The 2026 movies and TV shows that we're most interested in

The journey of “Coyote vs. Acme” seems primed to come to a conclusion finally. It’s a live-action/animation hybrid focused on Wile E. Coyote suing Acme for its products. Sounds perfectly solid and breezy, but then “Coyote vs. Acme” became a flashpoint for being mad at Warner Bros. when it was announced the film was being shelved as a tax write-off. That was in 2023. In 2025, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights, and now “Coyote vs. Acme” is scheduled for theatrical release in August 2026. Now, watch it be entirely okay after all this.

“The Rip” is an action-heavy thriller coming to Netflix about Miami cops who find a massive stash of cash and then can’t figure out who to trust. It’s directed by Joe Carnahan, a guy who largely delivers fine, watchable action movies. So why the enthusiasm for “The Rip”? Because of the cast. Specifically, this film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and that is going to be fun to see.

It’s been a bit since Pixar has had a well-received original film, but we aren’t giving up hope yet. That’s even though the plot of “Hoppers” seems kind of insane. A teenage girl has her mind implanted into a robot beaver to save an animal habitat from destruction. It could be a lot of fun. It could be a disaster. We’re curious to find out.

Warner Bros. opting to push “The Bride!” out of 2025 into early 2026 is a slight concern, but it did slate the movie for March. That means it is technically outside the Dumpuary window, so maybe there is hope for this one. Or maybe they were betting on Jessie Buckley, who stars as the Bride of Frankenstein, winning the Oscar for “Hamnet.” All we know is that Maggie Gyllenhaal directed “The Bride!,” it’s set in 1930s Chicago, and apparently there are multiple dance numbers. It seems fascinating, if nothing else.

They started dropping trailers for “Project Hail Mary” super early, so that’s hopefully a good sign. The film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, their chance to do a live-action sci-fi film after getting “Solo” taken from them. It’s based on a book by the author of “The Martian” and stars Ryan Gosling. “Project Hail Mary” may not be an Oscar play like “The Martian” was, but it should be a crowd-pleaser.

We were in on the “Ready or Not” sequel as soon as we found out the subtitle was “Here I Come.” That’s, as they say, understanding the assignment. Now, if you have seen “Ready or Not,” a delightful horror-comedy with plenty of gore, it doesn’t necessarily set things up for a sequel. We’re still good with it. Samara Weaving is back and she’s joined by Kathryn Newton and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Also, they are all well-suited for a film such as this.

Alright, let’s try this whole “The Mummy” thing again. This is not some big, bold Universal Monster movie. This is a horror film from producers Jason Blum and James Wan. It’s directed by Lee Cronin, who directed “Evil Dead Rise.” Expect a smaller, nastier take on “The Mummy” than what we have seen.

It’s time for another legacy sequel! This one could be pretty fun, though. They got the gang back, after all. That means Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, and, of course, Meryl Streep. Even if the movie is just pretty good, seeing Streep play Miranda Priestly again will be fun.

Disney is getting back in the “Star Wars” movie game! After the diminishing returns that culminated in “The Rise of Skywalker,” Disney pulled back on plans for theatrical “Star Wars” offerings. In 2026, they get back at it. This is an easy bet to make, given that “The Mandalorian” is the most-popular “Star Wars” show ever made. Jon Favreau is directing, and the stakes are high. Hopefully, it’s a good space adventure.

Not all that long ago, this was "Untitled Steven Spielberg project." Then, we got a surprise trailer for "Disclosure Day." It is, as anticipated, an original sci-fi story, and it seems epic in scope. Spielberg has nothing to prove, but we'd love to see him do his late-period equivalent of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." As opposed to, you know, another "War of the Worlds."

One might imagine that, eventually, the “Toy Story” movies will stop delivering. It just, somehow, hasn’t happened yet. They were clearly serious about making the fifth movie work, as it is written and directed by Andre Stanton, of “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E” fame. Plus, the premise is based around Bonnie getting a tablet, which is a smart plan for a 2026 movie.

Christopher Nolan already had a blank check for a lifetime. You don’t get to make a movie like “Tenet” otherwise. However, his last movie was “Oppenheimer,” which won Best Picture and was a huge hit even though it’s a biopic of a 1940s scientist. Who knows how epic and over-the-top “The Odyssey” will be. Yes, this is based on the Ancient Greek epic, and the cast is remarkable. It has Tom Holland and Zendaya in it!

Speaking of Holland and Zendaya. The MCU had an…okay 2025. The kind of year Disney probably can live with. If “Brand New Day” doesn’t work, though, then the Marvel folks might have to really wring their hands. There’s not a lot known about the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Holland, but we do know Jon Bernthal will be playing The Punisher.

The James Gunn era at DC got off to a good start with “Superman,” but now things have to start to expand. “Supergirl,” a summer release, should be fine, but we kind of have a sense of what it will be. What’s more intriguing, though, is “Clayface.” This is reportedly a body horror film. Now, when Marvel has talked about genre swings, it has always been a lot of hot air. We think James Gunn might actually let directors take some chances. Fingers crossed.

“The Social Network” is one of the most acclaimed and most relevant movies of the 2000s. Now, it gets a quasi-sequel. “The Social Reckoning” is about the 2021 Facebook leaks related to what the decision makers knew and didn’t know about the deleterious impact that Facebook’s policies were having. Jeremy Strong steps into the role of Mark Zuckerberg. We have a slight pause on “The Social Reckoning” because not only was the script written by Aaron Sorkin, but Sorkin also directed the movie. He’s a good writer, but his directing work is spottier.

December is going to give us the next “Jumanji” sequel and “Avengers: Doomsday.” The one we want to highlight, though, is the third “Dune” movie. Denis Villeneuve is closing out his epic trilogy. It should be insane. “Part Three” is purportedly based to a large degree on the book “Dune Messiah,” which is more out-there than “Dune.” Now, think about everything that happened in the first two “Dune” movies, and then realize this film should get even crazier.

We could chat about 2026 movies all day, but let’s get to television. Yes, Disney+ Marvel series have gotten a little tired, but we have hope for “Wonder Man.” It’s a comedy, and it has a meta element to it. Yaya Abdul-Mateen II, a fine actor, plays Simon Williams. He has superpowers, but he’s an aspiring actor and he is going after the role of Wonder Man in an in-universe remake. Also trying to get cast in the film? Ben Kingsley, returning as Trevor Slattery.

Nicolas Cage is playing a Spider-Man who aged into being a grizzled private eye in 1930 New York. It’s live-action. It was filmed using black-and-white cameras. If nothing else, it’s a fascinating experiment, and we’re happy to see how it shakes out.

People love the Muppets. Celebrities love to work with the Muppets. As such, it is not surprising that a 50th-anniversary special is being produced on Disney+. We’re sure it will be full of meta humor about that. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are among the producers, and Sabrina Carpenter is lined up as the celebrity guest star.

Sure, “Stranger Things” is ending, but you knew Netflix wouldn’t let “Stranger Things” die. Enter “Tales from ’85.” This is an animated show that takes place in the winter of 1985 and takes place between the second and third seasons canonically. It’s also evidently designed to mimic ‘80s Saturday morning cartoons, so it is more family-friendly than the show. Hey, it seems like a trifle, but if it’s animated well, it’ll be worth checking out.

How do you get us interested in a TV show about the Green Lantern Corps when the world is saturated with superhero stuff? Well, tell us it’s inspired in part by “Slow Horses” so much so that you hired one of the “Slow Horses” directors to work on it. While Nathan Fillion will be reprising his role as Guy Gardner from “Superman,” the show focuses on Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart respectively as they investigate a murder in Nebraska. Hopefully, all the detective story talk hasn’t just been hot air.

We aren’t “Yellowstone” lovers, per se, but that show was an undeniable cultural sensation. There have been a few spinoffs already, and “Y: Marshals” is both a sequel and a spinoff. What makes this one intriguing, though, is that it is a network drama. “Y: Marshals” is a CBS show, and that’s what interests us. How does the world of “Yellowstone” work now that it is on CBS and has, ostensibly, the largest available audience yet?

Paramount+’s “Star Trek” universe was pared down the last couple of years by shows ending, so it’s time for another one to emerge. “Starfleet Academy” is a reboot, in a sense, after the events of “Star Trek: Discovery.” It’s a reboot because, of course, this show is set at the academy. It’s about a bunch of new cadets. To bring some cachet to the show, the leader of the Starfleet Academy is played by Oscar-winning Holly Hunter.

We wanted to give a shout-out to something old school: a network sitcom. Not only that, but a new network sitcom that isn’t a reboot or a mockumentary. “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” is a starring vehicle for Tracy Morgan. This is a sitcom from longtime Tina Fey collaborator Robert Carlock, and Fey is an executive producer of course. Now, “Reggie Dinkins” probably won’t be as funny as “30 Rock,” but we’re hoping it is at least “Mr. Mayor” good.

For the, oh, 50th year in a row there is talk that “Six seasons and a movie” will finally come to fruition. Will this be the year that the “Community” movie finally hits Peacock. Just in case it doesn’t, we will end with a Peacock show that we are cautiously interested in. “The ‘Burbs” stars Keke Palmer and is based on the fun dark comedy from the 1980s of the same name. While we really enjoy the movie, our reason for trepidation is that Joe Dante, who directed “The ‘Burbs,” had zero involvement and wasn’t happy about it. That’s an obstacle for the show to overcome…in 2026.