Hollywood doesn’t have a consistent track record when it comes to getting video game adaptations right. But in recent years, there’s been a shift in quality, thanks to projects like Fallout, The Last of Us, Arcane, Twisted Metal, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. We can probably thank the creators and stewards of the aforementioned game franchises, many of whom were involved as producers and co-creators, for ensuring these adaptations of their work were handled respectfully.
But we’ve also seen more mixed results, with less-than-stellar adaptations like Borderlands, Secret Level, and Resident Evil making it to our screens.
2025 will once again be a test for Hollywood, as the coming year is packed with film and television adaptations that we’re both excited for — and maybe a little worried about. But with the bar set high by many recent TV series and movies, we’re hopeful that the video game makers involved will demand nothing less than the best.
Here’s a look at what’s coming in 2025.
The Last of Us season 2
Due sometime in early 2025, HBO’s The Last of Us season 2 will begin to adapt the events of Naughty Dog’s video game sequel, an epic that’s far too eventful to fit into just one season of television. The Last of Us Part 2 (the game) touches on some dark, extremely graphic events, some of them so shocking that they’ll likely leave audiences wincing — and probably more than a little bummed out. But the quality of and reception to the first season of The Last of Us all but guarantees that this will be some well-made television.
Season 2 of The Last of Us will see stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey reprise their roles as Joel and Ellie. New to the cast this season are Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, and Catherine O’Hara.
A Minecraft Movie
Warner Bros. and Mojang’s decade-long journey to bring Minecraft to the big screen is finally happening — and early reception seems, well, pretty mixed. A Minecraft Movie may be 2025’s biggest unknown when it comes to successfully adapting a video game. The Jared Hess-directed movie is taking the silliest of approaches, though some of the gags (“As a child, I yearned for the mines”) show great self-awareness. The film’s blocky aesthetic feels both authentic and a little bit off, and it’s hard to know at this stage whether A Minecraft Movie will resonate with the kids who love it or if internet grumps are right that this is a huge miss.
Will Jack Black hamming it up as Steve be enough to carry the Minecraft movie to The Super Mario Bros. Movie levels of success? We’ll find out on April 4, 2025, when A Minecraft Movie arrives in theaters.
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry show creator Adi Shankar is partly responsible for Netflix’s solid Castlevania animated series, and he seems pretty passionate about bringing Dante to the small screen. So we have some faith that Shankar gets DMC enough to make the anime series another success.
While his take on the demon slayer Dante appears to be pretty authentic, Shankar has called Devil May Cry more than just an adaptation. He calls it a “personal love letter to Capcom,” meaning he’s bringing in influences from across the publisher’s game catalog. Hey, it worked for Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, an unexpectedly good spin on Ubisoft’s properties.
Mortal Kombat 2
However you feel about director Simon McQuoid’s take on Mortal Kombat released in 2021, it was undeniably missing two big things that define Mortal Kombat: the actual Mortal Kombat tournament itself and lovable Hollywood asshole Johnny Cage. Mortal Kombat 2 will slot in both of those missing pieces, and we can’t wait to see how Karl Urban as Johnny Cage turns out.
Nearly the entire cast of Mortal Kombat returns for the sequel, including the dead folks. That means Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion. There’s a huge list of newcomers too, with Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Ana Thu Nguyen as Sindel, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, and Damon Herriman as Quan Chi.
Mortal Kombat 2 gets over here on Oct. 24, 2025.
Return to Silent Hill
Christophe Gans, director of the original Silent Hill movie, gets another crack at the franchise with 2025’s Return to Silent Hill. This time, Gans is adapting the story of Silent Hill 2 — which was already remade successfully in 2024 with a stellar video game remake. It will be tough for yet another iteration on the same material to measure up.
Return to Silent Hill will be Gans’ first movie in more than 10 years. The adaptation stars Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) as James Sunderland, Hannah Emily Anderson (The Purge) as Mary, and Evie Templeton as Laura, reprising her role as that character in the Silent Hill 2 remake. And yes, Pyramid Head is back too. But there’s still no release date for this one…
Until Dawn
PlayStation 4 game Until Dawn was like a playable slasher movie, in which player choice and reaction time tested gamers’ ability to survive being stalked by a bloodthirsty killer. Now, that interactive story is being adapted for the big screen as an “R-rated love letter to the horror genre” by director David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Shazam!).
The original Until Dawn featured actual Hollywood talent, including digital versions of actors Hayden Panettiere, Rami Malek, and Peter Stormare. Until Dawn (the movie) will star an entirely new cast of potential slasher victims hoping to survive a night in a remote ski lodge, though Stormare will reprise his role as Dr. Hill. Sandberg says the cast of his Until Dawn movie are not the same characters from the game, so it appears his stab at bringing Supermassive Games’ horror story will be a little different. But far as we know, this is not a Clue-style movie with multiple endings.
Until Dawn arrives in theaters on April 25, 2025.
The return of Castlevania: Nocturne
Netflix’s Castlevania animated series have consistently been pretty good, and hopes are high that Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 will continue the tradition. In the next season, vampire hunter Richter Belmont, Alucard, and a band of slayers will face off against vampire messiah Erzsebet Báthory as she “seeks the full power of the goddess Sekhmet so she can plunge the world into endless darkness and terror,” according to Netflix.
Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 begins streaming on Jan. 16, 2025.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Scott Cawthon’s kid-friendly horror game and Blumhouse Productions’ style of filmmaking appear to be a perfect match, based on the box office haul of 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. The first FNAF movie grossed more than $290 million globally, and true to the games, the money-printing machine is firing up again for a quick turnaround sequel.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will bring back the principle cast of humans and deadly animatronics, adding Toy Freddy to the cast of killer robots. This one’s the furthest out; Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 hits movie theaters on Dec. 5, 2025.
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