Superman and Fantastic Four Lead 2025's Amazing IMAX Slate
This year is already off to a very good start at the movies but 2025 is looking even bigger, in more ways than one. Fresh off the huge success of last year’s Oppenheimer and this year’s Dune: Part Two, IMAX just revealed 14 titles in 2025 that will not only be released in IMAX, but are being filmed specifically for the format.
The list, so far, is as follows:
Captain America: Brave New World - February 15, 2025
Untitled Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan - March 7, 2025
Thunderbolts - May 2, 2025
Flowervale Street - May 16, 2025
Mission: Impossible 8 - May 23, 2025
How To Train Your Dragon - June 13, 2025
Untitled Formula One - June 27, 2025
The Fantastic Four - July 25, 2025
Mercy - August 15, 2025
Tron: Ares - October 10, 2025
Blade - November 7, 2025
Chinese New Year, title TBC - January 29, 2025
Of course, as these films are all so far out, release dates are subject to change and there will probably be more films using IMAX cameras in the coming months. (Also, why isn’t Avatar 3 on this list? Did Cameron not use IMAX cameras? What about Gareth Edwards and Jurassic World?)
Now, for real film nerds, you all have one question right now. Since all of these films are being “filmed in IMAX,” will they just be released in normal, bigger, 1.9:1 IMAX? Or will any of them be full-frame, Christopher Nolan/Denis Villeneuve 1.43:1 IMAX? io9 reached out to IMAX for clarity and was told since most of these films are still in production, they couldn’t confirm what each film is using or what format each will be released in. It’s simply too early to be sure.
But let’s have some fun and guess anyway.
As none of the Marvel movies have ever gone 1.43, you can probably cross all those off the list. Same for the other Disney movie, Tron. Coogler/Jordan is rumored to be a period vampire movie, which sounds amazing, but maybe not “1.43 IMAX” amazing. Flowervale Street is rumored to be about dinosaurs and David Robert Mitchell is an exciting filmmaker, but I’m still thinking “No” there. Mission: Impossible 8 is a real possibility since the format has been used in the franchise, plus this is rumored to be the end of the saga so it would be a nice boost. I doubt How to Train Your Dragon would as it’s a family film but, you never know. The Joseph Kosinski-Brad Pitt Formula One movie, with its rumored $300 million budget, feels like the most obvious one to use the 1.43 aspect ratio, followed closely by James Gunn’s Superman. That would set an exciting precedent for the start of the DC Universe, if true. Mercy is an Amazon movie so, probably not that, and then there’s The Bride!, which we’re of course excited about but seems a bit more personal than epic. But again, that’s all just speculation.
No matter what the case though, even if none of the films go the full Nolan, just filming for IMAX does give the screen a significant jump in size, not to mention the incredible sound. Out of all of the premium formats out there, it’s certainly my favorite, and one of the most profitable for studios too.
Head to the Hollywood Reporter for more on these 2025 IMAX releases.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
