The 10 Most Exciting Summer Movies To Keep On Your Radar

For all the great films on our watchlist, 2025 hasn’t really gotten off to the best start. Marvel is still struggling at the box office, while the most highly anticipated horror movies have left even more to be desired. With the release of films like Black Bag and Novocaine, things are finally looking up. But this year’s summer blockbusters could pick up the slack and deliver the thrills we’ve been missing, putting an end to a dismal streak on the big screen.

The months to come are appropriately packed, with plenty of superhero films, an abundance of horror, and the return of a few action legends alongside new faces. From impossible missions to meme-worthy murderbots, here are 10 summer films to keep on your radar.

Thunderbolts*

Captain America: Brave New World didn’t exactly serve as the comeback the MCU needed, but it won’t be the only Marvel film hitting the big screen this year. While Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) works to bring back the Avengers, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus) is calling in the B-Team to deal with the world’s latest existential threat. The Thunderbolts will be the ones stepping up to face Sentry, Marvel’s quasi-answer to Superman. In a clever role reversal, the franchise’s greatest anti-heroes and villains — like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and U.S. Soldier (Wyatt Russell) — will try their best to play hero.

Release date: May 2, 2025

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

The Tom Cruise renaissance may be coming to an end, at least where the Mission: Impossible franchise is concerned. Cruise has poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the action saga for nearly 30 years, and with every installment, he finds a way to outdo himself. For all his endurance, though, the action star may be gearing up for his last hurrah in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The eighth film in the M:I saga will pick up right where 2023’s Dead Reckoning left off: Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will get his rematch against “The Entity,” a rogue AI program that’s studied his methods for years. Though his latest threat isn’t exactly flesh and blood, it will present Ethan with his biggest challenge yet — saving the world without sacrificing the ones he cares about most.

Release date: May 23, 2025

Karate Kid: Legends

Since its quiet premiere in 2018, Cobra Kai has secured its place in the legacyquel hall of fame. It brought the Karate Kid franchise out of the haze of ‘80s nostalgia and into the present day, repurposing old rivalries for a new generation. Though it sadly came to an end with its sixth season in 2024, its legacy will live on somewhat, opening the door for a new Karate Kid movie.

Karate Kid: Legends is the first film in the franchise in 15 years. It’s a loose sequel to the 2010 reboot starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, but it’s also building on the lore of the original trilogy starring Ralph Macchio. (The film picks up a few years after Cobra Kai Season 6, but don’t expect any cameos from the series cast.) Chan returns as Mr. Han as he takes on a new pupil in the kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang). When Li crosses a formidable karate champ in New York City, Han joins forces with Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) to prepare Li for an epic martial arts showdown.

Release date: May 30, 2025

Ballerina

After John Wick (Keanu Reeves) seemingly bit the dust in his latest outing, the cutthroat action franchise has been caught in a minor tailspin. If the World of Wick is going to survive, it needs a new star to rally around — and Ballerina may just deliver one. Ana de Armas stars as Eve Macarro, an orphan who endures grueling training with the Ruska Roma. Under the tutelage of the Director (Angelica Huston), Eve rises through the ranks to become one of the organization’s most feared assassins. Ballerina follows her quest for revenge against her father’s murderer, and based on its first trailer, this tiny dancer is not to be underestimated.

Ballerina takes place between John Wick 3 and John Wick 4, so we can safely expect a cameo from the Baba Yaga himself. Whether he’ll officially pass the torch to de Armas’ Eve remains to be seen, but if Ballerina sticks the landing, the World of Wick will have found an ideal successor.

Release date: June 6, 2025

28 Years Later

It’s been over two decades since 28 Days Later brought a classic horror subgenre back from the (un)dead, but the franchise is in dire need of a reset. Fortunately, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland — the original stewards of the franchise — are reteaming to give us just that. 28 Years Later is exactly what its title describes: a far-flung sequel that will pick up nearly 30 years after the Rage Virus first emerged as a major threat. While Cillian Murphy, the original star of 28 Days, is reportedly set to reprise his role, 28 Years will follow a whole new cast in a radically changed world. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes star in what’s quickly shaping up to be a harrowing adventure — and with two other films on the way, the zombie franchise isn’t dying out anytime soon.

Release date: June 20, 2025

M3GAN 2.0

Sentient androids turned evil is a tale as old as time, but few have explored the genre with such gonzo satirical style as M3GAN. The 2023 film introduced a new horror icon in its title character, a cross between a talking, twerking American Girl doll and a T-800. Though her murder spree was thwarted at the end of M3GAN, her spirit managed to live on — and in M3GAN 2.0, everyone’s favorite horror meme will live to slay another day. There’s not much known about the plot to the sequel just yet, but with a few additions to the cast, it looks like M3GAN 2.0 will be doubling down on the comedy and viral moments in equal measure.

Release date: June 27, 2025

F1

It’s not every day we at Inverse get the chance to recommend a sports movie, but Joseph Kosinski’s highly-anticipated return to the big screen gives us the perfect excuse. Three years after delivering what could be the best action sequel ever with Top Gun: Maverick, the director is redefining the need for speed with F1.

Brad Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a one-time Formula 1 phenom who flew too close to the sun in the ‘90s. Now known throughout the racing world as “the best that never was,” Sonny makes ends meet as a racer for hire. When an old friend (Javier Bardem) recruits him as a hail mary to save his failing F1 team, Sonny’s luck seems poised to change. But he still has to reckon with the ghosts of his past, the team’s “hotshot rookie” Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), and the cutthroat world of F1. Racing legend Lewis Hamilton serves as executive producer alongside Pitt and Jerry Bruckheimer, setting F1 up to be a white-knuckle thrill ride and a faithful exploration of the world’s most sophisticated sport.

Release date: June 27, 2025

Jurassic World Rebirth

The Jurassic Park trilogy holds a warm place in fans’ hearts, but Universal’s attempts to reboot the property have only tarnished its reputation. Still, the studio isn’t quite ready to let the dino franchise go extinct. What started as one doomed amusement park has spread to take over the planet — and Jurassic World Rebirth will, ideally, give the saga the new life it deserves. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and written by Jurassic Park alum David Koepp, Rebirth is poised to take the franchise back to basics, following an all-new cast of characters. Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett, a skilled covert specialist escorting a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) right into the heart of dinosaur territory. Per Edwards, their dangerous mission “obviously” goes awry before too long, giving way to an adventure that will (hopefully) reset the board in a major way.

Release date: July 2, 2025

Superman

After years of critical and commercial quagmires, the DC Universe needs a hero. Fortunately, it’s got what seems like the perfect savior in Superman. The first feature-length offering for the new DCU, Superman will set the tone for an ambitious franchise reboot. David Corenswet is the latest actor to don the red cape, and he certainly looks the part. It’s been years since Superman has gotten a traditional origin story on the big screen (no shade to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel), and a straightforward, optimistic adaptation has been long overdue. For better or worse, Superman will set the tone for an all-new superhero universe, and with James Gunn behind the camera, at least we know it won’t be boring.

Release date: July 11, 2025

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Marvel’s First Family is finally coming to the MCU. Fans have been waiting to see the Fantastic Four done right for years, and hopefully The Fantastic Four: First Steps proves that third time’s the charm. The film boasts what could be the perfect cast in Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Director Matt Shakman also seems to get what the Fantastic Four need: a comic-accurate, suitably sci-fi adventure that doesn’t shy away from the work of John Byrne and Jack Kirby. That First Steps is set to take place in a universe parallel to the MCU only gives the film more freedom to play. How the team will eventually end up in the Sacred Timeline is a question for another day — for now, it’s all about their first big-screen adventure, and whether it can live up to everyone’s expectations.

Release date: July 25, 2025