Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | December 26, 2025
Another year, another list. We can't say we were disappointed with 2025 in terms of movies (everything else? That's another matter.) How could we be mad with a year that gave us Sinners, One Battle After Another, Weapons, Train Dreams, Hamnet, The Secret Agent, Ne Zha 2, Eddington, Wake Up Dead Man, and too many others to count? And 2026 looks like it could be even bigger. New movies from Nolan, Spielberg, Gerwig, and Villeneuve! Zombies, werewolves, and slashers! Arthouse icons and blockbuster kings! And these are just the movies with confirmed 2026 releases. The best part of any year are the surprises, and we have our eyes on a few potential ones for the coming season (but we've left them off the list, just to keep things reasonably condensed.) There are tons we've missed so let us know in the comments which 2026 movies you're most excited for.
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
After a glorious return to zombie-land with 28 Years Later, the franchise gets another sequel with Nia DaCosta in the director's chair over Danny Boyle (but Alex Garland is still writing.) Taking place after the events of the previous film, this one follows Alfie Williams' Spike as he is inducted into Jack O'Connell's Jimmy Savile-inspired killer gang (wow, how many Americans needed that weird moment explained to them), as Ralph Fiennes continues to memorialize the many victims of the undead apocalypse.
THE MOMENT
Charli XCX dominated 2024 with Brat Summer, and now, she's expanding into the world of film at an alarming rate. She has no fewer than three acting credits for 2026, with more potentially on the horizon. The Moment is definitely the most personal, with Charli playing a version of herself going off on her first arena tour. The cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Jamie Demetriou, Kylie Jenner, and Rachel Sennott. But if you'd prefer Charli behind the camera, we have...
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
The chances are you've already formed an opinion on Emerald Fennell's sexed-up Bronte adaptation based on the trailer. Margot Robbie and Jacob 'he's so tall' Elordi are going to be corset-rippingly wild in this one, and novel purists have opinions. Personally, I'm all in on unhinged re-imaginings of classic material, although, post-Saltburn, I don't know if Fennell really has the sauce to be our generation's Ken Russell. Charli's doing the score, which sounds fascinating from the bits we've heard so far. Let's start off 2026 with some proper mad Discourse.
THE BRIDE!
A $100m punk-rock 1920s re-imagining of The Bride of Frankenstein, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley? Did I will this film into existence? Classic horror adaptations are certainly common and many attempts to revive the monsters of the golden age have failed at the first hurdle (RIP the Dark Universe), but The Bride! (the exclamation mark is mandatory) feels different from those wannabe Marvel flicks. It looks like a wild and horny romance with sexy monsters and crazy broads. Again, did I write this? Making this onto into a mega-hit might be hard given its budget but we should all encourage filmmakers to waste David Zaslav's money.
PROJECT HAIL MARY
Andy Weir's The Martian was a major movie hit, so of course we need an adaptation of his other popular novel. Phil Lord and Chris Miller have wrangled Ryan Gosling into this sci-fi adventure about an astronaut on a mission to save humanity. The trailer was a bit too spoiler-ish for my liking but this one still seems exciting. The cast also includes Ken Leung and Sandra Hüller.
THE DRAMA
First trailer for Kristoffer Borgli's The Drama starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson 💖 In theaters April 3, 2026 via A24
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd.social) December 10, 2025 at 2:07 PM
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Zendaya and Robert Pattinson? Does it get any sexier? Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli of Dream Scenario fame, this one is about a newly engaged couple whose relationship experiences turmoil after one of them discovers a shocking secret about the other.
I LOVE BOOSTERS
New look at Keke Palmer in Boots Riley's I Love Boosters 👀 The film will open SXSW Fest 2026.
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd.social) December 4, 2025 at 4:07 PM
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Boots Riley made one hell of a cinematic debut with Sorry to Bother You, a wild, surreal, and fiercely anti-capitalist black comedy about corporate hell and racism. For his follow-up, which has been described as a sci-fi comedy, he's pulled together one hell of a cast: Demi Moore, Keke Palmer, LaKeith Stanfield, Eiza González, Don Cheadle, and Will Poulter! Palmer, Naomi Ackie, and Taylour Paige play a group of shoplifters who target a cutthroat fashion queen.
THE ODYSSEY
The first trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is here 👀 In theaters July 17, 2026
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd.social) December 22, 2025 at 2:11 PM
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So, have you heard of this story called The Odyssey? It's been around for a while, apparently. Christopher Nolan has never been one to shy away from a large-scale project, and for his post-Oppenheimer and Oscar win victory lap, he's decided to take on one of the foundational texts of Western civilisation. Fittingly, the cast is also epic: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, and John Leguizamo, to name but a handful. Stunningly, several IMAX screenings for this one are sold out months in advance.
COYOTE VS. ACME
Enjoy your retirement John Cena! See you in theaters in August for Coyote Vs Acme! (Note: this post is more advertising for the film than John ever did! Prove us wrong Cena!)
— That's Not Quite All Folks: A Looney Tunes Podcast (@thatlooney.bsky.social) December 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
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Suck it, Zaslav! You can't delete everything! After a long and embarrassing farce wherein Warner Bros. threatened to Batgirl another movie out of existence for a tax write-off, Ketchup Entertainment swept in to save the day. Wile E. Coyote decides to sue the ACME Corporation after every single one of their products failed in his plans to capture the Roadrunner, and he's hired Will Forte to help him win the case. Honestly, I wasn't hugely interested in this one until Warner Bros. tried to delete it. Now, I'm there on opening day.
NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW
Mark Ronson is officially set to reunite with Greta Gerwig to score her 'NARNIA' film for Netflix. He previously worked on Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night" and "I'm Just Ken" performed by Ryan Gosling for the 'Barbie' soundtrack. (Source:
— Film Updates (@thefilmupdates.bsky.social) September 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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Following the mega-success of Barbie, Greta Gerwig was basically given carte blanche to do whatever the hell she wanted. And what she wanted was the chance to reboot The Chronicles of Narnia. Unlike previous adaptations, such as the Disney series, Gerwig isn't skipping straight to The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. We're getting The Magician's Nephew, finally. The cast includes Emma 'Ella McCay' Mackey as the White Witch, and Daniel Craig in an undisclosed role.
DUNE: PART 3
Timothée Chalamet confirms there will be a 15-20 year time jump for 'DUNE: PART 3' "There's supposed to be a character shift. I'm playing 15, 20 years older." (Source: @thegnshow.bsky.social)
— DiscussingFilm (@discussingfilm.net) December 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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They're not calling it Dune: Messiah, sadly. Big mistake, in my opinion. After pulling off the seemingly impossible by adapting Frank Herbert's sci-fi magnum opus, Denis Villeneuve is moving onto the sequel, where things get even weirder. Paul Atreides is the Emperor and messiah-esque head of a feverish cult following committing a holy war across the galaxy in his name. He's having regrets about the whole genocide thing, and his visions of the future don't look any brighter. Joining this cast this time around is Robert Pattinson, because he's not in enough movies in 2026, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides.
WERWULF
First look at Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the werewolf in Robert Eggers' 'WERWULF'. #Werwulf #AaronTaylorJohnson #RobertEggers
— Every Film Now (@everyfilmnow.bsky.social) November 23, 2025 at 9:25 AM
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Robert Eggers made his vampire movie and now it's time for the werewolf one. Those are the rules. Yes, he is obliged to give us a mummy film at some point too. Werwulf sees him go Medieval, as a mysterious creature stalks a small English town where paranoia and folklore have left the residents, including a very hair Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp, fearing for their lives. And yes, Willem Dafoe is in there too. Again, it's the law.
DIGGER
We've been waiting for Tom Cruise to do something new for a while. Being the invincible action man of the Mission: Impossible franchise made him beloved once more following some Xenu issues, but now it's time to get weird. Alejandro G. Iñárritu certainly likes works of grandeur and ego (amazing craftsman but his movies do nothing for me), and he's an intriguing directorial choice for Cruise in this new era. But what is Digger actually about? IMDb says, 'The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything.' The teaser features Cruise in silhouette dancing with a shovel. You know what? We're in.
MOTHER MARY
Mother has arrived! That's Anne Hathaway we're talking about, playing a diva pop singer in David Lowery's psychological drama that pairs her up with Michaela Coel's fashion designer. This feels like the kind of movie designed to be shared on Film Twitter and Letterboxd profiles, and I mean that as a compliment. The cast also includes Hunter Schaefer, FKA Twigs, and Alba Baptista.
BUCKING FASTARD
First look at Rooney and Kate Mara in Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard. BUCKING FASTARD is about two sisters who are so close to each other that they speak in unison, love the same man, and have the same dreams.
— cinemaland (@cinemaland.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 2:36 PM
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Is this the best title of 2026? The one and only Werner Herzog is at the helm, telling a true story he's been obsessed with for years. Sisters Kate and Rooney Mara play Irish twins who do everything in unison: move, talk, think, and obsess over a hot local man played by Orlando Bloom. It all sounds suitably Herzog-esque. No news on the presence of Baby Yoda, however.
AMARGA NAVIDAD
Teaser póster de 'Amarga Navidad', un film de Almodóvar www.elseptimoarte.net/noticias/act...
— El Séptimo Arte (@el7arte.bsky.social) December 17, 2025 at 12:28 PM
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A new Almodovar film? Maybe the future isn't so bleak. My all-time favourite filmmaker's latest, titled Bitter Christmas in English, stars Bárbara Lennie as a woman grieving the death of her mother while on holiday in Lanzarote. Expect melodrama, striking women, and Rossy de Palma.
DISCLOSURE DAY
Stephen Spielberg's back, baby! The king of the blockbuster is returning to reclaim his crown with an original sci-fi epic starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Colman Domingo. Its enigmatic ad campaign led to one hell of a trailer and title reveal, and we couldn't be more hyped. Said trailer didn't give away a lot, but suggested we're getting an alien invasion-slash-first contact flick. Hey, that worked out well for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA
I can't wait to go die at camp miasma
— siobhan (@junkblader.bsky.social) June 15, 2025 at 12:05 AM
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Okay, maybe this one has the best title of 2026. Jane Schoenburn has made a major impact on indie horror with their films We're All Going to the World's Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, which blended the classic genre tropes with internet culture, queer elements, and a fascinating subversion of nostalgia. With their next movie, they've got their biggest stars yet, thanks to Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson! The movie follows a queer filmmaker hired to direct the next instalment in a long-running slasher franchise who is determined to cast the reclusive actress who played the final girl in the original movie. Cue psychosexual mania. Hell yes!
