2025 has had some greatsci-fimovies so far, but with the year far from over, here are six more exciting sci-fi movies that are still to come this year, ranked by anticipation. Plenty of notable sci-fi movies are slated for the second half of the year, ranging from major blockbuster sequels in big franchises to smaller auteur movies from Oscar-winning filmmakers.
Thefirst half of 2025 was packed with sci-fi, with it being one of the most prominent genres of the year.Mickey 17andCompanionare both critically acclaimed sci-fi movies that came out in the first two months of 2025, with them still being discussed now. Major franchises have also released sci-fi films, such asMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,Predator: Killer of Killers, andJurassic World Rebirth.
Two of the biggest movies coming out this month are superhero sci-fi projects, those beingSupermanandThe Fantastic Four. Plenty of family films from 2025 have also explored the sci-fi genre, such asLilo & Stitch,Elio, andThe Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. If that isn’t enough, here are six more sci-fi movies set to release beyond July of this year.
One of the most notable films that is still to be released in 2025 isTRON: Ares. This is the third film in Disney’sTRONfranchise, which follows characters as they are sucked into the world of the titular video game. Despite 1982’sTRONand 2010’sTRON: Legacyboth being cult hits, the franchise has never fully caught on. However,Disney is undoubtedly hoping that this changes with the release ofTRON: Ares.
Set to release on October 10,TRON: Aresfollows the artificial intelligence Ares as he leaves the Grid and heads into the real world of humans. The first trailer forTRON: Aresshows that far more of the Grid than just Ares leaks into the real world, wreaking video game havoc across a big city.TRON: Aresstars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jeff Bridges, and more.
While anotherTRONfilm is exciting, and it will be cool to see Jeff Bridges return to the franchise once again, many are skeptical aboutTRON: Ares. The film is directed by Joachim Rønning, a seasoned Disney director who previously worked onMaleficent: Mistress of EvilandPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Neither of these films are critical darlings, meaning that expectations forTRON: Aresaren’t particularly high.
Another point of contention withTRONfans has to do with the soundtrack. The most beloved part ofTRON: Legacyis its music, which was composed and performed by Daft Punk.TRON: Areswill be scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who have done great work onChallengers,The Social Network, and more. While they will undoubtedly do a great job, any change to a beloved aspect of the previous film is scary.
ThePredatorfranchise is releasing two movies in 2025, and after the success ofPredator: Killer of Killers, the animated anthology film is being followed up byPredator: Badlands. The upcoming film will follow a Yautja protagonist named Dek as it teams up with a Weyland-Yutani android named Thia to hunt down the ultimate prey.Predator: Badlandsstars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning.
ThePredatorfranchise is far from perfect, with many of its films being hit or miss. However,Predatorhas been on a hot streak lately thanks to the involvement of director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg reignited thePredatorfranchise with 2022’sPrey, andPredator: Killer of Killershas proven that Trachtenberg can consistently make greatPredatormovies, and hopefully he will do it again withPredator: Badlands.
Fans of thePredatorfranchise have a lot to be excited about with the upcoming film, as it will expand the series like never before.Predator: Badlandswill take place on a mysterious planet, and ifPredator: Killer of Killersis anything to go by, this could be the Yautja home planet. The ending ofPredator: Killer of Killerssets up a lot of exciting possibilities, andPredator: Badlandscould pay these off.
The first trailer forEdgar Wright’sThe Running Manremakehas just been released, setting expectations high for the upcoming film. The adaptation of the Stephen King novel is also a remake of the 1987The Running Man, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film follows a contestant who joins a TV game show where he must survive professional assassins for 30 days. It stars Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, and more.
The Running Manis mainly an action dystopian movie, but it does have some sci-fi elements. The most exciting part of the film is the involvement of director Edgar Wright,who has made some fantastic movies likeShaun of the Dead,Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, andBaby Driver. While Wright’s most recent film,Last Night in Soho, was more divisive, the director still has an incredibly strong track record.
The one big red flag withThe Running Manis the original film. The Arnold Schwarzenegger version isn’t perfect, meaning that there is a lot of room to improve. While it is possible that the improvements could make 2025’sThe Running Mangreat, the original film proves that it isn’t an easy story to adapt.
The third movie in James Cameron’sAvatarseries is set to release in 2025, withAvatar: Fire and Ashhitting theaters on December 19. 2009’sAvatarand 2022’sAvatar: The Way of Waterare two of the highest-grossing movies of all time, and many are hoping thatAvatar: Fire and Ashpulls off the same feat.
Very little isknown about the story ofAvatar: Fire and Ash, although it is expected that it will pick up after the massive ending ofAvatar: The Way of Water. James Cameron is returning to direct the upcoming film, and it will again starSam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and many other cast members from the first two films.
One of the few story details that is known aboutAvatar: Fire and Ashis that it will introduce the villainous Fire People. These fire-based Na’vi are set to be an antagonistic force, continuing the trend of introducing a new elemental Na’vi in each film. Having a fire-based clan will raise the stakes like never before, with them presumably being far more destructive than the Omatikaya and the Metkayina.
AlthoughFrankensteinis mostly thought of as a horror film thanks to its association with the Universal Monsters brand,it is actually a very early science fiction story. Luckily, acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is adapting Marie Shelley’s classic novel, while he is sure to put his own twist on the story of the mad scientist and his monster.
Frankensteinwill release on Netflix in November 2025, although an exact release date hasn’t yet been announced. The film will star Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s Monster, as well as Mia Goth, Cristoph Waltz, Ralph Ineson, and more.
Del Toro is a fantastic filmmaker, and his previous sci-fi movies likePacific RimandThe Shape of Waterare some of the best in the genre. The director’s fairy tale aesthetic makes him perfect for a fairy tell-like sci-fi story such asFrankenstein, and it is one of the most anticipated Netflix releases of the year.
Of all the sci-fi movies left in 2025, the most exciting one isBugonia. The film comes from director Yorgos Lanthimos, with it starringJesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. The movie is an English remake of the 2003 Korean filmSave the Green Planet!, which is critically acclaimed.
The story follows two conspiracy theorists who become convinced that the head of a large company is secretly an alien who wants to destroy Earth. Thus, they decide to kidnap her and discover her true nature.
The most exciting thing aboutBugoniais that it is directed by Lanthimos, who previously directed Oscars darlings likePoor ThingsandThe Favourite, as well as other acclaimed films likeThe Killing of a Sacred Deer,The Lobster, andKinds of Kindness. Lanthimos is well-versed in the sci-fi genre, althoughtheBugoniatrailer proves that his signature styleis still core to the film.
Lanthimos' track record means thatBugoniacould easily be one of the best films of the year, even if it isn’t as big of a box office hit as the aforementioned films on this list. Either way,Bugoniawill undoubtedly be one of the most memorablesci-fimovies of 2025.
