The morning of Day 2 at CinemaCon 2025 saw Lionsgate reveal their upcoming slate, along with a couple fresh trailers from NEON.
Following Sony’s impressive presentation last night, this morning’s big focus was on Lionsgate’s upcoming slate of films, with NEON popping up just ahead of time to reveal some fresh trailers as well. One of the driving things mentioned this morning, is the importance of “smaller,” independent films at the theater. How theaters cannot survive on big tentpole spectacles alone…which is true.
To that end, NEON showed off a new trailer for The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston, that brought pretty much everyone in attendance to tears. It’s touching, sweet, and managed to leave me feeling a sense of hope.
Then they showed a trailer for Together, a new horror/romance film starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie. It’s well known I’m not huge on horror, but this trailer has “the sauce.” It’s chilling, intriguing, and teases some bonkers stuff happening. Somehow, it still manages to feel romantic and sweet in its own way. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
From the World of John Wick
When Lionsgate eventually took the stage, they kicked things off with an extended look at From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. The footage we were shown encompassed a lengthy fight scene (taking place in some sort of rustic looking restaurant) before capping off with, what I assume, will be the next trailer.
The fight scene itself was really damn impressive. What struck me most about it, however, is how it manages to capture that distinct action feel of the John Wick movies, while still doing something different. Ana De Armas’ Eve is NOT John Wick, so her fighting style shouldn’t be exactly the same. Based off this quick fight, it seems like the filmmakers have managed to nail that.
More interesting, however, is the extra footage gave us more of a look at Keanu Reeves’ return in the film, which seems to be a much bigger role than expected. In fact, he’s taking on an almost antagonist role this time around as he’s been sent to kill Eve. I was already excited about Ballerina, but this new footage/trailer has kicked that hype into overdrive.
On top of that news, of course, came official word about the expansion of the John Wick franchise. On top of a new anime film telling a story of a younger Baba Yaga, Donnie Yen is starring/directing a spin-off movie focused on his Caine character from the fourth film. Plus, we got confirmation that John Wick 5 is real and happening.
The Long Walk – September 12, 2025
Next up, Mark Hamill, David Jonsson, and director Francis Lawrence took the stage to talk about The Long Walk. The upcoming film is based on a Stephen King novel, in which a group of kids (teens and young adults) must walk as part of some morbid competition. If they fall behind, or drop pace, they’re killed by the military figures flanking them.
It’s a strange mixture of Hunger Games, post-apocalypse, and Stand By Me, where Mark Hamill gets to ham it up as the villain. The trailer they showed was one of the highlights of the morning for me. It’s chilling, engaging, and really makes you think. I honestly hadn’t heard of this King story before, but I when the trailer wrapped I was dying to learn more.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – November 20, 2026
One of the few “tentpoles” this morning came as Francis Lawrence remained on stage to give a quick update on the next Hunger Games film; which is based on the novel that just released the other week: Sunrise on the Reaping. Billy Ray, who penned the first Hunger Games film, is returning to the franchise for the screenplay this time around, with filming expected to begin later this Summer.
Sadly, no casting news as some were hoping for, but we did get a swanky teaser for the film’s logo!
Random Tidbits
Some of the other quick things revealed during Lionsgate’s presentation include:
Paul Feig signs First Look deal with Lionsgate –
Director-producer Paul Feig, who directed A Simple Favor and Another Simple Favor and is working on the upcoming thriller The Housemaid for Lionsgate, has signed a first-look film producing deal with the studio through his production company Feigco Entertainment, run by Feig and producing partner Laura Fischer. The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
Fogelson said, “From his breakthrough with Bridesmaids to his most recent movie The Housemaid, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Paul for 15 years. His sense of character and story are among the best in the business—that’s why his movies are so relentlessly entertaining. Paul and his producing partner Laura are a formidable team, and I’m delighted to be expanding our relationship.”
Feig added, “The reason I wanted to call Lionsgate my home is because working with Adam, Nathan, Erin, and the team is always an incredibly positive experience. Their commitment to theatrical is incredibly important to me, and their support and encouragement to make the movies I’ve wanted to bring to audiences has been tremendously empowering. My films are better for their involvement, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be in business with them.”
Luca Guadagnino’s American Psycho – The director sent in a video (though he’ll be at CinemaCon later this week), to offer a quick update on his new American Psycho adaptation, in which Scott Z. Burns is handling the script.
Good Fortune Trailer – We also got to see a new trailer for Good Fortune, an upcoming comedy film starring Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari (who also directed). Keanu Reeves plays Aziz’s guardian angel, trying to show him how a life of fame and fortune isn’t all it’s cut out to be. It looks hilarious, and some of the biggest laughs I’ve seen at the show so far.
Power Ballad – Another “feel good” movie shown off was John Carney’s Power Ballad. Starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, the movie centers on an aging wedding singer who discovers a pop-star, who he hung out with, has stolen one of his original songs. Definitely some decent comedy going on in the trailer shown, but it looks to have a lot more heart and sweetness to it as well.
Michael is a No Show – Easily the biggest surprise at the Lionsgate presentation is what they DIDN’T show. Namely, the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled Michael. Considering the film is slated to hit this year (doubt that’s happening by the way) and they brought footage to CinemaCon LAST YEAR, the absence of it today feels ominous. It only got a brief mention from Lionsgate Chairman Adam Fogelson, in which he said they had no updates to share today.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – November 14, 2025
We also got to see the first trailer for the third Now You See Me film, which has an official title. It has a fun blend of new and legacy sequel vibes that feel as goofy (but fun) as the franchise itself. Apparently, it’s been such a hit with executives, they’ve already greenlit a fourth film in the franchise, which Ruben Fleischer will return to direct.
Hurry Up Tomorrow – May 16, 2025
Closing out their presentation, Fogelson brought out Jenna Ortega and director Trey Edward Shults to show off a brand new trailer for Hurry Up Tomorrow (which you can watch above!). What really brought the house down, however, was the fact they then brought out The Weeknd himself to perform a new track from the film. It was a pretty electric performance that had the whole Colosseum on their feet.
While it may not have felt as bombastic as Sony’s presentation last night, Lionsgate came out swinging with a good mixture of big franchise stuff and a lot of great looking smaller films that’ll give audiences reasons to head to the theaters this year.
