Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column tracking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news and updates on genre films, streaming and theatrical.
Sci Fi Movie Premieres
The Star Wars franchise returns to the theaters this weekend with The Mandalorian and Grogu as the next entry in the Summer 2026 Blockbuster sweepstakes. That is the only genre entry hitting the big screen or streaming over the next few days, but more are on the way (you can see our Summer 2026 preview at this link). You can watch trailers and get info for all the current and upcoming sci fi and fantasy films at this link.
The Mandalorian and Grogu (In Theaters, May 22nd): The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White
Sci Fi Movie News of Note
The animated series Rick & Morty will be heading to the big screen as confirmed by co-creator Dan Harmon. Series supervising director Jacob Hair will be helming the film, and Harmon had the following to say about that choice:
I think when we started talking about a movie and could a movie happen and who would direct it, the first question was, ‘Can Jacob do it?’ Because that would be a dream, as opposed to going out and just getting somebody that did a great job on another animated thing. This is our guy, who has done some of the most amazing work on the show. It’s like the director version of Donald Glover in that I don’t know if there’s a limitation to what he can do; we haven’t found it yet.
This is in pre-production at this point, and with the upcoming Paramount takeover of Warner Bros., it’s possible that could cause delays on the film moving forward. The ninth season of the series is set to premiere this Sunday at 11 PM EST on Adult Swim.
The fourth Avatar movie has not received the greenlight yet, even though the third film in that franchise grossed over $1.5 billion in theaters. But when production does get started, James Cameron is hoping to fast track the next two installments, at least in relation to how slowly the first three films came out. He had the following to say to The Empire Podcast on his plans going foward:
You know, I’ll be doing some writing. I’ve got a number of projects that I’m cooking. And Avatar 4 and 5 are still floating out there. We’re going to be looking at some new technologies to try to do them more efficiently. Because they’re hideously expensive and take a long time. I want to do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost. That’s my metric. And so it’s going to take us a year or so to figure out how to do that.
It does seem likely that these will go forward at some point, but Cameron previously suggested that if the films did not happen, he might carry on the story in novels.
The much-maligned second X-Files feature film I Want to Believe will be getting a director’s cut that will release on streaming in June 2026. According to Chris Carter, the movie that he originally made was much scarier, but he was told to make cuts because Fox wanted to release it with a PG-13 rating. Following are his comments on that process:
I can tell you that you can do more on network television, they’re more permissive than the censors are for the movies, the people who rate the movies. And so now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended to make. It’s not just doing a director’s cut to do a director’s cut, it’s really kind of bringing to life something that for me was on the page and never got to the screen.
Now that Disney owns Fox Entertainment, they have given him the chance to go back and create a director’s cut of the movie, and that will premiere on Disney+ on June 11th.
The new Lord of the Rings movie The Hunt for Gollum is set for a 2027 release, and the third season of The Rings of Power will premiere in November 2026, and now we can expect even more from that franchise. Embracer–which holds the rights to the property–is creating the holding company Fellowship Entertainment to get more from LotR as well as other “undervalued” IPs like Tomb Raider, The Mask, Sin City, and HellBoy. Company chair Lars Wingefors made the following statement about their upcoming plans:
I think the assets held by Fellowship Entertainment are among the most undervalued in the industry and I feel it’s my duty as the largest shareholder to change this and create a structure to realize their full potential.
So expect more movies, TV shows, books, comics, etc. from these properties in the coming years.
In production new, The Batman II has begun filming which should have it on target for its planned October 2027 release date. Return of the Living Dead showed up in the latest Production Weekly listings which means that work has begun on that movie. That is a Christmas-themed sequel to the first entry in the franchise that takes place eighteen months after the events of that film. It is written and directed by Steve Wolsh and stars Devon Sawa, Casimere Jollette, Kynlee Heiman, and Alexander Ward. That one is targeting a November 2026 release.
New on Home Video
Avatar: Fire and Ash: Return to Pandora for the third chapter of Marine turned Na’vi leader Jake Sully and his family. Reeling from one death, the Sullys set out to prevent another — aided by the Wind Traders. But on the way, they’re attacked by the Ash People, who blame Eywa for their ravaged home. Warning: Some flashing-lights scenes may affect photosensitive viewers.
Cast and Crew: Sam Worthington (Actor), Sigourney Weaver (Actor), Zoe Saldaña (Actor), James Cameron (Director)
Now Available: 4K UHD | 3D | Blu-ray | DVD | VOD
More new releases at this link.
Recent Trailers
Hope (Coming Soon): In the remote South Korea village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung- min) and officer Sung-ae (Hoyeon) are called to find a mysterious creature that has wreaked havoc on the village. In the nearby forest, a coterie of hunters, including Sung- ki (Zo In-Sung) set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.
Directed by: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender
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