2026 Movie Preview

We’ve had a lot of movie news pouring out lately, apparently because of CinemaCon, something I’m only vaguely aware of. A high-profile exhibition for movies, in an age where movie theaters and international industries are dying and we don’t even have E3 anymore? Sounds made-up. But anyway, it looks like the rest of 2026 is pretty jam-packed, which I was not expecting. I already got The Bone Temple; I was good for the year. Also, 2025 was quite jam-packed itself, with representatives from my favorite brands and directors — Alien, Predator, Jurassic Park, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, Alex Garland, David Cronenberg, and on and on. What could possibly be left?

Ikatan Darah
30 April

This one’s right up my alley. Right up it! According to the plot summary on City of Fire, whose Facebook posts alerted me to this as well as other interesting titles: “a former martial arts athlete must face a network of loan sharks to save her younger brother, who is trapped in online gambling debt and risking their family’s safety.” Sounds like The Shadow Strays, with a young Indonesian lead in Livi Ciananta, and this one also boasts fight choreography by Iko Uwais’s team. The man himself is producing it, whose directorial debut Timur is already on VOD. I’ll have to check that out, too.

Mortal Kombat II
8 May, in theaters

Déjà vu! According to my last movie preview, Mortal Kombat II was scheduled for 24 October 2025, which might have been nice, but it was delayed to avoid Predator: Badlands, that eventual mega-blockbuster, I say with sarcastic malice in my tone. Now, as then, I have nothing to say about this movie. Just come out already!

Is God Is
15 May, in theaters

I saw the trailer for this one in front They Will Kill You, when I was wondering why the theater didn’t have my assigned seat. Like, it wasn’t there. And so, this revenge movie was attention-getting enough to cut through that mild anxiety, coming from a playwright-turned-film-director Aleshea Harris and filled out with big names like Sterling K. Brown and Janelle Monáe. Being squeezed between Mortal Kombat II and The Furious is tough, but we’ll see.

Colony
21 May, in Korea

Yeon Sang-ho is the most inconsistent director I’ve ever encountered. In fact, he’s frustratingly consistent in this regard. In my experience, his movies are either great, like Train to Busan and I’d even say Jung_E, or garbage like Seoul Station. Sometimes, it’s split right down the middle, with the first half of the first season of Hellbound being agonizing, and the last half somehow cathartic and amazing. Now he’s back in zombies, and he’s brought Gianna with him. Let’s hope she’s as badass in Colony as she was as Ashin. Never letting it go, guys. Just wait until they officially cancel the third 28 Years Later. I’m gonna be insufferable.

The Furious
29 May, in theaters

If I somehow miss this one in theaters like I did No Other Choice, I should quit this site and give up the nearly decade-long charade of pretending to be Asian online. Probably should’ve picked a more Asian-sounding name. Without a doubt, The Furious is the action event of the year, with a strong pedigree of talent in front of and behind the camera (Joe Taslim, Kensuke Sonomura, to start) and raves out of the festivals. Amazing action, so-so story. What’s especially interesting is that this one feels like the action movie Super Bowl. No gimmicks, it’s no side project, it’s what everyone involved has always dreamed of making. And that trailer? I mean, wow. The proof is in the pudding!

I’m still amazed that this is even coming to theaters in my country. I’ve led such a hedonistic life; what have I done to deserve this, ye gods?

The Ghost in the Shell
July, Amazon Prime Video

Okay, not a movie, but this is an event. The last thing left to do with Ghost in the Shell is to go back to the source material, as the very first adaptation was a radical reinterpretation which became an institution in itself. Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell didn’t just define Ghost in the Shell, it defined anime for an entire generation (or two). Age-old wisdom holds that we don’t adapt directly from Masamune Shirow because the man is out of control, but why not? There is no one definitive Ghost in the Shell, not even this one with its bubble-shaped Fuchikomas (Logicomas?) and a Major with bad posture and a worse attitude. Seriously, she’s a dick in the manga. It’s awesome. So, let’s have some fun. I doubt that a literal adaptation will compete with the highs of the series (the heartache and grandeur of Innocence, the prophetic geopolitics of 2nd Gig), but in the end, we simply must have a literal adaptation, for completionist’s sake. And if the teasers are any hint, it’s shaping up real nice!

Evil Dead Burn
24 July, in theaters

I can’t claim to be a dyed-in-the-wool Evil Dead fan, not when my favorite entry far and away is Army of Darkness, but it’s a title that’ll always intrigue. It’s more fun and unpredictable than the average horror staple, while still recalling the gnarly, now prestigious roots in film history. However, it’s also developed a reputation for extreme gore, so much that I skipped Evil Dead Rise and probably only watched the 2013 edition in advance of Alien: Romulus (I liked it quite a bit). Ironically, taking Evil Dead out of the hands of Sam Raimi makes it more gross and white-knuckling, though he’s certainly lost none of his spark, if you saw Send Help earlier this year.

The End of Oak Street
14 August, in theaters

Dino attack! You jerks, leave the princess of Genovia alone.

Resident Evil
18 September, in theaters

Maybe one of the underrated things about Zach Cregger as a filmmaker is that his movies can be scary. Yes, they’re also funny — on meta levels, even — but Barbarian is genuinely tense and creepy, and Weapons had Oscar-winning jump scares. A big franchise picture is not what I was expecting from a guy who seemed to be following the Jordan Peele career path, nor was I expecting a weird side project from this particular franchise. Remember the last time, with Lance Reddick and the preternaturally unlucky Ella Balinska (and Adeline Rudolph, who’s Kitana in MKII)? Eventually, we’ll have a Resident Evil movie based on the original game, with Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker, but September 18th is not that day. In the meantime, we’ll just have to try and enjoy what’ll likely be a tense, creepy, scary Resident Evil movie. You’ll almost forget that Milla Jovovich once kicked a zombie dog in the face. “Okay, that probably wouldn’t have worked on a normal dog, never mind a zombie dog…”

Street Fighter
26 Oct, in theaters

I think this looks great. Lots of action, and a surprisingly weird vibe which at least means a specific vibe. This movie is coming from an artist inasmuch as that’s possible anymore with a production of this scale and fastidious brand management. The trailer may have been spotlighting him, but I’m actually really impressed by Ken. And Andrew Koji as Ryu looks like the right choice, especially if it’s a moody Ryu (I’m less experienced with Ryu than I am Koji). Yeah, just talk about the two guys so nobody knows how excited you are about Chun-li. Hehehe. Rubes.

Godzilla Minus Zero
3 Nov, in theaters

The big boy’s back and cuter than ever! I fully expect that, of all the movies on this list, I’ll end up liking Godzilla Minus Zero the most, if Godzilla Minus One is any indication. That was pretty much the best possible rendition of a personal favorite, and that’s a powerful thing. It’s also a lot to follow up on, especially when a follow-up wasn’t super necessary. I liked the idea that the Reiwa era would be anthological, with Shin Godzilla, Minus One, and a whole bunch of weird anime. But now with even Shin Godzilla 2 a nearing possibility, I guess all the rules are being thrown out.

And so, I’m about as excited for Minus Zero as I was for Minus One at that film’s announcement: it wasn’t something I desperately wanted, and had no idea how good Minus One was gonna turn out to be. Now I’m wondering how much of what made that film work is replicable. Story (not really), character (possibly), Godzilla carnage (yes!). That’s always good enough. Unless it’s one of those crappy American ones. I don’t care what Christian Bale says, they suck.

Dune: Part Three
18 Dec, in theaters

And like Godzilla Minus Zero, there’s limited mystery with Dune: Part Three, note the subtitle. The first two parts were really good! If there’s slight reason to doubt the source material — Dune Messiah being less beloved than Dune, as most things are — I’ve no reason to doubt Denis Villeneuve. I’m actually quaking, just thinking about how many of his movies would end up on a hypothetical Top 100 list. What a basic bitch. Plus, this is the Timothée Chalamet redemption arc, if that’s your thing. I didn’t learn until after the Oscars that he was being publicly obnoxious as part of the Marty Supreme marketing, but honestly, while his performance was impressive on a technical level, Jordan’s was more emotionally rich. And I kind of think Paul Atreides is his best role. He’s amazing in Part Two.

Werwulf
25 Dec, in theaters

Hell yeah! I don’t know anything about this movie past “the next Robert Eggers,” and I want to keep it that way until I’m in the theater.

Beyond 2026, we had some more recent announcements and teases, of varying levels of intrigue.

Call of Duty
30 June 2028

A Call of Duty movie, hopefully based on one of the WWII games, is being written by Taylor Sheridan (the Ryan Murphy of straight, middle-aged men) and Peter Berg (who’d actually be my number-one call for the Call of Duty movie, seriously), so it’ll be exactly consistent with the games. I just wish they’d adapt the Call of Duty multiplayer, and have it be this weird, arthouse action movie, though that might just be Gamer.

Her Private Hell
TBA

I think I’m gonna try to get back on the Refn train. Yeah. Watched Drive last week, thinking I’ll pull the trigger on Only God Forgives soon. Wish me luck.

Highlander
TBA

After John Wick: Chapter 4, Chad Stahelski was attached to so, so many movies, from Ghost of Tsushima to Rainbow Six to, of course, John Wick 5, and I prayed to Kali it would be Highlander. I’m not even a big Highlander guy, I just love the idea of it. And I have the gnawing feeling that, like Godzilla, it’s a great idea that’s rarely great in practice. In the hands of Handsome Chad, this could be the one, so to speak.

Heat 2
TBA

I’ll definitely see Heat 2, but my question is this: will they call it Heat 2? That’s what the book is called, but when was the last time something like this wasn’t, like, Vincent & Neil: A Heat Story or just Heat? Well, Gladiator II, I guess. And this year, The Devil Wears Prada 2. All right, all right, you win this round, Hollywood marketing.

Escape from New York
TBA

We may or may not have come around on remakes as a society, but if there’s one John Carpenter movie that deserves a remake, it’s probably the only one that doesn’t have it. To be serious, Escape from New York is one I like but don’t love, preferring Escape from L.A. and certainly Doomsday. I never finished Lockout. It’s just such a great premise, and you can do a lot with it, which is why I’ll never, ever say no to more, in whatever form it takes.

Metal Gear Solid
TBA

Speaking of Snake, the Metal Gear Solid movie was rebooted recently, trading Jordan Vogt-Roberts for Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, a lateral move, as both parties were selected for having scored recent successes with IP (Kong: Skull Island and Final Destination Bloodlines respectively), and now one is more recent than the other. That said, Vogt-Roberts was a vocal fan, his likeness even appearing in Death Stranding. Looks like he’s also departed the Gundam movie, so he’s having a hard time out there. Anyway, I have no confidence that this movie — or at least, this version of the movie — will be made.