The year 2025 was full of big movie hits like “Sinners,” “Marty Supreme” and “Frankenstein.” They brought to life stories of grief, love and determination that enamored movie fans across the country.
Film lovers can look forward to the same energy in 2026, with Hollywood already set to release more crowd-pleasers and seat-fillers. The Eagle, in anticipation of these releases, has compiled a list of a few upcoming films to keep an eye out for this year.
New to the industry: Charli xcx
2024 was Charli xcx’s year after Brat Summer, whose signature neon green album cover took the internet by storm. In 2026, Charli xcx is changing lanes and taking over the film industry.
“I Want Your Sex” premiered at Sundance on Jan. 23 of this year and features Charli in one of her first acting roles. Described as an erotic comedy thriller, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands a job with artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde) who makes him her sexual muse and takes him on a journey into a world of “sex, obsession, power and murder.”
Director Gregg Araki has confirmed Charli plays an important role in the film, acting as Elliot’s girlfriend. Her character, an American pre-med student, is mean and a horrible girlfriend, according to Araki.
Finally, there is “The Moment,” a mockumentary following a fictional Charli xcx playing herself as she navigates newfound fame ahead of her Brat tour.
Hitting theaters Jan. 30, fans are hoping to get a glimpse of what it was like to be the woman at the center of Brat Summer.
Charli’s “Everything is romantic” scored the trailer for Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, and fans have been anticipating the release of her soundtrack album for the film.
Released on Feb. 13, the film has already faced backlash for casting Elordi as Heathcliff, the male love interest. While Emily Brontë’s original material described Heathcliff as having “dark eyes, dark hair and dark skin,” Fennell has defended her casting decision, explaining that after she saw Elordi with sideburns on the set of “Saltburn,” he “looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff on the first book that [she] read.”
Big Names and Sequels
Three years after “Oppenheimer” took both theaters and the Academy Awards by storm, Christopher Nolan is looking to make an even bigger splash with his most ambitious project to date: an adaptation of “The Odyssey.”
Actors Lupita Nyong’o, Matt Damon, Zendaya and Tom Holland are set to star in the film, which will take audiences into the center of the brutal Trojan War and Odysseus’s mythical encounters on his 20-year journey home.
Nolan has kept many details of the film under wraps, despite the epic being more than 3,000 years old, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats ahead of the July 17 release date.
Fans of the “Dune” franchise will have to wait until December to get another glimpse of Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in “Dune: Part Three.”
It is set to follow Maud’Dib as he fulfills the ancient scheme to create a superbeing ruler among men and not in the heavens. Director Denis Villeneuve has made it clear that these movies are not a trilogy or franchise. Instead, they are a group of movies based on the events of the first book, which he hopes to do justice to. If he holds true to his word, the end of 2026 will also bring the end of Villeneuve’s adaptation of this universe.
Punk rock was in during the summer of 2025 as director James Gunn released the popular yet controversial “Superman.” The movie ended with Supergirl, played by Milly Alcock, crashing into Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to get back her dog Krypto, who was Superman’s sidekick throughout the film while Supergirl was away.
Craig Gillespie will direct the new “Supergirl” movie, which will follow Alcock’s character Kara Zor-El’s story and her darker origin before she finally makes her way to Earth. It takes place directly after the events of 2025 and has Superman and Kara embarking on a path of revenge. This film will be the second addition to this new DC universe.
The End of the MCU?
After “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel fans have only experienced disappointments with each new movie released in the new phase of the MCU. “Avengers: Doomsday” is only one of two Marvel movies that will be released this year, and the franchise is aiming big. This movie will see the return of Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr., who will play Doctor Doom.
The plot is still under wraps, but audiences are speculating that the Wakandans, Fantastic 4, Thunderbolts and Steve Rogers will team up to defeat Doctor Doom. This film is expected to make or break the fate of the so-called “new Avengers” on Dec. 18.
Along with Doomsday, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is the second Marvel movie expected to come out this year. Starring Tom Holland, we follow him throughout his college life after the memories of Peter Parker have been erased. He tries to leave his mask behind, but once he finds out his friends have been threatened, he suits up again and teams up with an unlikely ally.
It will be released in July of this year, with some sources speculating that Holland’s Spider-Man will be killed off, but fans have to wait until the summer to find out.
2026 is already shaping up to be another great year for movies. These are just a few of the major films to keep us all entertained and inspired during turbulent times.
This article was edited by Alfie Pritchard, Jessica Ackerman and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Jaden Maitland Anderson, Ryan Sieve and Ava Stuzin.
