Summer movies 2026: Richard Roeper’s 10 most anticipated

Imagine if we lived in a movie world where only three feature films were arriving in theaters in the summer of 2026. Oooh, bleak.

But what if the three movies were Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi alien adventure “Disclosure Day”; Christopher Nolan’s mythic action epic “The Odyssey”; and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” continuing the greatest animated franchise of all time.

Pretty exciting, right? At least we’d have three enormously promising films on the horizon.

Here’s the good news: This summer’s roster also includes Guy Ritchie’s “In the Grey” (May 15) with Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal; “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” (May 22); “The Death of Robin Hood” starring Hugh Jackman (June 19); “Supergirl” (June 26); “Minions & Monsters” (July 1); “Evil Dead Burn” (July 24); “Super Troopers 3” (Aug. 7); “Insidious: Out of the Further” (Aug. 21); and “Coyote vs. Acme” (Aug. 28).

But as much as I’m looking forward to each of those films, they didn’t quite make my cut of Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2026. Let’s cut to the magnificent 10, in order of release date. See you at the movies — and please remember to turn off your phones. I know you have it in you.

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” — May 1

It was the Tumble that Sprained the Internet.

Last August, Anne Hathaway was filming “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and was in character as Andy Sachs when a block heel on her Ulla Johnson shoes snapped off, sending Anne/Andy falling down the steps of a New York brownstone as she held onto her bagel. She popped up and declared “I’m fine!” much to the relief of all of us who love Anne Hathaway.

The fascination with that viral moment and the steady parade of leaked (or released) set photos speaks to our interest in this long-awaited sequel that comes 20 years after the OG “Toxic Boss” film starring Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly and Hathaway as the Northwestern grad and aspiring journalist who becomes Miranda’s tortured assistant. This time around, Miranda’s empire is quaking in a media landscape that values influencers over traditional print magazines, while her former employee Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) is now a high-powered exec in her own right. Can’t wait for this one to spill the tea, or share the tea, or whatever they do with the tea these days.

“Masters of the Universe” — June 5

For a brief animated moment in the mid-1980s, the “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” cartoon was a thing, riding the blond, shaggy bob-cut wave of the title character, along with the likes of She-Ra and of course that infernal Skeletor. Now comes the live-action version, which has finally emerged from some 17 years in Development Purgatory. Nicholas Galitzine is an interesting actor who has already played royalty in “Cinderella” and “Red, White & Royal Blue,” so I’m looking forward to hearing him bellow “By the power of Grayskull!” and transform from Prince Adam into He-Man. I also love the idea of Jared Leto as Skeletor. The camp factor is baked into this one; I’m hoping they lean into that.

“Scary Movie” — June 5

As much as I appreciated the original meta-meta wackiness of the first “Scary Movie,” I lost interest in the sequels somewhere in the mid-2000s. But for the first time since “Scary Movie 2” in 2001, the Wayans brothers are back in the driver’s seat. (It’s the sixth entry in the franchise, but the official title is simply “Scary Movie.”) It looks as though they’re going to hit the ground running (screaming?) with spoofs of “Scream VI,” “M3GAN,” “Get Out,” “Sinners” and “Weapons,” with the usual kitchen-sink approach to comedy. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for big, dumb and fun.

“Disclosure Day” — June 12

After my recent re-watch of Steven Spielberg’s beautiful light show “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” I’m even more psyched to see this spiritual sequel. Or, maybe it’s going to be an actual sequel to “Close Encounters”? We don’t yet know. And isn’t it kind of great to not know everything, or much of anything, about a movie before its release? This much is a guarantee: The cast is otherworldly, including Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo. If I saw only one film this summer, it would be “Disclosure Day.”

“Toy Story 5” — June 19

I thought “Toy Story 3” was one of the most impactful and satisfying ‘three-quels’ in any genre, and it would have made for the perfect thematic conclusion to the story of Andy and his friends. But, you know, this is show business, so along came the reasonably entertaining but utterly unnecessary “Toy Story 4,” which played like one long epilogue. Still, there’s reason to be excited about “Toy Story 5,” with its reported storyline about Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), now 8 and more interested in her smart tablet than using her imagination to play with old-fashioned toys. Parents everywhere can relate.

“Moana” — July 10

Granted, the early visuals for this live-action adaptation look a little murky — and the Dwayne Johnson wig reveal was a disaster. (Al Yankovich cracked, “We’ve told all the casting agents that the Weird Al biopic sequel is currently on hold, but they just keep sending in headshots.”) Thing is, though, I’ve been a fan of a good percentage of Disney live-action updates, including “The Jungle Book,” “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast” and even the jarring but colorfully entertaining “Aladdin.” With “Moana,” we’re still getting the gorgeous music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina — and the storyline might delve a little bit deeper into the relationships in a live-action film that doesn’t have the boundless imaginative visuals offered by the art of animation.

“The Odyssey” — July 17

As you might recall, there was a bit of a dustup about the rumored casting of the brilliant Lupita Nyong’o in Christopher Nolan’s ambitious and sweeping epic, with speculation Nyong’o had been cast as Helen of Troy. (We know Nyong’o is in the film, but not what role she’ll be playing.) An X user posted that the casting of Nyong’o was an insult to Homer and the source material; Elon Musk later commented on that post, claiming “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity.” This is kind of nuts, given that Helen is a mythological figure who emerged from an egg.

Meanwhile, no one is complaining about American and British actors — including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson playing Mediterraneans. We should all take a breath: Yes, we’ve come a long way from horrific casting such as Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” but there should be room for respectful creativity in casting. (Ian McKellen, Michael Fassbender and Denzel Washington have all been great as Macbeth.)

More importantly, the great Christopher Nolan is directing, and that cast is amazing. Also, we’re sure to feast on some dazzling visuals, given the $250 million budget, the first time use of new and lighter IMAX 70mm cameras, and location shooting that spans Greece, Italy, Scotland, Malta, Iceland, Morocco, the Western Sahara and the United States. The question isn’t whether “The Odyssey” will receive any Oscar nominations. The question is how many.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” — July 31

My favorite superhero movies are the relatively smaller stories that remain grounded rather than journeying to the stars, as happened in the 2002 “Spider-Man,” “The Dark Knight” and “Logan.” After the terrific, massive, mind-bending, crossover spectacle that was “Spider: Man: No Way Home,” it appears that “Brand New Day” will be a deeply personal, streets-of-New-York story, set four years after Doctor Strange cast a spell that made the world forget Peter Parker ever existed. Despite the sunny title, this installment looks to be the darkest “Spider-Man” adventure yet.

“The End of Oak Street” — August 14

There’s something about late summer that brings out the sci-fi and/or supernatural films. “An American Werewolf in London,” “The Fly,” “The Abyss,” “District 9,” “The Sixth Sense,” “The Others,” “Hollow Man,” — all August releases. With the greatly talented David Robert Mitchell (“It Follows”) writing and directing, “The End of Oak Street” leans into the sci-fi mystery genre. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor headline the cast in this story of a family that lives in a tranquil suburban neighborhood in the 1980s. All is well, until a disturbing cosmic event rips an entire street out of suburbia and into… well. We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?

“The Dog Stars” — August 28

At age 88, the prolific and magnificent Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Gladiator”) shows no signs of slowing down. Scott’s latest epic is an adaptation of Peter Heller’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel, starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong. Assuming the movie holds true to the essence of the novel’s plot, expect to experience one of the most devastating death scenes of the year — and to be thrilled by an upbeat and soaring resolution.

Richard Roeper is the Sun-Times' former movie critic and current contributor.