produced by Jason Blum through Blumhouse, and the news was they were looking for directors at that point, with a release date of 2025.
Why We’re Hyped: …But that’s the last we heard. Look, Blumhouse knows what they’re doing, so is a good match for this Spawn Project McFarlane has been working on for, conservatively, 25 years. Given there’s been no news since July, a 2025 release is a crazy outside possibility. Here’s hoping after a quarter century of work they take the time to get it right, and not the opposite thing.
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