Key Insights

• Upcoming films include sequels and reboots from popular franchises.
• Major titles like Greenland 2 and Scream 7 are set for release in early 2026.
• The film industry continues to adapt to challenges with new installments of beloved series.
• Fans can expect a mix of horror, action, and animated films throughout the year.

Some of Hollywood’s most beloved characters – including Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear, Cliff Booth and Miranda Priestly – will return to the big screen in 2026.

In recent years the movie industry has faced increasingly serious challenges from the pandemic to the rise of home-streaming services and attention-stealing mobile devices.

But there’s one simple set of rules that they follow: if a movie is a hit, make a sequel. And if a once high-soaring franchise runs out of steam, wait a few years then reboot it.

Here are 37 sequels, reboots or prequels that will vie for your time and money in 2026:

Greenland 2: Migration (Jan. 9)

In 2020’s Greenland, Gerard Butler’s narrowly got his on-screen family to the safety of a military bunker after an apocalyptic comet strike wiped out nearly all life on Earth. The next logical step arrives in Greenland 2: Migration, as Butler braves near-certain death to help humanity find a new place to start over.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Jan. 16)

We move from one post-apocalyptic landscape to another. Fans of 2003’s 28 Days Later had to wait four years for the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later and 18 years for last year’s 28 Years Later. But luckily we won’t need to wait nearly as long for the cliffhangers from that third installment to be dealt with, as 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens just two weeks into the new year.

Update: Every Iron Maiden fan needs to go see this movie ASAP.

Return to Silent Hill (Jan. 23)

Overwhelmingly negative reviews haven’t kept the Silent Hill movie franchise from making big money or (slowly) moving forward. Return to Silent Hill will be the third entry in video game-based series, following the 2006 debut and 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation.

The Strangers – Chapter 3 (Feb. 6)

2008’s The Strangers was a critically underappreciated film that has gained a strong cult following over the years. 16 years later the franchise was rebooted with a trilogy of films that were all shot at the same time. Heading into the third and final chapter of this story, we’ve got just one sole survivor left – but she’s managed to take out one of the three mysterious (and murderous) villains.

Scream 7 (Feb. 27)

Sidney’s back! After sitting out Scream 6 due to financial differences, Neve Campbell returns to the franchise, with her character having moved with her daughter to the supposed safety of a small town. Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers is also back for another battle with Ghostface. So are actors David Arquette, Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley, which is weird because the characters they played are all dead. Maybe not?

The Bride! (March 6)

Just three months after Guillermo Del Toro debuted his epic take on the legend of Frankenstein, writer / director Maggie Gyllenhaal offers up an updated version of 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein. Jessie Buckley stars as the bride created to give Christian Bale’s monster a life companion, with the setting changed to the political and socially volatile Chicago of the 1930s.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (March 27)

After miraculously surviving a life-or-death game of hide and seek that found the rich and satanically cursed family of her fiance trying to kill her – on her wedding day no less! – in 2019’s highly enjoyable Ready or Not, Samara Weaving’s Grace finds herself forced into an even more dangerous version of the same game, this time against multiple rich families.

<em>The Super Mario Galaxy Movie</em> (April 3)

2023’s Super Mario Bros. Movie was pretty gosh-darn grating, but it earned over 1.3 billion dollars and made Jack Black even more popular with the kiddos thanks to his smash hit mini-song “Peaches,” so of course we’re getting a sequel. Please let it be better, a tad quieter and perhaps also shorter?

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (April 17)

Late last year it was announced that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz will be reuniting for a new installment of their popular The Mummy franchise, set to be released nearly 20 years after 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

In the meantime we’ll get what looks to be a much less playful take on the story from Lee Cronin, the writer and director behind 2023’s excellent Evil Dead Rise. Judging by the reports from early screenings, you’ll want to leave the kids at home for this one.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1)

Twenty years after Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway locked horns against the cutthroat  backdrop of the fashion industry in the 2006 smash hit The Devil Wears Prada, they’re back for more. Even better, first movie scene-stealers Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are also back for more.

Mortal Kombat II (May 8)

2021’s rebooted video game adaptation Mortal Kombat was a fine enough movie that didn’t set the box office on fire or earn much love from critics, but apparently did well enough on home video to warrant a sequel.

There’s one simple reason to think this new installment will be significantly cooler: Karl Urban has joined the cast as series hero Johnny Cage. In a dream world he’d be filming about the 7th sequel to Dredd, but for now this will do…

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22)

After re-energizing the Star Wars franchise with three seasons of excellent television, the Mandalorian and Grogu (formerly known as “Baby Yoda”) are set to hit the big screen under the trustworthy leadership of writer / director Jon Favreau.

If that’s not enough to earn your trust back try this on for size: Sigourney Weaver, beloved by sci-fi fans for her work as Ripley from the Alien franchise (and currently starring in Avatar: Fire and Ash) is heading back to outer space as part of the cast.

Masters of the Universe (June 5)

39 years after Dolph Lundgren’s attempt to launch a live-action Masters of the Universe, He-Man returns in the form of Nicholas Galitzine in a brand-new take on this popular cartoon character. Jared Leto stars as bad guy Skeletor.