Movies That Will Blow You Away In 2026

2024 isn't even over, and movie fans are already anxious to buy tickets to several films currently slated for release in 2026. There are already plenty of movies guaranteed to blow you away in 2025, but with every update from the studios and industry trade publications, 2026 is looking to rival it as one of the biggest years in cinematic history. 

Since many of these films are only just now entering production, fans will unfortunately have to do a lot of waiting before seeing these highly-anticipated flicks. It's never too early to start getting excited, though, so we've compiled a list of the films we're simply dying to see hit the big screen in 2026.

Some of these 2026 movies will cater to movie fans of all kinds, whether you're a long-time devotee of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an aficionado of horror movies, or a connossieur of comedy. From blockbusters that are surely going to disrupt the box office to the return of beloved indie directors, these are the films you should keep your eye on as they inch closer and closer to their premiere date.

"M3GAN" raked in over $180 million at the box office after debuting in theaters at the end of 2022. The Blumhouse-produced film followed a psychotic A.I. doll who goes to great lengths to protect a young girl. It helped that the film's marketing was accompanied by a viral TikTok dance, an "SNL" parody, and a trailer set to a Taylor Swift song, which all turned the killer doll horror flick into one of the biggest surprise hits of 2023. 

It's no surprise that the "M3GAN" universe is set to expand with two follow-ups: "M3GAN 2.0" arrives June 27, 2025, while "SOULM8TE" will hit theaters in 2026. "SOULM8TE" will center on a man's ownership of an A.I. android following the loss of his wife, with consequences that will likely rival the most disturbing moments in "M3GAN." Kate Dolan, who previously helmed the horror film "You Are Not My Mother," will direct, with Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl, and Claudia Doumit set to star. 

It's been quite a few eventful years for fans of "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Although the original Nickelodeon series only aired for three seasons in the mid-to-late 2000s, it has seen numerous spin-offs, reboots, and adaptations. However, 2026 will see a much more highly-anticipated installment in the "Avatar" timeline. 

It was announced all the way back in 2021 that "Avatar: The Last Airbender" would be getting a proper animated sequel, coming to theaters on October 9, 2026. Although little is known about its story, "The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender" will likely continue to explore the adventures of the beloved airbending character from the iconic animated series. 

Eric Nam will make his debut as the voice of Aang, while Dave Bautista is joining the franchise as a yet-to-be-revealed antagonist. After many hit-or-miss projects from the "Avatar" franchise since the end of the original series, this feature film will surely have a lot of eyeballs on it as fans await a sequel that lives up to those three fantastic seasons.

2026 won't be the first time that Dr. Seuss's most iconic character has made it to the big screen. In 2003, Mike Myers starred in "The Cat in the Hat," which notably resulted in Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel, putting a stop to all live-action adaptations of her husband's work. Thankfully, Seuss Enterprises will have a second chance at putting the Cat on the big screen in a new animated film. This follows years of development hell at Illumination Entertainment, despite the company's success in producing animated features of "The Lorax" and "The Grinch."

A new "The Cat in the Hat" film from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation will head to theaters on February 27, 2026, starring Bill Hader, another "Saturday Night Live" alum, as the title character. Funnily enough, Hader has already portrayed the character in an "SNL" sketch, back when he was a first-time host. Fellow "SNL" veterans Bowen Yang and Paula Pell also round out the voice cast, along with Quinta Brunson, Xochitl Gomez, and Matt Berry. Hopefully they're do the children's book justice. 

Ryan Gosling has been the belle of the ball in the film world for the past few years. The actor earned an Oscar nomination for 2023's "Barbie," and in 2024 "The Fall Guy" proved to be one of the year's best action movies despite underperforming financially. However, 2026 might feature Gosling's next home run in "Project Hail Mary," based on the 2021 sci-fi novel from Andy Weir and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the filmmakers behind proven hits like "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," "21 Jump Street," and "The Lego Movie."

"Project Hail Mary" will star Gosling as Ryland Grace, an amnesiac astronaut uncovering the mystery of why he's the last man standing in a crew searching the galaxy for a solution to Earth's near-demise. Gosling will be joined by fellow Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, who wowed audiences in 2023 with back-to-back performances in "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest." There's sure to be a lot of buzz in the science fiction community over this adaptation of the 2022 Hugo Award finalist, but given it's one of the few non-franchise films scheduled for release in 2026 so far, it might also be a sleeper hit for mainstream audiences. 

There was rightfully a lot of trepidation leading up to the release of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." Video game adaptations have a well-documented history of disappointing fans in movie theaters, and the "Super Mario" franchise already had one failed attempt in the '90s. Despite online criticisms of the cast (which included Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black), "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" blew everyone away the box office by grossing over $1 billion, and was praised for being a flawed but worthy adaptation of the iconic Nintendo franchise.

Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri and "Mario" creator Shigeru Miyamoto finally confirmed that a sequel would be coming with a tentative release date of April 3, 2026. Judging by the post-credits scene of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," the character Yoshi could make a proper debut on the big screen, while actors like Charlie Day and Seth Rogen have also expressed interest in exploring their own characters. The only question that remains is whether or not Nintendo is going to satisfy fan expectations and cast Danny DeVito to play Wario, but if they do, this may become the most anticipated film of 2026. 

Perhaps the biggest bombshell from San Diego Comic-Con 2024 was at the Marvel Studios panel, where Kevin Feige not only confirmed that directors Anthony and Joe Russo would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to helm the next two "Avengers" movies, but that the Multiverse Saga would be pivoting from Kang the Conqueror to one of the biggest baddies in Marvel Comics: Victor von Doom. To the shock of everyone at Hall H and online, "Avengers: Doomsday" is coming up fast in 2026, and Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom — which has some fans rightfully worried. 

While the decision to recast Robert Downey Jr. after the actor's triumphant curtain call as Iron Man in "Avengers: Endgame" may have gone over poorly with some fans of the MCU, one thing is certain: people will be flooding into theaters to see this performance. And the rest of the announced cast — which will include the New Avengers, the rebooted Fantastic Four, various MCU superstars, and some of the cast from the OG "X-Men" movies — will make this an all-out spectacle.

While there hasn't been a "Star Wars" feature film since 2019's "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker," the franchise has been busy on Disney+ with plenty of streaming series, the most popular being "The Mandalorian," which follows the adventures of the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) after discovering a Jedi child named Grogu who's a target of Imperial factions. 

The ending of "The Mandalorian" Season 3 felt like it was a long time coming for "Star Wars" fans, setting the stage for "The Mandalorian and Grogu" to premiere in theaters in 2026. Given the broad scale of the Disney+ series, one can only imagine how epic things are going to get in a feature film starring Pascal's Din Djarin, his fellow characters, and some new faces. Sigourney Weaver has already confirmed that she's appearing in the movie, though it's sad that Carl Weathers won't be reprising his role as Greef Karga after passing away in 2024.

It's almost hard to believe that a live-action "Masters of the Universe" film is scheduled to be released in 2026. The iconic Mattel series, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," originally aired in the mid-1980s, and actually had a live-action film adaptation released back in 1987, starring Dolph Lungdren as the iconic shirtless hero. The history of a failed "Masters of the Universe" reboot movie goes back as far as 2007, but it's only recently that actual movement has been made on the project, with a current theatrical release date of June 5, 2026. Travis Knight, who made his live-action directorial debut with 2018's "Bumblebee," is set to direct it for Amazon MGM Studios. 

Perhaps the film owes its forward motion to Mattel's success in 2023 with "Barbie," which also went through development hell before becoming a surprise best picture nominee. It's also possible that there's renewed interest in the franchise thanks to Netflix's "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power," which ran for five seasons on the streaming service. For now, there's at least hope in the fact that the film's early casting looks promising, with "The Idea of You" star Nicholas Galitzine cast as He-Man, and Camila Mendes of "Riverdale" fame playing Teela. 

The next few years will be very exciting for DC Comics fans who have been let down by the lack of direction in its cinematic universe. That's all set to change now that James Gunn is co-CEO of DC Studios and has put his energy into directing 2025's "Superman." That will be followed up in 2026 by "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," with Milly Alcock making her debut as Clark Kent's cousin.

Of course, Alcock will have big boots to fill after Melissa Benoist's beloved portrayal in The CW's "Supergirl," but leave it to James Gunn to find new ground to break. Currently, the film is set for release on June 26, 2026, directed by Craig Gillespie, whose past work includes female-driven films like "Cruella" and the Oscar-nominated "I, Tonya." Little else is known about the film, other than the fact that it will primarily be an adaptation of the 2022 comic of the same name by Tom King. Given Supergirl's insane history in the comics, it should be a superhero movie worth seeing in theaters. 

It had been a quiet few years on the "Shrek" front after 2010's "Shrek Forever After" and 2011's "Puss in Boots," potentially indicating that the once-tremendously successful animated franchise might have lost its fairy tale dazzle. But the series was finally revived in 2022 with "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," with Antonio Banderas reprising his role as the conniving feline crusader. The film earned an Oscar nomination for best animated feature and surpassed expectations at the box office. 

The ending of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" even set the stage for a future "Shrek" film, with Puss and Kitty Softpaws venturing back to the land of Far, Far Away. "Shrek 5" was confirmed to be happening later in 2023, with Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz all returning. "Shrek" franchise veteran Walt Dohrn has been tasked with directorial duties, with the film slated for release on December 23, 2026. Hopefully, the new "Shrek" film takes a page out of "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" by integrating a much more elegant, fairy tale-inspired art style. 

As expected, there's a lot of mystery surrounding what Jordan Peele is up to. The sketch comedian cemented himself as one of film's most influential modern directors with 2017's "Get Out," and has kept up the trend by creating outstanding horror films with Black leads in "Us" and "Nope." His production company, Monkeypaw, has been behind projects like "Monkey Man" and "Candyman."  

Peele's next film as a director has a confirmed theatrical release date of October 23, 2026, just in time for Halloween. It might be hard to get excited about a movie that has no other information available, not even a rumored cast, but given Peele's track record so far, it'll always be worthwhile to see what this auteur comes up with. 

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" was a reminder of how huge Suzanne Collins' book franchise was when it hit the big screen. The film's box office performance alone was proof that audiences were hungry for more stories set in Panem, and one is already slated for release on November 20, 2026, centering on another familiar character from the original book trilogy.

"The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" centers on the 50th Hunger Games, notably won by Haymitch Abernathy, the character portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original films. The book it's based on was published in March 2025, while a film adaptation was confirmed in June 2024. Australian actor Joseph Zada will fill Harrelson's shoes as the young Haymitch, with Mckenna Grace, Elle Fanning, Lili Taylor, Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons, and Ralph Fiennes all joining the cast as well.

When "Ice Age: Collision Course," the fifth installment in the main "Ice Age" film franchise, was first released in 2016, there were already plans for the next entry. But a lot happened over the next few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Disney buyout of original "Ice Age" home 20th Century Fox, which put the franchise on ice.

In September 2024, "Ice Age" star John Leguizamo hinted at "Ice Age 6" on a podcast — and it wasn't long before the official announcement followed. Little is known about the movie other than the confirmed return of Leguizamo as well as Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, and Denis Leary. We'll see how things pan out for the first Disney-backed installment of the franchise when "Ice Age 6" floats into theaters on December 18, 2026.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's first two forays into directing — an episode of the 2020 anthology series "Homemade" and the 2021 film "The Lost Daughter" — both came with major accolades and announced that she was taking this new chapter of her career quite seriously. So there's no reason not to be anything but excited about her latest directorial venture, the 2026 monster movie "The Bride!", which will see Gyllenhaal write, direct, and produce a new film based around the so-called wife of Frankenstein's monster. 

Classic movie monsters have had a rough go of it trying to reintroduce themselves in recent years, so here's hoping that Gyllenhaal can turn that tide when "The Bride!" scares its way into theaters on March 6, 2026. 

It's tough for a director to ask for a better start to his career than Robert Eggers, whose first four films as director and co-writer are all "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. He quickly became one of those creative figures who can elicit excitement for whatever he's cooking up next, no matter what it is, just by virtue of his name being attached.

Next to nothing is known about "Werwulf," other than that Eggers is directing and co-writing, it's a horror movie that takes place in 13th-century England, and it's slated for a Christmas 2026 release. But that's more than enough for the film world to be salivating. Fans of "The Northman" in particular will also delight in the fact that its co-writer, Sjón, is reteaming with Eggers for "Werwulf." 

Brothers Keenan Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Marlon Wayans originally came up with the concept for the "Scream"-focused horror movie spoof "Scary Movie." They then re-teamed for "Scary Movie 2," only to abandon the franchise completely from "Scary Movie 3" through "Scary Movie 5," following disputes with Dimension Films heads Harvey and Bob Weinstein over money and creative control.

In October 2024, it was announced that the Wayans brothers would return to the franchise for "Scary Movie 6," which is set for release on June 12, 2026. It's unknown if Keenan Ivory will direct or if Shawn and Marlon will once again star in the film — all that is confirmed is that the trio are working on the script alongside frequent Wayans collaborator Rick Alvarez. 

Among the first batch of post-DCEU movies and TV shows, those that are Batman-related have shown the most promise thus far, such as 2022's well-received "The Batman" and its even more highly-acclaimed spin-off HBO series "The Penguin."

With that in mind, there's a fair amount of excitement that the upcoming horror movie "Clayface" — based around the longtime Batman villain of the same name — will continue along that same trend of quality when it arrives on September 11, 2026, courtesy of "Speak No Evil" director James Watkins. It's not yet known if it will have any connection to the aforementioned projects or be entirely standalone. 

The live action "Resident Evil" film series that ran from 2002 to 2016 proved to be undeniably popular, to the tune of six installments that grossed a combined $1.2 billion worldwide. But after the 2021 reboot "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" underperformed, another return to the drawing board was in order in lieu of a direct follow-up.

Hollywood clearly still has a lot of faith in the video game zombie franchise, as a bidding war erupted for the latest attempt to resuscitate "Resident Evil" on the big screen. Zach Cregger, the filmmaker behind "Barbarian" and "Weapons," is directing and co-writing the as-yet-untitled latest "Resident Evil" reboot, which has taken aim at a September 18, 2026 release. 

After the divisive "Tenet," writer-director Christopher Nolan proved that he is very much still a critical darling and commercial powerhouse with 2023's "Oppenheimer." Anything he puts out is a major event anyway, but after "Oppenheimer," there is even more excitement than usual for what Nolan's got coming next.

"The Odyssey" will be based on the epic poem of the same name and star Matt Damon in the lead role. This will be Nolan's first attempt at a big, old-fashioned, swords and sandals epic — not to mention being far more fantastical and mythological than anything he's ever done before as a director. As of this writing, filming has only just gotten underway, but "The Odyssey" is set for a July 17, 2026 release. 

After playing in the big budget Hollywood blockbuster sandbox over the last decade or so with "Oz the Great and Powerful" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," iconic horror director Sam Raimi will return to his signature genre for next year's "Send Help." The premise sees two people as the only survivors of a plane that crashes on a deserted island, faced with a scary battle for survival. 

What that battle entails, and whether monsters get involved or if all the dangers are of the natural variety, remains to be seen. But given that there are four people announced for the cast rather than just two — Rachel McAdams, Chris Pang, Dennis Haysbert, and Dylan O'Brien — there is clearly more going on than the synopsis reveals. Filming for "Send Help" wrapped in April, with January 30, 2026 set as the release date.

There was a time when it seemed like "Coyote vs. Acme" — the animation/live-action hybrid film starring Will Forte, Jena Cena, and various Looney Tunes characters — was never going to see the light of day. In late 2023, it joined fellow Warner Bros. projects "Scoob! Holiday Haunt" and "Batgirl" in the unfortunate club of movies that had already been completed but were nonetheless canceled for tax write-off purposes. 

While there has yet to be any announced plans to revive the other two films, "Coyote vs. Acme" was rescued by independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment in 2025 alongside another previously doomed Looney Tunes film, "The Day the Earth Blew Up." The latter saw wide release in March 2025, while "Coyote vs. Acme" is set to hit theaters sometime in 2026. 

The "28 Days Later" trilogy is finally complete in 2025 with the release of "28 Years Later," a title that is almost accurate given the threequel's arrival 23 years after the original movie. But "28 Years Later" is itself the start of a spin-off trilogy, with follow-up "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" already set to hit theaters on January 16, 2026.

Alex Garland — who wrote "28 Days Later" and "28 Years Later" but skipped out on second entry "28 Weeks Later" — is writing "The Bone Temple" and will also write its follow-up. Director Danny Boyle is handing directing duties for "The Bone Temple" to "The Marvels" director Nia DeCosta, but will helm the third one, which will mark the first time Boyle has directed three films within a single franchise. 

Disney typically tends to space its franchises out, which makes it somewhat unusual that the 2024 animated sequel "Moana 2" is to be followed only two years later by the live-action remake of the original "Moana." 

And speaking of unusual, Dwayne Johnson is going to be the first actor to voice a Disney character in an animated movie and then physically appear on screen as that same character in the live action remake when he brings Maui to life on July 10, 2026– 10 years after first playing the character in the original film. Taking over as Moana herself in the remake will be Catherine Lagaʻaia in her film debut and only second screen credit after the 2023 Amazon Prime Video series "The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart."

"South Park" mostly keeps co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone too busy to do much else — that, and spending several years and over $40 million reviving Denver's Casa Bonita, their favorite childhood restaurant/theme park. In terms of movies specifically, you have to go all the way back to "Team America: World Police" in 2004 for the last one the duo co-wrote and Parker directed.

So it's not insignificant that March 10, 2026 will see the first Trey Parker-directed film in 22 years. Currently untitled, it's a comedy written by longtime "South Park" writer and producer Vernon Chatman, co-produced by not only Parker and Stone but also rapper Kendrick Lamar. It centers around a man who works at a living history museum where he plays a slave, and comes to find out that his ancestors were slaves who happened to be owned by his girlfriend's ancestors. 

Though initially a spin-off of the "Wallace and Gromit" franchise, it can be argued that Shaun the Sheep — both the character and his films and TV shows — have become equally as associated with legendary stop-motion animation studio Aardman. There have been two "Shaun the Sheep" films thus far, with the most recent being 2019's "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggeddon."

The next film, "The Beast of Mossy Bottom," will follow along from the TV series' sixth season, which aired in 2020 with the overall subtitle of "Adventures from Mossy Bottom." The film was announced in May 2025 and has thus far only been given a general 2026 release window.

There was a fair amount of trepidation when it was announced that there would be a fourth "Toy Story" movie, especially since the overwhelming consensus is that "Toy Story 3" was the perfect way to wrap up the story of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy's now-former toys. 

Even so, "Toy Story 4" cracked the billion-dollar mark worldwide and nearly matched its predecessor's level of critical praise. Emboldened by proving the doubters wrong, Disney and Pixar are rolling the dice at least one more time on the franchise with "Toy Story 5," which will hit theaters on June 19, 2026.

Marvel alums Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Barry Keoghan will join Halle Berry, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tate Donovan for the February 13, 2026 heist film "Crime 101." Co-written by "Conclave" Oscar winner Peter Straughan, it is adapted from the Don Winslow novella of the same name. 

The title comes from the strict set of rules that a jewel thief has been following for years, which have helped him elude capture. It's unknown which of the confirmed cast will play the thief and which will play the detective long stumped by the case — but don't be surprised if nobody ends up being who they seem in what's sure to be a twisty mystery.

It seems that continuity isn't the goal anymore with the "Evil Dead" franchise the way it was when Bruce Campbell's Ash was still fronting the series. Like 2013's "Evil Dead" and 2023's "Evil Dead Rise," the upcoming "Evil Dead Burn" will be another standalone entry. 

Sam Raimi still isn't writing or directing — he hasn't served either role on an "Evil Dead" film since "Army of Darkness" — but "Evil Dead Burn" is being released under his Ghost House Pictures banner and he will be one of the movie's producers. The new film will be released on July 24, 2026, during what is looking to be an especially horror-heavy summer movie season.

The third entry in the modern run of "Jumanj" movies — and fourth overall — is toying with a December 11, 2026 release date. While only actor Jack Black and director Jake Kasdan have outright confirmed their returns thus far, co-stars Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart are all assumed to be coming back as well. 

No word on which, if any, of the real-world game players from the previous two films will be returning, or if the movie will pick up from the mid-credits scene at the end of "Jumanji: The Next Level." Hart said in 2023 that early discussions about the story were focused on the relationship between his character and Johnson's, bringing their arc to a conclusion of sorts.

One of the only spokes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe wheel that has maintained consistently high quality and box office returns, particularly since the franchise has stretched beyond "Avengers: Endgame," has been the "Spider-Man" movies. All the nostalgic stops were pulled out for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," leaving little left to do in terms of fan service.

With that in mind, it seems fitting that the next entry in that series is subtitled "Brand New Day." Very little is known about the movie other than the assumption that it will be at least partially based on the comic book arc of the same name, and that it has its web shooters aimed at a July 21, 2026 release date. 

It's pretty admirable that the "Scream" franchise has continued to maintain a consistent canon across its first six films thus far, making it one of the longest-running horror franchises in history to go as long as it has without even so much as a soft reboot. 

That made the announcement that Matthew Lillard would be returning for next year's "Scream 7" a huge shock, given that Stu Macher, the character he played in the first movie, seemed to have pretty definitively met his end. Lillard's January 30, 2025 social media tease about his return seemed to leave little doubt that he'd indeed be playing Stu again, but how that's going to play out remains a closely-guarded secret. Whether that will be revealed ahead of the movie's February 27, 2026 release date remains to be seen. 

Speaking of horror movie reboots, "The Exorcist" is getting its first one ever next year. So far, every existing film carrying that title has either been a direct sequel or prequel within the ongoing franchise, though some of them definitely played fast and loose with canon and continuity. 

But 2026's yet-to-be-titled "Exorcist" film is indeed being positioned as a full-on fresh start for the long-running franchise. Whether it will still draw from the 1971 novel on which the original movie was based or is going to run with an entirely new story and characters altogether hasn't yet been made clear, but we'll find out when it hits theaters on March 13. 

While Disney (with Pixar), DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony Pictures Animation have been battling it out for major animation studio supremacy over the last 20 years or so, independent stop-motion house Laika has been quietly churning out some of the best animated films of any studio, no matter what the size. 

Things have been quiet since 2019's "Missing Link," the last Laika release, but that's set to change next year with "Wildwood." Based on the 2011 novel of the same name, "Wildwood" sees a young girl and her friend try to rescue the girl's younger sister from a mysterious — and dangerous — magical forest. After it was originally scheduled to come out in 2025, "Wildwood" is now set to arrive sometime in 2026, with the exact date to be determined. 

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has slowly been earning a reputation for pulling off the impossible. First, he not only made a respectable sequel to "Blade Runner" but arguably surpassed the classic original with "Blade Runner 2049." Then he proved that Frank Herbert's dense, obtuse — and at times, seemingly unfilmable — "Dune" novels really could be properly adapted for the big screen with "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two."

That being said, the third installment is where a lot of movie series go wrong, particularly sci-fi trilogies. So we will see if Villeneuve can also create another miracle in that regard when "Dune: Messiah" hits theaters on December 18, 2026. 

After wowing critics with his inventive 2015 horror movie "It Follows," writer-director David Robert Mitchell followed that up with the extremely ambitious, surreal action comedy "Under the Silver Lake." But critics weren't remotely impressed with that one, nor were audiences. 

After taking what will end up being an eight-year break, Mitchell will stage his comeback attempt in 2026 with "Flowervale Street," a sci-fi adventure starring Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway whose plot details have so far been kept secret. After originally aiming for March, "Flowervale Street" is now set to come out on August 14, 2026. 

Along with "The Bride!", 2026 will also see an attempted return by another classic movie monster. Only in the case of "The Mummy," there is a beloved, much more recent movie — and its two subsequent sequels — that will no doubt be casting a considerable shadow over the new film (we'll just ignore the disastrous 2017 reboot starring Tom Cruise that flopped at the box office).

Rather than a fun action/adventure romp in the vein of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," like 1999's "The Mummy" was, the upcoming reboot is instead bringing the property back to its original horror roots. Lee Cronin, who wrote and directed "Evil Dead Rise," will serve those two jobs for "The Mummy," set to be released on April 17, 2026 under New Line Cinema and Blumhouse.

Despite her being an uncredited writer on 2025's borderline disastrous "Snow White," there should still be plenty of excitement over whatever "Barbie" director and co-writer Greta Gerwig is cooking up next. And apparently she is scripting and directing a movie set in the "Narnia" universe.

Gerwig is specifically adapting the novel "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew," which — while published sixth in the series — is actually a prequel to "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." It's clear that this is meant to be a potential beginning to a whole new "Narnia" franchise if all goes well. The film is set to have a limited IMAX release starting on November 26, 2026, before coming to Netflix on Christmas day.

It's easy to roll one's eyes at what feels like the 500th screen adaptation of the classic Emily Brontë novel "Wuthering Heights." But given that the one coming to theaters on February 13, 2026 will be directed by Emerald Fennell from her own adapted screenplay, there is plenty of reason to give this one the benefit of the doubt. Fennell's two previous films, "Promising Young Woman" and "Saltburn," were both original works, so it'll certainly be fascinating to see how she handles her first adaptation.

There has already been some backlash to the casting of Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as the leads, but "Wuthering Heights" has a history of being controversial so it's just as well. Netflix certainly wasn't worried about it, as the streamer reportedly offered $150 million for the film — a deal which was turned down in favor of less money and a traditional theatrical release.