Looking back on 2025, there was a fair amount of action spread across movie and television screens. Major franchises like Avatar and Predator had shiny, new installments, while Mission: Impossible finally ended its decades-long run of thrilling spy adventures, at least for now. There were also original action offerings, like Novocaine and KPop Demon Hunters, and one certified new masterpiece in One Battle After Another. Plus, with more from Marvel, DC and Jason Statham, it was a solid year for fans, and 2026 looks like it may even be better for action.
The superhero studios will both return to try and reclaim the box office throne once more, while some new blockbuster adaptations of video games and Saturday morning cartoons will try to take it from them. There are also a couple of new originals featuring some of the current favorite action stars, as well as Christopher Nolan returning to action territory with a sword-and-sandals epic. 2026 will certainly be action-packed, and these ten movies are definitely the most anticipated.
10
‘Apex’
Ever since Charlize Theron shaved her head and smeared some axle grease across it for Mad Max: Fury Road, the Oscar-winning actress has carved out a nice little niche as one of the most badass action heroines of the 21st century, with movies like Atomic Blonde and The Old Guard. She looks to continue that with a modern update of The Most Dangerous Game, alongside Taron Egerton taking a heel turn in Apex.
As a survivalist always looking for her next adrenaline rush, Theron finds it in Egerton’s psychotic hunter looking for his next hunt. With the two dependable stars and direction by Baltasar Kormakur, who’s had some success with survival thrillers like Everest and Beast, Apex looks to be a lean, mean programmer just in time for Spring.
9
‘Mutiny’
Jason Statham is one of the most reliable action stars still pumping out B-movie pulp for the masses. In 2025, he gave audiences a double dose with The Beekeeper and A Working Man, and he looks set to do it again in 2026. In January, he hits first with Shelter as a grizzled former assassin looking to protect a young girl when his former employers come looking to collect him, and then near the end of summer, he returns for Mutiny.
Not much is known about Mutiny’s plot at this point, other than the fact that Statham plays another former professional, this time a retired Special Forces operative and police officer, who is framed for murder and uncovers a conspiracy while trying to clear his name. Certainly sounds familiar, but anyone going to see a Statham actioner in theaters expecting an enthralling or original plot is missing the point. The point is to see Statham do his grizzled action hero bit, and in this case, he’s being directed by Jean-Francois Richet, who previously helmed the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 and the Gerard Butler vehicle Plane, both of which were far better than they had any right to be.
8
‘The Wrecking Crew’
Buddy cop comedies have been a staple of the action genre for decades, and they usually succeed or fail on the strength of the chemistry between their lead duo. In the case of the upcoming The Wrecking Crew, things are already off to a good start with the casting of Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa as half-brothers who team up to avenge their father’s murder. The two action stars make for one of the most exciting action team-ups in recent cinematic history, and the Hawaii setting also looks to give the film some unique charm as well.
Both actors look to be bringing their charismatic A game to the movie, which looks to have suitably R-rated action and a great deal of humor in between. It’s also coming from director Angel Manuel Soto, who was behind the surprisingly good DCEU effort Blue Beetle. At the very least, this streaming original should be a diverting action effort, and if it turns out better, maybe we’ll be lucky to get some sequels.
7
‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’
There are lots of reasons to be excited about Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. It’s an original sci-fi action comedy, which makes it stand out among the many franchise installments that will be dominating the blockbuster season. It stars Sam Rockwell, who has basically never been bad in a movie, and it’s even more exciting that he’s the lead here. Finally, it marks the return of Gore Verbinski behind the camera for the first time in almost ten years.
Verbinski has a weird and wild filmography, much of it filled with blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger, and no matter what your feelings are about those films, there’s no denying they have some tremendous action in them. It’s all the more exciting to see Verbinksi tackle an original film, with a gonzo plot about a time traveler who recruits a bunch of diner patrons to help him save the world from artificial intelligence. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2025, where it received fairly strong reviews, so action fans should definitely mark their calendars for Valentine’s weekend.
6
‘Masters of the Universe’
Bringing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe back to the big screen has been a long, arduous process, but animation aficionados will finally get to witness the power of Grayskull again this summer, with Nicholas Galitzine wielding the magic sword and donning the iconic bowl cut. He’s surrounded by a pretty stacked cast that includes Alison Brie, Idris Elba, and Kristen Wiig. Inexplicably, it also stars Jared Leto as Skeletor, but we’ll try now to hold that against it just yet.
More exciting is that the film is directed by Travis Knight, the Laika Studios CEO, who also helmed the excellent Kubo and the Two Strings. His only live-action effort so far has been Bumblebee, which is the best Transformers movie by a mile, even if that’s not a high bar to clear. If he and his talented cast can master the right tone for this movie, it should (hopefully) be a lot of bold, bright fun.
5
‘Street Fighter’
Video game movies have become big business in the wake of several successful movies and streaming services, and now Capcom’s flagship fighting game Street Fighter is getting another shot at big screen glory. While the first two attempts at live-action Street Fighter movies resulted in some real disasterpieces, excluding Raul Julia‘s award-worthy performance as M. Bison, this newest version looks to be really leaning into the video game’s over-the-top aesthetic.
Based on the trailer alone, the movie should have lots of colorful beat-downs to keep audiences entertained. The casting looks about as picture perfect as possible, with Cody Rhodes, Andrew Koji, David Dastmalchian and others all looking spot on. Fighting games don’t have the best track record when it comes to movie adaptations, but hopefully, this one will keep the convoluted plotting to a minimum and punching to a maximum.
4
‘Supergirl’
Superhero movies still take up a fair amount of real estate in the current action movie landscape, and last year that terrain was dominated by DC with James Gunn‘s reinvigorated Superman. That film teased a lot of other superheroes who we’ll likely be seeing more of on the big screen, including a cameo by the very messy-looking Supergirl, who will star in a solo film this summer.
This party-girl take on the character should definitely help Milly Alcock‘s interpretation stand out, and the film itself looks to be taking a cosmic approach to her adventures, with little, if any, of it set on Earth. It’s directed by Craig Gillespie, who’s an idiosyncratic choice for a superhero blockbuster, but those kinds of bold swings have paid dividends in the genre before. At the very least, the movie will offer the most obvious casting choice of all time, with Jason Momoa making his final action appearance of the year as Lobo.
3
‘Avengers: Doomsday’
While the MCU has been back on its heels ever since wrapping up its Infinity Saga, consistently trying and failing to recapture audience excitement for each subsequent superhero installment, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday clearly has high anticipation. Whether bringing back major stars like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., as well as directors Anthony and Joe Russo, turns out to be a success in recapturing the magic or just a sad act of desperation in search of box office dollars remains to be seen.
The film has a gigantic cast of characters, with many familiar faces returning, including some more members from the X-Men. There’s a lot riding on the success of this film, but its cast alone will probably be enough to give it a massive opening weekend; sustaining that success is another story. Either way, Avengers: Doomsday is going to be one of the most talked-about blockbusters of 2026.
2
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Tom Holland hasn’t donned the red and blue tights for Spider-Man since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which turned out to be the highest-grossing film to ever star the webslinger, and also ended on an exciting cliffhanger. While Holland’s tenure as the character has mostly been dominated by his connections to the MCU at large, No Way Home erased Peter Parker’s secret identity from everyone’s memory, leaving him to continue his superhero work at the street-level in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
This potentially more grounded approach to the character could end up being just what the franchise needs for reinvention, since the constant escalation of superhero movies leaves less and less room for higher stakes. The intention is for the film to lead into a new trilogy of Spider-Man films, which could introduce all sorts of exciting characters to the franchise, including the mystery figure that Sadie Sink will be playing in this one.
1
‘The Odyssey’
In his follow-up after winning an Academy Award for Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan will attempt to bring back sword-and-sandal epics with a big-budget, star-studded adaptation of The Odyssey. Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Trojan War hero whose journey back home to his family is complicated by all manner of gods and monsters, the film has Nolan dipping his toe into fantasy for the first time, and should also be an appropriate excuse for him to stage some epic battle sequences.
As with Nolan’s previous blockbuster films, The Odyssey features an expansive cast of major stars, and will also be the director’s first film to shoot entirely with IMAX cameras, which promises some truly large-scale action. Combining the fantastical elements of the Greek epic with Nolan’s penchant for grounded adventure and practical effects makes the film a must-watch in theaters, and regardless of the ultimate outcome, anticipation could not be higher.
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