Hollywood's on a roll. Here are 7 movies we're looking forward to this spring
By Bob Mondello
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 • 4:28 PM EST
Heard on All Things Considered
Hollywood is finally on a roll. The first six weeks of 2026 were the film industry's best start since before the pandemic. This summer's got us salivating over Spielbergian sci-fi, a Nolan-style Greek epic, and Spidey, Toy Story and Minion sequels.
And spring's looking seriously stellar. Here are seven flicks we can't wait to see before Memorial Day.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
In theaters March 6, on Netflix March 20
Youtube Video
The British series about a Birmingham crime family ended its sixth and final season four years ago with Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby setting fire to his Romani wagon and galloping on a white steed into a war-torn 1940s Britain teeming with fascists. Murphy said at the time that he'd return for a big-screen finale "if there's more story there," and evidently there was, because he and all the cast's surviving principals will be back to usher in a new generation, joined by the likes of Tim Roth and Barry Keoghan.
Hoppers
In theaters March 6
Youtube Video
Scientists have invented a way to "hop" human minds into lifelike animal robots in Pixar's latest adventure. Mabel, an animal-loving teen, uses this new tech to inhabit a robot beaver, and quicker than you can say Avatar meets Mission Impossible, she's leading local critters in foiling a construction company 's plan to wreck their habitat.
Project Hail Mary
In theaters March 20
Youtube Video
Ryan Gosling plays a middle school teacher who may be the world's only hope when the sun and most of the galaxy's adjoining stars start to dim. He resists being packed onto a spaceship and sent to the one nearby star that's immune to the dimming, but gets more psyched about his mission when he encounters an alien life form. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, who wrote The Martian, this is another story about a lengthy and dangerous space flight that leavens suspense with humor.
Michael
In theaters April 24
Youtube Video
Antoine Fuqua directs this biopic about the rise and rise of Michael Jackson, from lead singer of The Jackson Five to superstar status as The Gloved One. Stepping into Jackson's shoes — and presumably moonwalking — is the King of Pop's lookalike and soundalike nephew, Jaafar Jackson, while Colman Domingo plays his father Joe.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
In theaters May 1
Youtube Video
Meryl Streep's Miranda is still Runway magazine's Queen Bee, and Stanley Tucci (Nigel) Anne Hathaway (Andy) and Emily Blunt (Emily) are still buzzing around her, though with an altered media landscape, the power dynamics have shifted. Emily's now the head of a luxury brand with ad money to spend. This one's based on the 2013 sequel novel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns.
The Sheep Detectives
In theaters May 8
Youtube Video
Hugh Jackman's shepherd makes sure his flock is not just fed and groomed but entertained by reading his sheep murder-mystery whodunnits every night. So, when they find him one morning cold and motionless, they're way ahead of the bumbling local cop. Nobody's pulling the wool over their eyes. The cast includes Emma Thompson and the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Patrick Stewart. Are ewe ready?
The Mandalorian and Grogu
In theaters May 22
Youtube Video
A little guy we first met as "Baby Yoda" is making his big-screen debut in the 13th Star Wars film. Disney's attempts to extend the series beyond the three original trilogies on the silver screen were spotty (Solo, anyone?), but with The Mandalorian a smash hit on Disney+ and a seven-year gap since the last big-screen battle between First Order and Resistance warriors, the thinking is that there's some pent-up demand. Enter bounty hunter Din Djarin and his apprentice.
Related Story: NPR
Related Story: NPR
Transcript
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Hollywood is finally on a roll at the box office. The film industry had its best start to the year since before the pandemic. So what do the studios have next? Well, here's critic Bob Mondello's spring movie preview.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: It's going to be like a class reunion at the multiplex this spring - lots of old pals.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2")
ANNE HATHAWAY: (As Andy Sachs) Hello?
STANLEY TUCCI: (As Nigel) Well, look what TJ Maxx dragged in.
MERYL STREEP: (As Miranda Priestly) Sorry. Who is this?
MONDELLO: Though not everyone remembers everyone.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2")
STREEP: (As Miranda Priestly) Do you know her? Do I know her?
HATHAWAY: (As Andy Sachs) I'm Andy Sachs.
TUCCI: (As Nigel) She was one of the Emilys.
STREEP: (As Miranda Priestly) One of the what?
MONDELLO: In "The Devil Wears Prada 2," Meryl Streep is still Runway magazine's queen bee, and Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt are still buzzing around her.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2")
HATHAWAY: (As Andy Sachs) I am the new features editor at Runway.
EMILY BLUNT: (As Emily) No, you are not.
STREEP: (As Miranda Priestly) Yeah. We are all so thrilled.
BLUNT: (As Emily) You know what's funny is you've changed. You have. You're much more confident. Kept those eyebrows, though, didn't you?
MONDELLO: A well-known title character in another movie kept a lot of her features, too, but well, it's complicated.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BRIDE!")
CHRISTIAN BALE: (As Frankenstein's Monster) We dug you up, literally brought you back to life.
MONDELLO: Christian Bale is Frankenstein's creature, Jessie Buckley the woman he hopes to wed, in Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Bride!"
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BRIDE!")
JESSIE BUCKLEY: (As The Bride) What do you want with a dead girl?
BALE: (As Frankenstein's Monster) I'm the same - born from the dead. I am a monster.
BUCKLEY: (As The Bride) Yeah, so am I.
MONDELLO: Some familiar folks from TV will join them in cinemas for the first time.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PEAKY BLINDERS: THE IMMORTAL MAN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Whatever happened to Tommy Shelby, the famous g**** gangster?
MONDELLO: Everybody's favorite crime gang decided their finale deserved widescreen treatment in "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PEAKY BLINDERS: THE IMMORTAL MAN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Tommy, you've got to come back.
MONDELLO: ...While a little guy we first met as Baby Yoda is making his big-screen debut in the 13th "Star Wars" film, "The Mandalorian & Grogu."
(SOUNDBITE OF GROGU VOCALIZING)
MONDELLO: It's been seven years since the last "Star Wars" movie, so the producers figure there's some pent-up demand. And that same theory applies to a biopic...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MICHAEL")
KENDRICK SAMPSON: (As Quincy Jones) The tracks are made.
MONDELLO: ...Of a pop icon...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MICHAEL")
SAMPSON: (As Quincy Jones) The songs are ready.
MONDELLO: ...Known as The Gloved One.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MICHAEL")
SAMPSON: (As Quincy Jones) Let's take it from the top.
MONDELLO: The film is simply called "Michael," and adding intrigue is the casting of Michael Jackson's near lookalike nephew Jaafar Jackson, who will be stepping into his uncle's shoes and, presumably...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN'")
JAAFAR JACKSON: (As Michael Jackson, singing) You wanna be startin' something...
MONDELLO: ...Moonwalking.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MICHAEL")
SAMPSON: (As Quincy Jones) That's what people want.
MONDELLO: Speaking of what people want, industry tracking reports suggests that one of the spring's most anticipated movies is a science fiction thriller called "Project Hail Mary," about a middle school teacher who may be the world's only hope when the sun starts to dim.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PROJECT HAIL MARY")
SANDRA HULLER: (As Eva Stratt) If we do nothing, everything on this planet will go extinct, including us.
MONDELLO: It stars Ryan Gosling...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PROJECT HAIL MARY")
HULLER: (As Eva Stratt) Dr. Grace, the world is counting on you.
MONDELLO: ...And is based on a novel by Andy Weir, who wrote "The Martian." Like that story about a lengthy and dangerous space flight, "Project Hail Mary" blends suspense...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PROJECT HAIL MARY")
RYAN GOSLING: (As Ryland Grace, screaming).
MONDELLO: ...With humor.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PROJECT HAIL MARY")
GOSLING: (As Ryland Grace) So I met an alien. He's kind of growing on me. At least he's not growing in me, you know? - which was a concern for a little while.
MONDELLO: Starting out with humor but then going darker is "This Is Not A Test," which puts high school students to the test, as it mixes "The Breakfast Club"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THIS IS NOT A TEST")
CHLOE AVAKIAN: (As Grace) Drinking game?
FROY GUTIERREZ: (As character) Never have I ever cheated on a test. When you're smart, you don't have to.
(LAUGHTER)
MONDELLO: ...With "28 Days Later."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THIS IS NOT A TEST")
GUTIERREZ: (As character) Never have I ever survived a zombie invasion.
MONDELLO: Always a first time - other suspense flicks include "Undertone," an audio-centric thriller...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "UNDERTONE")
NINA KIRI: (As Evy) Welcome to the "Undertone" podcast, where we talk about all things creepy.
ADAM DIMARCO: (As Justin) We're listening to 10 mysterious audio recordings from an anonymous email.
MONDELLO: ...Also, "Deep Water," a shark-infested blood bath from director Renny Harlin, "Scream 7," the latest installment in that popular series, and "Mother Mary," a fashion-forward thriller about a singer and her dress designer. In this one, Anne Hathaway will not wear Prada.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MOTHER MARY")
HATHAWAY: (As Mother Mary) You can't really hate me.
MICHAELA COEL: (As Sam Anselm) Oh, yes, I can.
HATHAWAY: (As Mother Mary) So is that what we're doing here? You're making me a hate dress?
COEL: (As Sam Anselm) You'll see.
MONDELLO: Thrills are also on the table when philanthropist Jessica Chastain gets involved with and then overly fixated on a young dancer she's been helping in the movie "Dreams."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DREAMS")
ISAAC HERNANDEZ: (As Fernando Rodríguez) Maybe I'll just go back to Mexico. Stop calling me.
JESSICA CHASTAIN: (As Jennifer McCarthy) You think you know me that well? You don't know me at all.
MONDELLO: And in the movie "Normal," Sheriff Bob Odenkirk presides over a town in Minnesota.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NORMAL")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As narrator) Life in Normal is quiet, peaceful, predictable - until it isn't.
REENA JOLLY: (As Lori) Why are they shooting at you?
BOB ODENKIRK: (As Ulysses) I'm at a loss.
MONDELLO: If that all sounds kind of extreme, rest assured there are gentler tales headed our way, a few with redemption on their minds. The film "Elijah Peel" is about a hard-driving rock star and the heart attack that lands him in a cardiac ward with young Jessica.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ELIJAH PEEL")
EVELYN GRACE KITE: (As Jessica Sanchez) They say you were self-destructive - too many girls, too much partying.
ROBERT MALCOLM CUMMING: (As Elijah Peel) I think someone's been watching a bit too much telly.
MONDELLO: She is a buoyant, but very sick little girl.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ELIJAH PEEL")
EVELYN: (As Jessica Sanchez) I thought you might need a pick-me-up.
CUMMING: (As Elijah Peel) You should be asleep. That's a joke. Well done.
MONDELLO: And just in time for the nation's 250th birthday, a tale of faith and founding fathers in "A Great Awakening."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A GREAT AWAKENING")
JONATHAN BLAIR: (As George Whitefield) Benjamin Franklin.
JOHN PAUL SNEED: (As Benjamin Franklin) Reverend George Whitefield.
BLAIR: (As George Whitefield) A match made in heaven.
SNEED: (As Benjamin Franklin) Or just a deal made in a print shop.
MONDELLO: Inspiration also comes in sports dramas like "Youngblood."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "YOUNGBLOOD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Youngblood coming down the wing.
MONDELLO: It's a Canadian remake of a 1986 Rob Lowe/Patrick Swazee movie.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "YOUNGBLOOD")
BLAIR UNDERWOOD: (As Blane Youngblood) Hockey will teach you what you need to know about life.
MONDELLO: As will boxing, when Wanda Sykes makes her dramatic debut as a former boxer, now a coach in the "Undercard."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "UNDERCARD")
WANDA SYKES: (As Cheryl "No Mercy" Stewart) This is your time, our time. You were born fighting (ph). Do what we came here to do.
MONDELLO: All very nice, but you say you're looking for laughs when you head to a cinema? Well, there'll be plenty, some aimed at kids...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE")
JACK BLACK: (As Bowser) Hey, Luigi. What's up, Mario?
MONDELLO: ..."The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," for instance, and "The Pout-Pout Fish" about a perpetual frowner who lives up to his name.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE POUT-POUT FISH")
NICK OFFERMAN: (As Mr. Fish) Hey. What are you doing?
NINA OYAMA: (As character) Can you help Hip (ph) out? Pwease (ph)?
OFFERMAN: (As Mr. Fish) Hmm. No.
MONDELLO: Pixar's found a way to send human characters into the animal world in "Hoppers."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HOPPERS")
PIPER CURDA: (As Mabel) So let me get this straight. You created a fake animal...
KATHY NAJIMY: (As Dr. Sam) Yes.
CURDA: (As Mabel) ...Which makes the other animals think you're an animal.
NAJIMY: (As Dr. Sam) Yes.
CURDA: (As Mabel) Guys, this is like "Avatar."
NAJIMY: (As Dr. Sam) This is nothing like "Avatar."
MONDELLO: And Andy Serkis seems to have taken some liberties in adapting George Orwell's dystopian classic, "Animal Farm."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANIMAL FARM")
GLENN CLOSE: (As Freida Pilkington) Pigs and humans working together - I like the optics.
SETH ROGEN: (As Napoleon) Oh, we love the optics. What are optics?
KIERAN CULKIN: (As Squealer) I think it's a kind of seafood.
MONDELLO: Sounds like they may have missed the point on that one - "Animal Farm" has always been an adult comedy. But there's no shortage of those elsewhere, from "How To Make A Killing," in which Glen Powell plays a blue-collar outsider who's pretty far down the list of inheritors to his grandfather's fortune...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HOW TO MAKE A KILLING")
GLEN POWELL: (As Becket Redfellow) There were seven of them between myself and $28 billion.
MONDELLO: He decides there's one way he could maybe increase his odds of inheriting.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HOW TO MAKE A KILLING")
POWELL: (As Becket Redfellow) If I were to prune a few branches of the family tree...
MARGARET QUALLEY: (As character) I'm sure you'll make a killing.
MONDELLO: There are also comedies about theft of a less lethal sort, like "I Love Boosters"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I LOVE BOOSTERS")
POPPY LIU: (As character) What's a booster?
KEKE PALMER: (As Corvette) Somebody that steal clothes from a store and sell it at a discount price.
NAOMI ACKIE: (As Sade) It's like community service.
MONDELLO: ...And what is possibly the oddest of the spring's comedies, "The Sheep Detective," (ph) in which Hugh Jackman plays a shepherd who's really devoted to his flock.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SHEEP DETECTIVES")
HUGH JACKMAN: (As George Hardy) I keep them well fed, well groomed. And each day, I read out loud to them - mysteries, whodunits. I like to pretend that they follow along, but they're only sheep.
MONDELLO: Of course, he doesn't speak sheep.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SHEEP DETECTIVES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Ugh, why would he stop there?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character) He was just about to say who the killer was.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #7: (As character) This is torture.
MONDELLO: Anyway, when they find George one morning not moving, they are prepared.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SHEEP DETECTIVES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #8: (As character) Our shepherd was murdered. And we shall solve the crime.
JACKMAN: (As George Hardy) I've read you dozens of these stories (ph). They follow very simple rules.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #9: (As character) Look, a clue (ph).
MONDELLO: Nobody's going to pull the wool over their eyes - could be a tasty bit of spring lamb at the cineplex. Are you ready? I'm Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M GONNA BE (500 MILES)")
THE PROCLAIMERS: (Singing) To be the man who walked a thousand miles...