From The Conjuring: Last Rites to Avatar: Fire and Ash, 2025 still has many high-profile sequels left that fans need to see on the big screen. Sequels have been a crucial part of 2025's movie line-up, and the year started with a bang with the arrival of Captain America: Brave New World in February. Several more sequels then started to pique fans' interest, such as Happy Gilmore 2, Bad Guys 2, and the latest one in the August 2025 lineup: Freakier Friday (the much-anticipated follow-up to 2003's beloved Disney movie).
Ahead of 2026's already-stacked lineup of sequels (which includes Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday), the remaining months of 2025 are set to showcase more sequels that have the potential to be big earners at the box office and potentially loved by fans and critics.
12 Major Sequels Releasing for the Rest of 2025
The Conjuring: Last Rites
The Conjuring: Last Rites is the fourth and final entry in the mainline Conjuring franchise. It features Ed and Lorraine Warren as they risk their lives helping a family in a grueling battle against a vengeful demon connected to their first case.
The upcoming sequel is confirmed to highlight Ed and Lorraine's final case, with the trailer teasing why it led to their retirement in the world of the supernatural.
Last Rites is based on a real-life supernatural case in Pennsylvania in which a demon tormented the home of the Smurl family. While Valak was defeated in The Conjuring 2, Last Rites is also confirmed to bring back another franchise favorite: Annabelle.
Directed by Michael Chaves, The Conjuring: Last Rites brings back Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren. The movie will bow in theaters on September 5, 2025 (read more about the perfect order to watch all The Conjuring movies).
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
As the final film in the Downton Abbey franchise, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale follows the story of the Crawley family entering a new era: the 1930s. At the center of the drama is Mary, who finds herself in public scrutiny due to her divorce (which was still uncommon in England during this period). Elsewhere, the Crawleys suffer financial problems that could lead to their downfall.
The upcoming movie will bring back most of the core characters from the franchise, such as Paul Giamatti, MobLand star Joanne Froggatt, Jim Carter, Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, and Michelle Dockery. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premieres in theaters on September 12, 2025.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is a historic sequel to This Is Spinal Tap since it will be released 41 years after the original. Most of the original movie's original cast will return, featuring the likes of Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fran Drescher, and Paul Shaffer. Paul McCartney and Elton John are also confirmed to have special roles in the movie.
The sequel revolves around the titular band's reunion story, but not everything goes smoothly due to past issues that have yet to be resolved. As they prepare for their ultimate farewell concert, the question on everyone's minds is whether or not the Spinal Tap members will set aside their bad blood to perform for their fans.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will premiere in theaters on Friday, September 12, 2025.
Tron: Ares
Serving as a standalone sequel to Tron: Legacy, 2025's Tron: Ares sees the titular character/program as he crosses from the digital world into the real world, tasked with a dangerous mission. Ares' presence on Earth is historic because it marks humankind's first encounter with Artificial Intelligence beings.
Tron: Ares is one of Disney's highly anticipated sequels because it has an interesting premise, mainly because it flips the script of bringing AI to the human world instead of the other way around. It also has a star-studded cast headlined by Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges, alongside Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Gillian Anderson.
Directed by Joachim Rønning, Tron: Ares will premiere in theaters on October 10, 2025.
Black Phone 2
Black Phone 2 is the follow-up to Scott Derrickson's 2021 movie, Black Phone, which told the story of a serial killer known as The Grabber as he tormented a 13-year-old boy named Finney Shaw.
Black Phone ended with Finney, with the help of Grabber's past victims as ghosts, ultimately defeating the Grabber. Given the Grabber's confirmed comeback in the sequel, Black Phone 2 could dive deep into the supernatural as the killer seeks revenge against Finney as a much more powerful supernatural being.
Black Phone 2 brings back How to Train Your Dragon breakout star Mason Thames as Finney and Ethan Hawke as the Grabber. The movie will be released in theaters on October 17, 2025.
Mortal Kombat II
Based on the video game series of the same name, Mortal Kombat II will push Johnny Cage into the forefront as he is set to compete as part of Earthrealm's champions in a tournament against Outworld. Cage will be joined by new and exciting characters, such as Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, Baraka, and Kitana.
In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Josh Lawson also confirmed that Mortal Kombat II will feature the return of fan-favorite character, Kano.
Directed by Simon McQuoid and written by Moon Knight showrunner Jeremy Slater, Mortal Kombat II stars Karl Urban, Mehcad Brooks, Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Chin Han, and Adeline Rudolph. Mortal Kombat II joins October's packed slate when it premieres in theaters on October 24, 2025.
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
Now You See Me: Now You Don't is the third installment of the Now You See Me franchise, and it has been highly anticipated due to the long wait between movies (the sequel was released in 2016).
The threequel will highlight the return of the core Four Horsemen portrayed by fan-favorites Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco. They will be joined by newcomers, namely Justice Smith, Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Rosamund Pike.
While exact plot details are still unknown, the trailer provided fans a glimpse of what to expect, with the Four Horsemen recruiting three expert illusionists to help them in a high-profile heist involving the world's largest diamond. The movie's ambitious heist will definitely be anchored by death-defying stunts in order to pull off the unimaginable once again.
Now You See Me: Now You Don't will premiere in theaters on November 14, 2025.
Wicked: For Good
After the success of Wicked in 2024, the anticipation is sky-high for Wicked: For Good. The upcoming sequel will continue Elphaba and Glinda's respective stories as they become entangled with the core storyline of the classic Wizard of Oz narrative involving Dorothy (who may or may not be played by Abigail star Alisha Weir).
Wicked: For Good is set to tie up loose ends from the cliffhanger Defying Gravity-infused ending from Part 1, fleshing out the ongoing rivalry between Elphaba and the Wizard. It will also introduce key characters from the Wizard of Oz story, transforming characters fans know and love into the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow.
Wicked: For Good premieres in theaters on November 21, 2025.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
Set one year after the events of the first film, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 continues the story of Mike, Vanessa, and Abby as they are once again tormented by supernatural animatronics that turn out to be killing machines.
After seemingly defeating William Afton in the first movie, the trailer hinted that Abby would reunite with her animatronic friends, leading to the revelation about the harrowing truth of Freddy and his friends.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 stars Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, and Piper Rubio. They will be joined by new cast members McKenna Grace, Teo Briones, and Wayne Knight. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 swings into theaters on December 5, 2025.
Zootopia 2
As one of the highly anticipated sequels crucial to Disney's box office plans, Zootopia 2 is set to deliver laughs and a charming story to the big screen once again.
The sequel reunites newly fledged police officer Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as they uncover another conspiracy in Zootopia that may be tied to a mysterious reptile.
Zootopia 2 has 17 new animal species combined with some familiar ones, voiced by Ke Huy Quan, Quinta Brunson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, and Idris Elba. Zootopia 2 premieres in theaters on November 26, 2025.
Wake Up Dead Man
Directed by Rian Johnson, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery pushes Benoit Blanc to the limit as he unpacks another dangerous case.
While details about the plot and the nature of the case are still unknown, Daniel Craig's eccentric detective will definitely be forced to make some heavy choices while uncovering the truth.
Craig is joined yet again by a stellar cast of award-winning actors, led by Mila Kunis, Cailee Spaeny, Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, and Kerry Washington. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery premieres on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron's much-talked-about threequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is gearing up for a holiday release in theaters. The movie will bring forth an epic civil war in Pandora between Jake Sully's Metkayina clan and a new Fire Navi clan led by Oona Chaplin's Varang.
The trailer highlighted some epic action scenes while teasing an alliance between the humans and the Fire Navi, presenting all kinds of trouble for Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their allies.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third of five Avatar movies planned by Cameron, and the threequel will look to raise the stakes as it inches closer to the epic conclusion of the franchise. Avatar: Fire and Ash will premiere in theaters on December 19, 2025.
