10 Anticipated Movies for 2026

2026 is gearing up to be quite the year at the movies. There are new films from world-renowned filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, Denis Villeneuve, Alejandro G. Inarritu, and many others. It might even be the last great year at the movies once Warner Bros is sold. Either way, I've shared a list of some of my most anticipated movies of 2026. Many of the films don't have release dates or even press photos available, but I'm confident you'll want to add them to your watchlist for when they drop later this year.

If you are more interested in listening to a discussion on anticipated movies for 2026, my co-host Evan Crean and I discussed a lot of different movies we're anticipating for the new year.

For my 10 picks, scroll down and check out my thoughts below:

The Bride! (Mar 6)

Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, and more.

The sophomore film from actor/director Maggie Gyllenhaal sees her reteaming with Jessie Buckley on a musical based on The Bride of Frankenstein. I imagine this was pushed into '26 so that it wouldn't compete with GDT's Frankenstein movie, even if these are "ahem" very different beasts. While I doubt this is a very commercial movie for Warner Bros, maybe they thought they'd finance this one, given Gyllenhaal's last feature, The Lost Daughter. But I'm not going to worry about how much money they're going to make, I'm simply going to enjoy it.

Werwulf (TBA)

Directed by Robert Eggers and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, and Willem Dafoe.

Eggers is reteaming with many of the same cast members as his Nosferatu remake, and this time he's focusing on the werewolf mythos. I think Eggers is a polarizing director, and you're either into what he's doing, or you couldn't care less. I find myself more in the camp of enjoying his work and craft, so I'm eager to see this one as well.

Saturn Return (TBA)

Directed by Greg Kewdar and starring Rachel Brosnahan, Will Pulter, Charles Melton, and Jean Yoon.

I'm certain this one won't show up on many mainstream lists of most anticipated of 2026, but the new feature from Greg Kewdar (Sing Sing) has my attention. The logline on Letterboxd bills this as a love story between college sweethearts as they grow, but I was so impressed with Sing Sing, I'm willing to see what this one turns out to be.

Behemoth! (TBA)

Directed by Tony Gilroy and starring Pedro Pascal, Will Arnett, Olivia Wilde, and Eva Victor

Tony Gilroy is coming off his award-winning work on Andor to do his first feature in 14 years. He's certainly gathered an exciting cast with Pascal and company.

The Entertainment System is Down (TBA)

Directed by Ruben Ostlund and starring Keanu Reeves, Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Bruhl, Nicholas Braun, and more.

Winner of 2 Palme d'Or honors for The Square and Triangle of Sadness, Ostlund returns with perhaps his most star-studded cast yet. I've been a fan of his work for a long time, dating back to his feature Force Majuere, so I'm also eager for his new work. This will undoubtedly debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May before a Fall bow. The film is about an international flight where the entertainment system has failed, and now the passengers are faced with the horror of boredom.

Mother Mary (Apr. 26)

Directed by David Lowery and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

I've been waiting for this movie forever. Lowery's last feature, The Green Knight, was one of my favorites of that year, and I've long been a fan of his work. I think I've had Mother Mary on my most anticipated list for three years strong now, but with the first trailer out in the wild, there's only a matter of time until audiences can see Hathaway as a pop icon singing songs by Charli XCX.

Narnia (Nov. 26)

Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Craig, and more.

Unfortunately, this isn't a sequel to Barbie. Gerwig really knocked it out of the park with that one, and I believe her movies have gotten better with each subsequent release. I have zero nostalgia or history with the Narnia stories, so this is more exciting to be the fourth movie by Greta Gerwig rather than an adaptation of C.S. Lewis Narnia: The Magician's Nephew.

Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18) 

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and more.

Every time I read that Dune: Part Three is something that is happening in 2026, I find it hard to believe. Not that I'm complaining. Dune: Part Two was everything I could've wanted from an adaptation of the first Dune novel, and I'm excited to see Villeneuve and his talented cast adapt Dune Messiah. While I still don't think Dune: Part Three will actually release on December 18th (the date is shared with Avengers: Doomsday), it had to be included here.

The Odyssey (July 17)

Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal, among others.

Nolan could've made any film he wanted after the success of Oppenheimer, so he decided to take it easy and adapt The Odyssey. There's no doubt that this is going to be a monster film not only in its scope, but in size. It was shot on IMAX 70mm across multiple continents. Nolan is also partnering with composer Ludwig Goransson again, who, by that time, could be a two-time Oscar-winning composer (his score for Sinners is the current frontrunner). I'm not completely sold on an adaptation of an, but if anyone could make me care about it, Nolan is the director.

Disclosure Day (June 12)

Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell.

Spielberg doing science fiction again? I'm all-in. I honestly don't know how many movies Spielberg has left in him (he turned 79 in December), so I'm incredibly eager to see what a blockbuster Spielberg movie looks like in 2026. The X factor might be Josh O' Connor, who was excellent in 2025 in films like The Mastermind and Wake Up Dead Man.