As 2026 looms, The Indiependent‘s film writers share which films they’re most looking forward to in the year to come.
The Odyssey (dir. Christopher Nolan)
‘Swords and Sandals Epics’ immediately draws to mind the golden age of Hollywood cinema. However, while various people have tried over the years to revive them, it has been to little success. The time has come for another director to give it a go, and who better than Christopher Nolan, fresh off the back of a film that spanned over three hours, and won Best Picture.
The Odyssey is one of those books that feels like it should have a hundred adaptations by now, but nothing has come out that is the definitive adaptation. And yet, the book itself is an epic poem, that would have been traditionally read aloud: it is a story that should be seen and heard rather than read. Now we have the opportunity, and Nolan has rounded up the troops of A-Listers in his camp to form the Greek army at the heart of this story. With Matt Damon helming the ship, and the cast including Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron, we are all in for this journey, however long it takes.
With the first looks promising grand production design, lived in costumes, and location filming across the globe, we cannot wait to see whether Nolan’s rendering of this iconic tale becomes a classic in its own right.
Words by Rehana Nurmahi
The History of Sound (dir. Oliver Hermanus)
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor are two of the most talked about young men in Hollywood right now, delivering one noteworthy performance after another. Hamnet for the former and Wake Up Dead Man plus The Mastermind for the latter have both riding highs and they will now grace the big screen together for Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound.
I obviously haven’t seen the film yet so I can’t pretend to know too much about it but what I have heard is mightily intriguing. Music brings the two together and then a story of lost love and longing unfolds, suggesting that a tear or two will be shed in the cinema when watching this in January.
Out of the festivals, The History of Sound hasn’t been met with the rave reviews that I anticipated but anything with either of these two stars in will have me firmly seated. Mescal has made a career of playing sad men thus far with such moving performances in All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun whilst also perhaps subverting expectations in the under-seen God’s Creatures so, alongside O’Connor, he will surely reduce us to floods of tears once again.
Words by Jamie Rooke
Resurrection (dir. Bi Gan)
Having garnered much acclaim at its Cannes premiere, and various festival outings over 2025, Bi Gan’s latest is the most mouth-watering arthouse treat.
The director’s previous film, Long Day’s Journey into Night, turned out to be a huge hit in China; arguably this was down to misleading marketing that promised a romantic date-night movie: in 3D like a real blockbuster! As it turned out, Bi’s dream-epic centred around a 50-minute long take that reconfigured the memories and fantasies of its lead character. This was a movie full of astonishing images and choreographed camerawork, but understandably some found their patience tested.
From what we know of Resurrection, Bi’s ambition doesn’t seem to have wavered. Early word has promised a “movie monster”, a structure based around the senses, and sequences that span history and genre. These are long, demanding movies that require an open mind, but a director so obviously dedicated to the big-screen experience will always have my interest.
Words by Max King
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (dir. David Frankel)
Few sequels carry as much weight as The Devil Wears Prada 2. The original did not just give us a workplace comedy with great coats. It exposed an entire culture of status, taste, and ambition, and it did it so sharply that it still gets quoted like it never left. Coming back to that world nearly two decades later feels risky, but also kind of perfect, because the industry it once mocked has only become more extreme.
Fashion and media now operate in a very different space. Social media has blurred traditional hierarchies while quietly creating new ones. Influencers sit where editors used to, and the job does not end when you leave the office, it follows you online. That shift alone feels like enough material for a sequel that has a reason to exist beyond revisiting an old favourite. Ideally, it uses this new landscape to dig into the same questions the original handled so well. What does ambition look like now, and what does it ask you to give up? The first film captured how easily compromise can creep in, and how addictive excellence can feel until it starts to own you. In 2026, that tension could hit even harder.
There is also the comfort of returning to a world that feels instantly familiar, the iconic characters, the humour, the style. If The Devil Wears Prada 2 brings back that spark while giving us something new to sit with, it could be more than a sequel. It could be a proper update.
Words by Lara Sayess
Dune: Part Three (dir. Denis Villeneuve)
Fresh off the heels of the critical and commercial success of Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet’s next feature will see him returning to the world of Arakis in Denis Villeneuve’s final instalment of the Dune trilogy.
Whilst little information is known about the exact plot of the film, it is confirmed to be an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s polarising book Dune Messiah, set 12 years on from the shocking ending of Dune: Part Two, which sees Paul Atreides become the Emperor.
With Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and more talent reprising their roles from the previous two films, along with Robert Pattinson joining the cast in an undisclosed role, the film is sure to provide
powerhouse performances which will hopefully scoop up some long overdue acting nominations.
Although we won’t be watching Dune: Part Three in cinemas until December, if Chalamet’s promotion for Marty Supreme is anything to go by, expect your social feeds to be flooded by Dune popcorn buckets and Chalamet’s random, highly publicised antics in the months before.
Words by Freya Parker
Look Back (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)
Looking ahead to the new year, I am excited for Look Back, the live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot animation. The story follows two manga artists who form a deep bond through drawing and discover purpose in creating art together. I am often skeptical of live-action adaptations of anime, especially the heart-warming and emotionally driven works. However, the 2026 version is directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, one of Japan’s most acclaimed filmmakers. He is renowned for his delicate portrayal of humanity and interpersonal relationships. How will he retain the original’s emotional core while translating the unique surrealism of animation into live action?
Words by Angel Sun
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