Ridley Scott

Ten sci-fi & fantasy movies coming to theaters this year

Posted on by earthtoshawna

How’s it going, sci-fi fans? Not great? I get it. The news lately is even bleaker than usual. There are so many horrible things happening on planet Earth – but it keeps turning. We can do our part and also be grateful for art – for music and books and film, and the escape from reality they provide, at least for a few hours. 

I already mentioned the upcoming astronaut movie “Project Hail Mary” (in theaters March 20) in my last post. Here are 10 more movies I’m looking forward to seeing in 2026. 

If you can’t get enough of “baby Yoda,” you’ll be happy to know “The Mandalorian and Grogu” are coming to the big screen. Pedro Pascal reprises his role of the Mandalorian, aka Din Djarin. Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White also star.

Jon Favreau created the fresh, original Star Wars series, and there have been three seasons so far. It’s unclear exactly why the producers decided to release a movie rather than a fourth season. The only explanation I’ve seen thus far is that Disney is “pivoting away” from streaming.

The movie’s plot has been somewhat shrouded in secrecy as well. Some fans were annoyed by the Super Bowl ad parodying the Budweiser Clydesdales. (The ad shows Mando and Grogu in a wagon pulled by tauntauns in place of the famous draft horses.) A longer, 2-minute trailer was released about a week later.

The film will be in theaters May 22.

Steven Spielberg is one of the biggest names in sci-fi; he gave us “Jurassic Park,” “E.T.,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and many others. His newest movie, “Disclosure Day,” stars Emily Blunt as a TV meteorologist receiving extraterrestrial communication. The trailer is somewhat suspenseful. I hope the movie isn’t too anxiety-inducing.

Colin Firth, Josh O’Connor, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo also star in the UFO flick, which will be in theaters June 12.

We got a preview of the new Supergirl (aka Kara Zor-El) at the end of Superman (2025), and it was obvious she’s a fun party girl – a stark contrast to her straitlaced cousin. She is played by Milly Alcock (“House of the Dragon”).

Matthias Schoenaerts (who was amazing in “Rust and Bone”) will play Krem of the Yellow Hills; David Corenswet reprises his role as Clark Kent, aka Superman, aka Kal-El; and Jason Momoa plays Lobo, an “alien mercenary from planet Czarnia.” (I guess he’s not Aquaman anymore?) Most importantly, though, Kara’s adorable dog Krypto will be in the movie! Can’t wait!

“Supergirl” will be in theaters June 26.

It has been five years since the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” At the end of that movie, Doctor Strange casts a spell that makes everyone forget Peter Parker (Tom Holland) exists. Even his friends don’t recognize him. He’s now protecting New York City anonymously – no one knows he is Spider-Man.

Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return as MJ and Ned. Mark Ruffalo reprises his role as the Hulk/Bruce Banner. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will be in theaters July 31.

The film adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, “The Dog Stars,” is coming to theaters Aug. 28. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, and Benedict Wong, the movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future and centers on a pilot (Elordi) and an ex-Marine (Brolin), survivors of a flu pandemic.

The sixth Hunger Games movie, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” will be released in theaters on Nov. 20. Based on Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel, the adaptation is a sequel to “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” and takes place 24 years before the first film. A young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) is chosen to compete in the Hunger Games.

The cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ralph Fiennes, and Glenn Close.

“Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is coming to theaters later this year, and I’m super excited as it will be written and directed by Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird,” “Barbie”). The film is based on the sixth book in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” by C.S. Lewis. This will be the fourth adaptation of the series, but the first by Gerwig.

Carey Mulligan, Emma Mackey, Daniel Craig, Denise Gough, and David McKenna will star, and the film will be in theaters Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving. It will be streaming on Netflix on Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

I love the “Jumanji” movies. They’re silly, I know, but also funny and sweet. The series’ newest movie (which is as yet untitled), will be in theaters on Dec. 11. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny DeVito, and Rhys Darby reprise their roles.

The new Spider-Man flick isn’t the only Marvel movie coming to theaters this year – “Avengers: Doomsday,” the third film in Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will be in theaters Dec. 18. Tony Stark/Iron Man is gone, but Robert Downey Jr. is playing a new role: Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom is a prominent supervillain in the Marvel comics, and will face off against an all-star cast of superheroes, including the Avengers, the Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and X-Men. The film is set 14 months after the events of “Thunderbolts” (aka the New Avengers).

The huge cast makes me wonder if my favorites will get enough screen time, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what happened with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), as he sort of disappeared after “Endgame.”

“Dune” isn’t my favorite franchise, but I’m invested after seeing the first two movies, so I will be going to see “Dune: Part 3” in theaters. Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Robert Pattinson star in the Denis Villeneuve-directed film, which comes to theaters Dec. 18 (bumping “Doomsday” – which releases the same day – from IMAX).

Which movies are you most excited about this year? Let me know in the comments!

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‘The Martian’ celebrates teamwork, optimism

Posted on by earthtoshawna

You might think that if you were stranded on Mars, you would feel hopeless and depressed. Well, you wouldn’t if you were Mark Watney, the protagonist of Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s bestseller “The Martian.”

And who else could pull off a smiling, cheery astronaut, even as he is dying on Mars, but Matt Damon? Watney rarely allows himself to let his situation get him down. He’s much too busy calculating mathematical equations to figure out how he’s going to survive until NASA figures out that he’s alive and sends someone to rescue him.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Damon recently played another astronaut stranded on a planet, in last year’s epic space adventure “Interstellar.” (Jessica Chastain was also in both movies.)

I keep hearing this movie described as “a love letter to NASA,” and it absolutely celebrates the camaraderie, teamwork, and sense of adventure for which the space agency is known. But more than that, it is a testimony to the ingenuity and determination of one man who refuses to give up.

Throughout the movie, I couldn’t help thinking, “I would never have thought of that” and “Well, that would be the last straw for me.” I clearly don’t have the knowledge base or mental stability required to be a space explorer. I kept waiting for him to crack, but I guess they weed out all the sissies from the space program with psychological testing.

I also kept waiting for some flashback scenes of Watney with his loved ones back on Earth. They never mention a girlfriend, only his parents, and even though there are brief scenes with the other astronauts’ families, we never see Watney’s parents, even though he mentions them a couple times.

Perhaps this was to show us that Watney wants to live for the sake of living, because he has a zest for life, not because he wants to see his children grow up or because he’s made a promise to a girlfriend that he would come back, which is how this is usually done.

Or maybe, this just isn’t a movie about family. Not the blood-related kind, anyway. It’s more about the faith and trust and the love of science that bond all these people together – the stranded astronaut who says “I love what I do,” the Ares 3’s other five astronauts who have become his friends, and the entire ground crew at NASA, who are faced with making tough decisions without much time to consider the odds.

And most of all, it’s about optimism in the face of adversity – a quality we should all aspire to.