What to Watch in July 2025

Your guide to all the best new films and TV shows coming to UK screens this month...

FILM

Superman (July 11)

David Corenswet becomes the latest in a long line of actors to don the famous red cape this month as the new, James Gunn-directed reboot of Superman lands in UK cinemas on July 11. But it’s not just Superman himself getting the reboot treatment here; Gunn’s film is just the first instalment in a completely rebooted DC Universe (DCU) that aims to wipe the slate clean and start over – which, for anyone unlucky enough to sit through films like Suicide Squad and Justice League, can only be a good thing.

Gunn has opted not to start with another origin story (surely by now everyone knows who Superman is and where he came from) and instead we find our hero in his mid-twenties and his alter-ego Clark Kent beginning to establish himself as a reporter for the Daily Planet, alongside his colleague and love interest Lois Lane (played here by The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan). But Superman is having some PR issues stemming from his “interference” in an ongoing war and an increasingly cynical public, and his nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) sees this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of Superman once and for all.

Also starring Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabella Merced, Superman is surely one of the year’s most-anticipated films – you won’t want to miss it.

Friendship (July 18)

A directorial debut for Andrew DeYoung, this black comedy stars Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson in an unnerving twist on the buddy-comedy formula that often feels more like a psychological thriller than a comedy. But don’t let that put you off - if you’ve enjoyed watching Robinson’s sketch-comedy series I Think You Should Leave, the feeling of wanting to laugh while simultaneously cringe-watching through your fingers will feel very familiar.

Robinson plays Craig, a marketing executive who is becomingly increasingly adrift from his marriage to Tami (Kate Mara), who had recently recovered from cancer. When a new neighbour named Austin drops off a gift to introduce himself while Craig is at work, she accepts an invitation for Craig to drop round for a beer on her husband’s behalf. He reluctantly agrees to go, and is surprised when he and Austin become fast friends. But things quickly begin to turn sour and when Austin suggests they stop hanging out together, Craig’s behaviour becomes increasingly obsessive. Certainly one of the strangest films you’ll see at the cinema this year – but quite possibly also one of the best.

Four Letters of Love (July 18)

Based on Niall Williams’ best-selling novel of the same name, Four Letters of Love is brought to the big screen this month by director Polly Steele and features a cast that includes Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham-Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Fionn O’Shea and Ann Skelly. 

Set in Ireland, the film tells the story of Nicholas and Isabel, two people who were born to fall in love with each other – and the pressures of religion and family that seem destined to prevent that from ever happening. But even as a multitude of factors drive them apart, fate intervenes to pull them together – sometimes in bizarre ways, like God telling Nicholas’ dad to quit his job and move to the coast to become a painter.

As much a rumination on the role of fate and destiny as a tale of true love, Four Letters of Love is a stirring tale and a perfect choice for anyone looking for a little romance this month.

The Bad Guys 2 (July 25)

The sequel to 2022’s animated adventure, The Bad Guys 2 arrives in cinemas on July 25 and finds our gang of former crooks still trying to stay on the straight and narrow path. However, Mr Wolf and his friends find their good intentions tested to the limit once again when they are kidnapped by a rival gang of villains, who aim to use their skills to help them pull off a daring heist – whether they want to or not. However, Wolf hatches a plan to sabotage the theft – but will he get to put that plan into action before the other gang find out what he’s up to?

Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Zazie Beetz and Anthony Ramos all return to voice their respective gang members, while new additions to the voice cast this time around include Natasha Lyonne, Danielle Brooks and Maria Bakalova. If you’re looking for a film the whole family can enjoy this month, look no further.

Together (July 30)

If you thought Friendship was the creepiest-sounding film to arrive this month, you might want to think again. Equal parts comedy, romance and horror – well, okay, maybe a bit more horror than the others – Together stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a married couple who find themselves beginning to drift apart after moving to a remote house in the countryside, away from their friends, families and former lives. However, an encounter with a mysterious force that promises to ensure the couple stay bound together – just not quite in the way that they had imagined.

Directed by Michael Shanks, the films also stars Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey, Jack Kenny and Francesca Waters and is set to arrive at the end of the month on July 30. If you’re looking for something to make your skin crawl, Together certainly fits the bill.

TV

The Sandman - Season 2 (Netflix, July 3)

When the first season of The Sandman first appeared on screens in the summer of 2022 it represented the end of a development journey that stretched back for over a decade. Once said to be ‘unfilmable’, Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series was eventually brought to fruition by showrunners Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer who, along with Gaiman himself, presided over an 11-episode series which proved a hit with viewers and critics alike.

This week sees the arrival of its second (and probably final) season, which is based around the storyline featured in the fourth of the comic book series, Season of Mists. Morpheus and his siblings are summoned to a family meeting, where Desire taunts Morpheus about a former lover, Nada, who Morpheus had condemned to Hell 10,000 years earlier. Realising he has acted unjustly, Morpheus decides to travel to Hell to release her. Having embarrassed Lucifer and his army of demons on his previous visit, he isn’t expecting a warm welcome, but on his arrival he finds that Hell is empty. Lucifer announces he is abdicating his throne, tricking Morpheus into taking responsibility for Hell by handing him the key to its gates. Soon, all manner of gods and deities arrive in his realm with the intention of persuading him to give them the key.

Morpheus must decide who can be trusted, and hope he can still find Nada. But even if he does manage to free her, will she forgive him?

Dexter: Resurrection (Paramount+, July 11)

When the final episode of Showtime’s crime series Dexter aired in 2013, after 8 seasons and 96 episodes, fans though they’d seen the last of their favourite serial killer. However, in 2021 the story of Dexter Morgan continued with a new spin-off series, Dexter: New Blood, which saw our anti-hero living a quiet life under an assumed name and hiding out in a small, sleepy town in upstate New York. His peace is shattered when his son Harrison turns up out of the blue, and as it becomes apparent that his son has the same compulsions and habits, Dexter begins to envision handing the baton to his son. However, things soon turn sour, and the series ended with Dexter being shot by Harrison and, once again, it looked like the end.

Except it wasn’t. Now he’s back in Dexter: Resurrection, which begins with Dexter awaking from a coma in hospital and travelling to New York City to find his son and make amends. While there he finds himself invited to the home of an eccentric billionaire with a dark obsession of his own. Michael C. Hall returns to reprise his starring role, while there are some exciting new additions to the cast this time around including Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman and Neil Patrick Harris. Dexter: Resurrection is set to arrive on Paramount+ on July 11, and there’s even better news: a second season has already been commissioned. 

Bookish (U&Alibi, July 16)

This new crime drama series created by Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet is set in London in 1946 and stars Gatiss himself as Gabriel Book, an unconventional bookshop owner who spends much of his time secretly helping the police solve crimes across the city. However, he is also hiding another secret; although he appears to be happily married to his wife, Trottie, their ‘lavender marriage’ conceals the fact that Book is homosexual – still a crime in itself in 1946.

Due to begin with a double bill on the recently-renamed U&Alibi channel on July 16, Bookish also features a cast that includes Polly Walker Daniel Mays, Blake Harrison, Joely Richardson and Rosie Cavaliero. Each episode will feature a new crime to be investigated – and there are more on the way too, with the show already commissioned for a second run before the first episode has even premiered.

Washington Black (Disney+, July 23)

Based on the novel of the same name by Esi Edugyan, this new mini-series stars Ernest Kingsley Jr. as a young man born into slavery on the island of Barbados, growing up on a sugar plantation run by the unspeakably cruel Erasmus Wilde. When ‘Wash’, as he is known, witnesses the suicide of Wilde’s cousin, he fears he will be blamed for his death and, with the help of Wilde’s brother Titch, flees the island on a hot air balloon. However, when a thunderstorm hits, the pair are separated and the aircraft crash-lands onto the deck of a ship bound for Halifax. There, Wash takes refuge, but it isn’t long before bounty hunters come looking for him.

Featuring a cast that also includes Tom Ellis, Sterling K. Brown, Charles Dance, Rupert Graves and Julian Rhind-Tutt, Washington Black has been adapted for the screen by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (alongside Edugyan herself) and the show’s eight-episode run is due to begin on Disney+ on July 23. 

Mr. Bigstuff – Series 2 (Sky/NOW, July 24)

Written by Ryan Sampson, who co-stars alongside Harriet Webb and Danny Dyer, this offbeat comedy series become something of a surprise hit when it aired on Sky Max last year, even earning Dyer his first ever BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance. Sampson stars as Glen, a mild-mannered carpet salesman who is trying to save up to get married to his fiancée Kirsty (Webb), whom he has told he has no family left. However, this is exposed as a lie when his estranged brother Lee (Dyer) suddenly shows up at Glen’s home looking for an old friend – and brandishing a biscuit tin filled with their dad’s ashes. Glen’s quiet suburban life is soon turned to chaos as various villains show up looking for his brother, while Lee is obsessed with finding his godfather and settling an old score.

Now a second season is on its way, which picks up just two weeks after the first season’s bombshell ending and finds the brothers dealing with the revelation that their father is not in the biscuit tin and is very much still alive. The brothers unite on a mission to track him down, but a mysterious blackmailer is threatening their reconciliation. Due to land on July 24 on Sky and streaming service NOW, if the show’s second season is half as entertaining as the first, this will be a riotous watch.