Since it’s the beginning of the year, the SiftPop crew got together to discuss some piece of pop culture we’re looking forward to throughout 2025! Let us know what you can’t wait for @SiftPop!
If you were to tell the entertainment fan me of 10 years ago that in a few short years, one of his favorite shows of all time would be from the Star Wars Universe, I can all but guarantee his response would be, “We watch shows now?” Okay, but seriously, I would be flummoxed. Star Wars has consistently operated in the camp of fun, but I’ve long been fine with standing on the outside looking in. Well, that is until Tony Gilroy and Co. came around and reconfigured my brain chemistry. Andor Season One is not only one of the most compelling Star Wars products ever released, but it’s also simply one of the best shows released so far this decade. It is thematically engrossing, acted brilliantly from all-star talents, stunning as a visual and auditory experience, and possibly the most lived-in Star Wars has ever felt. As a single season of television, it is as close to perfect as I could have asked for, and even if Season Two only partially reaches the heights of the first, I am confident that we are in for a treat. Like other highly anticipated second seasons getting released this year, Andor Season One has a large task ahead of it. They have 12 episodes to capture a lot of time and space, and with the amount of threads started in Season One, it’s a sizable story to tell to get to where they are going. But I’m in. I won’t start disbelieving in Gilroy now. April can’t come soon enough. (Nashua Doll)
Are you ready to watch Ana de Armas kick some tail and take out legions of goons in 2025? de Armas is one of the most exciting young actors in film, and imagining her taking the reins of the most exciting action franchise of the past 10 years is quite an awesome idea. Not only that, but the John Wick world is also one of the coolest and freshest cinematic worlds introduced in recent memory. The sleek and stylish world of assassins is full of spinoff potential, and it is time to finally do that. Ballerina will fit right into the John Wick narrative, as Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston will all be returning to the criminal underworld. Chad Stahelski is not returning to direct (which is a bummer), but our new leading lady and vast world building is just too promising to not get excited about. (Shane Conto)
Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you didn’t make it through school without playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? at least once. What better way to teach kids about geography, art, and travel than to immerse them in a world full of spies and espionage? Think about all those useful life skills we gained while learning how to use an almanac and read through dossiers of who has red hair and who has a scar. This March, after a 10-year hiatus, Carmen is back for a whole new generation of kids to enjoy. As a parent, I’m pretty excited to have a game that I used to enjoy available on a new format that I can play with my kids. Knowing that it was very much relying on hardcopies covering characteristics about the spies of VILE, along with flags, maps, and language information to round out the geography related portions, I’m interested to see how this translates into a online-only format that doesn’t make it too easy for the player to get the answers. Because the game won’t be much fun if all you have to do is google an AI-generated answer to make it to the final destination before running out of time. (Patrice Downing)
Both my most anticipated and most feared entry on this list, Daredevil: Born Again marks Disney’s attempt to recapture the magic of the original Netflix Daredevil show. Famously, the show had already begun filming mid-2023 and completed a full six episodes before Disney decided to restart the project from scratch, hiring a new creative team to take the project in a different direction. The possibility that Born Again would be able to capture the lightning in a bottle that was the original series initially seemed slim, though the announcement that they would maintain key original cast members like Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Jon Bernthal, and Vincent D’Onofrio is certainly a promising start. Should the series follow in the footsteps of the often forgettable Disney+ shows of late, Born Again could prove to be one of the great disappointments of the year, given how much love and care was baked into the fabric of the original show. That said, if Born Again manages to reach even a fraction of the heights of its predecessor, we could be in for one of the greatest Marvel film or television projects yet. (Foster Harlfinger)
After a 2024 that saw just one Marvel movie released (Deadpool & Wolverine), the MCU is back(?) with a mutli-release calendar in 2025. Admittedly, while I am really looking forward to Thunderbolts*, it’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps that tops my Marvel excite-o-meter. Directed by Matt Shakman(WandaVision) and with a cast including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, and Julia Garner, it’s hard not to be excited. Given how well Shakman led a period piece in the Marvel universe, the idea of a retro-inspired future just adds to the intrigue. Despite the fact that the only true successful Fantastic Four film is The Incredibles, everything we know about this one so far gives me hope that this could be the first universally beloved adaptation of one of the most iconic superhero teams. (Jake Bourgeois)
The only thing that we know so far about Jay Kelly is that George Clooney plays the titular character, and that it’s a coming-of-age movie about adults. Given that the film is written and directed by Noah Baumbach, that second part is par for the course. It’s simply that at this point, I’m in the bag for anything Baumbach does. It’s one thing that it’s starring Clooney, a megastar who’s hardly been in movies for the last decade, but it also reunites the director with Adam Sandler, who starred in one of Baumbach’s best movies, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). It’s part of a recent trend of the Sand Man doing more serious movies, and I’m excited to see where this one goes, and what it looks like. (Robert Bouffard)
HBO did a great job adapting the first The Last of Us game in a way that worked with the less immersive television format. They also used their knowledge of later events to their advantage, covering some things the game glosses over, and cutting out parts that aren’t interesting without the element of gameplay. With this season adapting The Last of Us Part II,the creatives face the far bigger problem of shaving things down to cover a season of television, since the second game is almost twice the length of the first. It’s possible, therefore, that Season Two will only cover the first half of the game. There’s an obvious moment about halfway through the game where it cuts to black and the story takes an unexpected turn; this would seem like the clear point to end Season Two. However, if this happens, certain events from the second half of the game will likely be brought forward so new characters can play a more prominent role in Season Two. Another issue the show faces is that the second game tells things out of order. A lot of gamers found this format convoluted, and the show may try to fix this by presenting things in chronological order. I am also very excited to see the phenomenal access Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. I can’t wait to see where it all goes. (John Tillyard)
Mike Flanagan is firmly established as a modern master of gripping and emotional horror which puts character development first, and is layered with symbolism. The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass are two of the best seasons of television ever made, and his movies are consistently great. He has already successfully adapted two Stephen King stories, with Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game – and Midnight Mass was heavily influenced by Salem’s Lot – so the upcoming The Life of Chuck movie seems promising. I have not read the novel, and have intentionally avoided learning too much, but I believe the story revolves around a dying man reliving his traumatic life in reverse, with supernatural elements, including a haunted house. Flanagan’s involvement is enough to get me on board, but adding in King and a haunted house adds to the fun. The cast then takes it into the stratosphere of anticipation. Tom Hiddleston leads the way and is joined by David Dastmalchian, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Harvey Guillén, Mark Hamill, Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Nick Offerman, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Jacob Tremblay, and more. There are a ton of big movies to be excited about in 2025, but this is one flying under the radar that could be truly great. (Jason Mack)
The Safdie brothers — Josh and Benny, of Good Time and Uncut Gems fame — each have their first solo projects coming out in 2025. Benny is directing The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson, and while I’m excited for that one, it’s Josh’s Marty Supreme, releasing on Christmas, which has me itching for the year to go by as fast as possible. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Reisman, the late champion table tennis player. The synopsis alone isn’t much to get excited about, but with a Safdie behind the camera, Chalamet in front of it, and the film being billed as a mix between The Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can, I’m giddy. It’s shaping up to be one of the most fun, star-driven movies in a long time. And with Chalamet’s young career often being compared to what Leonardo DiCaprio’s was when he was this age, there are not two better films to be put in the same breath as. (Robert Bouffard)
Before I knew anything about what his next project would be, I was committed to seeing Bong Joon-ho’s followup to Parasite in the theaters on opening weekend. Parasite is one of my favorite films of the 21st century, and I’ve now been waiting six years to see what its successor would be. When you bring in the details of Mickey 17, a science fiction black comedy about a series of clones sent to colonize the universe, starring Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo, I am even more excited. I am a big sucker for science fiction and spacefaring films, so when you line up a great premise with a fantastic cast and an outstanding director, you’ve got a film that I can’t wait to see. On top of that, this is easily the 2025 project that I have been anticipating for the longest, as it’s not only been six years since the release of Parasite, but three from when Mickey 17 was first announced, and one from when it was first supposed to be released. (Jake Hjort)
Is Ethan Hunt coming to the end of the road? Based on the repackaged title for the eighth Mission: Impossible film, it certainly looks that way. The stakes were never higher than with Dead Reckoning Part One, and now we will see how far Hunt and Co. will go to take down the world’s most dangerous artificial intelligence. Tom Cruise has been a true movie star for decades, and seeing what he still does in the Mission: Impossible franchise makes it hard to not be excited for The Final Reckoning. We are going to be sitting in that theater in awe as Cruise hangs from a plane flying through the sky. It will be a mission on a massive scale, with a totally stuffed cast. Mission: Impossible is one of the greatest action franchises of all time, and they just keep getting better. Can this eighth outing be the best? This is such an exciting prospect to check out at least. (Shane Conto)
A couple of years ago, I came to the conclusion that Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson were my favorite directors. While the former is taking his time making a movie about Jesus set in modern day New York, the latter has yet again brought together members of his ever-growing troupe to make The Phoenician Scheme, a father-daughter espionage movie. On a base level, I’m just fascinated to see what Anderson’s definition of espionage is, because his alien movie (Asteroid City) was far from Arrival or Independence Day. The film will star Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Benedict Cumberbatch, some of Anderson’s newer collaborators, while also featuring longtime actor Bill Murray and first-time team-ups Michael Cera and Riz Ahmed. The director, cast, and premise alone are enough to get me onboard here. (Robert Bouffard)
Predator is 100% in the conversation for the coolest movie of all time, blending action, horror, and science fiction into one. The perfect balance of deconstructing the big, brawny ‘80s action star with some true terror and thrilling moments, Predator is a towering genre achievement. But the franchise overall has been quite lackluster… until 2022’s Prey arrived. Dan Trachtenberg brought new life with this fresh take of a primal and early Predator going toe-to-toe with a young Indigenous warrior portrayed perfectly by Amber Midthunder. A period piece Predator flick out in the wilderness was a brilliant idea, and Trachtenberg executed it perfectly. Unfortunately, it was dropped on Hulu because of Disney’s business decisions. But now we are going to get a new Predator film from Trachtenberg on the big screen, with Predator: Badlands. That is exciting enough of a prospect. This franchise is finally in some trusty hands, and I cannot wait to see where theytake us. (Shane Conto)
So wait, you’re telling me that one of our modern-day great actor/director combos is releasing a new and original movie in 2025? With a script synopsis described as, “A period genre vampire film”? I couldn’t be signed further up. That’s right, Ryan Coogler returns as producer, writer, and director for Sinners, a horror film featuring the talents of Michael B. Jordan in a dual role, Hailee Steinfeld, and Delroy Lindo. And its plot currently shrouded in a good degree of mystery. The initial trailer release was the perfect tease; it presents essentially nothing except an ominous vibe and some flashes of gorgeous cinematography — I simply could not be more excited for the project. With much of Coogler’s time over the past decade has been dedicated to the resuscitation of the Rocky/Creed universe and Black Panther, the allure of what seems to be the original passion project has me more than intrigued. Jordan himself hasn’t graced our screens in over a year, much too long for who I solemnly believe is one of our most talented working actors. Dual roles have felt a bit overexposed in recent films, but if anyone can pull it off, I have the utmost faith in the Coogler/Jordan combo. Vampires are so back, baby. (Nashua Doll)
There is much riding on Superman, taking flight on July 11, as it’s the character’s first solo movie in 12 years. The DC Comics cinematic universe is at an all-time low, which is just where we find our titular hero when we first glimpse him in the trailer that dropped just before Christmas. His face is bloodied and bruised and his breathing is labored, possibly signaling fluid in his lungs, in such striking contrast to the invulnerable Man of Steel with which we are typically presented. It’s a bold way to kick off what will be the cornerstone for DC Studios, a film that absolutely must work in order to launch an entire universe of stories to be told across both big and small screens. I’ve watched and rewatched the Superman trailer more times than I can count, as well as several reaction videos. The overwhelming emotions seem to sneak up on us all while watching at three specific beats: recognizing the John Williams’ score on electric guitar, a little boy in peril speaking Superman’s name into existence, and that there is hope on the horizon; hope for this world, for us all, hope for comic book movies going forward in general, and specific to the trailer, hope for Superman himself, barreling through the snow in the form of his trusty dog, Krypto. “Take me home,” Superman says to his goodest boy. It’s that kindness, that hope and optimism, that has me eagerly anticipating this movie. (Jonathan Fedee)
In the early ‘90s, I got the absolute joy of being able to ride one of my favorite movies of all time — Back To The Future — during my first visit to the newly opened Universal Studios Orlando theme park. This year, I’m anxious to be able to share the same excitement with my own kids with the opening of Universal Studios Epic Universe, the new third gate to the Orlando resort. With land themed around Harry Potter, Super Mario, and How To Train Your Dragon I’m pretty sure dragging them out of the park at the end of the day is going to be the hardest thing I do all year. Fortunately for me, I’m equally excited about a visit to this new park, because growing up with the Super Mario Bros. being the first video game I remember ever playing, getting a chance to ride Yoshi and walk through land covered square bricks, mushrooms, and Bowser seems like a pretty cool way to spend the day. (Patrice Downing)