CinemaCon 2025 is about halfway through now, with Universal Pictures being next to wow attendees with their highly anticipated slate. Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros. have all provided jam-packed presentations so far, and studios like Disney, Paramount, and Amazon MGM are still to come later in the week. The official convention of Cinema United — previously known as the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) — CinemaCon has become one of the top news events for eager moviegoers. The annual event sees theater owners, distributors, exhibitors, industry professionals, journalists, and more unite at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to celebrate the communal theatrical experience and discuss what’s coming in the future.
As one of the major studios, Universal Pictures is expected to bring a ton of massive announcements. While we have no confirmation on what movies will be shown or teased, moviegoers can at least expect new updates on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Jurassic World Rebirth, Nobody 2, and Wicked: For Good. The new Jordan Peele-produced sports horror-thriller Him, The Black Phone 2, M3GAN spin-off Soulm8te, The Phoenician Scheme, and Bugonia could be discussed as well.
CinemaCon is not open to the public, which means no releases of exclusive footage and first-look reveals from the highly anticipated event. But look no further, as we at DiscussingFilm will be listing below every major news update and exclusive footage description LIVE from the Universal and Focus Features CinemaCon 2025 studio presentation. Stay tuned as we continue to cover this year’s CinemaCon throughout the week, with presentations from Amazon MGM Studios, Walt Disney Studios, and Paramount Pictures still to come.
Live Universal Updates from CinemaCon 2025
New Universal Movies Confirmed at CinemaCon 2025
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Live-Action) is coming to theaters on June 11, 2027.
Wicked: For Good
Release Date: November 21, 2025.
Directed by Jon M. Chu.
Screenplay by Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox.
Based on Wicked by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman.
Produced by Marc Platt & David Stone.
Main Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, & Marissa Bode.
Exclusive Footage Description: At Universal Pictures CinemaCon 2025 panel, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jon M. Chu, and Marc Platt showed attendees a new trailer for Wicked: For Good. The trailer begins with Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba confronting Ariana Grande’s Glinda on the balcony of her new home in the Emerald City before cutting to a retro Universal Studios logo. Cynthia Erivo’s take on “No Good Deed” blasts as we are shown Elphaba starting a revolution in the land of Oz. She writes “The Wizard Lies” in the sky as she flies on her broom, and the Wizard threatens Elphaba.
The trailer then transitions into Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s new take on “For Good” — there are brief flashes of Glinda’s wedding sequence, walking the floor covered in flying lights mirroring Jon M Chu’s famous Crazy Rich Asians shot. We never see her face, but we are also shown glimpses of Dorothy and her companions on the yellow brick road as well as talking to the Wizard. In a key moment, Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero points his gun at Ozian soldiers and hands Elphaba her broom. The chorus of “For Good” ramps up as Elphaba and Glinda hold hands and talk about their friendship.
In a big climactic sequence, Elphaba confronts the Wizard in his chamber with her broom before a final shot of her zooming away from the flying monkeys cutting to the Wicked: For Good title card.
Jurassic World Rebirth
Release Date: July 2, 2025.
Directed by Gareth Edwards.
Screenplay by David Koepp.
Based on characters by Michael Crichton.
Produced by Patrick Crowley, Frank Marshall, & Janine Modder.
Main Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, & Ed Skrein.
Exclusive Footage Description: Footage Description: Universal treated CinemaCon 2025 attendees to a live orchestra playing the Jurassic Park theme as Gareth Edwards, Mahershala Ali, and Scarlett Johansson introduced an exclusive reel from the franchise’s newest entry, Jurassic World: Rebirth. The footage opens on Scarlett Johansson’s character, Zoe Bennett, in a foggy and sterile lab shrouded in red lighting from the alarms ringing in the background. A giant mutant dinosaur attacks a man she is talking to behind a wall of glass as he begs for her to open the door.
We are then introduced to the film’s core cast: Jonathan Bailey as Dr. Henry Loomis, Rupert Friend as Martin Krebs, and Mahershala Ali as Doctor Kincaid. They are debriefed to go on a mission to collect DNA from an experimental dinosaur breeding zone, but it won’t be so easy. The footage flexes plenty of interesting and colorful set pieces, such as our core crew on a T-Rex chase going down a whitewater raft, a Quetzalcoatlus attacking our heroes as they collect eggs in a mysterious temple, and a thrilling Mosasaurus attack in the middle of the ocean.
One of the most exciting images was a tease at some experimental hybrid dinosaurs, and evena cute little Aquilops dino that travels in the backpack of one of our new young leads. The final money shot of the trailer is a gigantic, never-before-seen dinosaur monster-mutation. The Jurassic World Rebirth trailer promises to bring back the fear and adrenaline that brings moviegoers back to this franchise time and time again, and director Gareth Edward’s eye for spectacle seems to be in full force.
HIM
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Directed by Justin Tipping.
Written by Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie.
Produced by Jordan Peele, Ian Cooper, Kierke Panisnick, Win Rosenfeld, & Jamal M. Watson.
Main Cast: Marlon Wayans, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Tyriq Withers, Indira G. Wilson. Jim Jefferies, Guapdad 4000, & Tierra Whack.
.Excluisve Footage Description: Universal Pictures brought an exciting first look at Him, produced by Jordan Peele and directed by Justin Tipping, to CinemaCon 2025. The teaser opens on a young football player played by Tyriq Withers going through an intense training montage, pushing himself to his limits. Wither’s character then becomes mentored by a legendary retired quarterback played by Marlon Wayans, whose intense speech echoes throughout the entirety of the footage.
The teaser quickly dips into the surreal as Jordan Peele’s producer credit appears, switching the film’s color scheme into X-Ray vision as Wither’s character collides headfirst into another player. Wayans questions if his apprentice wants it enough as we are shown Withers being followed by a demonic rammed mascot. There’s a recurring shot of Wayans yelling at Withers face-to-face into his helmet. There’s flashes of injections, cultists, and it ends on a shot of withers on a dark field, the football field covered in mysterious occult symbols.
M3GAN 2.0
Release Date: June 27, 2025.
Directed by Gerard Johnstone.
Screenplay by Akela Cooper.
Produced by Jason Blum, James Wan, & Allison Williams.
Main Cast: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Brian Jordan Alvarez, & Jemaine Clement.
Excluisve Footage Description: Violet McGraw and a troupe of M3GAN flash mobbers danced to Britney Spears “Oops I Did it Again” to premiere the first trailer of M3GAN 2.0 to CinemaCon attendees. The trailer opens on M3GAN’s AI consciousness being put into a harmless doll by Allison Williams character Gemma. It is revealed that the initial code for M3GAN has been stolen and been made into Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), who is on a murder spree to kill all who were involved in the development of M3GAN.
Gemma is forced to team up with her attacker and give M3GAN an upgrade in order to stop the threat of Amelia on her family and friends. The trailer’s tone is much wackier than the original film, taking itself less seriously and just having fun with the concept of two diva murder bots pitted against each other. M3GAN returns faster, stronger, taller, and even shown to have her own in-universe mega stans. As the trailer hilariulsy states. it’s “this bitch” vs. “that bitch.” The most extreme shot of the movie is M3GAN squirrel suit skydiving down a canyon.
The Bad Guys 2
Release Date: August 1, 2025.
Directed by Pierre Perifel & JP Sans.
Screenplay by Aaron Blabey.
Produced by Damon Ross.
Main Cast: Sam Rockwell, Marc Marion, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zavier Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lily Singh & Alex Borstein.
Exclusive Footage Description: CinemaCon attendees got to see the new trailer for the animated sequel The Bad Guys 2 before general audiences. The trailer starts off similarly to the previously released trailer, with The Bad Guys attempting to live a life as good guys, with Sam Rockwell’s wolf character attempting to work at a bank he used to rob. That’s when the characters meet The Bad Girls, a more sinister all-female team led by a snow leopard-like antagonist. The Bad Girls are planning to do a heist involving a space shuttle. Mr. Wolf agrees to work with them, but with an ulterior motive: sabotaging them and turning them in.
From there, the trailer goes through a series of gags and visually dynamic action sequences. The best bit involves Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) throwing a kidnapped Italian man in the back of his trunk, and, dressed as him, promises to play his role as respectfully as possible, only to do so with an extremely stereotypical Italian accent. Mr. Snake (Marc Maron) seems to have gained the ability to harden his abs. The footage closes off with a stunning-looking action sequence where the Bad Guys in a helicopter try to stop a rocket ship from exiting the atmosphere. The trailer looks to have everything fans of the first film enjoyed and more.
Nobody 2
Release Date: August 15, 2025.
Directed by: Timo Tjahjanto.
Screenplay by Umair Aleem, Derek Kolstad, Bob Odenkirk, & Aaron Rubin.
Produced by Braden Aftergood, Paul Barry, David Leitch, Kelly McCormick, Bob Odenkirk, & Marc Provissiero
Main Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone, Christopher Lloyd, & Colin Hanks.
Exclusive Footage Description: Universal premiered the trailer for the Timo Tjahjanto-helmed sequel, Nobody 2, to audiences at CinemaCon 2025. The trailer starts off with Bob Odenkirk’s main character Hutch at a work convention, where he is being eyed by mysterious men in an elevator. Eventually, this turns into an intimate elevator fight. Intercut with this is his wife and kids complaining that he’s not spending enough time with them. Thus, they go on vacation, complete with Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” playing in a remixed version and Christopher Lloyd in tow.
At a carnival on their vacation, Odenkirk’s daughter is slapped in the back of the head by a carnival employee. Of course, Hutch takes matters into his own hands and gives the employees a beatdown, intercut with Hutch and his son in a prison cell. The trailer then reveals the main plot, a drug ring ran by a character played by Sharon Stone and enabled by a cop played by Colin Hanks. The trailer ends on a quick succession of brutal, funny action in various environments, capping with a speedboat fight where someone in a rubber ducky mask gets punched in the face. The film looks like a more comedic extension of the first film’s action-comedy hybrid.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Release Date: December 5, 2025
Directed by Emma Tammi.
Screenplay by Scott Cawthon, Seth Cuddeback, & Emma Tammi.
Produced by Jason Blum & Scott Cawthon.
Main Cast: Elizabeth Lail, Josh Hutchinson, Matthew Lillard, & Piper Rubio.
Exclusive Footage Description: Jason Blum took the stage at CinemaCon 2025 in full costume as Freddy Fazbear as Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 filled the stage. Blum announced that the film will be released exclusively in theaters before showing an exclusive short teaser. The footage opens on a narrator welcoming audiences back to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, showing brief glimpses of a carnival setting. We are reintroduced to Josh Hutcherson’s character, Mike, talking to Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa.
Mike is warned by Vanessa that the animatronics are back and this time they are on the loose and can appear anywhere in public. The footage is mostly brief, but we are importantly shown the Balloon Boy animatronic as well as a final tease of the new shiny “Toy Freddy” walking alone in the middle of a busy fairground amongst children and the public.
The Black Phone 2
Release Date: October 17, 2025.
Directed by Scott Derrickson.
Screenplay by C. Robert Cargill & Scott Derrickson.
Produced by Jason Blum, C. Robert Cargill, & Scott Derrickson.
Main Cast: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Jeremy Davies, Madeline McGraw, & Arianna Rivas.
Exclusive Footage Description: CinemaCon 2025 attendees were the first to see footage from Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone 2. The excluisve reel stars with a bleak vibe, with a slow version of Alice in Chains’ “The Rooster” playing, a child is being chased through the snow in what looks like grainy lo-fi footage. As the child’s terrified face flashes on the screen, it lingers even through the next image. Finney (Mason Thames) appears to be living a sullen life, as his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) is having strange visions.
The repeated images of an out-of-order Black Phone and Gwen at a summer camp build to a reveal as the black phone rings: The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) is hanging around in the afterlife, out to make their life a living hell. The rest of the footage is pure nightmare fuel. There’s a striking image of The Grabber ice skating towards the camera in slow-motion. It appears that The Grabber has a special connection with Gwen, managing to somehow get ahold of her from, spinning her around in rapid succession as Finney appears to see that image in a phone booth. Without a doubt, it looks even more terrifying than the first movie given its stronger supernatural elements.
Soulm8te
Release Date: January 2, 2026.
Directed by:Kate Dolan.
Screenplay by Kate Dolan, Rafael Jordan, & James Wan.
Produced by: Jason Blum, Niamh Gale, & James Wan.
Main Cast: Claudia Doumit, David Rysdahl, Lily Sullivan, Oliver Cooper, & Steve Chusak.
Exclusive Footage Description: SOULM8TE debuted its first footage for 2025 CinemaCon audiences. The M3GAN spin-off (of sorts) shows a man (David Rysdahl) in the throes of an exciting tryst with a woman played by Lily Sullivan. Sullivan’s character is very over-the-top seductive, with energetic pop music and quick editing creating a fun atmosphere. That is, until her own soulmate falls for a woman played by Claudia Doumit.
Then, the reveal comes: Lily Sullivan’s character is a robotic sexual companion. And she’s not taking no for an answer. The trailer sees Sullivan going full Terminator mode, often interweaving high femininity with menace in a way that looks like good schlocky fun. The footage shown in a lot gorier than anything seen from M3GAN and with it being an adult robot this time around the film looks to be taking a wild swing at sex and relationships. The trailer ends with Sullivan dunking Claudia Doumit’s head into a toilet bowl. As Doumit begs her, saying they shouldn’t be pitted against each other, Lily Sullivan retorts “that girl power shit doesn’t work on me.”
The Phoenician Scheme
Release Date: May 30, 2025.
Directed by Wes Anderson.
Screenplay by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola.
Produced by Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, John Peet, & Steven Rales.
Main Cast: Benecio Del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, & Riz Ahmed.
Exclusive Footage Description: CinemaCon attendees were given a first look at the next Wes Anderson flick, The Phoenician Scheme. The film primarily follows Benecio Del Toro as Zia-zia Korda, a rich aristocrat, and Mia Threapleton plays his nun daughter, Sister Liesl. After narrowly escaping a plane crash alive, Korda decides to bestow his entire estate to his daughter before chaos ensues.
As expected from Wes Anderson, the trailer oozed with charisma and had all the Anderson trademarks, from the visual gags, monotone line delivery, and even the 1:33:1 aspect ratio. Anderson co-wrote The Phoenician Scheme with Roman Coppola, and the film is full of the auteur’s regular talent, a troupe of A-list actors. The film opens on May 30, 2025.
Bugonia
Release Date: November 7, 2025.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
Screenplay by Jane Joon-hwan & Will Tracy.
Produced by Ari Aster, Ed Guiney, Lars Knudsen, Yorgos Lanthimos, Mikey Lee, Andrew Lowe, Kasia Malipan, & Emma Stone.
Exclusive Main Cast: Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Alicia Silverstone, & Starvos Halkias.
Exclusive Footage Description: Focus Features debuted a very brief teaser for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, which stars Jesse Plemons as a beekeeper, talking about the function of each specific bee, with an undercurrent of animosity. When he says “queen”, images of Emma Stone as the leader of their operation, a well-dressed, rich-looking women, flash by. The trailer ends on her suddenly collapsing, only to get her head shaved as she’s unconscious and covered in white paint, seemingly watched by Jesse Plemons’ character.
