7 Things to Know From CinemaCon 2026
Everything worth knowing about upcoming British and British-ish films announced at the yearly presentation.
When movie theaters first saw the rising threat of internet distribution in the late aughts, with early torrenting, there was, more or less, a cultural decision made en masse by production houses that the best way to combat it was to emphasize the collective experience of the movie theater as a sacred rite. It was probably a wise angle, all things considered, since technology would eventually evolve to the point where clarity and screen size would no longer be mitigating factors.
The result was a weeklong festival that is held in Las Vegas, known as “CinemaCon.” Originally one of four industry showcases known as ShoWest, where theater owners could see forthcoming offerings and judge which they would screen, the rebranded event used the burgeoning internet and social media landscape to create a worldwide platform for production companies to present their upcoming titles as must-experience events as much as films.
On some level, it’s worked. The festival is in its 15th year, and the four-day event was filled with announcements about some of the biggest films debuting over the next 18 months. Those films include multiple British-ish franchises and a couple of Oscar hopefuls hitting theaters this fall. Here’s a rundown of everything worth knowing from the week’s announcements.
Paddington 4
Sony opened the week with the announcement that Paddington 4 was officially confirmed in development. It was already pretty heavily rumored, so it wasn’t a surprise. However, what was notable is that there’s no talent attached right now. StudioCanal CEO Anna Marsh didn’t name writers or specify which cast members from the previous films would return. (It didn’t help that The Hollywood Reporter’s kerning caused multiple people to think Paddington might be in for a rough ride in the new sequel.)
However, Sony will almost certainly jump on the ball now that Paddington: The Musical, which opened at the end of 2025 at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, is officially a hit, winning seven Olivier Awards. The musical is currently looking to transfer to Broadway in 2027, so a film reaching theaters around the same time would be ideal.
The Dog Stars
Ridley Scott is back again, with a new Oscar-bait film, and hopefully one that’s not quite as embarrassing as Napoleon. His latest film, The Dog Stars, is slated to arrive in August and play the film festival circuit. A post-apocalyptic thriller based on Peter Heller’s 2013 novel, the film stars Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) in a post-pandemic world (one that happened to be written ten years before the real post-pandemic arrived).
Elordi stars as a grief-stricken pilot who’s accompanied by his loyal dog in navigating a post-pandemic American wilderness, clinging to survival and the faint hope of human connection after a mysterious radio transmission suggests they may not be alone. The Dog Stars opens in theaters on Friday, August 28, 2026.
Highlander
Fans of The Witcher will recall Henry Cavill accidentally flew too close to the sun as Superman, and suddenly found himself down to a single franchise role as Absolute Unit Sherlock in Enola Holmes. The quickest remedy for that was to get someone to hire him to spearhead a new blockbuster series, so he did, getting cast as the titular Connor MacLeod in the big-screen Highlander reboot.
Cavill’s got a pretty decent cast around him for the kick-off film, including Russell Crowe (Nuremberg), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), Siobhán Cullen (Obituary), and Marisa Abela (Industry), plus American actors Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) and Dave Bautista (Glass Onion).
Dune Part 3
Dune is another of those franchises that’s more “space opera” than British. However, it includes enough U.K. talent, especially as the films go on, that it accidentally backed into our sphere. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve showed the first seven minutes of the new film at the showcase, which will rightfully promote Chani (Zendaya) to a major figure. (She married in! She’s Zendaya Holland now! We get to claim her!)
Anyway, the thing about the Dune films, as Rory Doherty rightfully pointed out in his review of the first two parts, is that Villeneuve manages to capture the grandeur of the books. We expect that the third and final installment will be just as good. The movie premieres globally on Friday, December 18, 2026.
Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest
We always choose real British history over fantasy here at Telly Visions, which is one reason we don’t cover the Westeros-based franchises, except in the capacity of casting our favorite actors. (Matt Smith deserves better than that wig. Fight me.) However, after three TV series, including the recently renewed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Game of Thrones is going big-screen with its first feature film, titled Aegon’s Conquest.
Much like House of the Dragon, the story behind Aegon I Targaryen’s Conquest of Westeros is one of those historical stories that George R.R. Martin never fully fleshed out. (It’s basically told in the HotD opening credits.) However, after realizing that trying to do a multi-series TV show based on that level of material was a recipe for failure, it seems Warner Bros. has decided a two-hour big-screen epic would be a better format. Not wrong. I might even be willing to watch since it’s only two hours. No cast as yet, but we’ll be sure to round them up when it’s announced.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
Conversely, I cannot think of a single Lord of the Rings fan who is excited about The Hunt for Gollum. I think it’s an assumption that Andy Serkis isn’t doing this as a money grab – and three Ashbourne-Serkis kids finished university and are now working actors, along with their parents. He’s just that attached to Gollum, which is why he’s not just starring in it, but directing as well. (Peter Jackson’s crew is writing/producing.) The problem is, the rest of us were burnt out, first by the bloated Hobbit trilogy and then by The Rings of Power. (However, I will perk up to see what Stephen Colbert decides to tackle.)
That being said, the cast for Gollum, who were unveiled at CinemaCon, is pretty stacked. Serkis will costar alongside Jamie Dornan (The Tourist) as Young Aragorn; he’s got a passable enough resemblance to Viggo Mortensen. The cast also includes Kate Winslet (The Regime) as Marigol and Leo Woodall (Prime Target) as Halvard.
The Odyssey
Last, but certainly not least, there’s Christopher Nolan’s latest, in which he adapts Homer’s The Odyssey for the big screen. The cast is a conglomerate of globe-trotting stars, including Brits Tom Holland (Mr. Zendaya) as Telemachus, Zendaya herself as Athena, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, and Cosmo Jarvis, plus Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, and Jon Bernthal.
Nolan showed the Trojan Horse sequence at the convention, which apparently was spectacular. (Let’s be real, it’s the reason to see the film, much like the Titanic sinking was the big draw in 1997.) The Odyssey will debut in theaters on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Sign up for full access to Telly Visions' recaps and reviews!
(We occasionally use affiliate links in our posts to help keep cat food on the floor.)
