The Most Anticipated Films to Watch in 2026
- BY SHER OMAR
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
The film gods - Christopher Nolan, Emerald Fennel, Dennis Villenue, Robert Eggers, and Steven Spiulberg - have blessed us with a cinematic lineup so good, it’s bound to bring back going to the cinemas to watch movies. The formats for these films simply require you to watch it at the cinema, in IMAX, and get the full experience, sight and sound to truly take in the film for what it is meant to be. So, here are 20 exciting films to keep an eye out for in 2026!
1. THE ODYSSEY by Christopher Nolan
Who even told Christopher Nolan he was allowed to make such a historic film for Gen Z? This isn’t just another adaptation, it’s a mythic blockbuster with a star-studded ensemble that reads like a Hollywood dream team.
I’ve always had a total affinity for Greek mythology, whether I’m devouring it in dusty old books or watching it explode onto the screen. But let’s be honest, apart from Troy and Percy Jackson (oh yes, I said it), no retelling has ever fully blown my mind. Until now.
At the center of Nolan’s epic is Matt Damon as Odysseus, the wily king of Ithaca whose decade-long journey home after the Trojan War is nothing short of legendary. Supporting him is Tom Holland as Telemachus, his determined son searching for answers; Anne Hathaway as Penelope, the faithful wife fending off suitors in his long absence; and Charlize Theron as the enigmatic Circe, whose sorcery could either doom or aid him. Rounding out this A-list constellation are Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, and more! Each bringing their own gravity to Nolan’s vision.
This is the story of Odysseus, but it’s not just his. It’s Penelope holding down the fort. It’s a son stepping into mythic shoes. It’s gods, monsters, sirens, and storms rendered with Nolan’s signature nonlinear storytelling and jaw‑dropping IMAX visuals. And make no mistake: I know Daddy Nolan is going to bring down Olympus with it.
2. DUNE: PART THREE by Dennis Villenue
"May thy knife chip and shatter." That’s not just a warning, it’s a promise. The visionary, Denis Villeneuve’s, final galactic flex answers it in full, closing one of sci‑fi’s most insane epics for our era. This isn’t just a space movie, it’s the endgame of Paul Atreides’ journey, and with a cast this stacked, it’s basically Arrakis’ greatest hits.
Timothée Chalamet returns as Paul, Emperor and prophet, grappling with the weight of destiny, revenge, and a universe that refuses to bend. Zendaya’s Chani fights alongside him, fierce and unflinching. Florence Pugh’s- Irulan, Anya Taylor‑Joy’s Alia, Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho, and Nakoa-Wolf Momoa’s Leto II all collide in a storm of politics, prophecy, and war. It’s spice, betrayal, and power plays on a cosmic scale. Every frame threatens to chip and shatter your expectations.
Expect Dune: Part Three to hit like a sandstorm, delivering jaw‑dropping visuals, stakes that crush, and a finale worthy of the legend of Arrakis. The saga ends here, but the echoes of Paul’s empire, and that knife, will linger forever.
3. WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emerald Fennell
Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, and honestly, the chemistry between them is one of the coolest parts of the whole project. Robbie and Elordi have talked about how deeply connected they felt on set while filming in the English moors, capturing that primal, obsessive pull the story is known for, even beyond the scripted scenes.
The tale itself is classic Gothic romance, wild weather, wild hearts, and love that wrecks you more than it saves you. Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship is messy, intense, and uncomfortably magnetic, and so far, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s performances seem to reflect that electricity in a way that goes beyond words. I too would succumb to the natural charismatic ways of Jacob Elordi.
This version is shaping up to feel less like a dusty period piece and more like a visceral experience; a story about longing and obsession that’s just as haunting now as it was in Emily Brontë’s novel.
4. WERWULF by Robert Eggers
In 13th-century England, Werwulf drops you straight into a world on the edge, fog-choked woods, isolated villages, old legends slipping into terrifying reality as a mysterious creature stalks the countryside. It’s Robert Eggers’ next horror epic, co-written with Sjón, and already shaping up to be the darkest thing he’s ever written.
This isn’t Nosferatu’s universe, I double checked this because of Lily-Rose Depp, however, you’ll feel its shadow; same visionary behind that film’s unforgettable dread, now turning his gaze to werewolf lore with period-accurate language and obsessive detail that makes the past alive and eerie.
Lily-Rose Depp returns to Eggers’ fold in a role that’s wildly unrecognizable, muddy, broken, haunted, miles from the polished performances most people know her for, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads as the feared werwulf at the story’s heart. From the first shot of fog to the last beat of the score, werewolf promises imagery that’s both beautiful and unsettling, landscapes that feel alive, shadows that tremble on the edge of perception, and a world where every silence carries a whisper of dread.
5. DISCLOSURE DAY by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg (the greatest storyteller in cinema history) returns with Disclosure Day, a science-fiction event film built from his own original idea and co-written with longtime collaborator David Koepp. It’s the kind of movie only Spielberg could make, huge in scope but deeply human at heart, asking what would happen if the world suddenly had to face the fact we’re not alone in the universe.
Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, the story centers on a moment when contact with extraterrestrial life can no longer be denied and the truth falls into the hands of seven billion people, and everything changes.
Spielberg is back in the genre he helped define with classics like E.T., Close Encounters and War of the Worlds, blending wonder, heart, and cinematic spectacle in a way only he can. With John Williams scoring (of course) and Janusz Kamiński behind the camera, every frame feels like a reminder that Spielberg doesn’t just make movies… he creates experiences that stay with you long after the credits roll.
6. THE BRIDE! By Maggie Gyllenhaal
We’ve re-entered a period of storytelling where monsters aren’t just creatures of horror, they’re mirrors for the world we live in, and with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein reminding us how powerful that myth can be, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! swings the door wide open on a new chapter of that legend.
Set against the stylized grit of 1930s Chicago, The Bride! reimagines the classic Bride of Frankenstein tale with punk attitude and wild romance. A lonely Frankenstein’s monster, Christian Bale, travels to the city to enlist the brilliant (unsettling) Dr. Euphronious, Annette Bening, to build him a companion. Together they resurrect a murdered young woman and what emerges as The Bride, Jessie Buckley, is so much more than either expected: fierce, unpredictable, and soon at the heart of murder, possession, and a radical cultural movement.
This isn’t just a retread of the old monster movie; it’s a story about identity, love and rebellion, unpredictable, combustible, and electrified by Gyllenhaal’s fearless direction and Jessie Buckley’s unforgettable turn.
In the world of The Bride!, the past isn’t dusty; it’s alive, wild and asking us what it really means to be reborn.
7. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 by David Frankel
"Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking." The icon, Miranda Priestly’s words still echo, sharp and impossibly precise, a reminder of the world she commands. And as the first film taught us, power isn’t given, it’s curated, worn like armor, and sometimes demanded at the cost of everything else. Nearly two decades later, the towers of Runway still gleam…
Nearly two decades later, the towers of Runway still gleam, but the world that made them feels unrecognizable. Miranda Priestly, sharper than ever in her couture armor, finds herself navigating a world where print falters and digital storms rise, and the very empire she built teeters on change.
Andy Sachs has grown into her own voice, pulled back into the orbit of the fashion world she once fled, while old alliances shift and new ones are forged under glittering lights and sharper words. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a story about rediscovery, of power, of purpose, and of the places we thought we had left behind, told with the same sharp wit and relentless style that made the first film unforgettable.
8. THE DRAMA by Kristoffer Borgli
Just days before the day they’ve been dreaming of, Emma and Charlie seem to have it all, laughter between sips of coffee, whispered promises in rented‑bookstore corners, the easy way their hands find each other. But as their wedding week unfolds, something unseen begins to pull at the threads of their story.
Old comforts feel strange, familiar smiles don’t quite reach their eyes, and a quiet revelation, one neither of them was ready for, sends their future spinning into uncharted territory.
The Drama is a tender, unpredictable look at what we think we know about the ones we love, and what it takes to reckon with the truth, right before forever. Besides all that, who wouldn’t want to see these beautiful actors together on screen?
9. AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY by The Russo Borthers
Get ready, because Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be the cinematic event of the year! An all-out multiverse showdown where all of Marvel’s greatest heroes must finally unite. Scheduled for December 18, 2026, this fifth Avengers film throws together the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers and the original X-Men in a battle against one of the MCU’s most iconic villains: Doctor Doom.
Fourteen months after the events of Thunderbolts, the world, and reality itself, is on the brink as Doom’s power threatens to unravel everything the heroes have fought to protect. With returning legends like Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man, and more, this is the ultimate ensemble clash: a collision of teams, timelines, and destinies that’s been decades in the making.
Directed by the Russo Brothers and scoring high on spectacle, emotion, and stakes, Doomsday promises to stand alongside the MCU’s greatest chapters, a breathtaking, universe-shaking chapter that sets the stage for the even bigger showdown in Avengers: Secret Wars.
10. SPIDER-MAN BRAND NEW DAY: by by Destin Daniel Cretton
“With great power comes great responsibility.” We left Peter Parker tangled in grief, guilt, and the weight of choices that never seemed fair. The city never sleeps, and neither does the shadow of his past. But Brand New Day swings him forward, heart still bruised, hope still fragile, into a world where every web he spins matters, and every moment could change him forever…
The upcoming movie drags Peter from the shadows of his past into a city that demands he rise, stumble, and rise again. Enter Sadie Sink, radiant and effortlessly magnetic, whose presence shakes the foundations of Peter’s carefully guarded life, challenging him, grounding him, and reminding him that even heroes need someone to see them, truly.
Between high-flying battles, quick-witted banter, and moments that tug at the soul, this is a Spider-Man story about reckoning with yesterday, daring to embrace today, and facing tomorrow, with all its dazzling chaos, head-on.
Cinema has always been more than just a screen; it’s a portal into other worlds, a mirror reflecting our own, and a place where stories linger long after the lights come up. With visionaries like Nolan, Fennel, Villeneuve, Eggers, and Spielberg leading the charge, 2026 promises a year where film reminds us why we fell in love with it in the first place… why the thrill of seeing a story unfold in IMAX, feeling the rumble in your chest and the awe in your eyes, is unlike anything else. These films aren’t just releases; they’re events, experiences, and moments to share, to feel, to remember. So buckle up, grab your popcorn, and let the magic of the movies sweep you off your feet, because this year, cinema is calling us back to wonder.
