Movie buffs, cinephiles and stay-at-home streamers alike are set to be very well fed in 2026 with a huge slate of exciting films being released.
As 2025 approaches its end and people reflect on their favourite releases of the year (shout out to Sinners, Bugonia and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), we can start getting excited about all of the movies being released next year.
From blockbuster franchises and long-awaited sequels to star-studded dramas and animated flicks, 2026 is shaping up to be a huge year in film. Here’s what you can look forward to:
Send Help
Release Date: January 30, 2026
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien
Send Help follows Linda Liddle (McAdams) and her boss, Bradley Preston (O’Brien), as they become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. They must work together to survive while also overcoming their past grievances, and I cannot wait to see how this turns out.
The psychological thriller-slash-horror has been described as a blend of Misery and Cast Away and was partly filmed in Sydney earlier this year. It marks the first time McAdams and O’Brien have worked together, but the second time Raimi has directed McAdams after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Moment
Release Date: January 30, 2026
Director: Aidan Zamiri
Starring: Charli xcx, Rachel Sennot, Alexander Skarsgård, Kylie Jenner
The Moment is co-written by Zamiri and Bertie Brandes and is based on an original idea by Charli herself. It follows a rising pop star preparing for her first arena tour while trying to navigate the pressure cooker that is pop stardom in the social media age. So, in other words… Charli is playing Charli.
Described as “a flashy, tongue-in-cheek hyper-pop mockumentary”, The Moment will also see Jenner follow in her sister Kim Kardashian‘s acting footsteps.
“Wuthering Heights”
Release Date: February 11, 2026
Director: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi
Loosely inspired by Emily Brontë’s 1947 gothic novel of the same name, “Wuthering Heights” is about the intense love between Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie) and Heathcliff (Elordi).
Robbie is producing the film under her label LuckyChap Entertainment after previously producing Fennell’s films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, which also starred Elordi. Pop queen Charli xcx is also coming for EGOT status and contributing an album of original songs for the film.
Scream 7
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Director: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace
The seventh instalment in the Scream franchise sees a new Ghostface killer emerge in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Campbell) has built her new life.
Melissa Barrera was fired from the film in 2023 for sharing pro-Palestine posts on social media and Jenna Ortega left the project a few days later due to changes in the creative team and cast, so there will definitely be a lot of eyes on this press tour.
The Bride!
Release Date: March 6, 2026
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz
Following the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein this year, Gyllenhaal is putting her own spin on the iconic monster tale, drawing inspiration from the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. The Bride! is set in the 1930s and sees Dr. Euphronius (Bening) give life to a murdered woman to create a companion for Frankenstein’s monster (Bale).
The film marks the first time Gyllenhaal has directed her brother and reunites her with Buckley, who she directed in The Lost Daughter, and Bale, who she acted alongside in The Dark Knight.
Hoppers
Release Date: March 6, 2026
Director: Daniel Chong
Starring: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm
Pixar’s upcoming film Hoppers follows an animal lover named Mabel (Curda) whose mind is transferred into a robotic beaver to save the local animal habitat from destruction.
The animation studio will be hoping it’s a success after its previous film, Elio, received positive reviews but underperformed at the box office. For what it’s worth, I thought it was fantastic.
Project Hail Mary
Release Date: March 20, 2026
Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller
Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows astronaut Ryland Grace (Gosling), who awakens on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of himself or his mission. New fear unlocked.
The screenplay is written by Drew Goddard, who previously received an Oscar nomination for his adaptation of Weir’s novel The Martian.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Release Date: April 3, 2026
Directors: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Jack Black, Benny Safdie
A sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, this film sees Mario (Pratt), Luigi (Day), Princess Peach (Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Key) venture into outer space to face off against Bowser’s son, Bowser Jr. (Safdie).
The first movie broke multiple box-office records and is the third-highest-grossing animated film of all time, so there’s no doubt the sequel will also be hugely popular amongst kids and adults alike. Let’s just hope teens don’t trash the cinemas as they did for The Minecraft Movie earlier this year.
Michael
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller
The much-anticipated Michael Jackson biopic follows the pop icon’s career from his time with the Jackson 5 to becoming a megastar in the 1980s.
The musical drama was first announced in 2019 and began filming in 2024, with Michael Jackson’s nephew taking on the lead role in his film debut.
Mother Mary
Release Date: April 2026
Director: David Lowery
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs
Hathaway is entering her full pop star era in Mother Mary, which features original songs from Jack Antonoff and Charli xcx. Between acting in The Moment and writing songs for two different films, our brat queen has been very busy.
The film follows the psychosexual affair between pop singer Mary (Hathaway) and fashion designer Sam (Coel) after they’re drawn back together for Mary’s new tour. As a huge fan of fictional pop stars (Miley Cyrus‘ Ashley O in Black Mirror, Hilary Duff‘s Isabella Parigi in The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Lady Gaga‘s Ally Maine in A Star Is Born, among others), I will definitely be watching.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Release Date: May 1, 2026
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci
The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 film, is based on the 2013 novel Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns. It follows Miranda Priestly (Streep) battling the decline of print media in the digital age, while her former assistant Emily (Blunt) is a powerful exec and Andy Sachs (Hathaway) navigates her own career.
In addition to the original cast returning, the film also stars Simone Ashley, Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, B. J. Novak, Pauline Chalamet and Aussie actor Patrick Brammall, as well as cameo appearances from Lady Gaga and Donatella Versace.
The Sheep Detectives
Release Date: May 8, 2026
Director: Kyle Balda
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun and Nicholas Galitzine
The Sheep Detectives follows George Hardy (Jackman), a shepherd who loves to read murder mysteries to his sheep. When he is found dead under mysterious circumstances, the sheep take it upon themselves to solve the crime. Think Knives Out for families.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Release Date: May 22, 2026
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White
Rather than a fourth season of The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm announced in January 2024 that a feature film was in production. The film continues the adventures of lone bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu and will also star White as… the voice of Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta.
Masters of the Universe
Release Date: June 5, 2026
Director: Travis Knight
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Idris Elba, Kristen Wiig
Galitzine stars as Prince Adam-slash-He-Man, who must save his home planet of Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor (Leto).
A new He-Man film was first reported to be in development in 2007, with Jon M. Chu also rumoured to be in talks to direct an adaptation of the popular Mattel franchise in 2012. Netflix even acquired the rights from Sony in 2022 for a film adaptation with Kyle Allen in the titular role, but the film was cancelled in 2023 after spending USD $30 million in development.
He-Man has become somewhat of a gay icon since the Masters of the Universe franchise first launched in 1982, so it will be interesting to see if this adaptation leans into that. Personally, after seeing Galitzine in Red, White & Royal Blue, my fingers are crossed.
Disclosure Day
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo
Disclosure Day is an upcoming UFO film based on Spielberg’s own idea about humanity confronting the undeniable existence of alien life. It was first announced in April 2024 and is tipped to be the movie of the summer.
Scary Movie 6
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Director: Michael Tiddes
Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans
Released 13 years after its predecessor, Scary Movie 6 will serve as a reboot of the beloved franchise with Farris and Hall both reprising their roles. The movie will parody modern horror films, with Marlon Wayans suggesting that Get Out, Nope, Long Legs, Heretic and Sinners could all be incorporated somehow.
Toy Story 5
Release Date: June 19, 2026
Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Anna Faris, Greta Lee
Toy Story 5 will see the beloved group of toys deal with the dominance of technology as their owner Bonnie becomes obsessed with a tablet named Lilypad (Lee). If it’s anything like its predecessors, expect a lot of heart and plenty of tears.
Supergirl
Release Date: June 26, 2026
Director: Craig Gillepsie
Starring: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Momoa
After a brief appearance in Superman, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Alcock), is getting her own standalone film as part of the DC Extended Universe. The movie will see her travel around the galaxy to celebrate her 23rd birthday and encounter a tragedy that leads her on a murderous quest for revenge, as per.
Minions 3
Release Date: July 1, 2026
Director: Pierre Coffin
Starring: Pierre Coffin
Can you believe Minions 3 will be the SEVENTH film in the Despicable Me franchise?! Little is known about this film, except that it took the release date from Shrek 5 after that was pushed back to 2027.
Moana
Release Date: July 10, 2026
Director: Thomas Kail
Starring: Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson
Disney’s latest live-action project, Moana, will star Aussie actress Laga’aia in her film debut as Moana and Johnson reprising his role as Maui from the animated films. The animated film’s lead star, Auliʻi Cravalho, will serve as executive producer, and I’m gonna bet that she’ll make a cameo appearance.
The Odyssey
Release Date: July 17, 2026
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron
If you were going to place an early bet on which film will win big at the 2027 Academy Awards, it would be this one. Besides its absolutely stacked cast, it’s the most expensive film of Nolan’s career with an estimated budget of USD $250 million after filming took place across Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland and Western Sahara.
Based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, it follows Odysseus (Damon)’s journey home after the Trojan War to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Hathaway). The book is very thick, so don’t be surprised if this ends up being over three hours long.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Release Date: July 31, 2026
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Mark Ruffalo
The fourth film in the MCU Spider-Man series was first reported in 2019 but officially began filming in August 2025. Cretton only announced last week that filming had wrapped in England, so we’ll probably have to wait a little while for a trailer to drop.
Flowervale Street
Release Date: August 14, 2026
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor
Hathaway’s fourth (!!) film of 2026 follows a family who begins to notice unusual happenings in their neighbourhood. Flowervale Street was filmed in 2024 and has had its release date pushed back twice, probably because the universe knows 2026 is well and truly Hathaway’s year to dominate the box office.
Practical Magic 2
Release Date: September 18, 2026
Director: Susanne Bier
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest
Practical Magic 2, the sequel to the 1998 romantic fantasy film, is based on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic. In addition to its original cast, the film will also star Joey King, Solo Maridueña, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace.
Time will tell who each of these additional cast members will play, but I would personally love to see King play Kidman’s daughter for the second time after A Family Affair.
Digger
Release Date: October 2, 2026
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, John Goodman
Digger is described as a comedy of catastrophic proportions starring Cruise in one of his few comedic roles. It will be Iñárritu’s first English-language film since The Revenant in 2015 and Cruise’s first standalone film since 2017.
Production wrapped in May 2025 after six months of filming, including a two-day suspension when Goodman was hospitalised with a minor hip injury.
The Social Reckoning
Release Date: October 9, 2026
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison
The Social Reckoning will serve as a companion piece to the 2010 film The Social Network, which portrayed the creation of Facebook. The new film will follow the events surrounding the 2021 Facebook leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen (Madison), with Strong replacing Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg.
The Cat in the Hat
Release Date: November 6, 2026
Directors: Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja
Starring: Bill Hader, Xochitl Gomez, Quinta Brunson, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang
A fun fact I learned recently was that the 2003 live-action version of The Cat in the Hat was so poorly received that Dr. Seuss‘s widow, Audrey Geisel, halted any future live-action adaptations of his works during her lifetime.
Geisel then went on to executive produce the 2018 animated film The Grinch, which was a huge success and served as a green light for future animated adaptations.
The Cat in the Hat will star Hader in the titular role and will launch a shared universe called The Seussiverse with other animated Dr. Seuss films. Take that, Marvel.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Release Date: November 20, 2026
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Glenn Close
Personally, this is the film I am most excited to watch in 2026. Based on Suzanne Collins’ book of the same name, Sunrise on the Reaping serves as a prequel set 24 years before the first Hunger Games film.
It follows Woody Harrelson’s character Haymitch Abernathy, now played by Aussie actor Zada, as he is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, aka the Quarter Quell.
It was recently revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will reprise their respective roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark, but you’ll have to wait until next year (or just read the book) to find out how that works.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Release Date: November 26, 2026
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig
It was announced in 2023 that Gerwig had signed a deal with Netflix to write and direct two films based on The Chronicles of Narnia book series, with the first dropping late next year.
While filming is currently underway, official plot and cast details remain scarce — though rumours suggest that both Meryl Streep and Charli xcx have been in talks to join the project. If true, I NEED to see these two paired up on the press tour.
Jumanji 3
Release Date: December 11, 2026
Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito
Jumanji 3 will see the return of the original cast alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cher, which sounds absolutely incredible if you ask me.
Filming began in November 2025, so little is known about the plot and the official title.
Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date: December 18, 2026
Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Channing Tatum, James Marsden, Tom Hiddleston, Simu Liu, Letitia Wright
Avengers Doomsday will serve as the 39th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and stars a massive A-list ensemble led by Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
A recent teaser confirmed that Evans, aka Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, will return alongside a stacked cast of superheroes for what’s sure to be one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
Dune: Part Three
Release Date: December 18, 2026
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson
Move over, Barbenheimer, Dunesday is here. The third and final film in the Dune trilogy will be released on the same day as the Avengers film, so stay tuned to see which premiere Pugh attends.
Dune: Part Three is based on the 1969 novel Dune Messiah and will see Pattinson join the cast. Oh, and if you’ve been wondering why Chalamet has a buzz cut, it’s reportedly because of this film.
There you have it: 32 reasons to be excited for 2026. It’s shaping up to be an incredible year for film, so you might as well book your favourite seat at the cinema in advance.
I’ll see you there!
The post The 32 Most Anticipated Films Of 2026: From Star-Studded Sequels To Massive Blockbusters appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
