With so many new action movies on the 2025 movie schedule, I think this could be a banner year for the genre. The first few months 2025 were filled with some incredible action movies, both on the big screen and on some of the best streaming services around, but all of that feels like an appetizer for the greatness that is to come in the coming weeks and months.
With buddy action comedies like Heads of State, multiple sequels like The Old Guard 2 and Nobody 2, and long-awaited action thrillers in the works, there’s a lot I plan on seeing before December comes around…
Bride Hard – June 20, 2025
What happens when you combine Bridesmaids and Die Hard and get the guy who directed Con Air to wrap it all up like a badass action movie present? Well, you get Bride Hard. Directed by Simon West, who has also helmed Jason Statham movies like The Mechanic, The Expendables 2, and Wild Card, this Rebel Wilson-led action-comedy doesn’t look like the best or most original story, but it does give off those big, stupid action flick vibes I can’t deny myself from enjoying.
Wilson plays a secret agent who tries to take out a massive team of mercenaries (led by Stephen Dorff) who have taken everyone at her best friend’s wedding hostage. It looks silly, it looks over-the-top, and it looks completely insane, but that’s honestly right up my alley.
Heads of State – July 2, 2025
Directed by Nobody and Hardcore Henry filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, the movie will follow two rival world leaders – John Cena as U.S. President Will Derringer and Idris Elba as U.K. Prime Minister Sam Clarke – as they try to take down a massive criminal conspiracy to rock the world. Though I would prefer seeing this one on the big screen, it will be nice to check out the standout from The Wire and the great wrestler-turned-actor get up to some shenanigans in this Prime Video exclusive this summer.
Hell, this movie could be an absolute disaster, and I will still love it because it has everything I want: a silly plot, action, and the pairing of Cena and Elba after their hilarious turn in The Suicide Squad four years ago.
The Old Guard 2 – July 2, 2025
Those who have been waiting for five years (myself included) to see what’s next for Charlize Theron’s Andy in the long-in-the-works The Old Guard 2 don’t have to wait much longer, as it’s finally coming to Netflix this summer. I don’t know much about the sequel outside of that it will see the return of those mysterious immortal warriors as they take on a new enemy, but I still can’t help but be excited for this one.
With the return of Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, and Matthias Schoenaerts, I’m eager to see what the badass characters each played in the original have been up to, and what they’re getting into next.
Nobody 2 – August 15, 2025
It sounds like Nobody 2 will differ from the original, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This August, Bob Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell will be pulled back into action as the reluctant badass is forced to reconcile with his past once again. If this new action movie is half as fun as the first bone-crunching and pain-inducing action thriller, I’m going to be having a good time as I watch it all unfold.
What has me even more excited about Nobody 2 is the fact that Timo Tjahjanto, the director behind The Night Comes for Us and several of the best VHS segments, is helming the project. If you’re familiar with his body of work, you should be just as excited to see what he brings to the franchise.
Predator: Badlands – November 7, 2025
Making a massive change from the rest of the franchise, Predator: Badlands looks like it’s going to be loads of fun when it hits theaters this November. Centering on a young predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi) outcast from his clan looking to prove himself, the movie looks like it will have all the trappings of a coming-of-age story, only this time it’s set in the middle of one of the premier sci-fi properties of our time.
One thing that has me excited to dive into this action-packed and thrilling story is the fact that Dan Trachtenberg, who has directed the previous two Predator movies – Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers – is sitting behind the camera once again.
The Running Man – November 7, 2025
There are several upcoming Stephen King adaptations on the horizon, but one I’m looking forward to the most is Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. The movie stars Glen Powell as Ben Richards (a role previously played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action flick), a man forced to compete in a popular yet lethal game show where he’ll have to face off against various murderous hunters who want to stop him in his tracks.
Based on everything I’ve heard about this new action movie, it sounds like Wright’s version of The Running Man will be darker, more chaotic, and truer to the source material than Paul Michael Glaser’s flashy, silly, and over-the-top adaptation all those years ago.
Sisu 2 – November 21, 2025
Remember back in 2022 when Jalmari Helander came out with Sisu, a Finnish World War II movie that was essentially “John Wick battles Nazis”? Well, we’re getting a second adventure with Jorma Tommila’s Aatami Korpi, everyone’s favorite gold prospector and undeniable badass.
Though I don’t know much about this out-of-nowhere sequel, I have to admit that I’m pretty excited to see Aatami go on a path of vengeance again (maybe someone will come for his money now that he traded in all that gold). On top of that, Stephen Lange and Richard Brake are also set to appear in the movie, which has me even more stoked for what’s to come.
These are the action movies I’m excited about RIGHT NOW, but expect even more thrilling titles to be added in the weeks and months to come. And don’t get me started on those 2026 movies on the way…
