As we bid adieu to another year, it’s out with the old, and in with the new. “Wicked,” the 2024 film featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erevo? Over. Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown?” Boring. The Olympics? So over, it isn’t even funny. What’s stepping in to replace these seminal cultural moments, though? Here’s a quick overview of what we know is coming up in this jam-packed year of music, movies, and other cultural events.
“Revengeseekers” by Jane Remover is slated to be another shoegaze-y and abrasive project that can only be called hyper-pop if you put Charli XCX in a completely different category. “JRJRJR” came out on January 1st as the announcement of the upcoming album. It’s been a 2-year gap since “Census Designated,” and this newest record looks like it’s going to shatter any expectations for what Remover is capable of.
A$AP Rocky is a frequent collaborator, but a full-length release from him is elusive. “Don’t Be Dumb” has had a 7-year-long build up of anticipation amongst his fans since “Testing”—which, for the record, was nowhere as good as any of his previous albums. So far, there’s no official release date set. Still, what we do know is that Rocky is joining forces with fellow vegan Morrissey (lead singer of 80s jangle-pop band The Smiths) amongst others like Flava Flav and Fatman Scoop for the confirmed track “Hood Happy.” The Alchemist, Dean Blunt, and Madlib are also listed as producers on the project; very good signs that point to a great album.
Unlike music, this year’s movie list is about as lackluster as you can get, so let’s kick it off:
“Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” the final installment in the stunty action packed MI franchise, complete with the plain and almost ridgid writing of most of Hollywood.
James Gunn’s “Superman,” because we’ve never seen that before, kicking off the new DC universe and letting comic fans finally rejoice.
But that’s not all, Marvel is back with their latest Captain America, minus the actor.
“Captain America: Brave New World,” hitting theaters this year, promises the same boring storytelling of every Marvel film since “Avengers: Endgame,” with the twist of an all new Captain America never seen on the big screen before.
Don’t worry, though. If you’re looking for a laugh, there’s always “A Minecraft Movie.” This is by far the worst looking movie I’ve laid eyes on and without a doubt one of the dumbest ideas to come out of Hollywood.
Speaking of dumb ideas, “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” is being released. A horror film joining “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” as yet another entry in the genre of children’s books made scary. I’m not sure who above the age of 12 would find this an intriguing premise.
2025 is miles from a successful cinematic year, so thank God for reruns and HBO Max. Keep your money and stay far, far away from any AMC this year.
When it comes to events, all eyes are on the World Expo 2025—a celebration of innovation put on by the international organization Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) every five years. Taking place in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to October 13, this year’s Expo is themed around “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” This event, also known as the world fair, is exactly that; an opportunity for countries all over the world to brag about their technological, architectural, and cultural accomplishments. Past expos have seen the construction of the Seattle Space Needle in 1962 as well as the Eiffel Tower for 1889 in Paris, France.
There is sure to be far more to come than what’s on this list, but this is what we know to be on the way. From the promising to the not-so, 2025 is sure to be at least memorable when it comes to culture.
