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Here we are only a couple weeks into 2026 – Netflix films from last year are winning at award shows in multiple categories (shoutout to Frankenstein, Train Dreams, & KPop Demon Hunters especially), and they’ve already released a popular rom-com in People We Meet on Vacation and are set to release a crime film with Ben Affleck & Matt Damon. Even with all of the hullabaloo about merger & acquisition deals, Netflix seems to have its foot on the gas pedal once again this year.
While the streamer has released its annual sizzle reel full of tantalizing projects and a press release for dozens of original films, we caution you that all release dates and windows are subject to change. But let us throw caution to the wind and cross every finger we have as we dive into my Top 5 Most Anticipated Netflix Films of 2026.
Honorable Mentions: Narnia, Saturn Return, Possible Love, Good Sex, Don’t Say Good Luck
5
The Whisper Man
Directed by James Ashcroft
Cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Michael Keaton
PLAINFIELD, NJ – APRIL 04: Atmosphere on the set of “The Whisper Man” on April 4, 2025 in Plainfield, New Jersey. (Photo by Bobby Bank/GC Images)
If my list has a common theme, I would say it’s betting on big-time, proven talent playing in genres that I can’t resist – and this film’s cast has a few legends that you just can’t ignore.
Based on the New York Time bestselling novel from Alex North, The Whisper Man delivers a multi-generational psychological thriller set in a town with a disturbingly dark past. When his 8-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.”
Produced by the Russo Brothers, helmed by The Rule of Jenny Pen director James Ashcroft, & written by creators who penned the likes of The First Omen and 2017’s IT, the film is loaded with talent in front of and behind the camera. The cast is led by one of the greatest actors of all time in 2-time Oscar Winner Robert De Niro, Emmy-nominated actor Adam Scott as the previously mentioned crime writer, Mission: Impossible franchise standout Michelle Monaghan as one of the detectives assigned to the case, “Midnight Mass” lead Hamish Linklater, & Batman himself Michael Keaton.
While some of the roles have not been explicitly assigned outside of Scott & Monaghan, it is probably safe to say that a face-to-face conversation between a grizzled former detective in De Niro and a convicted serial killer in Keaton is on the table for this one and I, for one, want front row seats to that.
4
Here Comes The Flood
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson, Daisy Edgar-Jones
Picture by: Jose Perez / SplashNews.com
Continuing the theme of big-time talent working in genres I love, how about ANOTHER legendary 2 time Oscar winning actor doing a heist movie directed by an Oscar-nominated director?
Written by Simon Kinburg (Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith), this crime thriller has mysteriously few details at this time, but the main plot seems to surround a bank guard, a teller, & a master thief as they engage in a deadly game of cons & double crosses.
The collection of talent is staggering. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener, The Two Popes), the film stars one of the best actors on the planet in Denzel Washington, one of the most versatile talents in Robert Pattinson, and supporting performances from Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters), Danai Gurira (“Walking Dead” franchise), & Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible franchise).
With a rare opportunity to have Denzel on Netflix alone, this one is a can’t miss film of 2026.
3
Ray Gunn
Directed by Brad Bird
Netflix is currently on a major roll with their animation projects over the past several years: Klaus & I Lost My Body nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars in 2019, Over The Moon & Shaun The Sheep: Farmageddon nominated in 2020, The Mitchells vs the Machines in 2021, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio winning in 2022 along with a nomination for The Sea Beast, Nimona nominated in 2023, Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl nominated in 2024, and what seems like a surefire nomination for KPop Demon Hunters at this upcoming Oscar Sunday.
How can they top all this and look to compete again in 2026? You hire one of the absolute legends of animation in Brad Bird, that’s how. A two-time Oscar winner with a long career as a senior creative team member at Pixar, Bird has made some of the most indelible characters in animated film history: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles Family, and of course Remy the Rat. Every time Brad Bird has written & directed an animated feature, it becomes an all-time classic.
Co-written by frequent Guillermo del Toro collaborator & *Batteries Not Included director Matthew Robbins, Bird’s newest venture will be Ray Gunn, a story set in a futuristic world cohabited by aliens and humans, where the last human private eye is hired to investigate the fidelity of a well-known pop star.
2
Animals
Directed by Ben Affleck
Cast: Ben Affleck, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun
BACKGRID UK 9 APRIL 2025
While seeing Ben Affleck & best friend Matt Damon reunite in The RIP may be enough for your 2026, may I present ANOTHER crime thriller starring Affleck, but this time directed by him as well! Why is that important? Well, because Affleck as a director has an incredible success rate. 4 of the 5 films he has helmed have been nominated in various categories at major award shows; 3 of them have been Oscar-nominated, with one of them winning Best Picture in 2012’s Argo.
Written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, Richard Jewell), along with Connor McIntyre & Affleck himself, Animals also deals with a child abduction case, this time with the kidnapping of a political figure’s son. When the son of a Los Angeles mayoral candidate is taken, he (Affleck) and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.
Alongside Affleck, the film stars Gillian Anderson (X-Files, The Crown), Kerry Washington (Wake Up Dead Man), Steven Yuen (Beef, The Walking Dead), Ray Fisher (Justice League, The Piano Lesson), & Adriana Paz (Emilia Perez, Chupa).
With an all-star cast, Affleck covering every aspect of the film, & a genre Netflix produces very well, the expectations for this movie can’t get much higher.
1
The Adventures of Cliff Booth
Directed by David Fincher
Cast: Brad Pitt, Timothy Olyphant, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino
BACKGRID UK 23 SEPTEMBER 2025
While this may be wish-casting as it’s not on the official press release of films coming for 2026 & it’s wrapping up filming this month, The Adventures of Cliff Booth HAS to be in the #1 spot.
The whole concept seems like a fever dream for cinephiles in their 40s like myself. A sequel to an exceptional film from a gifted auteur in Quentin Tarantino, directed by one of the rare directors who is on the same level of talent as Tarantino in David Fincher, a script written by Tarantino, & a returning lead performance from one of the all-time great movie stars in Brad Pitt.
As the name implies, the film follows former stuntman Cliff Booth eight years after the events of 2019’s Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood as he navigates the studio system in his new role as a fixer.
Beyond Pitt reprising his role as Booth, the cast is incredibly deep, featuring another return performance from Timothy Olyphant as Jim Stacy & supporting players Scott Caan (Ocean’s Eleven), Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (US, Wonder Man), and Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House).
If this film gets confirmed for later this year, it would not only be the #1 for this list, but also one of my most anticipated for the entire slate of films for 2026.
