Summer Movie Preview 2025: The 15 Movies We Can't Wait to See

From comedies to thrillers, here are the films you'll want to check out

Tim Appelo,

AARP

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En español

Published May 01, 2025

Tom Cruise and others in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning'

Tom Cruise, 62, stars in' Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.' Look for it in theaters May 23.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance

As director Francois Truffaut once said, “It’s a beautiful day — let’s see a movie!” Keep track of the sunny season’s new batch of movies, and when they’ll arrive in theaters and on streaming platforms, with our critics’ guide. And we’ll see you at the movies!

Nonnas (on Netflix May 9)

Stricken by grief after the loss of his mother, Joe (Vince Vaughan, 54) opens an Italian restaurant with local grandmas (nonnas) as the chefs (Susan Sarandon, 78, Lorraine Bracco, 70, Talia Shire, 78, and Brenda Vaccaro, 85.)

Karate Kid: Legends (in theaters May 30)

How could Ralph Macchio, 63, star of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid and Netflix’s No. 1 sequel series Cobra Kai, make even more martial-arts magic? By fighting the legendary star of the 2010 Karate Kid remake (Jackie Chan, 71). Cobra Kai star Jacob Bertrand said Macchio was scared to face Hong Kong’s top star, because “Jackie Chan still moves like he's a 20-year-old.”

The Phoenician Scheme (in limited theaters May 30, wide release June 6)

In the new film by quirky Wes Anderson, 55, Benicio del Toro, 58, stars as a European plutocrat whose family business is beset by terrorists. Tom Hanks, 68, Bryan Cranston, 69, Jeffrey Wright, 59, Hope Davis, 60, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch round out the stellar cast.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (in theaters May 23)

In what may be the last action epic about the IMF team, Tom Cruise, 62, battles the menacing AI program of a bad guy (Esai Morales, 62). Costars include Ving Rhames, 65, Nick Offerman, 54, and Angela Bassett, 66.

The Life of Chuck (in theaters June 6)

Mark Hamill, 73, plays the lovable grandpa of brain tumor patient Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) in a story by horror titan Stephen King, 77. “I’m expecting the script to be, you know, the horror epic of all time,” Hamill told the Politickin’ podcast. “It is the sweetest, most poignant—it is not horror at all.”

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (in theaters June 6)

If you think John Wick (Keanu Reeves, 60) was hungry for revenge, wait until you see Eve (Ana de Armas, Knives Out), a dancer turned assassin trained by Ruska Roma’s Director (Anjelica Huston, 78). Reeves and his John Wick cronies join in the action.

28 Years Later (in theaters June 20)

In 2003, 28 Days Later, by Danny Boyle, 68 (Slumdog Millionaire), proved a zombie flick can be smart. In the sequel starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and Ralph Fiennes, 62, pandemic survivors are menaced by a new mutation.

F1 (in theaters June 25)

In a blockbuster about intergenerational buddies and midlife reinvention, a Formula 1 racer (Brad Pitt, 61) is lured out of retirement to mentora cocky rookie prodigy (Damson Idris)who doesn’t know as much as he thinks. Parts of the movie were filmed during actual Grand Prix weekends.

Jurassic World Rebirth (in theaters July 2)

If any film franchise desperately needed a rebirth, it’s the increasingly weaker spinoffs of Jurassic Park. But hopes are high for the seventh dino drama, in which Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, 51, return to the original Jurassic Park and meet monsters. It’s written by the original film’s writer David Koepp, 62.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (in theaters July 8)

Schindler’s List star Embeth Davidtz, 59, directs, writes and costars as Nicola, the sexy, alcoholic mother of a wild child (Lexi Venter) growing up as a white farmer’s daughter in Rhodesia on the eve of the country’s transformation into the Black-run Zimbabwe. Adapted from Amanda Fuller’s bestselling memoir, it’s a moving, often comical story of social change.

Superman (in theaters July 11)

Compared to Batman and the Marvel characters, Superman has long been the runt of the superhero litter at the box office. But in its first 24 hours, a quarter-billion people watched the trailer for the new reboot with David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as a highly homicidal Lex Luthor, so we're expecting a super-popular blockbuster this time. Pundits predict it'll be a good movie, too.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25)

Why watch a Marvel movie loved mostly by youngsters? To see Pedro Pascal, 50, as elastic Mr. Fantastic and John Malkovich, 71, as the Red Ghost.

The Naked Gun (in theaters Aug. 1)

Liam Neeson, 72, has a very particular set of skills — not just for revenge flicks, but comedies. In the reboot of the cop-show spoof, he plays the son of Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Leslie Nielsen). Pamela Anderson, 57, costars.

Freakier Friday (Aug. 7)

Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, and Lindsay Lohan return in the sequel to 2003's Freaky Friday, in which Tess (Curtis) and teen daughter Anna (Lohan) switch bodies to their distress. Now Anna has a teen daughter and is about to marry and get a stepdaughter too — and the intergenerational body swap happens again. At Comicon, Curtis said, "We couldn’t have made this movie until now, because Lindsay had to be old enough to have a 15-year-old."

The Thursday Murder Club (on Netflix Aug. 28)

A quartet of retirees – Elizabeth (Helen Mirren, 79), Ron (Pierce Brosnan, 71), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley, 81) and Joyce (Celia Imrie, 72) – solve cold-case murders for fun instead of playing bridge. But when a crime occurs close to home, they’re called into real action as a crime-solving squad most delightful.

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Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.