Ep. 35: Alex And Lee’s Most Anticipated Films Of 2025

Happy New Year! As we look ahead to 2025, Alex and Lee share their most anticipated films of the year and some fun life updates.

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Transcript

Lee Pugsley
It's 2025. Let's go.

Alex Howard
Yeah.

Lee Pugsley
What's up, everyone? Welcome back to another episode of The Dark Room, where two blind cinephiles illuminate the sighted. And we are thrilled to be back with you for a brand new year. I'm Lee Pugsley.

Alex Howard
I'm Alex Howard.

Lee Pugsley
And this is a podcast hosted by two Legally Blind Guys for film lovers of all abilities. And I hope you guys all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year. Now that we are at the beginning of 2025, this is always such an exciting time because we get to look forward to what this year holds in cinema. Alex, how are you feeling about this year in film?

Alex Howard
Yeah, I'm really excited. So we're going to do our "most anticipated" first before we do our "best of 2024." Give us a little bit more time to watch some more movies. But I love doing most anticipated because it's all about potential of what could come in the coming year. And this year is going to be a really good year for film. I had a lot of trouble narrowing it down to 10 movies.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I agree. It seems like there's a lot of promising films, and it's always so interesting at the beginning of the year when we have this excitement for the films we're looking forward to, seeing how they pan out. You know, because sometimes they really hit like we were hoping they would, and other times it's a little disappointing. But I'm optimistic for this year, and we're going to see where it goes.

Alex Howard
I think this year I'm taking a different approach to my most anticipated. I think in years past, my ones at the top of my "most anticipated" list, I've been like, "Oh, these are going to be my favorite movies of the year." And this year I'm like, "No, these aren't going to be my favorite because that's never the case. But these are just the ones that I think are going to be the most fun that I'm looking forward to the most." They aren't necessarily going to be the best film of the year.

Lee Pugsley
Exactly. And that's a very good point that as we make our most anticipated list, it's not necessarily which movies are going to be the Oscar movies or which movies are going to be the big box office hits or any of that. It's just whatever hits us personally, whatever we're looking through and we're like, "That seems really interesting, and that makes me feel something and brings me a level of excitement." With that in mind, Alex, why don't you go ahead and start off? We're going to do our top 10 list going from 10 to 1. But before that, I think we have some honorable mentions that we'll begin with.

Alex Howard
Yeah. So for me, to start off, first of all, I have two that I don't have release dates next year. I think all of the ones on my list have official release dates in 2025. But these two movies would be at the top of the list if they had release dates and they are confirmed to be shooting early 2025. There is a chance they could be released at the end of 2025 or early 2026. Those two are Talk 2 Me, the sequel to Talk to Me, so Talk to Me 2, and the other one is They Follow, which is a sequel to It Follows, which is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. Those two are shooting, and I'm hoping we'll get them late next year, but they are not on my list since they aren't official release dates.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, those are really good choices. I liked the first movies in both of those respect of franchises. So if they do come out later this year, I will eagerly anticipate those.

Alex Howard
So on my honorable mentions, I'm going to limit myself to five because I have some self control. So my honorable mentions are Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic, Eddington, which is Ari Esther's new movie, 28 Years Later, and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

Lee Pugsley
All of those are very solid choices, and some of those may or may not make an appearance in my list, but I will be seeing all of those probably opening weekend, and I do have anticipation for those as well, even though some of them may not be on my list.

Alex Howard
And I am very curious to hear... I mean, you're going to go with your honorable mentions, but I'm always so curious to hear your top 10, because you always seem to bring some that I didn't even know were coming out. And then I'm like, "Damn, that would have been on my list if I had known about it." So I really tried to do my research to match your amount of research that you normally do. But I feel like you're going to bring some out that I'm like, "Oh, my God, I did not know that was coming in. You're going to get me hyped." So what are your honorable mentions?

Lee Pugsley
Yeah. So my honorable mentions, I have five of them as well. Presence, which is directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Lucy Liu. And this actually comes out later this month in January. And this was supposed to come out last year. I think that it sounds really intriguing. It's about a couple that inhabits a house that is haunted, and the perspective is told from the ghost, which I think is really interesting. Maybe a little similar to Nickel Boys, but it's definitely going to have a very different tone. Second is Materialists, which is the new movie from Celine Song. I did like Past Lives, maybe not as much as everyone else, but I'm very curious to see what her second venture will be as a director. This, once again, has a love triangle between Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans. So I'm here for one of those slice of life dramas where we get a little bit of love triangle in the mix. And then third is Sinners, the new Ryan Coogler movie with Michael B. Jordan, where Michael B. Jordan plays twins. I think that's going to be really interesting, and just to see a departure from what Ryan Coogler has been doing in the past. And then fourth is Running Man, which I feel like this will probably be on your list somewhere. I think that based on the Stephen King novel, interesting premise, Glen Powell, you have all the makings of a really good film that I think could be very thrilling and suspenseful. The last movie on my list is called Deliver Me From Nowhere. It's about Bruce Springsteen when he was recording the album Nebraska. It stars Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong. Really, that's all I need to make a good movie. I'll be interested to see if it's your typical musician biopic or if it deviates from that formula a little bit. But those are my honorable mentions.

Alex Howard
See, all of those are really solid. Some of those may be on my top 10, but I will definitely be seeing those opening weekend, especially, see, some of those I didn't even know about, like Celine Song's movie and Presence. I've seen the poster, but for some reason I haven't looked it up. So, yeah, those are definitely some great pics.

Lee Pugsley
So now that we have the honored mentions done, let's just dive into the good stuff. Alex, what's your number 10 for most anticipated?

Alex Howard
So the order of these were all really difficult. My number 10 is The Battle of Baktan Cross. This is the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and several other people that I cannot remember right now. But I mean, Paul Thomas Anderson is always a director to watch. I don't love all of his movies, but there are some of his movies that I really love, like Punch Drunk Love. I really like Phantom Thread. Those are probably my two favorite movies by him. And I hear this one is much more mainstream than his other movies. And it also has DiCaprio, which is obviously always a seller. So I'm very excited to see what this entails.

Lee Pugsley
I am very excited about this movie as well. And just to add some more cast to that, we have Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn, which is an incredible cast. And this movie does make an appearance on my list a little higher up, and we'll get to that later. But to comment on what you said and to share your excitement for this movie, I'm in a similar boat to you where not all Paul Thomas Anderson movies work for me. I think that they're really hit or miss, just depending on how engaging the story and the characters are for me personally, but I do think that he is a very good filmmaker. I appreciate the ideas and the artistry that he brings to the table. And I'm really excited and interested to see Paul Thomas Anderson going a little bit more mainstream. And from what I understand about this movie, The Battle of Baktan Cross, it's kind of like a dark Western, which is very intriguing to me, for sure.

Alex Howard
Yes, I definitely agree. And what is your number 10, Lee?

Lee Pugsley
My number 10 is a movie called The Bride. It's directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and it's basically about The Bride of Frankenstein, starring Christian Bale. And what's most interesting about this movie, and also very on brand for me, is that it's a musical movie as well, and Jessie Buckley's in it, too. So you have Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley, who I think are two of the finest actors that we have around. And I'm just so curious to see this take on the Frankenstein story, because it's more so about Frankenstein's bride, not necessarily about Frankenstein himself. And so I'll be very interested to see the perspective they take on it. And also just, is it going to be campy? Is it going to be more serious? Is it going to be horror? I don't even know what the tone of it's going to be. But anytime I hear a musical movie, full on singing and dancing, I'm here for that.

Alex Howard
That's so interesting. And once again, this is one that I had heard about, but I forgot about, and I did not know it was a musical. And I think it's interesting that we're getting The Bride and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein in the same year.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, we're going to definitely have a lot of Frankenstein, and I think that they could actually work as really good companion pieces depending on what material they pull from to bring these stories to life.

Alex Howard
I know Maggie Gyllenhaal's last movie was a Netflix movie. Is this one as well?

Lee Pugsley
That's a great question. I didn't see anything about where it's going to be distributed. It might make sense that it would be a Netflix movie because her last movie was The Lost Daughter, correct?

Alex Howard
Yeah. And del Toro's Frankenstein is a Netflix movie, so that would be funny if they were both Netflix.

Lee Pugsley
That would be for sure. So, yeah, what's your number nine?

Alex Howard
Mine number 9, which I would be shocked if it's not on your list somewhere, is Wicked: For Good. And I think I absolutely love Wicked from this year. It's in my top 10 of the year, a little preview. So I'm very excited for the next one. Honestly, my memory is not the best, which benefits me because I don't remember how the play ended. So I'm very curious to see where the story goes since I don't remember.

Lee Pugsley
Well, surprisingly, Wicked is not... No, it is. Just joking. Wicked is on my most anticipated list, Wicked: For Good. It's a little higher up than you, but I'm glad to see that it's made an appearance on your list. And I'm really glad that you embraced Wicked Part One as much as you did. It just makes me so happy to see that movie succeed. I also love Wicked Part One and think that it's one of the best movie musical adaptations we've had in the last 25 years. That being said, there's so much to come. For those of you that don't know what happens in act 2 of the play, get ready. That's all I got to say. There's a lot of really fun twists and turns that you may not expect in the way that they play out. I'm very excited for Wicked: For Good.

Alex Howard
How do you feel about the title?

Lee Pugsley
I know that there's been some controversy over people not loving that title. I understand where that comes from, because if you have Wicked Part One, and now you're naming Wicked Part Two something else, it seems a little disjointed. But for me, it does work because there is a song in Act 2 called For Good, which really is the crux of the whole story, in my opinion, without giving any spoilers away. Once you guys see the movie and you know where the song For Good fits in, it will all make sense, and you will find that it is a very appropriate title.

Alex Howard
I think the title is growing on me. I didn't like it at first, but considering, I don't think the official title for Wicked is Wicked Part One. When you go in and see it, it says it in the title card. But when you're buying a ticket, it doesn't say, "Oh, one ticket for Wicked Part One." So I think they're keeping it Wicked and then Wicked: For Good. And I think they're taking a note from Mission Impossible because they did Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. And I think they thought the part one brought the film down box office-wise. So then they took the part one-off, and now the next one is called Final Reckoning. So I think they're taking a note from that and getting rid of the Part One and Two in Hollywood now.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I totally agree with that. The other reason I think that they decided to call Wicked Part Two Wicked: For Good is because if they want to franchise this series more because it is based on a series of five books, they could do that. I really hope they don't do that because I think that will ruin the magic of what we have here. I think that you can have two parts to this movie, make it a complete story and quit while you're ahead while we still have momentum and adoration for this material.

Alex Howard
I completely agree. What is your number nine, Lee?

Lee Pugsley
My number nine, which I know will be on your list, but it's a little further down for me is Superman, James Gunn's Superman. I know that the trailer just released a few weeks ago, and it looks incredible. I'm really excited for this reboot and really interested to see what fresh approach they're going to take to it. But it just looks really good, and I'm here for it.

Alex Howard
That's awesome. Yeah, it is higher on my list. I will go into more detail once we get higher up. But for people who are blind, just so you know, our logo for this episode is a spoof on the Superman logo. It says the Dark Room in Superman font. So it's fitting that it's on both of our lists.

Lee Pugsley
Absolutely. Now, what's your number eight?

Alex Howard
So my number eight for 2025 is Mickey 17. This movie got delayed a bunch. It's Bong Joon-ho, who did Parasite, which not many blind people have seen because there's no audio description. But he has done other English language movies like Okja, and I think he did Snowpiercer as well. And I hear this movie is really good. It's getting a lot of great buzz from test screenings. And just, I mean, Bong Joon-ho is one of those filmmakers to watch right now. Robert Pattinson already looks awesome just from the trailer. And I love Sci-Fi, so I'm super excited for Mickey 17. It got pushed from January to April, so we have to wait a little bit longer, but I am here for it.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I totally agree with that. And Mickey 17 is also on my list. It's a little higher up. This was one of my most anticipated movies last year in 2024 when it was supposed to come out. But because of the delay, I can put it back on the list for 2025. And yeah, I just think there's a lot of elements of this movie that are going to work really well, including Robert Pattinson, Bong Joon-ho as the director, and just the sci-fi elements of it. All of that together is a formula for a really good time at the theater. And it also seems very funny from the trailer. It's more comedic than I would have expected it to be. But every time I see a trailer, it just makes me more and more excited for this movie.

Alex Howard
Oh, yeah. I'm surprised, too, because Parasite was not a comedic movie, really at all. Maybe dark comedy, but it was looked at as very serious. So I'm surprised about the comedy elements, even from the trailer, and it intrigues me a lot for sure. So what is your number eight?

Lee Pugsley
My number eight is a movie called Black Bag, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and I'm sure that listeners out there are starting to pick up on the fact that I'm a big Soderbergh fan. Not every movie he's done has been a hit, but I would say more often than not, his movies really hit with me. And so this movie stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, which right there for the cast alone, that's golden. And it's a spy thriller. We don't really know a whole lot more about the plot other than that for now, but it is expected to release later this year, and I'm definitely interested in this movie.

Alex Howard
Did you say what the plot was, or is it unclear what it is?

Lee Pugsley
All that I know about it so far is it's a spy thriller.

Alex Howard
That's so interesting. And I think Soderbergh is such a great director. He's definitely one to watch. So that's great that he has two movies coming out in 2025.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, both movies seem very different. You have one that's more of a suspense thriller, and then you have this one that could be an action movie. And I think that Soderbergh has done a great job over the years of just diversifying his portfolio into different types of genres, and he hasn't really gotten pigeonholed in one specific type of movie. Now, once again, some of those movies were better than others, but overall, I do think he knows his stuff really well.

Alex Howard
And funny enough, there are two movies coming out in 2025, with the last word in the title being Bag. There's Black Bag, and then there's a movie coming out where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Santa called The Man with the Bag.

Lee Pugsley
That's right. I'm excited for that as well, just because anytime there's an action Christmas movie, I can get on board with that. So moving on, what is number seven on your list?

Alex Howard
So number seven for me is The Life of Chuck. This won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, and they decided to release it to the public in 2025. Normally, if you win the Audience Award at TIFF, it's almost guaranteed you're going to get a Best Picture nomination. This is directed by Mike Flanagan, and it's a Stephen King adaptation. They say Life of Chuck is more in the vein of Stand By Me than his horror ones, but I am very excited because I love Mike Flanagan as a director. I love Stephen King, and I love award movies. So this is definitely on my list. I'm very curious to see what it's like.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Stand By Me and a big fan of coming of age stories. So I will definitely be watching this movie immediately as soon as it opens. And who is the cast in this movie again?

Alex Howard
I'm not sure who the actors are in it, but it's Mike Flanagan. So that's all you need to tell me to sell me on it.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah. Well, either way, based on the credibility of Mike Flanagan, I'm excited.

Alex Howard
What's your number seven?

Lee Pugsley
My number seven is one of your honorable mentions, and it's Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. I really love Guillermo del Toro as a visionary. I think that he does really creative and interesting things. I think he always has really fantastic production design, and he always just builds worlds in such an interesting and unconventional away. When he did Pinocchio, that was a very unique way to tell the story of Pinocchio and some of the aspects that he brought into the story I really appreciated, they were very fresh. I'm really curious to see his take on Frankenstein, a movie that been retold so many times in so many different iterations, but I do trust him to bring something original to the table. I will also be curious to see Jacob Elordi in this role as well.

Alex Howard
Yeah, and I think Andrew Garfield is in it and Mia Goth as well, right?

Lee Pugsley
Correct. You have a solid cast right there, and I'm excited for it. It is interesting that I have two Frankenstein-themed movies on my list because normally that's not my go-to genre. But for whatever reason this year, both of them are just really piquing my interest.

Alex Howard
Oh, for sure. This was so close to being in my top 10. He is a beautiful visionary director. I have never absolutely loved a del Toro movie, but to be fair, most of his movies do not have audio description. Like Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos, his older films do not have AD. The only ones that do are his newer ones, like Shape of Water and the new Pinocchio, all that stuff. So I'm really excited, and I hope to really love this movie because it has AD, and I love the horror genre, so I'm stoked to see his take on it. I did see an interview with him where he said he grew up with Pinocchio and Frankenstein. So it's great that he's getting to adapt these two movies with his sensibilities.

Lee Pugsley
I completely agree with that. I think that when you do grow up with something that's so near and dear your heart, I think that the passion for the stories really comes through. So moving on now, what's your number six?

Alex Howard
So my number six is not on many people's top 10 that I've seen online, which I'm surprised about. My number 6 is Predator: Badlands. This is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who did Prey. And I think he also did 10 Cloverfield Lane, which I love his work. It stars Elle Fanning. And rumor has it that the predator in this one is actually the protagonist. So I'm very curious to see where this goes. I really love the Predator movies. I love the Alien movies a little bit more, but I love just this universe since they exist in the same world. And I'm really excited to see this take on Predator. And I'm really excited because this one's going to be in theaters, whereas Prey was on Hulu. So I'm excited to see this on the big screen.

Lee Pugsley
I'm really glad to hear that this movie is going to be in theaters because for a movie like anything that will be in the Predator franchise, I think really makes a difference how you experience that movie, and especially with it being in the vein of the horror genre, I think those movies are best seen in the theater with a full audience. So that makes me really happy to hear. And while the Predator franchise is not something that I have a huge investment in, not because I have anything against it, I've just never really immersed myself in it, I'm glad that you're excited about it. And at some point, I will check it out, probably. It may not be the go for me when it first comes out, but I will give it a watch.

Alex Howard
What is your number six?

Lee Pugsley
My number six is one that we touched on earlier on your list. It's The Battle of Backtan Cross, and I don't really have anything new to add to it other than Paul Thomas Anderson doing a blockbuster is going to be interesting, and I hope that it succeeds.

Alex Howard
Yeah, it's almost like it's Paul Thomas Anderson's Killers of the Flower Moon, like his epic.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I agree with that. I think that one of the things with Paul Thomas Anderson that people can have an issue with sometimes is he's not always the most accessible with his films for mainstream audiences. So it'll be interesting to watch this one to see how it does and how audiences respond to it that aren't cinephiles and, you know, just your mainstream movie-going audience to see if they're going to resonate with this movie. All right, so we are halfway through our Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2025 list. Now, let's jumping to the top five. Alex, what is your number five?

Alex Howard
So my number five, I was trying really hard to make this number four, but I had to be honest with myself. Number five for me is Fantastic Four: First Steps. I think I'm really excited to see Fantastic Four in the MCU, and this cast is awesome. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, who I think is super underrated. She was in a great movie. She was nominated for Pieces of a Woman a few years back, which no one really saw, and I love that movie. She is one of my favorite actresses right now. So yeah, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear. They're all the Fantastic Four, and I'm super, super excited. Hopefully, we'll finally get a good Fantastic Four movie, which we haven't ever gotten before. So I'm stoked to see what the MCU is going to do with this. And also another plus to that, we might get our first look at Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in this movie.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I'm glad that's on your list. I will say that if you look at my list once we finish my top five, you'll notice that there's really not a lot of superhero movies on my list. I think it's because of how many times I've been disappointed with the MCU since Avengers: Endgame. But what does draw me to this movie is the cast. That's the main draw for me. I do want it to be good. I'm not rooting for it to fail or anything. I want it to succeed, and I want to like it. I hope that this is a very good version of the Fantastic Four. I will say it did make me more excited for this movie when I was at the Marvel In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and they played the theme from the Fantastic Four at the very end. I thought it was a really good theme. I'll watch it, and I hope it's good. I'll go into it with an open mind.

Alex Howard
What is your number five?

Lee Pugsley
My number five is F1. It's a movie about Formula One racing with Brad Pitt, directed by Top Gun's Joseph Kosinski. And what he did with Top Gun: Maverick really proved that he knows how to make a blockbuster film that can really connect with people, and it's more than just action, but actually has some level of emotional depth and characters that you can really get on board with. So if those directing sensibilities are translated to F1, then I think this could be a really good time at the movie theater, and I just can picture how good the sound design is going to be for this movie. You know, Brad Pitt as a race car driver, I think is really exciting. I grew up with car races and going to car races and following race car drivers. Anything that's in the racing world, it always gets me pumped up.

Alex Howard
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm excited I'm really excited for this movie, too. I'm really excited to see this in Dolby. I think it'll sound great in a Dolby theater.

Lee Pugsley
100 %. Make sure that you bring your ear buds so we don't have to try to compete with the noise from the generic headphones that we get at the theater.

Alex Howard
Oh, for sure. For the audio description, yeah.

Lee Pugsley
So, yeah, what's your number four?

Alex Howard
So my next four, I have them in this... I mean, I'm excited for all of them, but I put them all together because they all end in the word 'Man', which I thought was really funny. So my number four is Wolf Man. The only reason it's number four is because it is a January horror movie. Typically, January is not a good month for a movie. So I'm a little hesitant because they put it in January. But I have been excited for this for years. I've been tracking this forever. It used to be Ryan Gosling and Derek Cianfrance, and then they replaced them with Leigh Whannell at directing and Christopher Abbott as starring. Christopher Abbott is one of my favorite underrated actors, so I had no problem with him replacing Ryan Gosling. He is so talented. He's done a lot of independent movies that I love. And Leigh Whannell was the director of The Invisible Man, which was one of my favorite movies of 2020. So I'm really stoked to see how they're going to modernize the Wolf Man. And I think as a blind moviegoer, I'm really excited to get an audio-described version of this story. Even though it is modernized, it's not going to be the same thing as the old one. But the old one, the original Universal Monster movie, does not have audio description at all. So I've never seen it. I don't know what the story is. I'd like to, but I'm excited to get a modernized audio described version of Wolf Man.

Lee Pugsley
I totally predicted that this movie was going to be on your list, especially because of your connection to these monster type movies and also your love for Christopher Abbott, which I also agree with you. I do think that he is an underrated actor, and I think he's very good. If you had to choose between Christopher Abbott or Ryan Gosling for this role, who would you choose?

Alex Howard
I mean, I'd say Ryan Gosling, but he's never really done this kind of role before, which is another reason why I would choose him. But for some reason, I could see Christopher Abbott doing it more because Christopher Abbott has done more horror. So I think he also deserves some more blockbuster love. He does a lot of independent. The only blockbuster he's really done is Kraven, which didn't do very well. So I want him to succeed as a blockbuster actor because I do think he has the talent.

Lee Pugsley
I would agree with that. And hopefully, this will be his key to getting more mainstream recognition as he totally deserves it. Yeah, I'm interested in this movie. I wouldn't say that it's a high interest, but I will check it out.

Alex Howard
This comes out the weekend I leave for Sundance, so I will be there day one because I leave day two to go to Utah. So I will definitely be seeing this before I leave.

Lee Pugsley
Well, yeah, that's great. And I hope that it lives up to the expectation that you have for it and it doesn't disappoint. So yeah, moving on to my number four now. It's Mickey 17. We've already talked about it a little bit. And once again, I don't really have anything new to add to it other than I've been waiting for this movie for over a year now, so it seems appropriate that my excitement has only been building for it.

Alex Howard
That's awesome. So my number three, we're in our top three now, keeping with the man theme. My number three is Wake Up Dead Man, directed by Rian Johnson. It's Knives Out 3. Daniel Craig, I think Glenn Close, is also in this one. I really, really love Knives Out. I really liked Glass Onion, too. Not as much as Knives Out, but it was still a great time. And I think it's just so fun to go into these movies because you don't know anything. It could be any type of murder mystery. You know it's going to be something very unique. I'm really excited to see an Agatha Christie-like take on murder mystery that Rian Johnson always brings to the table.

Lee Pugsley
I'm also very excited for this movie, and it almost made my honorable mentions. I think the main reason it didn't was because... I liked Glass Onion, I thought it was fun, but it was a little disappointing, and maybe I into that movie with a little too high of expectations. But anytime there's a Knives Out movie, I'm here for it. They always get these really stacked all-star cast, and I think that the tone of the movies is always really fun. So, yeah, I'm excited. I'm curious to see where this is going to go, and I don't know what direction it's going to go in either.

Alex Howard
Yeah, and I really hope that it gets a theatrical release just like Glass Onion did. So fingers crossed for that.

Lee Pugsley
It would be smart for them to do that because Glass Onion got that week-long theatrical release, and it did very well at the box office. So if Netflix wants to capitalize on getting the most bang for their buck out of this, they should definitely put it in theater as for at least a week or two.

Alex Howard
So Lee, what is your number three?

Lee Pugsley
My number three is Freakier Friday, and this is probably more so due to nostalgia of really enjoying Freaky Friday, the original Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis movie, as well as the older 1960s Freaky Friday movie that Disney did as well. I've just been a fan of this body swap story that's really fun, maybe a little bit campy. But I think it's great that they were able to get both of them back together to reunite for this sequel. I'm hoping that because they waited so long to do it, that they were waiting for the right time and a script that they really could believe in. I'm prepared for the end product to go either way, that it could still hold up really well and still have the same charm and comedic presence that the first movie had. Or it could be a little underwhelming, so I'm going into it with very realistic expectations, but nonetheless, I'm very excited for this movie.

Alex Howard
That's awesome. I am definitely excited for it, too. That is so fitting that it's on your list for most anticipated. We will see where this goes. I know Lindsay Lohan is making a comeback right now, so it's exciting.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah. And now Jamie Lee Curtis is an Oscar-winning actress. So there we go. Good combo right there.

Alex Howard
That's very true. Maybe Lindsay Lohan will win for this one.

Lee Pugsley
Exactly. Well, I mean, no.

Alex Howard
[laughs] My number two is The Running Man. It's directed by Edgar Wright. I know it was in your honorable mentions. Directed by Edgar Wright, starring Glen Powell, who is one of my favorite actors right now as well. It's obviously a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from the '90s, but supposedly this one is much more accurate to the book, which is written by Stephen King. Edgar Wright always has such a great style to his movies, especially with needle drops and stuff like that. So I am stoked to see how this turns out. And I think this comes out in November.

Lee Pugsley
Have you read the book or seen the 1990s movie?

Alex Howard
I've seen the other movie. I haven't read the book.

Lee Pugsley
How is that version?

Alex Howard
The Arnold movie is very much like a generic action movie. It's fun for sure. It's very '90s. It's like he's just going through different levels, killing guys in creative ways. I think the book goes much more into a lore, has a lore to it. And I don't know if the original has audio description either. But I think Edgar Wright's version, while it's still going to have some action elements, I don't think it's going to be as much of a macho action movie as the Arnold one was. I think it's going to be leaning more into like, sci-fi elements.

Lee Pugsley
That'll be exciting for sure.

Alex Howard
What is your number two?

Lee Pugsley
My number two is a movie that made it on your honorable mentions list. It's Michael. I know that Michael Jackson as a person is very controversial, but I'm very curious to see how they're going to address some of the things that happen in his personal life and what angle they're going to take with it. But I'm also curious to see Michael Jackson's nephew play him in this biopic. Regardless of how you feel about Michael Jackson personally, his music has been a staple of pop music and culture worldwide ever since he entered the scene. So, yeah, I don't know. I am just going to be very intrigued to see what parts of his life they're going to cover and how they're going to tackle some of those harder topics. And also just to see what the production value and the performances are like as well.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I'm very intrigued by this movie. I think it's interesting that they are telling the story. I mean, you knew they would tell it eventually, but considering all the controversy, it's interesting that they're telling the story. I know this has the biggest budget ever for a biopic, and it's directed by Antoine Fuqua, who is a major director. Like you said, I'm really curious to see how his nephew portrays him. I hear he's singing live, which part of me was like, "If he can sing as well as Michael can, why doesn't he have a record label or contractor? Why isn't he an artist?"

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, that's a really good point. Maybe he just didn't have an interest in pursuing music, or he just wanted to stay out of the spotlight because of personal or family reasons. But obviously, this is very much going to thrust him into the spotlight. And I do hope that they are able to do something a little more unconventional with the biopic formula with this movie. I'm not holding my breath on that, but they're investing so much money into this that it would be nice to have a little more unconventional telling of Michael Jackson's life.

Alex Howard
Yeah. I think, just like with any musical, the audio description is going to be really interesting for this as well, trying to describe his choreography around all of the singing.

Lee Pugsley
And his outfits, too, because he was such a flashy performer as well in the wardrobe choices that he had, too.

Alex Howard
That's very true. There's so many big events in Michael's life that, yeah, it'll be interesting to see if they focus on a slice of life thing, or if they really go through flashes of 10 years later. How they tell the story will be very interesting.

Lee Pugsley
100 %. So now we are to your number one most anticipated movie of 2025, and I'm pretty sure I know exactly what this movie is.

Alex Howard
Yes, and I know what yours is as well. My number one is Superman. I am not the biggest Superman fan necessarily, but since I worked at DC comics and I really have faith in their stories from the comics and just the things they're trying to do. Since this is directed by James Gunn, who I really love his movies, which, funny enough, my least favorite of his movies are his superhero ones. Like, Guardians is fine. The Suicide Squad, which he did, was fine. I really love his non-superhero movies like Slither and Super, which I guess Super is, but it's not based on a comic book. But his TV shows, I think, are awesome, like Peacemaker and Creature Commandos, which is out now. I'm really, really curious to see what he does with this. I think I'm most excited because this is brand new. This is a clean slate. They can do anything they want because this is the kickoff of the new DC universe. I think that's what gets me the most excited is that Marvel, they can do anything they want to, but within a certain boundary of, they have to stick with the continuity of everything else. And since this is the first project, it's really setting the tone for DC moving forward for the next 10 or 20 years. And that trailer is perfection. I was very hesitant when they said Krypto was going to be a part of Superman, which for people who don't know, crypto is Superman's dog. When he popped up in the trailer, I was sold. I think it is perfect. I'm very, very intrigued to see where they go with this universe, especially considering they say this starts up where super heroes have been a part of society for a while. I think it's an interesting place to start because even in Marvel, superheroes are still an anomaly to the public. So I think picking up in a spot where they just exist is very interesting. I'm excited to see where they go in the DC universe, especially because I think it is so near and dear to me, considering I worked there.

Lee Pugsley
That totally makes sense. I think that their biggest advantage for this movie is that they do have a fresh slate that they're starting from now, and they can really work on building out this world in, hopefully, what proves to be a very effective way that's going to engage audiences, because I feel like the DC universe has always been a struggle to get audiences fully on board compared to the MCU.

Alex Howard
Yeah. I think one big reason for that is Zack Snyder, his universe was dark and dour. I think based off the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, which those were dark and grounded, but they were that way for a reason. I think they went all in on that tone. And I think that was the wrong choice with Zack Snyder because it's not what the world needed. This Superman movie is bringing back the hope aspect of everything. It's coming at it in a much more colorful and lighter way, the way Superman is supposed to be. Also, I think another... One other reason that I'm excited is that Superman, David Corenswet is Jewish, and the creators of Superman were Jewish. So I think, not that there's going to be Judaism brought into the movie, but I think it's great that for the first time they cast a Jewish Superman, which is kind of an ode to their creators as well.

Lee Pugsley
That is really cool, and I'm glad to hear that as well.

Alex Howard
I think I know what your number one is, but let's go for it. What's your number one?

Lee Pugsley
My number one, and this is probably the most predictable thing in the world, but I can't resist my sensibilities, it is Wicked: For Good. Obviously, having a very strong and close connection to the Broadway musical, having seen that show over 20 times now, and having seen Wicked Part One four times in the theater with, I'm sure, more viewings to come. It's just a show that's very near and dear to my heart. And with how wonderful and magical Wicked Part One was, I have no reason to believe that Wicked Part Two is going to be anything less. It does get a little bit darker, I would say, but I do trust John Chu to make the right decisions. There's just so much love and passion port into the first movie that I have no doubt that that's going to be very evident in the second film as well. On another note of interest, there's going to be two new songs that Stephen Schwartz, the composer, is writing or has already written, I guess I should say, for this movie.

Alex Howard
I was going to ask you about that. Those songs are being written by the composer for the original play?

Lee Pugsley
The songs in Wicked: For Good are written just for the movie, but they have been written by the original composer, Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music for the Broadway musical as well.

Alex Howard
Okay.

Lee Pugsley
It'll be great, though, for Wicked fans because there's going to be something completely new that none of us have ever heard or experienced before.

Alex Howard
That makes me feel a lot better because I know in Disney movies, when they do the Disney remakes, a lot of times they'll throw a new song or two in there, and it always feels a little bit out of place. But they're usually written by people who didn't write the original content. So that is awesome. And it makes me feel a lot more confident that it is being written by the original playwright.

Lee Pugsley
And if I had to predict, I think that you could possibly walk away being a bigger fan of Wicked: For Good than Wicked Part One, because I know you like maybe a little bit more darker tones, and I feel like this movie is going to give that to you.

Alex Howard
That is great to hear. And I think one of the good things about it, too-- So, in Wicked, they don't qualify for original songs at the Oscars because they were taken from the musical. But in Wicked: For Good, these songs will qualify for original song at the Oscars.

Lee Pugsley
Correct.

Alex Howard
That's awesome.

Lee Pugsley
That would be exciting. And yeah, well, these are really good top 10 lists, and I'm going to be very excited to watch both my list but also your list and just see how they measure up at the end of this year.

Alex Howard
Yeah. And I think it's funny because another thing I wanted to bring up, 28 Years Later wasn't on either of our lists. I mean, it was in my honorable mentions. The trailer for that is so good. I was very impressed. And I think besides Superman, that is the best trailer we've had in a long time. It didn't make my top 10 only because the first one is not audio-described, and I haven't seen the second one. And I love Danny Boyle, and I love Alex Garland, but I really hope that they either audio-describe the first one before the new one comes out. I don't know. I just I want to be able to rewatch that one first. It's interesting that I've seen that on a lot of people's top 10s, but it didn't make either of ours, I think, because of the accessibility reason.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, when I first watched the first movie, it wasn't audio-described. And then, like you, I never watched the second one. So if they add audio description to the first two movies, maybe the second one is audio-described, and I'm just not aware of it, but it would be great if they went back and added AD to the first movie.

Alex Howard
And then I think we have some life updates, right? Do you want to go first, Lee?

Lee Pugsley
Sure. We do have some life updates going into the new year. There's some exciting things that are going to be happening for both of us. For me, my short film, Audio Description, which won best film last year at the Easter Seals Disability Film Challenge, will be playing at Slamdance, a film Festival this year in the Unstoppable lineup. This is going to be really exciting. I know that Slamdance has a really good reputation. It'll be great to get more disability awareness and representation out there. It'll cool just to expose other filmmakers to the world of disability that may not be as familiar with different walks of life. Yeah, so I'm very excited about that.

Alex Howard
For people who have not seen Lee's short, check it out. We will link it in the description. It brings a lot of attention to audio description, and I think it's really, really... The story is very, very cute and creative, so go check it out. We will link it below, and congratulations on all the success with the short.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, thank you so much. And we're continuing to develop it into a feature. There's no real big updates on that, but hopefully this year we'll be making some good traction on that front as well. Speaking of awesome, you have some very exciting news as well about something coming up. So why don't you share that, too?

Alex Howard
Yeah. As I mentioned before, I am going to Sundance again this year, this time as a volunteer in the Accessibility Department. So I'm really excited to be back in Park City, but more so really be able to help the people that need accommodations at the film festival. I think it will really educate me as an accessibility consultant to see what needs people have when going to a festival. So I will be helping out customer service-wise in accessibility for people in person and online when they have needs for captions or audio description or anything else they need for their disability to help them out. And with that, I get a cool jacket that the volunteers always get. A designer. I think this year it's green for Wicked. Then I also get waitlist tickets. So I have a list of movies that I'm hoping to see there. Hopefully, when I get off of my shift or whatever, I will be able to jump in line and go see some great movies. And if I do see a good amount, maybe we'll do a Sundance episode down the line for 2025.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I'm super excited to see what movies you get to see. But beyond that, I just think it's very significant that you're going to volunteering there. One of the things that me and Alex always talk about is just the need for visibility within the filmmaking space for people who are blind or low vision, even if you're just a presence at one of these film festivals or in a filmmaking space, it gives other filmmakers the chance to see people who are blind or low vision just as part of that community. And oftentimes, I don't see any blind or low vision people at film festivals or in a lot of other entertainment industry spaces. So I think just you being there, Alex, is going to be very significant to give people that visibility for our community. And in addition to that, I think it's always a cool learning experience to learn about other walks of life that we're not as familiar with, because while we are a part of the disabled community, there's still so many things about other disabilities that I don't know, that I'm constantly learning about. And I think that the best way to learn about the needs that other people have is just to be there where those needs need to be met so you can understand what those needs are.

Alex Howard
Yeah, exactly. And I think for the podcast for this year, we're going to be doing our top 10 of 2024 this month as well. But we have some other exciting things planned, including the next Oscars Roundtable, hopefully happening in February or early March. So we are super excited for that.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah. So stay tuned this year for some other things we're brewing up as well. And I think it's going to be a really exciting year here on the Dark Room. If you want to reach out to us, you want to ask us questions or you want to suggest possible topics for a future podcast episode, you can reach out to us at DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com. Once again, that's DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com.

Alex Howard
Yeah, and you can also follow us on Instagram @DarkRoomFilmCast, and we are also on Facebook. And yeah, feel free to reach out. We would love to hear your most anticipated as well. I mean, we're always looking for new movies to be on our radar. So if we didn't mention something that you're excited for, please reach out.

Lee Pugsley
And we also want to take a moment to give a special thanks to Matt Lauterbach and All Senses Go for making transcripts of this episode possible.

Alex Howard
We would like to thank BlindCan for funding our editor for the podcast, and we will link their website in the description.

Lee Pugsley
Well, thank you guys so much for being with us for this brand new year, and happy 2025 to you, and we'll see you here next time on The Dark Room.

Alex Howard
Thanks, guys.