10.” Disclosure Day”
Steven Spielberg returns to science fiction for the first time in decades with an untitled UFO movie written by longtime collaborator David Koepp. Produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, the ensemble includes Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell. Described as a “vast spectacle” anchored in “honest human emotion,” the film reunites Spielberg and Koepp for their first collaboration since “War of the Worlds.” Marking Spielberg’s return to the genre that defined much of his early career, the film promises awe and intimacy in equal measure.
Release Date: June 12, via Universal Pictures.
9. “The Bride!”
Maggie Gyllenhaal writes, directs, and produces “The Bride!”, a bold reimagining of the 1935 “Bride of Frankenstein” horror classic set in 1930s Chicago. The ensemble includes Jessie Buckley as the newly created Bride, Christian Bale as the monster, and a cast of notable actors, including Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Julianne Hough, John Magaro, and Jeannie Berlin. In this version, a brilliant scientist and his monstrous creation give life to a murdered woman as “the Bride,” sparking romance, police scrutiny, and radical social upheaval. Shot by Lawrence Sher and scored by Hildur Guðnadóttir (both from the “Joker” movies), the film promises Gyllenhaal’s most ambitious work yet.
Release Date: March 6, via Warner Bros. Pictures.
8. “Behemoth!”
Following his acclaimed pivot into the “Star Wars” universe, with “Andor,” Tony Gilroy writes and directs “Behemoth!” an upcoming drama for Searchlight Pictures starring Pedro Pascal, David Harbour, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, and Matthew Lillard. Produced by Tony Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, and John Gilroy, with cinematography by Damián García, the film has been described as a character-driven piece about a musician and film composer from a family of musicians who returns to Los Angeles after several years in self-imposed exile. Initially developed with Oscar Isaac attached, the project shifted to Pascal in 2025, with additional cast members including Alexa Swinton and Margarita Levieva. With Gilroy back in writer-director mode and Searchlight behind him, “Behemoth!” is positioned as a nervy, performance-forward drama rather than a spectacle play.
Release Date: TBD via Searchlight Pictures.
7. “The Drama”
A24 continues its collaboration with Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli (“Dream Scenario”) on “The Drama,” a dark Hollywood satire starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, and Hailey Gates. Written and directed by Borgli, the film centers on a couple’s relationship, which is deeply shaken, just days before their wedding, when one partner discovers unsettling truths about the other. Benjamin Loeb reunites as cinematographer after “Sick of Myself,” shaping a surreal, hyper-real visual language. Produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, the project continues A24’s fascination with identity and media distortion, pairing Zendaya’s sharp, dramatic instincts with Pattinson’s controlled volatility.
Release Date: April 3, 2026, via A24.
6. “Paper Tiger”
James Gray returns to his roots with “Paper Tiger,” a bruising crime drama about two brothers chasing the American Dream and colliding with the Russian mafia. Shot in New Jersey, the film stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, a trio that suggests Gray’s trademark mix of bruised masculinity and moral ruin. Produced by Leone Film Group and RT Features, “Paper Tiger” reunites the filmmaker with the American underworld he explored in “We Own the Night” and “The Yards” and reunites him with cinematographer Joaquín Baca-Asay (“Two Lovers”). After the introspective elegance of “Armageddon Time,” this marks a return to grit, danger, and fatalism—a story of loyalty, desperation, and the ghosts that follow every pursuit of success.
Release Date: TBD, but Gray is always a mainstay at Cannes.
5. “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”
Nobody expected Quentin Tarantino to hand the keys to Cliff Booth’s universe to David Fincher, yet here we are: Brad Pitt slipping back into the role with a $200-million Netflix epic that instantly became one of the year’s most shocking announcements. The film takes place in 1977, eight years after the events of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which was set in 1969. Presumably, given Leonardo DiCaprio’s absence, he’s no longer a stuntman/gopher for the actor Rick Dalton. The ensemble is stacked: Scott Caan, Elizabeth Debicki, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, Holt McCallany, JB Tadena, and Timothy Olyphant. With Fincher’s precision meeting Tarantino’s mythology, the project promises a darker, sleeker expansion of the world first carved out in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”
Release Date: 2026 via Netflix, but presumably closer to the end of the year. Venice?
4. “Dune: Part Three”
Director Denis Villeneuve concludes his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novels with “Dune: Part Three.” Returning cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler, joined by Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides. Villeneuve co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts, adapting Herbert’s “Dune Messiah.” Oscar-winning “La La Land” DP Linus Sandgren replaces Greig Fraser (busy with ‘Batman 2’) as cinematographer, and Hans Zimmer provides the score. Produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, the film closes Villeneuve’s trilogy, examining power, prophecy, and destiny within Herbert’s universe.
Release Date: December 18, 2026, via Warner Bros. Pictures.
3. “Digger”
With the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise seemingly coming to an end, at least for its star, Tom Cruise is looking to a different future. Having mostly severed ties with Paramount, the star has steered towards the slightly more auteur-friendly Warner Bros. and its leadership under Mike DeLuca, the producer behind one of Cruise’s last great dramatic roles in “Magnolia.” Cruise, wanting to do something drastically different, lands in the hands of five-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu. A black comedy drama, Cruise stars as a man who sees himself as the world’s savior, trying to stop the catastrophic events he set into motion. Co-stars include Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, and Riz Ahmed.
Release Date: October 2, 2026 via Warner Bros.
2. “Werwulf”
Focus Features teams again with Robert Eggers for “Werwulf,” a 19th-century horror drama starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, and Lily-Rose Depp. Co-written by Eggers and Max Eggers, the film apparently blends folkloric realism and primal terror, tracing a secluded village haunted by an ancient curse. Shot on location in Eastern Europe with Oscar-nominated DP Jarin Blaschke behind the camera, it continues Eggers’s commitment to period detail, archaic language, and immersive atmosphere.
Release Date: 2026 via Focus Features.
1. “The Odyssey”
Christopher Nolan follows his Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” with “The Odyssey,” an ambitious reimagining of Homer’s epic through a modern, psychological lens that seems as brutal, suspenseful and tension-filled as all his urgent work. The ensemble includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal, among others. Produced by Emma Thomas through Syncopy and Universal Pictures, the film was shot on IMAX 70mm across multiple continents, with Ludwig Göransson returning to compose the score. Merging myth and science, Nolan explores exile, memory, and the human drive to return home—an odyssey that is both of the soul and the screen.
Release Date: July 17, via Universal Pictures.
That’s not even it! As per usual, on the next page, a very robust honorable mention section, plus some fun teases for 2027.
