Carbon Costume Cosplay Predictions for 2025
It’s a new generation, which means a whole new generation of cosplay. Much like the landscape of cosplay has changed over time, namely with the rise of cosplay influencers and social media trends, so do the fandoms. We compiled a list of chart-topping new releases from late 2024 to highly anticipated releases of 2025, spanning across anime, movies, TV shows, and video games, to predict the most popular cosplays for 2025.
*Note: Squid Games season 2 and Moana 2 have been moved to this list due to their late releases.
Anime Cosplays
Dandadan
Dandadan is the hottest new anime series on Netflix, ranking second place on the global Top 10 list of non-English TV shows. The plot follows two high schoolers, Okarun and Momo, who make a bet to prove whether ghosts or aliens exist. As a result, they face terrifying paranormal threats, acquire superpowers, and perhaps start a romance. Cosplays range from Momo’s Gyaru style outfit to Okarun’s heroic armor pieces.
Ranma 1/2
This serialized Weekly Shonen manga from the 80s is has made a comeback in a 2024 anime remake. Ranma 1/2 follows Akane Tendo who meets her new fiancé and martial arts prodigy, Ranma Saotome. The twist? He magically transforms into a girl upon touching cold water. Ranma 1/2 has been a Japanese pop culture staple for decades, so unsurprisingly, the animated remake has earned a lot of hype.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Combining slice of life with shonen fantasy, this popular anime follows an elf mage named Frieren and her fellow adventurers. They’ve defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land, but Frieren must grapple with outliving the people around her. The heroine has already become quite a popular cosplay, and with the announcement of season two, we expect even more.
One Punch Man
Every anime fan knows Saitama, the bald-headed superhero who can defeat his opponents with a single hit. One Punch Man is returning for a third season, which will include some of the best content from the manga. In addition, the anime will be celebrating its 10th anniversary of its original debut, so a slate of new projects will help celebrate the occasion in 2025 – kicking off with new promotional art. So get your bald caps and capes ready!
Sakamoto Days
Cult favorite Sakamoto Days leads the pack for new anime debuts in 2025. The plot follows Taro Sakamoto, a retired assassin who now works as a convenience store owner. When former enemies come seeking revenge, Sakamoto must use his expert combat skills to protect his loved ones, while trying to maintain his ordinary facade. His outfit should be easy to cosplay, since you only need a yellow t-shirt, green apron, and glasses.
Movie Cosplays
Wicked: For Good
Bolstered by a star power duo, green and pink marketing, and Tiktok trends, Wicked was a smash success, surpassing Mamma Mia as the highest-grossing Broadway film adaptation in global box office history. Expect lots of Elphaba and Glinda cosplays, so stock up on green face paint and glittery pink fabric! We’re holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity until second part of Wicked, recently retitled Wicked: For Good, comes out later this year.
Superman
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the new Superman movie! From Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn, comes a brand new era of the Man of Steel, with the titular role played by David Corenswet. The teaser trailer has amassed 50 million views, which shows glimpses of other DC characters such Lex Luthor, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern. And of course Krypto the Superdog. Prepare to see lots of blue suits and red capes at comic conventions this year.
Nosferatu
Move aside Count Dracula and Edward Cullen, Count Orlok is the new vampire in town. A remake of the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu tells a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, resulting in unforeseeable horror. On Tiktok, theater attendees are already dressing up to see it, just like with Barbie in 2023.
Moana 2
Make way for Disney’s Moana 2! In this sequel, Moana gets an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors and embarks on a journey to the far seas of Oceania. Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui, and Auli’i Cravalho returns as the titular character. Its box office success surpassed the first film, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. We expect to see cosplays of Moana’s new look at conventions and for Halloween.
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four are finally arriving to the MCU in July 2025 in Fantastic Four: First Steps. An all-star cast will bring the quartet to the silver screen with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (and Ralph Ineson as Galactus). As of now, the above artwork is the only glimpse we have, but some fans have already debuted inspired cosplay!
Thunderbolts
On the topic of the MCU, Thunderbolts will bring back some familiar faces, including Bucky Barnes (formerly the Winter Soldier), Yelena Belova from Black Widow, Red Guardian from Black Widow, John Walker (aka US Agent) from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ava Starr (aka Ghost) from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Brought together by Agent Fontaine, this group of antiheroes must work together to go on missions for the government. If this movie does well, super-suits will be back in style at conventions.
A Minecraft Movie
Create, explore, and survive in A Minecraft Movie, which will immerse audiences into the bizarre, cubic wonderland of the popular video game. Starring Jack Black (pictured above as Steve), Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, and more.
How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action)
Based on the animated film, How to Train Your Dragon follows a young Viking named Hiccup who unexpectedly befriends a young dragon named Toothless. Its Dreamworks predecessor already garnered a fair amount of cosplay back in the 2010s, so we foresee a revival heading into the next generation. We predict the Viking trend will spill over into renaissance faires as well.
TV Show Cosplays
Arcane: League of Legends
Inspired by the award-winning online game, Arcane: League of Legends brings a new story to Netflix. Sisters Vi and Jinx become entangled in a growing conflict during the unrest between the utopian city of Piltover and the oppressed undercity of Zaun. Following the release season 2, Arcane has exploded in the cosplay scene, particularly the character Jinx. We have both a simple Jinx cosplay guide and advanced DIY Jinx cosplay guide to help bring the blue haired anarchist to life!
Squid Game Season 2
Following critical acclaim and international attention, Squid Game is back for a second season, and the first to debut at #1 in all 93 countries where Netflix is available. Seong Gi-Hun re-enters the game to try and put an end to it – but will he succeed, and will he survive again? We expect to see the turquoise uniforms, pink suits, and black masks back at conventions after the release
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman
Web slingers have been a huge cosplay conventions with the popularity of the MCU and Spiververse films. At New York Comic Con 2024, Marvel hosted a Spiderverse meetup at its booth, and cosplay influencer Shady Haze hosted the largest gathering of Spider-Verse cosplayers ever (307 to be exact) at the Beyond the Spiderverse meetup. Follow Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, coming to Disney+.
Video Game Cosplays
Marvel Rivals
It’s not just movies that will make Marvel popular to cosplay! Marvel Rivals is a superhero team based PVP shooter game available on Steam. Players assemble a top-notch squad – selecting anyone from X-Men to Avengers – to fight in ever-evolving battlefields across the Marvel universe. This game introduces many new designs for iconic comic book characters, which will be a hit with cosplay. Don’t forget the adorable land shark, Jeff!
Assassins Creed: Shadows
A new creed rises with Assassins Creed Shadows, the latest installment of the Ubisoft game set in feudal Japan. From samurai to ninjas, there are many options for cosplay or Halloween. The past success of the saga has resulted in various Assassin’s Creed cosplay designs, namely the iconic hooded robes.
Ghost of Yotei
Probably the most anticipated Playstation 5 release of this year is Ghost of Yotei, an upcoming action-adventure game that serves as a standalone sequel to the 2020 game Ghost of Tsushima. Also set in feudal Japan, players will take control of Atsu, voiced by Erika Ishii, who adopts the persona of “The Ghost.” Atsu’s design is already iconic, gracing all the artwork to promote the game, so we suspect cosplay as well.
Do you think we have our guesses right? Comment below if you think we missed anything, or check out 2024’s cosplay predictions to see if we hit the mark. Happy 2025, everyone!
About the Author
Mandy
Cosplayer, creative writer, cookie connoisseur. Pronouns: she/they.
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