Just like every year that has come before it, there are a plethora of new releases that are slated for release in 2026 that I am eagerly anticipating. From last year's list, I'm still waiting on releases for Pen-ek Ratanaruang's “Morte Cucina”, and Pedro Almodovar's “Bitter Christmas”, so obviously these are still hugely anticipated and should be considered an extension of the below list (but I do not like including the same titles for multiple years). It appears that I am going to get a heavy dose of childhood nostalgia in 2026, with the release of the new “Masters of the Universe” film and Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson bio-pic “Michael” both being released during the year, which will be exciting as both define my adolescence in huge ways. Besides the titles below that I am shining a spotlight on, 2026 will see a number of new and exciting films from talented directors, the likes of Steven Soderbergh (“The Christophers”), Sam Raimi (“Send Help”), David Michod (“Wizards!”), Karim Aïnouz (“Rosebush Pruning ”), Luca Guadgnino (“Artificial”), M. Night Shyamalan (“Remain”), Alejandro G. Inarritu (“Digger”), Danny Boyle (“Ink”), James Gray (“Paper Tiger”), Steven Spielberg (“Disclosure Day”), Christopher Nolan (“The Odyssey”), Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Three”), Hirokazu Koreeda (“Sheep in the Box” and “Look Back”), Kristoffer Borgli (“The Drama”), David Robert Mitchell (“Flowervale Street”), Na Hong-jin (“Hope”), Ridley Scott (“The Dog Stars”), Kantemir Balagov (“Butterfly Jam”), David Lowery (“Mother Mary”), Emerald Fennell (“Wuthering Heights”), Bertrand Mandico (“Roma Elastica”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“All of A Sudden”), Travis Knight (“Wildwood”), Greta Gerwig (“Narnia: The Magician's Nephew”), Jeremy Saulnier (“October”), Justin Kurzel (“Burning Rainbow Farm”), Robert Zemeckis (“The Last Mrs. Parrish”), Adam Wingard (“Onslaught”), Lee Chang-dong (“Possible Love”) and maybe, just maybe, we will finally see Terrence Malick's latest (“The Way of the Wind”). All of the above I am looking forward to, but the below twelve films are my most anticipated films of 2026:
Sometimes you just have a feeling about a film, and can't really explain why, and this certainly seems to be the case with “I'll Forget Your Name”, which is the brand new film from cult French film director Yann Gonzalez. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Gonzalez's previous film, “Knife + Heart”, which was a pseudo giallo/slasher set in the world of gay porn, although I was a massive fan of the style of that film, which was just uber-stylish. Gonzalez has reunited with both his star, Vanessa Paradis, and his cinematographer, Simon Beaufils, for this new movie and has shot the feature on 35mm film, so it already has a lot going for it, but I have a feeling that this could be anything; a huge amount of fun, or utter tripe, but I think it will be good one. The plot of the film is about “an instructor in a small village whose nightly cruising encounters take a darker turn when she falls for a young man who soon vanishes, sending her down a mysterious, nightmarish path.”
This is the brand new film from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu who I am a big fan of, and have enjoyed all of his previous films. His films are often thematically complex, and dramatically rich without the need for histrionics. What is interesting about “Fjord” is that it is actually set in Norway and will be spoken in a mixture of Norwegian and Romanian. Mungiu has assembled huge international talent for his leads with Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan playing a married couple in the film. Stan was actually born in Romania and has been very outspoken about how excited he is to have been cast in this film and to actually get to speak Romanian. The production company of “Fjord” describes the feature like so: “Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu, a Romanian-Norwegian Pentecostal couple, move with their five children from Romania to Norway after Mihai's parents die, seeking closeness to Lisbet's family, who share their faith. Settling in an isolated coastal village, they form a bond with their neighbours, the Halbergs. When their daughter Elia appears at school with bruises, suspicions arise about the family's strict religious upbringing. Fjord explores clashing worldviews, conformity, tolerance, and the boundaries of freedom and intimacy.” Mungiu is also reuniting with his “R.M.N” cinematographer Tudor Vladimir Panduru for “Fjord” which is exciting to hear as well.
Director Andrew Haigh's previous film “All Of Us Strangers” was an absolute sublime piece of cinema that I adored every second of. It devastated me so much, that I named the film my favourite film of 2024, so it was a given that whatever Haigh was to make next, I would anticipate the hell out of it, and that has turned out to be “A Long Winter”. Not a huge lot is known about the film but after some digging I have found a brief plot synopsis: “An alcoholic mother ventures for a long walk with her dog after a quarrel at home with her husband; a sudden snowstorm leads to a frantic search that rocks the community.” If Haigh can make the film anywhere close to the quality of his previous film, “A Long Winter” will be very special indeed.
This is the brand new film from Robert Eggers and as the title may suggest, it is a horror film involving a werewolf. Being an Eggers film, it is obviously also a period film, and the director has stated that this is the darkest story he has ever written, which he co-wrote with Sjon (the pair also wrote Eggers' viking epic “The Northman” together). The imdb describes the film like so: “In medieval Britain, a mysterious creature stalks the foggy countryside, transforming local folklore into terrifying reality as villagers face an ancient supernatural threat.” Eggers has almost assembled the exact same cast he had on “Nosferatu”, with Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, and Ralph Ineson all onboard again. Expect exacting history and period detail, complete with a crushing sense of unbearable dread.
“Bucking Fastard” is the brand new film from German filmmaker Werner Herzog, and it is something of a passion project in that he has been trying to get this story made into a film for decades. In the twilight of his career, he has found success, and hopefully the passion he has for the story will end up showing through in the final product. The film is based on a true story about two identical sisters who found tabloid notoriety as the “sex crazed twins” after they had a restraining order put on them by a man they both became involved with. The brilliant title is a reference to an actual slip of the tongue both sisters made in court in unison. Herzog has cast real life sisters Rooney and Kate Mara as his twins, Joan and Jean Holbrooke, for his film. This sounds batshit crazy, and I can't wait to see what Herzog does with it!
I was a little slow on the uptake at realising just how brilliant director Jane Schoenbrun's “I Saw The TV Glow” actually was, but the film revealed itself to me on my second viewing, and now I cannot wait for their follow up film, “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”. First of all, that is such a cool title that will stand out amongst all the generic sounding titles we hear nowadays. The plot of the film is described as so: “Intent on casting the “final girl” from the original film in her latest instalment of a longstanding slasher series, a queer filmmaker descends along with her subject into a visceral, psychosexual odyssey.” Whilst I am sure the film will honour and bow down to the great summer camp slashers of the 1980's, you can bet your bottom dollar that this film will morph into something else entirely by the time the final credits roll. I'm also imaging surreal, psychedelic images being intertwined with the usual slasher aesthetics. “X-Files” alum Gillian Anderson has a role in the film, although what exactly it is has remained secret.
This is the brand new film from Martin McDonagh, whose previous film was the seriously brilliant “The Banshees of Inisherin”. In fact, all of McDonagh's films have been outstanding, and so anticipation is always high with me whenever he has a new film coming out. McDonagh has the ability to make you laugh at things that you just shouldn't be laughing at, such is his mastery of black comedy. Interestingly, “Wild Horse Nine” is not listed as a comedy on imdb, but rather a spy drama/thriller, which describes the film like so: “CIA agents Chris and Lee face a trust-testing mission from Santiago to Easter Island during 1973 Chile.” McDonagh has got quite the cast for the film too with Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey and John Malkovich all along for the ride. Even though this has been pitched as a drama/thriller, you can almost guarantee that there will be some very dark comedy included in “Wild Horse Nine”.
Stop me if you have heard this one before, but I am a massive fan of director Osgood Perkins......still with me?.......and “The Young People” is his latest film. Very little is known about the “The Young People”, in fact right now as I am writing this was the first time I had seen a brief plot synopsis for the film which imdb states like so: “Two school friends drift apart as one starts exhibiting disturbing behaviour, turning their relationship sinister.” Perkins has assembled quite the cast for his new film with none other than Nicole Kidman having a role in the film, which will be huge in making this film visible to the world. Tatiana Maslany returns for her third consecutive Osgood Perkins film, while Johnny Knoxville, Lola Tung, and Heather Graham also have roles in the project too. The cast member that I am most excited about though is Lily Collias, who was sensational in “Good One” (and “Roofman”), and I really hope her role is substantial and she soon becomes the star she deserves to be. I have so much trust in Osgood Perkins; I am on his wavelength entirely, and for mine, he has yet to make a bad feature, and I am sure “The Young People” will continue his streak.
It has been ten whole years since Nicolas Winding Refn has made a feature film, which was the underrated horror film “The Neon Demon”. 2026 finally sees him back behind the director's chair making cinema once more after spending the past decade making his television series “Too Old to Die Young” and “Copenhagen Cowboy”. His latest film, “Her Private Hell”, is shrouded in secrecy but NWR promises “an edgy, hypnotic and unhinged thriller based on an original story that promises "lots of glitter, sex, and violence."”....Yep, that sounds exactly like a Nicolas Winding Refn film! Lets hope it is more like “The Neon Demon” than “Only God Forgives”, but one thing will be certain; it will be very colourful and very shiny, and anything-but-subtle. I cannot wait!
This project is so insane that originally when it was announced I thought it was a prank or an in-joke or something. Cliff Booth is Brad Pitt's stuntman character from Quentin Tarantino's “Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood”, and as the title suggests, this new film showcases further adventures of this entertaining character. Brad Pitt once again fills the role of Cliff Booth, but the craziest thing is that David Fincher signed on to direct this movie. I thought this had to be a joke; Fincher involved in the world Quentin Tarantino created. The only thing more crazy would be if Tarantino himself was somehow involved too. What's that? Tarantino wrote the script for “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”?? This is a cinematic team-up for the ages, and I honestly cannot wait for this film. It is well known that whenever Pitt and Fincher team up, cinematic gold is the result (I like to live in a world where the “Benjamin Button” disaster doesn't exist), but to have Tarantino writing his first script for a film not directed by himself for the first time since 1996's “From Dusk Till Dawn”, this is very, very exciting! The only thing putting any kind of dampener on the whole thing is that unfortunately Netflix is behind the feature, so the cinema release will be minor. Still that was also the case for Fincher's “The Killer”, and that film turned out sensationally. I honestly cannot see “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” being anything other than amazing.
It has been a long time coming, but director Joel Coen is finally bringing out a new feature film after 2021's “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. Since that film, his brother Ethan has released two quirky comedies, “Drive Away Dolls” and “Honey Don't”, but Joel has remained silent. That all changes this year when he unleashes onto the world “Jack of Spades”, which is described as a Gothic mystery that unfolds in the remote fog of 1880's Scotland, and that is all that is known about the film. Coen re-teams with his wife Frances McDormand once again, with Josh O'Connor (who seems to be in everything these days) also having a prominent role too. Bruno Delbonnel shot the film (he also shot Joel's “The Tragedy of Macbeth”), while as usual Carter Burwell is supplying the musical score. Whilst Ethan Coen's solo efforts have been a little questionable at times, my faith in Joel remains strong until he proves me wrong, which is why “Jack of Spades” is so high on my most anticipated film list.
This is the brand new film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who recently stated that he would no longer be making films in his homeland until there is a change in the regime. With the current state of Iran, and the constant persecution of artists who happen to speak out against the regime through their art, this is totally understandable, but also a massive loss, as Farhadi was a genius at creating social stories about Iran that gave outsiders to the country an understanding of it. His 2011 film, “A Separation”, I still consider one of the very best films that has come out, from anyone, in this new century, and is one of my rare five star films. Still, I would rather be living in a world where Asghar Farhadi is making new films, and “Parallel Tales” sees him return to France to make a feature there for the first time since 2013, when he made “The Past” which I thought was another outstanding film. While very little is known about this new film, apparently it deals with the November 13 terrorist attacks that took place in Paris in 2015, with Farhadi weaving together a number of intricate storylines together amidst the chaos that took place after, that shook all of France. Farhadi has also enlisted the cream of French acting royalty for his latest film with Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert both listed in the cast, along with Vincent Cassel and Virginie Efira as well. I have a great feeling about “Parallel Tales” and think it will be an absolutely amazing film, which is why it is my most anticipated film of 2026.
Well, that is it. My enormous round up of the year that was 2025 is finally over. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it and got something out of it, but how about we go back to watching some new films now?
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