Summer 2026 will be a huge season for movie theaters with many exciting films scheduled to be released. As my final article of the semester, I figured I would look ahead at those films and give you all the details you need to know. Disclaimer: this is by no means a complete list of every film because many are being released, but I focused on what I perceive to be the most noteworthy.
The day of this article’s release, April 24, sees the premiere of the highly anticipated musical biopic “Michael” starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle, Michael Jackson. Another film coming out this weekend is “Over Your Dead Body,” a comedy thriller starring Samara Weaving and Jason Segel.
The following weekend, on May 1, another highly anticipated film will be released: “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” The sequel comes almost 20 years after the first film, and has Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep reprising their roles. Also on the same day, the animated “Animal Farm” will premiere, featuring an all-star cast of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox and Woody Harrelson.
On May 8, “The Sheep Detectives” will be released – a comedic whodunnit with another all-star cast. The film features Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Galitzine and Nicholas Braun as the humans, and Bryan Cranston, Brett Goldstein, Patrick Stewart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as notable sheep.
May 15 will see the release of “Mortal Kombat 2,” a sequel to the 2021 “Mortal Kombat” based on the video game of the same name.
Premiering on May 22 is the first “Star Wars” movie to be released in theaters in almost seven years: “The Mandalorian & Grogu.” The film will star Pedro Pascal and act as a continuation of the successful Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.”
On May 29, the highly anticipated A24 horror film “Backrooms,” an adaptation of Kane Parsons’ web series based on the internet phenomenon, will be released. A very different type of movie releasing the same day is “The Breadwinner,” a comedy starring Nate Bargatze and Mandy Moore.
The first film releasing in June will be the sixth installment of the “Scary Movie” franchise, on June 5.
June 12 sees the premiere of “Disclosure Day,” the mysterious sci-fi film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor.
The following weekend, on June 19, Disney’s “Toy Story 5” is set to release with Tom Hanks, Woody Allen and Joan Cusack all reprising their original roles.
On June 26, the dramatic comedy “The Invite” will premiere, directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen. Also on the same day, “Supergirl” starring Milly Alcock will be released, following up on the success of “Superman” last year.
The first notable film to be released in July is Disney’s live-action “Moana,” premiering on July 10 and starring Catherine Laga’aia and Dwayne Johnson.
July 17 sees the release of the film I am personally most excited for over the summer: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” The film will star many huge names, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie and Mia Goth.
Tom Holland and Zendaya return again in Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” releasing July 31.
There aren’t any huge films being released in August as of now, so the list will end there.
With all of this information in mind, be sure to check out your local movie theaters this summer. Whether you’re a fan of action, drama, comedy, mystery, horror, animation, fantasy or sci-fi, there will surely be a movie premiere for you during the next few months. I know I will definitely be seeing as many of these films as I can.
Junior Emily Myers is a Copy Editor. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.