My Most Anticipated Films of 2026

I may have forgotten to do my Golden Globe predictions this year because life’s currently crazy for me, but I’m still doing my anticipated films list. And since I’m still a Film Independent member who has films to watch for voting, I’m going to release this list before announcing my favorite films of last year. As always, these aren’t necessarily the ones I’m looking forward to seeing myself (that somewhat applies to number one this year), but includes ones I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews about.

35) Young Washington - I’ve been really curious to see the reception of this ever since I heard about this. Normally, I’d be interested in a film about George Washington’s life, but with the production companies involved, I don’t have high hopes, as I can’t help but feel it’ll offer an inaccurate portrayal of history. I could be wrong, so I’ll have to wait and see.

34) Masters of the Universe - I know very little about this franchise and everything I do know makes me not only wonder how this is a thing but also how in the world they’ll adapt this to live action and not come off as very campy.

33) You, Me & Tuscany - We don’t get enough classic rom-coms anymore, and this feels like a premise from a different era. I loved Halle Bailey’s performance in The Little Mermaid and am happy to see her in another leading role. I’m really curious to see how this is received.

32) Reminders of Him - I’ve yet to read a Colleen Hoover book or see an adaptation of her work, but she seems to have come out of nowhere. Her adaptations have also received a variety of reactions. As such, I am curious how this one will be received. I’m also curious what in the world the protagonist did to wind up in prison.

31) Werwulf - I’ve yet to see Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, though I really want to, and his unique approach to horror automatically makes me curious what his approach to werewolf mythology will be. I’m guessing this will get a lot of buzz later in the year.

30) The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender - I’ve never seen any of Avatar: The Last Airbender, though I know a lot about it and I know how badly it’s been butchered in live action. As a result, I’m naturally curious to see how this one will be received. Hopefully, being released on streaming instead of theatrically isn’t a bad sign.

29) Ready or Not 2: Here I Come - I have not seen the first film but I’ve seen videos about it and thought it seemed to be a fun horror film for those who are fans of that genre (of which I am not). I especially thought that last line was funny. However, I was shocked to find out that they were doing a sequel. I’m curious to see how this one will turn out, thought at least it has the original creators returning. Elijah Wood seems like a fun choice as a villain.

28) Lee Cronin’s The Mummy - I haven’t seen any versions of The Mummy yet, but am naturally curious how this one will be received. It’s got to be better than the 2017 version. Maybe this will get me to watch one of the past versions.

27) Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die - I was immediately intrigued by the title of this movie. Then I heard the premise and became even more intrigued. The fact that it’s directed by Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski also peaks my interest (serious, where has he been all this time?). It looks like a fun time travel story with a relevant narrative about artificial intelligence. The trailer makes it appear to be fun, surreal, and a total blast. Hopefully, it lives up to the hype.

26) Michael - I have never been a big fan of Michael Jackson. My dad has always been of the opinion he only got famous because he had a great producer, though I personally think “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parodies of his songs are better produced. I find it interesting that Michael will be portrayed by his own nephew and while they say the film will address the many controversies of Michael’s life, I have my doubts, but we’ll have to wait and see.

25) Moana - I actually wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Moana. I liked it okay, but didn’t love it the same way most did. I’m also of the opinion that a live action remake is completely unnecessary and way too recent since it’ll be released just under ten years since the last one. I’m mostly concerned that like the sequel, it’ll make a lot of money and just encourage Disney to make more of these. I was really hoping they’d cancel Tangled’s adaptation.

24) Disclosure Day - The teaser for this upcoming Steven Spielberg movie is certainly intriguing. I find it interesting that Spielberg is going back to the subject of alien encounters. The trailer makes the plot seem somewhat mysterious, but I’m curious to see how this turns out.

23) The Cat in the Hat - I’ve never been the biggest fan of the book and I’m not sure about the animation style of this film (it looks incomplete in some shots even though it seems deliberate). However, I am curious how this will be received. I do appreciate the kids immediately say “Stranger danger” in the trailer, fixing one of the biggest issues of the original source material. Either way, it can’t be any worse than the live action version that I’ll never sit down to watch.

22) Mercy - The fact that this film is being released in January has me nervous, because this seems like a great sci-fi dystopian premise. It reminds me a bit of Minority Report, which I still need to see. It seems like an intense real-time thriller with some potential twists. I really hope this turns out good because I definitely want to check this out either in theaters or from the library.

21) The Bride! - This seems like a fun take on the Bride of Frankenstein. The trailer looks bonkers and Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster seems like perfect casting. I’m really curious to see how this turns out. I just hope the delay from late 2025 isn’t a bad sign.

20) The Social Reckoning - There have been talks for awhile that this was happening, and now it’s a reality. I find it interesting that this has an entirely different cast, especially considering it’s been fifteen years since the first one, so the actors could have naturally aged. I didn’t see the first one until relatively recently, which is why this is not as high on the list, but agree that it was very well done. With all that’s happened since then and all that there’s to explore, this will definitely be a movie to watch out for.

19) Coyote vs. Acme - I’m so glad that this film got saved by Ketchup Entertainment since this idea is too brilliant to not allow the world to see. It’s the type of premise that Looney Tunes seems to have been building up to for years. I’m probably going to see this in theaters just to support this Hollywood miracle.

18) Wuthering Heights - My exposure to the story of Wuthering Heights is only from the 1939 film, and I wasn’t that impressed with the story. That said, having some familiarity, the first teaser really confused me, as it didn’t seem to fully resemble the story. The second trailer seems more on track to retell the plot of the novel. Still, with cast being older than the characters of the novel and a spring release for a director who’s previously had award season autumn releases, I’m curious to see how this turns out.

17) Sense and Sensibility - I’m a big Jane Austen fan and I really like the 1995 film, so I am curious about how this adaptation will pan out. The cast seems decent. I just hope this includes the scene where Willoughby talks to Elinor while Marianne is sick, which was not included in the Oscar-winning version.

16) Hexed - There’s not much information on this one right now, but it’s a Disney Animated fantasy, so that makes me interested. Let’s just hope it’s more on the level of Zootopia 2 rather than most of its recent releases.

15) Violent Night 2 - I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first Violent Night, finding it a lot of fun despite its rather gory action toward the end. I doubt I’ll see this one in theaters, but I’ll definitely check it out from the library some day, especially if it gets good reviews.

14) Toy Story 5 - I have an unusual history with the Toy Story franchise, especially the sequels. I saw the beginning of Toy Story 2 up until Woody’s kidnaping numerous times before I finally saw the whole thing, being too scared of it at the time, and now it’s my favorite in the franchise. I only saw the third one in theaters because it was Father’s Day and found it too dark upon first watch (I still think it’s rather dark, but I’ve grown to like it more than I did initially). The fourth one doesn’t exist in my mind. I’m much happier if I live in denial of its existence. I suppose the franchise can only go up from here. Honestly, this one seems to have the premise the fourth one should have had, though this also also very similar to Toy Story That Time Forgot from what I recall. The shot of Woody and Buzz together in Bonny’s room is the only thing that gives me hope for this one. As long as this retcons the ending of the last film, only then will I go see this in theaters. If not, it’ll be only the third Pixar film since 2003 that I haven’t seen in theaters (and no, the other two aren’t films released during covid).

13) The Odyssey - I have mixed feelings when it comes to Christopher Nolan. I’ve loved some of his work (Inception, Tenet) while was disappointed by others (Interstellar, the Dark Knight trilogy). As such, I’m certainly curious about Nolan’s next film, though not nearly as hyped as others are. I am still curious about this and hope it turns out well. In terms of adaptations of Homer’s Odyssey that I’ve seen, it has only O Brother, Where Art Thou? to beat.

12) The Mandalorian and Grogu - I’m still in the middle of season 2 of The Mandalorian, so I have some catching up to do before May. I’ve enjoyed the series so far, so I’d like to see the film, though I hope its pacing isn’t so slow that it drags in feature length.

11) Project Hail Mary - I really enjoyed the movie The Martian and am automatically stoked to see another adaptation of Andy Weir’s work, especially since it seems to have a similar vibe. The fact that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are directing also has me excited. As a sci-fi fan, I really hope this turns out well.

10) Hoppers - I’m a massive Pixar fan so I’m excited to see any new film they release (for the most part, see #14 on this list). I wasn’t sure from the teaser about this one, but the first full trailer seems to offer a more interesting take on the animals-fight-back storyline. Hopefully, this is one of the better original films from the studio in the last few years.

9) Supergirl - I really enjoyed the Supergirl TV show and I found Milly Alcock’s cameo in Superman to present a very different take on the character. However, I really enjoyed last year’s introduction to this DC universe, so I’m naturally excited for this one. I’m also glad that Krypto is in this one as well.

8) The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - As someone who’s pretty much only played Mario Kart in this video game franchise, I really enjoyed The Super Mario Bros. Movie, even if it was very simplistic. Hopefully, this expands the characters in addition to the lore. Also, while Princess Rosalina is in this (who I know nothing about), my question is where is Princess Daisy? We’ve already got one blonde girl. We need the brunette represented. Also, I want to see a first look at Yoshi already after that post-credits tease.

7) Minions 3 - While I liked the first Minions alright (it kind of lost me at the “King Bob” portion), I really enjoyed The Rise of Gru. I hope this one is more along the lines of the sequel, just being a lot of fun with some good laughs. I have no idea what this is about, but I’ll probably go see it.

6) Dune: Part Three - I enjoyed the first two Dune movies, appreciating its cinematic elements such as direction, cinematography and score, but I couldn’t get into the story, at least not enough to buy the DVDs. I will still go out to see this one, probably in theaters. From what I’ve heard of what happens in the book, Dune: Messiah, I’m really curious what will happen in this next one. But why does this one have to release in December? I probably will wait until early 2027 to see this one, which might be the case for the next film on this list as well.

5) Avengers: Doomsday - Marvel post-Endgame has been very mixed and honestly, because some of it is through television shows, I’m still not fully caught up on everything. Still, I can’t help but be naturally hyped for this. I do wonder why in the world Steve Rogers is coming back, considering his story ended on the perfect note in another timeline. And why does this have to be released during the Christmas season? That’s going to make rewatches leading to the release more difficult.

4) The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping - I really enjoyed the book, though I will say that this one is possibly the most depressing in the entire series. The book has great connections to the original trilogy, making those books and movies all the more satisfying. The cast seems fantastic and the teaser looked good. I’m especially interested to see what they may add outside of Haymitch’s perspective, similar to the other films. I’m especially excited to see Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson to return for the epilogue. Hopefully it’s a good adaptation of the novel.

3) Spider-Man: Brand New Day - I’m glad there’s been a gap between this and No Way Home, as it had a great ending to the Spider-Man: Home trilogy, and the only MCU trilogy with a real ending (see my other blog post about this). That being said, I’ve always wanted to know what happened next, especially with what’s going to happen with his relationship with MJ and Ned. Just please don’t turn Ned into a supervillian like in the comics!

2) Untitled Jumanji Sequel - I absolutely loved Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level and I’m annoyed that we’ve had to wait this long for a follow-up, especially with that cliffhanger that seems to put the franchise in a different direction. It’s also annoying that this was delayed for the mediocre Red One. I hope that this one is as good as the other two and isn’t too repetitive.

1) Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew - Anyone who knows me personally or has been paying attention to this blog will not be surprised that this is number one on my list. I am a big The Chronicles of Narnia fan after all, and possibly one of the biggest fans of the movies out there. However, unlike pretty much unlike every other year I’ve done this list, this is probably the only time in which I don’t really care about the movie that takes the top spot. It’s a reboot, which means it won’t be my Narnia, which is the world of the Walden films. But since I’ve been following the news of the making of the film, which currently feels like watching a train wreck in slow motion, that automatically makes it the most anticipated for me by default. I’m honestly not sure if I’ll pay to see this in theaters. Probably, though if the Meryl Streep rumors are true, than maybe not. Like all Narniawebbers and Narnia fans, though, I’ll just have to wait and see and tune into Narniaweb.com (which I hopefully will start making a documentary about this year, we’ll see) and get all the updates.