2026 is just simply starting, however it’s already onerous to look previous Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as a “greatest film of the yr” favourite. Any Christopher Nolan film is a cinematic occasion, however contemplating Oppenheimer‘s immense success, the epic scale of The Odyssey‘s supply materials, and the actors concerned, it could be an enormous shock if, come December, Nolan’s 2026 effort wasn’t thought-about one of many yr’s prime three motion pictures.
The Odyssey will definitely be tough to outshine, however a handful of upcoming movies in 2026 have the elements wanted to spoil Homer’s social gathering. All three you’d count on to characteristic on most critics’ prime 10 lists on the finish of the yr, however the true problem by way of large display screen competitors will likely be surpassing the achievements of Christopher Nolan and co.
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Disclosure Day (June 12)
Releasing solely weeks after The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan vs. Steven Spielberg presents a captivating conflict of generations. Extra than simply the “subsequent Spielberg film,” Disclosure Day marks the legend’s return to horror-tinged sci-fi and alien life varieties – the sector Spielberg as soon as dominated with Shut Encounters of the Third Sort and E.T. the Further-Terrestrial.
The ensemble might not harbor fairly as many stars as The Odyssey‘s, however with Emily Blunt – more and more approaching sci-fi royalty standing – within the lead position, Disclosure Day feels particular.
The thriller behind the plot and the alien risk at its middle enhances the already-sky-high stage of intrigue surrounding Spielberg’s subsequent invasion. Disclosure Day‘s deliciously creepy trailer, in the meantime, takes the hallmarks of basic UFO motion pictures from years passed by (crop circles, shadowy authorities businesses, and so on.) and interprets them right into a distinctly trendy film free from any whiff of ’80s nostalgia. It will not be as visually epic as The Odyssey at first look, however out of the 2 motion pictures, Disclosure Day nonetheless has extra playing cards to play.
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Dune: Half 3 (December 18)
Whereas The Odyssey and Disclosure Day signify a possible resurgence for unique motion pictures (as a result of no, we’re not contemplating Homer’s canon a 3000-year-old shared universe), the sequel to look out for in 2026 is undoubtedly Dune: Half 3.
Make no mistake, this third entry is a threat. Whereas 2021’s Dune and its 2024 follow-up had been each spectacular, they had been successfully halves of a single film adapting Frank Herbert’s seminal novel. Dune: Half 3 is the outlier, based mostly on Herbert’s second e book within the collection, Dune Messiah.
However when you think about the sheer high quality of Denis Villeneuve’s first two Dune motion pictures, the second of which was arguably even higher than the primary, alongside the robust popularity of Dune Messiah as a sequel novel, it is tough to see Hollywood’s subsequent Dune installment as something aside from a recipe for additional greatness.
Villeneuve and Nolan have been locked in a battle over the declare of “twenty first century’s biggest sci-fi director” for a few years. With The Odyssey occupying a totally completely different style, that debate will not be resolved in 2026. Even so, Villeneuve delivering a whole trilogy of iconic Dune motion pictures would go a good distance towards cementing his standing because the sci-fi visionary to beat, leaving the ball in Nolan’s court docket.
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Werwulf (December 25)
After The Witch, The Northman, and Nosferatu, Robert Eggers continues his “director least prone to direct Barbie 2” marketing campaign with Werwulf in 2026. Set in thirteenth century England and with a script written in Center English, Werwulf is not going to be unfamiliar territory for Eggers followers, and given how glorious stated territory has been over the previous 11 years, that is no unhealthy factor.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars alongside fellow Eggers favorites Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe in an unique story based mostly across the titular monster. Though little is understood at current, Nosferatu proved to be Eggers’ most full and achieved cinematic endeavor but. Audiences have watched the director’s signature fashion and gothic aptitude develop over the course of 4 sensible horror motion pictures, and because the subsequent step in that evolution, Werwulf has the potential to outshine all of them – even when it is not probably the most festive option to have fun Christmas Day.
An underdog in opposition to the big-hitting trio of The Odyssey, Disclosure Day, and Dune: Half 3, Werwulf nonetheless places Robert Eggers alongside Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, and Denis Villeneuve as probably having the best film of 2026.