Lots has been made lately of the so-called creativity drought in Hollywood. That, critics say, explains the endless parade of sequels and remakes it pumps out each year over original content.
Corporate interests are to blame, they say. Wrist-tech-wearing fat cats in sky offices, making spreadsheets to understand what audiences “want.” The safety net of a franchise beats risk every time, Wall Street always trumps wonder.
Don’t take it from me, take it from Dune director Denis Villeneuve. “We’re in a very conservative time; creativity is restricted,” he told Time last year. “Everything’s about Wall Street. What will save cinema is freedom and taking risks. And you feel the audience is excited when they see something they haven’t seen before.”
Well, we can’t say 2026 will prove Villeneuve completely wrong, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t outliers; some serious cinematic content coming our way in the next 12 months.
From superheroes to Greek heroes to, well, Tommy Shelby, these are the five blockbuster movies we’re most looking forward to this year.
Avengers: Doomsday (December 18)
Another year goes by, another Marvel supermovie hits big screens. More capes, more quips, more protein-powdered actors squeezing into latex like coloured condoms full of walnuts. Like all Marvel golden eggs, there has been a fever of rumours, leaks and ??? about the movie’s content. And still, we know little. There has been a teaser, so we can bank that. The Russo brother dropped one on their Instagram page with a literal clock ticking. But apart from that, all we can do is watch the clock until December.
What’s it about?
See above. But the creators have told us it takes place 14 months after this year’s Thunderbolts ended, and the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and the “original” X-Men team up to face Doctor Doom.
Who’s in it?
The list is as long and distinguished as Superman’s… er, cape. It includes:
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
- Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
- Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man
- Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing
- Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
- Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy / Beast
- Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds / Sentry
- Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X
- Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
- Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
- Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique
- James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops
- Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau / Gambit
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
- Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom
The Odyssey (July 17)
I sometimes wonder if Christopher Nolan is a little like Gilgamesh, the ancient Mesopotamian king who, unsatisfied with all the power and glory he already had, set out on a quest to prove there were still limits left to break. For Cameron, what greater hero story to conquer than arguably the greatest of them all: Homer’s Odyssey.
What’s it about?
This might be the most anticipated of all in this, the year of 2026. Matt Damon stars as the wily king Odysseus, struggling home after the Trojan War, a decade-long voyage plagued by monsters, gods, and temptations that test his cunning, loyalty, and will to return.
Who is in it?
- Matt Damon as Odysseus – the legendary king of Ithaca, a master strategist whose cunning is tested by gods and fate
- Tom Holland as Telemachus – Odysseus’s son, setting out to find his missing father
- Anne Hathaway as Penelope – Odysseus’s steadfast wife, holding Ithaca together against all odds
- Zendaya as Athena – goddess of wisdom and war, and Odysseus’s divine protector
- Robert Pattinson as Antinous – the most dangerous of Penelope’s suitors
- Charlize Theron as Circe – the powerful witch-goddess who ensnares Odysseus
- Jon Bernthal as Menelaus – king of Sparta and veteran of the Trojan War
- John Leguizamo as Eumaeus – Odysseus’s loyal servant
- Himesh Patel as Eurylochus – Odysseus’s second-in-command
- Will Yun Lee as one of Odysseus’s shipmates
- Mia Goth as Melantho – a maid in Penelope’s household
Dune: Part Three (Dec 18)
Dune was always conceived as a single, finite epic told across multiple films – not a nostalgia play, not a reboot, and not a franchise endlessly kept alive by corporate moneymen in sky offices.
What’s it about?
The third and final part of the trilogy jumps forward 12 years: Paul Atreides is now Emperor, leading a galaxy-spanning jihad in his name while haunted by terrifying prescient visions of humanity’s future. He faces a deadly conspiracy by the Bene Gesserit, the Guild, and the Tleilaxu, centered on his concubine Chani and their struggle to produce an heir — ultimately forcing Paul to make a tragic, world-altering sacrifice. Expect massive sandworms, political intrigue, and the epic scale that has defined the series.
Who is in it?
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
- Zendaya as Chani
- Florence Pugh (role TBD)
- Robert Pattinson as Scytale
- Returning and new A-listers: Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Christopher Walken
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (Mar 20)
It was the series that launched a hundred thousand stupid haircuts, made flat caps sexy and briefly put a “yummy” in Brummy. For ten long years it turned bits of Britain into a cosplay party for geezers wanting to look like barbershop-core gangsters from the 1920s. Few TV shows of the past 20 years have left a bigger cultural footprint, so a movie follow-up always felt inevitable.
What’s it about?
Netflix’s lips have remained tighter than a Tommy Shelby rollie. Here’s all it will say: “Amidst the chaos of WWII, Tommy Shelby is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet. With the future of the family — and the country — at stake, Tommy must confront his demons and decide whether to face his legacy or burn it to the ground. By order of the Peaky Blinders…”
Who is in it?
Naturally, it’s written by creator Stephen Knight, with Cillian Murphy back out front. The glittering cast includes:
- Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne
- Stephen Graham as Hayden Stagg
- Ruby Ashbourne Serkis as Agnes Shelby
- Barry Keoghan as a new character
Werwulf (Dec 25)
We live in shape-shifting times. So what’s more appropriate in 2026 than releasing a quintessentially Halloween movie at Christmas? Well, you always know a horror director means business when they use the ye olde word for the scary thing their film is about – like vampyr or wytch. Clearly, Robert Eggers wants us to know Werwulf is no mere monster movie – it’s a descent into folkloric darkness.
What’s it about?
This looks very much like Eggers trudging the same muddy, supernatural ground he so loves, a la Nosferatu or The Witch. Like them, Werwulf is set in the past, where a shadowy monster prowls the countryside of Medieval England wreaking havoc on fearful forelocked villagers.
Who is in it?
Sam Taylor-Johnson and Willem Defoe star.