We Can't Wait: 2026. (Part One: A-F)
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 8:00PM by Nathaniel R
Jessie Buckley as "THE BRIDE"
While we aren't done celebrating 2025 yet (more Film Bitch Awards coming soon + Oscar volleys), why not a discussion thread on what's to come in 2026? Here are some titles I'm looking forward to but please add your own in the comments before we start working on those ("April Foolish" Oscar predictions. This is coming to you in three parts due to the volumne, so here is the first batch featuring two Zendayas, two Hathaways, two Blunts, and the one and only Pedro Almodóvar...
1949/VATERLAND - TBA
Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski (making his first film since his international sensation Cold War) returns with this German language drama about Nazi resistor Thomas Mann and his daughter and his exile after the war. Hanns Zischler (Munich, The Edukators) and Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall) star.
THE ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH - TBA. Netflix
David Fincher & Quentin Tarantino at the same time? The former directs from a screenplay by the latter. Yes, it's a sequel to Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood but this time it's focused on stuntman-turned-Hollywood fixer Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Fincher & Pitt are a dream duo but it's always risky/dangerous to follow up an Oscar-winning role and great movie that never appeared to be aiming for sequelization. And it's a shame it's Netflix since Fincher is such a big screen director; we seem to have lost him permanently to the streamer.
Cyclops in one of the many teasers to AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY
AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY - Against my better judgment -- because they're overloading this one with cast members which will surely cause narrative problems and fan dissatisfaction no matter which superhero you're interested in following into the catacyclismic battles with Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr). Me, I'm just excited to see the Fantastic Four again. As for the X-Men, my absolute favourite superhero thing as a child and teenager, I just don't understand why they're not recasting and starting fresh! It's not like the X-Men film series was anywhere as good as Marvel in their prime and it wasn't particularly faithful to the comics either with the films so entirely focused on Xavier/Magneto/Wolverine/Mystique. Something more faithful to the comics would be wondrous, but it looks like they're bringing them in for nostalgia's sake.
Almodóvar on set. Image via IMDbBITTER CHRISTMAS - TBA. Sony Pictures Classics
Spain's most famous auteur, Pedro Almodóvar returns for this film the marketing is calling "a tragic comedy about gender". 'Certainly this will provoke no online uproar,' he says with sarcasm. All we know is that it's about an advertising director (Goya winner Barbara Lennie working with Almodóvar for the first time since a small role in The Skin I Live In) whose love life and career are in chaos after her mother's death. Other actors he has worked with once before are Leonardo Sbaraglia (Pain & Glory), Gloria Munoz (The Flower of My Secret), Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Milena Smit (both from Parallel Mothers), and Victoria Luengo (The Room Next Door). The only repertory players present are Rossy de Palma (making her 9th Almodóvar film!!!) and Carmen Machi (who had small roles in Talk to Her, Broken Embraces, and I'm So Excited). The newbies to Almodóvar-Land this time are men: Madrid-born Patrick Criado (30) and Barcelona-born Quim Gutiérrez (44). The latter won the Goya for Best New Actor twenty years ago. It continues to be wonderful that Pedro isn't slowing down in his seventy-something years.
THE BRIDE! - MAR 6. Warner Bros.
Maggie Gyllenhaal directs the third major Frankenstein riff from the past four years (it's in the Hollywood air!) with soon-to-be-(probably)-Oscared Jessie Buckley as the titular character and Christian Bale as the original monster. Looks like a fusion of Natural Born Killers and The Bride of Frankenstein from the trailers. Could be great but who knows. Did Warner Bros delay it to avoid competing with Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein or did they just need more time in post? Peter Sarsgaard and Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie's husband and brother, respectively, are also in the film. Jessie Buckley seems directly descended from Maggie Gyllenhaal's particular school of actressing/stardom, so it strikes me as an exciting Director/Actress combo.
BUNKER - TBA.
Florian Zeller who debuted spectacularly well with The Father (starring Anthony Hopkins) only to face-plant with The Son (starring Hugh Jackman) is back for a third feature that's an "elevated thriller" about a married couple (Bardem & Cruz!) who become involved with a tech billionaire's bunker construction project. Patrick Schwarzenegger & Paul Dano co-star. This could obviously go either way but we're hopeful given the cast and Zeller's still incredible debut.
THE CHRISTOPHERS - APRIL 10.
Steven Soderbergh directs this film about the children of a famous artist (Sir Ian McKellen) who have his unfinished work forged so that they will have a larger inheritance when he passes. Two very talented actresses, both mostly known for sensational TV performances, Michaela Cole & Jessica Gunning co-star. Could be great if Soderbergh is focused this time. But is he? His movies always feel so rushed now.
COYOTE VS. ACME - AUG 28.
Animated slapstick but this one has been a long time in coming and early audiences were excited by it before it got tied up in legal battles if I'm understanding the scuttlebutt correctly.
CUT OFF -JULY 17. Warner Bros.
A comedy about rich siblings cut off from their wealth. I'm here for the cast which includes very funny people like Kristen Wiig, Bette Midler, and Nathan Lane, plus Camille Cabello, Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza, and traumatized-by-Amy-Madigan-in-Weapons child star Cary Christopher. Jonah Hill directs, co-writes, and co-stars.
Gird your loins... it's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 - MAY 1.
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt return to their classic characters for this legacy sequel about the fashionista boss from hell and her underlings. The teaser deliciously told us nothing but we do know that Emily Blunt's role has gotten a significant bump up in size and she's moved to antagonist duties, which is fitting since she's a much bigger star now. Also, since I am duty bound to say so each time the movie comes up, Blunt was absolutely robbed of an Oscar nomination for her unimproveable comic work in the original.
DIGGER TBA
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu collaborates with Tom Cruise for this "comedy of catastrophic proportions" about a man trying to prove he's the savior of a world facing disaster, that Oscar might be gonzo for: Consider that the Academy has taken every opportunity they've had to reward this director -- even going so far as to give him a special Oscar for his VR side projects when he had already won FOUR Oscars. Our sincerest hope for this one is that it challenges Cruise beyond his physicality and we get the star willing to push himself as an actor that we haven't seen in ages and ages.
DISCLOSURE DAY - JUNE 12.
Steven Spielberg returns to his familiar playground of alien sci-fi event films after his beautiful memoir picture The Fabelmans (2022). Emily Blunt leads the cast (with Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, and Colman Domingo in support). Something very strange is going on with this weatherwoman.
THE DOG STARS AUG 28.
I know I know. Ridley Scott hasn't been impressing for a long time. Nevertheless hope springs eternal. The man once made three seismic classics like Alien, Blade Runner, and Thelma & Louise within a 12 year span so we have to keep hoping for a fourth one. This is an apocalyptic sci-fi effort starring the still-ascending Jacob Elordi and Margaret Qualley. Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, and Benedict Wong are the veterans on hand.
THE DRAMA. APRIL 3. A24
Zendaya & Robert Pattinson star as a married couple. The teaser is really fun in its ambiguous suggestiveness. What is going on with them?
DUNE PART THREE - DEC 18. Warner Bros.
Denis Villeneuve continues to make everyone thirst for some outer space desert action. Timothée Chalamet returns as the would be Messiah of Arrakis and Zendaya as his increasingly side-eyeing lover... and who can blame her?
EBENEZER: A CHRISTMAS CAROL - NOV 13. Paramount
Can Johnny Depp make a quality comeback? Who knows but people might give this the benefit of the doubt since director Ti West (who impressed cinephiles with his horror films X and Pearl) is behind the camera and the supporting cast is legit intriguing: Sir Ian McKellen, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, and Sam Claflin.
THE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM IS DOWN - TBA.
Ruben Östlund follows up his Oscar-nominated hit Triangle of Sadness with another English language satire. This won is aboard a plan with an all star cast including Kirsten Dunst and Keanu Reeves. The Swedish auteur has already won Cannes twice and been Oscar-nominated for Director. Can he keep rising or will things level off?
EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT - FEB 27. Neon.
Baz Luhrmann makes his first feature Documentary with previously unseen concert footage unearthed during the production of Elvis! (2022). This could potentially be quite thrilling -- especially on the big screen -- if his work on the Presley concert sequences in that feature were indication.
FJORD. Image via IMDb
FJORD - TBA.
The great Romanian director Cristian Mungiu (of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days fame) directs this drama about a Romanian/Norwegian couple (Sebastian Stan & Renate Reinsve) who are under scrutiny due to an investigation in Norway. Is it just wishful thinking that I'm seeing Oscar possibilities? Stan & Reinsve previously co-starred in A Different Man and who can forget that disturbing masked sex scene? I'm excited to see them reunited so quickly, especially since they're both currently at the top of their game.
FLOWERVALE STREET - AUG 14. Warner Bros.
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor (replacing Oscar Isaac) star in this sci-fi mystery about a neighborhood where strange things begin to happen. David Robert Mitchell who broke out with the inventive horror film It Follows (2014) is behind the camera. Yes, 2026 could finally be abig year for Anne Hathaway again with three leading roles in films with obvious potential all within the first eight months of 2026. She'll presumably be ubiquitous and after several quiet years where the films were either ignored or weren't totally clicking, we're crossing our fingers for a celebratory Hathapalooza all year long.
FORGOTTEN ISLAND. SEPT 25. Universal
We try to always show up for traditional animation and this comes from the directing duo behind better-than-anyone-expected Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It's a musical comedy fantasy about best friends stranded on a mystical world. The voice cast includes Dave Franco, Manny Jacinto, Jenny Slate, and actress/singers Lea Salonga and H.E.R.
Part two is coming tomorrow. Are you excited for any of these films in particular?
Reader Comments (2)
Looking forward to all of these except Cliff Booth, Digger and Coyote vs. Acme. Especially excited about The Bride! and The Christophers.
Already stressed out about finding time for ALL THESE MOVIES, and youre only at F.
Love this series - and grateful for the double dose of Hathaway!