Movies On The Radar For 2026

We find ourselves in the beginning of the second quarter of 2026 and the world has changed.

That said, don’t fret, this little blog is about movies and the state of the movie industry, so politics & religion need not apply. No, I am more concerned with popcorn at the moment. And moments have an explicit expiration date so let’s talk about what is coming out this year to theaters & streaming services.

In days of yore when this blog was but a gleam in my eye movies and films were a big part of it. I’d write about what I was excited to see coming to the theaters or the quality of movies presented in the format of Blu-ray in an ongoing article here on these electronic pages, The Blu-ray Dosier. I did that until the rise of streaming, which put Blu-rays on the endangered list of formats along with laserdiscs, Betamax, VHS tapes, & DVDs – not extinct yet, but the herd has been dramatically thinned. The times have changed.

We live in the era of streaming and the age old battle between movie studios and theaters, while still raging, is looking like the studios will have their products beamed directly to their customers immediately, rather than having to rent their wares at movie houses & theaters from sea to shining sea for the lovers of cinema to discover and spend their money on tickets. Ma & Pa theaters are more endangered than Blu-rays. Theaters be they Ma & Pa or big chain operations such as Regal or AMC, have always been strong armed by the studios. If theaters do not play ball, they do not get to be able to show the summer blockbuster(s) that will let them pay their bills & their employees. There is no “flat fee” and the studios take all the profits, leaving little for the theaters to survive on. It been this way since a (as Google told me) supreme court case in 1948, “United States v. Paramount,” to prevent the monopolization of the film industry. Movie studios have leaned on theaters like loan-sharks collecting gambling debts; again, from Google, “Theaters pay studios a percentage of the box office receipts. This typically ranges from 50% to 70%, depending on the movie and how long it has been in theaters.” This is why a bucket of popcorn and a soda are about $40.00 when you go to a theater. They want to keep the lights on, the toilets flushing, the roof of the movie house on, and the staff paid. Prior to ANY of that happening, the studios take their cut…

...Said this Reddit user 15 years ago.

Time marches on. Theaters will continue to decline due to the film industry increasing its profits by eliminating the middleman. I believe that there will always be a place for a communal theatrical experience, but the delivery method of film has shifted and it is not going back.

All that said, what will get me away from this keyboard and into a reclining theater seat from now until the end of 2026? Well, these offerings will! …Also, it should be known, some of the films I am about to list are going directly to stream. Netflix was poised exactly where they needed to be when the zeitgeist changed and out of all the corporate studios, they are in the best position, at present, to offer a glimpse at where the industry is heading in the future. …But that is a story for another time.

Here is what I’m excited about now…

“Remarkably Bright Creatures,” coming to Netflix on May 8^th. I loved the book; I think I’ll love the movie. The cast is spot on with Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney, with Alfred Molina as the voice of Marcellus. This will have a lot of heart.

“Ladies First,” coming to Netflix on May 22. It is with Rosamund Pike & Sacha Baron Cohen in the leads. The manosphere gets the multiverse treatment in this one. Again, excellent casting.

“The Mandalorian & Grogu,” in theaters May 22. I will love this movie. I’m a fan of the TV series. Although, the marketing for this movie has been a bit lack-luster. Perhaps Disney is depending on fans like me to show up and not worrying about a TV show making the leap to the big screen? I don’t know. I do know that a Star Wars movie should have the words, “Star Wars” in the title. This would give a nice line of demarcation between streaming on Disney + and going to the theater. But who am I? Just a fan who is looking forward to what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have in store for Din Djarin and his adopted son.

“Disclosure Day,” in theaters June 12. Steven Spielberg is back and I’m here for it! Spielberg and aliens have a long and glorious history, and I am jazzed to see what is up his sleeve for this one.

“Toy Story 5,” in theaters June 19^th. McKenna Harris & Andrew Stanton direct this latest offering from Pixar/Disney. When I first heard that a fifth movie was in the works, I asked myself the question, “Why?” I mean, after all, the fourth one spilt up the gang, and I thought that they had painted themselves into a corner with the story. It appears that I was wrong. Woody & Buzz are reuniting to fight their biggest villain yet – electronic devices that are replacing toys. One can never count Pixar out. They will, routinely, punch you in the heart. This will be no exception.

“Supergirl,” in theaters June 26. Milly Alcock is Kara Zor-El, Kal’s cousin. This tale may very well have shades of John Wick to it. Think post-traumatic stress meets the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or rather, you never should have hurt Krypto. Lobo, played by the BEST choice for the role ever, Jason Momoa is coming to James Gunn’s DC universe, too! Yes. I will buy a ticket for this.

“The Odyssey,” in theaters July 17^th. Christopher Noland does Homer. Matt Damon is Odysseus. Noland knows how to tell a story and this epic is in very good hands.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” is coming to theaters on July 31^st. Say what you will about MARVEL & superhero movies – this one I care about. A street-level Spider-Man with street-level peers (I’m looking at you Frank Castle/Punisher and, I’m calling it right now, DAREDEVIL). And villains, including the Hand and, I’m calling it right now, JEAN GREY. Yes my fellow true believers, the X-Men are coming to the MARVEL movie universe. Oh, yes. I will see this one before some shlub on social media ruins all the twists & comic history is spoiled. Another friendly neighborhood Spider-Man movie? Oh, yes. I’m in.

“The End of Oak Street,” in theaters August 14^th. Dollars to donuts, and I could be wrong here, but I’m thinking this is another back-door movie into the Cloverfield universe originated by J.J. Abrams. Anne Hathaway & Ewan McGregor are parents of a family that is experiencing what happens when one universe invades another. Are Kaiju far behind? I’m looking forward to finding out.

“The Dog Stars,” coming to theaters August 28^th. Ridley Scott is at the helm of this one inspired by Peter Heller’s book of the same name. A post-apocalyptic pilot and his dog go searching for what’s left of humanity and hope, along the way. I am a sucker for a good speculative tale, and this one has some wonderful possibilities. I have not yet read the book but is now on my radar.

“Avengers: Doomsday,” in theaters sometime in November or December. The Russo Brothers, Anthony & Joe are back with all their friends from MARVEL’s ever-expanding stable of characters. Again, say what you will of tales of gods and men, history & legend are loaded with ‘em. These superhero tales are our modern takes on a classic genre. It is all cyclical. Stories are told and then they are told again, over and over, since the dawn of man, which pretty much started with telling stories. …Anyway, as for this film in particular, has Doctor Doom been pulling the strings in the universe the whole time (the beginning of the MARVEL U in “Iron Man”)? Who are the Fantastic Four? And why are all these mutants suddenly popping up all over the place? How does the old guard usher in the new? Find out in theaters this December. I’m here for it all. …Also, Kevin Feige, the president of MARVEL Studios, knows & loves what he is doing. Doomsday will set the stage for Secret Wars and, I believe, the movies in-between them will bring the X-Men to prominence. As I have mentioned, I’m here for it all.

“DUNE: Part Three,” in theaters December 18^th. Denis Villeneuve’s third and final installment of his DUNE trilogy. Villeneuve has done a masterful job of bringing Frank Herbert’s six book epic to the screen. The first two films have been a wonder to behold on the big screen – especially if you have read the books. DUNE asks questions far more reaching than a movie with spaceships & explosions usually asks. Politics, religion, environmentalism are all themes deeply rooted in the world of Arrakis. I’m very curious as to how he joins the next few books in the series, “DUNE Messiah” and “Children of DUNE.” I’ll be there opening night to find out.

“Werwulf,” in theaters December 25^th. Robert Eggers gives the world a pagan, folklore laden, werewolf story just in time for Christmas! Eggers knows what he is doing. He pulls on stories and tales that reach down to that part in all of us that is still afraid of the dark. He is the man who brought us, “The VVITCH,” “The Lighthouse,” and “Nosferatu,” so his storytelling is not to be missed. So, once you’ve opened your packages and if you’ve had a bit too much tinsel, turkey, & fruitcake, perhaps a trip to the movies for something disturbingly horrific is just what you’ll need.

These are what I’m looking forward to seeing. I’m sure that there are some great stories that I have missed. If so, let me know for I am a humble word-slinger bobbing as a cork in the internet seas.

Start saving your nickels (since they don’t make pennies anymore), you’re gonna want some popcorn. Buttered.

See you at the movies.

Ms. Plath, I Beg Forgivness

"What is a book? A mirrored pool of thoughts, ideals so often better left unsaid, so often better left with the soft outline of a dream."

For the last twenty years or so I have falsely given credit of this quote to Ian Fleming. I was wrong. The quote is from the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Sylvia Plath.

I am currently working on a project that includes sound and vision and stories. And the quote at the heading of this entry has always resonated with me. For one reason or another, Ian Fleming became, in my mind, the originator and I have always given him the credit. I have done searches for it before to confirm just who said it, but all of these searches came back fruitless, until tonight/this morning when Google revealed to me that the quote appears, "in her personal journals, specifically in a letter written to a friend, Eddie Cohen, around September 1950. At the time, Plath was just about to start her studies at Smith College."

And now credit can be given to where credit is due.

Forgive me, Ms. Plath. Your ethereal yet, 'to the heart of the matter' prose continue to captivate me. I beg your forgiveness.

I will do better in the future.

Rest well.

Sincerely, 

Evil Chicken   

To War of Not to War?

I wasn’t alive during the Cuban Missile Crisis, so I missed the panic & anxiety of those years gave the world. I did get a chance to participate in fallout-drills in elementary school, though, since the lurking threat of nuclear war was still in the back of people’s skulls, an unconscious yet ever-present reminder that this brave new world that we built for ourselves could, if mad men had their way, be the keys to its destruction. The treat of global thermal nuclear war was there but it was a specter that was not as white hot as it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

No, I grew up during the Cold War. There was a lot of sabers rattling between the United States and The Soviet Union until the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union dissolved. The threat of a nuclear war became a distant whisper. It became something that was a hook to hang the plot of more than a few science fiction movies from as opposed to a constant threat at the forefront of the world’s collective mind. Granted, I was a kid but the worry that mad men would turn the keys and press the button to launch their missiles, was relegated to James Bond & Mad Max movies.

And then came Trump.

2016 rolled around and suddenly the idea of nuclear war was no longer some abstract construct. And it's this guy's finger on the button. I am not going to recount the crimes that he has accumulated - the atrocities committed, the parade of ass-kissing swine in his cabinet, the spineless ‘representatives’ we have in congress. No, this is all a matter of public record. We all have the receipts. It has become exhausting trying to measure how low Trump, the monsters who work for him, or those who anoint him will go. There is NO bottom. So, I won’t. It wouldn’t matter anyway, save to future historians sifting through our ashes. I’ll just put this quote out there…

I have said & written variations of similar ideas ever since I started journaling since 2016. I started journaling when I thought it would be good to have a primary source – an everyday man’s view of the history (COVID at the time) that was unfolding all around us. I originally started writing it to document the event. I never expected it to show our true face. I never expected to dive headfirst into politics & religion but dive I did.

“I used to think so much better of us, I know better now,” has become a recurring theme throughout the journal’s pages. I thought that I would be done in six to eight months. I was wrong. Twelve volumes later ending a few months after the events of January 6^th, 2021, when our Capitol was attacked by a mob of domestic terrorists, believing a lie told by Donald Trump about who won the election. These insurrectionists were quite probably hired as ICE agents who serve as Donald's Gestapo and secret police force.   

“I never knew there were so many evil people living among us.”

Hate brewed under the surface for the tenure of Joe Biden’s presidency – NOT from Biden, but from Trump & his supporters from sea to shining sea. Again, we have these receipts. The truth may not matter when it comes to White House press releases, but it matters in other places, including my humble journal, which I picked up again after receiving a diagnosis. The long and the short of it is that I have been watching, documenting and I know I’m not alone.

But then Trump was elected back to the office that he never should have been in possession of. It was not a sweep; it was just enough to cross the finish line. Why? Perhaps because Kamala Harris was a woman, perhaps because she was black, perhaps because we lost the ability to critically think along the way, perhaps hatred & bigotry are all the rage, perhaps because the Trump cult is bat-shit crazy? Any or all of these are possible factors. Another sad issue is that a lot of voters just stayed home. This is unacceptable in a functioning representative democracy for by not voting you do not use the only voice you have in who leads the affairs of your local municipalities, your counties, your states, and your country. When you don’t show up, unthinkable things can happen.

And, rest assured, unthinkable things are happening RIGHT NOW. 

Trump started a war with Iran to distract from the Epstein List. People are dying because he is a kiddie-fiddler, a pedophile. He didn't want people to know this but much like five gallons of sewage in a one gallon bag, the truth is out. This war costs a BILLION dollars a day. This afternoon he held a press conference and said, “A whole civilization will die tonight,” referring to the bombing that he is about to start at 8:00 PM*. Yes, that's right, he is ready to commit genocide to hide the fact that he likes to sleep with children. 

A man devoid of character & decency, the anti-Christ has started this utterly needless, expensive (both monetarily and with the butcher's bill), the War of Deflection from the Epstein List is set to begin in earnest at 8:00 PM* tonight. Now, we all know – both supporters & detractors – what Trump says, the words coming out of his mouth, do not matter. He lies. Constantly. Perhaps the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) effect will kick in, I don't know. I do know that if we go to war the bodies that they send back, many of them will belong to families who voted for Trump.

“So much winning.”

It's difficult to watch. Most of the American public wants NOTHING to do with war with Iran or ANY war in the Middle East. Those of us without our heads up our assess get to watch the events of history march by, completely powerless to do anything about it. We can peacefully protest, we can write our representatives, we can sign petitions, we can write strongly worded letters & emails to the press (which is all owned by billionaires who only wish to increase their bottom lines), we can leave messages for our senators & congresspeople, we can talk to our neighbors who are willing to talk but it feels like nothing matters. Unfortunately, history is rife with examples of those in power going not only against the will of the people but also twisting the narrative to fit their own morally bankrupt actions & crimes against humanity, and those who support them. 

The possibility of a boots on the ground war is getting more footing. The specter of global thermal nuclear war is not off the table either. To war or not to war? That is the question. Most of the citizens of these United States - and the world, for that matter - do not want such a needless conflict, started by a mad man who only wants to distract from his own crimes. And the sick rub of it is that there is nothing we can do about this. Our representatives continue to fail us - especially the republican side of the aisle where the want for power & influence is all that matters. We are so far off course. One can only hope that history will forgive us. And at the end of the day all we - the commons who make up our citizenry - can do is take stock in the words of Alexandre Dumas when he wrote, "Until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words - 'Wait and Hope'".

Wait & hope...

Perhaps we won't have to wait too long and hope that the 25th amendment will be invoked. 

*  A few hours before the deadline Trump moved his threat of genocide for a time in the future. The war with Iran is off for now, at least that’s what he said but we all know what that is worth. …Thankfully, it is TACO Tuesday and cooler heads have prevailed for now. Stay tuned for the next twist in the fabric of reality.

Author's note. This blog was written on 4/7/2026 and published in the early morning of 4/8/2026.