Marshall's 2025 Summer Movie Preview

Non-franchise titles worth getting excited for

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate! I got to break out the pastel blazer today, so as far as I’m concerned … it’s time to start casting our gaze toward summer and the movies.

This is where we’ll really see the “survive till 25” mantra put to the test. We’ll have a test of B-team Marvel heroes in Thunderbolts* to kick off May, leading into a big Memorial Day with the franchise capper (or so they say) for Mission: Impossible and a live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch that will test if Disney’s doldrums continue.

June brings expensive gambles for the Brad Pitt-starring F1 and Pixar’s original story Elio, all while How to Train Your Dragon and 28 Years Later test whether viewers are ready to return to their dormant universes.

July is where we really see if audiences have turned the page on superhero movies with DC’s Superman and Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboots testing tolerance, with Jurassic World: Rebirth ready to scoop up the scraps.

And then August is always gonna August with the potential for sleeper hits among smaller titles. Though I’ll let you guess which one has me the most excited…

Christmas 2003. I think we also got a trampoline this year.

But the franchise fare doesn’t need my hype. I’m here to preview for paying subscribers of Marshall and the Movies some of the smaller movies that have caught my attention and have me intrigued for the forthcoming four months. There are likely more indie movies to get added to the schedule, but I’m working with the best picture of the summer that I have at this time. All this is to say: I have not seen the movies I’m teasing, so we can all share in the surprise together.

But before diving behind the paywall, I figure I could at least let everyone know what I have seen and think you should be keeping an eye out for this summer. (Ahem, Letterboxd mutuals, I better be seeing some watchlist adds…)

• Pavements (May 2, trailer)

• Familiar Touch (June 20)

• Drowning Dry (July 18, trailer)

• Together (August 1, trailer)

• Lurker (August 22)

I’ll also give a shoutout to a few others that I haven’t reviewed (at least yet) but have screened and are worth seeking out this summer:

• The Surfer (May 2, trailer)

• Caught By the Tides (May 9, trailer)

• Friendship (May 9, trailer)

• Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (June 20)

• Sorry, Baby (June 27)