CinemaCon 2025 - Universal
Hollywood's sturdiest, healthiest and almost boringly drama-free studio pulled off another "What, me worry?" panel with new looks at 'Jurassic World: Rebirth,' 'M3GAN 2' and 'Wicked For Good'
Almost every other major studio is dealing with some kind of big-deal melodrama. Lionsgate is still trying like hell to avoid succumbing to the constant “When will they be sold and to whom?” chatter, while what was supposed to be their 2025 crown jewel, Michael, seems to be in several forms of existential peril. Disney’s overreliance on established franchises is becoming a very real problem amid a push-pull participation in the culture war. Paramount’s ongoing “Umm… the Skydance deal is gonna happen, right?” uncertainty isn’t helping anyone. And Warner Bros. Discovery has to deal with a daily barrage of “Anonymous media sources are telling me that David Zaslav just personally beat the Animaniacs to death with a (non-cartoon) hammer!” media henpecking. But Universal? I know they get a little offended when I refer to Comcast as Hollywood’s most boring studio, but consistent competence doesn’t make for clickbait thrills-n-chills.
Ironically, Comcast seems to agree with my “choice” of How to Train Your Dragon as their most important 2025 release. Yes, they screened the film on Wednesday morning and… well, my thoughts notwithstanding, I’m not surprised that they announced How to Train Your Dragon 2 for June 2027. Yes, it will be a live-action remake of the 2014 animated sequel, which A) is the best of the series, B) is one of DWA’s very best films, and C) absolutely should have won the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2015. I mean, you know my “Amazing Spider-Man and Force Awakens ruined everything” mentality. However, I can live with this as long as I dunno, Jennifer Yuh Nelson gets paid many monies to remake DWA’s best movie, Kung Fu Panda 2. Whether this is a one-off or the start of an ongoing slate remains to be seen.
Unlike the Walt Disney toons, most DreamWorks Animation hits have spawned at least one sequel. Moreover, with the exception of The Boss Baby: Family Business, every single DWA “part two” is better than the respective “part one.” If How to Train Your Dragon becomes a big hit in June (“big hit” < $1 billion globally), live-action DWA remakes could supplement or replace the less regular or nearing-their-end likes of The Fast Saga or Jurassic. Recall that WB went all-in on DC Films because it envisioned the Super Friends as a replacement for the regular over/under $900 million likes of the Harry Potter films, the Middle Earth flicks and Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Could “live-action” Po and Shrek replace Dom and Blue? Maybe we’ll get a live-action Prince of Egypt, which should be pitched as “Like Exodus: Gods and Kings, but not fucking terrible!”