Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2026

~ philthebearblog

Welcome to my annual look ahead to my most anticipated upcoming films of the year.

All but one of my Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2025 were released this year and in most cases my anticipation was rewarded with an excellent film. In fact I am fairly confident you will spot a few in my favourites list that I will post in a couple of days time.

So what has made it into my list for 2026..?

1. Project Hail Mary

There are so many exciting things to look forward to in this Science Fiction adaptation that I think it might be simpler to do this as a list…

For anyone who has seen the most recent trailers for the film they will understand that I am very excited to see the character of Rocky portrayed on film when this releases in March 2026.

2. The Odyssey

It is hard to imagine Christopher Nolan might one day deliver a bad film. Hopefully that is not going to be the case on 17th July 2026 when his next blockbuster arrives in cinemas.

Based on Homer’s epic poem this one looks set to be another spectacular feature from Nolan with what is a typically huge and exciting cast that includes; Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, John Leguizamo, Samantha Morton and Lupita Nyong’o.

An extended IMAX trailer showing the Trojan Horse being taken into Troy has only piqued my excitement more.

Whilst you wait feel free to read my other Nolan reviews here… Christopher Nolan Retrospective

3. Disclosure Day

Any Steven Spielberg movie is a reason to get excited, but when it is a science fiction film that has something to do with UFOs there is extra reason to look forward to it. Spielberg has of course dipped into science fiction with the likes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Minority Report and Ready Player One.

Here he reteams with composer John Williams for an extraordinary thirtieth collaboration and screenwriter David Koepp for the fifth time. The most famous feature that this group worked together on is the original Jurassic Park.

Then of course with a great director comes a great cast with the likes of Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Collin Firth, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo set to feature.

4. Werwulf

Robert Eggers is yet to make a bad film with a superb run of The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and Nosferatu between 2015 and 2025. For his 2026 feature he has reteamed with co-writer Sjon whom he worked with on The Northman to make a film set in 13th century England about the mythical werewolf.

The cast includes regular Eggers actors Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp who both starred in his most recent feature Nosferatu.

Given his film history the idea of Eggers telling a story about a mythical monster set in a period setting seems like a perfect fit.

5. Dune Part Three

After the huge commercial and critical success of Dune and Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve will get to complete his Dune trilogy before taking on the reigns of the next James Bond movie.

Expectations are of course high with the vast cast returning with the addition of Robert Pattinson to swell their ranks even further.

I for one cannot wait to return to Arrakis.

6. The Adventures of Cliff Booth

If you saw Once Upon A Time In Hollywood you will know that Cliff Booth is the Hollywood stunt double played by Brad Pitt who dared to fight Bruce Lee. The Adventures of Cliff Booth is apparently set eight years on from the events of that film in 1969.

Whilst Quentin Tarantino has written the script for this feature he has opted out of directing it whilst he searches for his elusive tenth and final film. So Brad Pitt has asked friend David Fincher to get into the director’s chair which means it will be coming to Netflix in 2026. Fincher and Pitt have of course previously worked together on Seven, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

7. The Social Reckoning

In a tangential relationship with my number six film, The Social Reckoning is a sequel to 2010’s David Fincher masterpiece The Social Network. This time though Aaron Sorkin will both write and direct given that Fincher is busy with Tarantino’s sequel script that he does not want to direct.

The Social Reckoning will feature Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg and will be set in 2021 when a whistle-blower made it clear that Facebook was aware of detrimental effects that its platforms had but continued to monetise them regardless.

Sorkin’s record as a writer is exemplary but his record as a director is much more patchy with the excellent The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and Molly’s Game and the mediocre Being The Ricardos. I have no expectations that Sorkin will be able to match the excellence of the original film but I do know that the combination of him working with Jeremy Strong should produce something worth watching.

8. Digger

Again there is little to go on with this film other than the sheer excitement of those involved. The teaser trailer only adds to the mystery of what this might actually be about.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is responsible for the likes of Amores Perros, Birdman and The Revenant. Whilst Tom Cruise is the greatest living movie action hero who has a superb ability to act when he is not hanging off the wings of planes.

Add into the mix the superb acting talent of Sandra Huller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Riz Ahmed and Jesse Plemons and there is a heck of a lot of possibility in this one.

9. Ready Or Not: Here I Come

Oh boy I really hope this one is fun.

Ready Or Not was a superb horror comedy starring Samara Weaving that pushed its directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett into the big leagues. They followed this feature up with the run of Scream (2022), Scream VI and Abigail.

This sequel to Ready Or Not will also feature Kathryn Newton and Sarah Michelle Gellar who are no strangers to the horror genre.

10. Mother Mary

David Lowery makes unique and interesting films. The Green Knight and The Old Man & The Gun are my particular favourites.

Mother Mary appears to be psychological horror movie about a pop singer making a comeback and her discarded friend and fashion designer whom she asks to help style her return. It stars Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel in the lead roles and frankly looks slightly crazy.

This is definitely my most out there choice on this list and I hope it pays off.

And What About..?

Films in last year’s list that were delayed:

  • The Bride – Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature has a phenomenal cast including her brother Jake, husband Peter Sarsgaard and the likes of Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale and Penelope Cruz. It has a release date currently set for March and I am hoping it is as amazing as it sounds.
  • 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Due to be released in January I mentioned this sequel was filmed at the same time as this year’s 28 Years Later which featured on last year’s anticipated list. Technically this one was not delayed but as I mentioned it last year I felt it would not warrant its own mention.

A new raft of Superhero movies that somehow have stopped exciting even me:

  • Supergirl – Milly Alcock’s Supergirl was introduced in the final moments of this year’s Superman and the film is directed by the rather good Craig Gillespie who brought us Lars And The Real Girl, I, Tonya and Cruella. So hopefully this will be a good entry into DC’s new Superhero Universe.
  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day – The fourth Spider-Man feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a new director in Destin Daniel Cretton, although he is no stranger to the MCU having delivered the rather fun Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. The cast is the usual array of MCU faces led by Tom Holland and Zendaya who also feature in The Odyssey. Fingers crossed this is as enjoyable as other Spidey features.
  • Clayface – This is surely the wildcard Superhero movie of the year and the most interesting. Clayface is one of Batman’s rogues gallery who can shapeshift into any form he wishes and the film is directed by horror aficionado Mike Flanagan best known for his TV series The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. Will this be a unique take on the genre?
  • Avengers: Doomsday – Marvel will be hoping that this gives them similar success to Avengers Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. They have lured back directors Anthony and Joe Russo and star Robert Downey Jr. who will play the titular villain. And of course they will draw together a huge array of superheroes including The X-Men to fight their new big bad. At this point I have low expectations for this one, but I suspect by the time it is ready for release I may be as hyped up as I used to be about comic book films.

A swathe of animated sequels that semi-interest me:

  • The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – After the vast amounts of money that The Super Mario Bros. Movie made it was obvious we would get a sequel and this one takes the title and look and feel of the monumentally brilliant Nintendo Wii games. They have added the voice talents of Benny Safdie and Brie Larson to the cast and I honestly cannot wait. If it can deliver the vibrancy and fun of the first film those of us who grew up with Nintendo games will love it.
  • Toy Story 5 – Toy Story 4 seemed like a gamble for Disney Pixar and turned out to be joyous. So I am relatively hopeful that they can continue the phenomenal success with Toy Story 5.
  • Minions 3 – Personally I prefer the Despicable Me movies to Minion movies but this will still probably be decent fun. I have the lowest hopes for this film in the animated category.

And some other blockbusters that generate different personal levels of buzz for me:

  • Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu – I am not sure that I have ever been less interested in a Star Wars movie than here. I should be excited. It is helmed by Jon Favreau and written by Dave Filoni and features the break out TV character in the Star Wars franchise. But I cannot help but think this is an extended TV episode. I hope I am proved wrong.
  • The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – The Hunger Games is a big favourite in my house and I can see this being a family trip to the cinema. This feature is a prequel telling us the early days of Woody Harrelson’s character from the original films. It appears that they are taking the tack of casting young unknowns in the main roles and big stars in the supporting roles with the likes of Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close and Elle Fanning appearing as residents of the Capitol.
  • Masters of the Universe – Ok, please do not laugh! As a child I had many He-Man toys and would play for many an hour with Battle Cat, Teela and Man-At-Arms. I loved Kevin Smith’s recent reimagining of Masters of the Universe on Netflix and still have a soft spot for the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie that I begged my mum to take me to the cinema to see at around the age of six or seven. So yes, I am desperately hoping that they can do something special with this one… but perhaps I should not get my hopes too high.

So whilst keeping a very clear top ten I have still managed to name 22 movies to keep your eyes open for next year. What are you looking forward to?

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