Taylor Sheridan has had a big year so far with multiple new releases, including a pair of Yellowstone spin-offs in Marshals and Dutton Ranch. The former stars Luke Grimes as a U.S. Marshal after leaving ranch life behind, and the latter centers on Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly as Rip and Beth, getting into all sorts of trouble. Both shows have shattered records on their way to becoming two of the biggest Paramount Plus premieres ever — the streamer is definitely getting the most out of Taylor Sheridan before he leaves for NBCUniversal in a few years. In addition to these projects, Sheridan is hard at work on new seasons of Tulsa King (starring Sylvester Stallone), Landman (starring Billy Bob Thornton), and Mayor of Kingstown (starring Jeremy Renner), but he’s also returning to filmmaking sooner than most fans realize.

Marvel may have some of the most popular characters in comic book history, but where the brand has really shone is with its teams. One of the first that comes to mind is Marvel’s First Family, aka The Fantastic Four, who have headlined several feature films and hundreds of comics over the years. The Avengers have also become one of Marvel’s biggest cash cows in recent years, particularly thanks to the rise of the team during the early days of the MCU’s Infinity Saga. There is, however, another Marvel team that stands above the rest as the most popular in comic book history: The X-Men.

2026 has been a strong year for Taylor Sheridan, but fans of the Western writer have come to expect this by now. Sheridan kicked things off in 2026 with the Yellowstone spin-off, Marshals, which follows Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes) now that he’s left ranch life behind to become a U.S. Marshal. After the debut of Marshals came The Madison, which features big-time talent like Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. Sheridan recently brought fans back to the Yellowstone universe for the latest spin-off, Dutton Ranch, which follows Rip (played by Cole Hauser) and Beth (played by Kelly Reilly) after the events of the series finale. Sheridan has had plenty going on so far this year, but things are only going to get busier for the Yellowstone creator as we inch closer to the end of the year.

Dune fans have been as satisfied as fans of any sci-fi franchise in the last few years. Back in 2021, Denis Villeneuve launched the official reboot of the franchise with Dune, which has since been retitled Dune: Part One following the release of Dune: Part Two. The film was a smash hit by every metric, winning six Oscars and grossing over $400 million at the box office against a $165 million budget. The momentum continued into 2024 with the highly anticipated premiere of Dune: Part Two, which was pushed back slightly due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Dune: Part Two earned even better review scores and made more money than its predecessors, but the film didn’t find the same success at the Academy Awards. The Dune trilogy will be complete at the end of this year, following the premiere of Dune: Part Three on December 18.

2026 is set to be a huge year for Christopher Nolan, who will return to the director’s chair for what may be the most ambitious movie of his career. Nolan spent most of 2025 working on The Odyssey, the new historical epic based on Homer’s work featuring one of the most star-studded casts ever assembled. Starring in the lead roles of Odysseus and his son Telemachus in The Odyssey are Matt Damon and Tom Holland, who are already being eyed as potential Oscar contenders at the 2027 Academy Awards. Over the last 15 years, Christopher Nolan has become one of the most important and established filmmakers in Hollywood history, but not every one of his films has been a certified hit. His last film, Oppenheimer, was viewed as his magnum opus, but before that came the most polarizing release of his career.

An Oscar has evaded Josh Brolin so far to this point in his career, but that doesn’t take anything away from what he’s accomplished as one of the most prominent actors working in Hollywood today. It’s been almost 20 years, but Brolim has been nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the 2008 film Milk, which also stars Sean Penn. Most fans would agree that Brolin deserved a nomination for his performance in the CoenBrothers-directed Western, No Country for Old Men, but the spotlight shined brighter on his co-star, Javier Bardem, who won the Best Supporting Actor award that year. Brolin has also earned fame for his role as Gurney Halleck in the Dune franchise, but after playing a key role in the first two films, he will seemingly be absent from Dune: Part Three, which is coming to theaters later this year on December 18.

Taylor Sheridan fans are on top of the world right now after the neo-Western scribe has delivered several new shows to start the year. Sheridan got the ball rolling with a new Yellowstone spin-off, Marshals, which brought back Luke Grimes to play Kayce Dutton now that he’s left ranch life behind. Around the same time that Marshals was unleashed into the world via CBS, Paramount Plus subscribers were also treated to the first season of The Madison, the heartfelt neo-Western led by Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. The Madison has already been picked up for second and third seasons, so the show isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sheridan has a few other shows set to return later this year, including Tulsa King (starring Sylvester Stallone) and Mayor of Kingstown (starring Jeremy Renner), but they all fall under the shadow of his biggest hit since Yellowstone.

Over the last few years, Alan Ritchson has quietly become one of the most popular action stars working in Hollywood today. This is largely due to his role in Reacher, the hit Prime Video show with three full seasons already out and a fourth on the way later this year. Prime Video is so sure that Reacher Season 4 is going to be a smash hit — Ritchson has already promised that it’s by far the best season of the show yet — that it’s been picked up for Season 5 before Season 4 even has a premiere date. Ritchson has also expanded into movies recently with hits like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which was directed by Guy Ritchie. Earlier this year, Ritchson headlined the biggest Netflix sci-fi thriller of 2026, War Machine, which has scored over 125 million views.

2026 hasn’t exactly been a picture-perfect start to the year for Jason Statham, especially after his first action movie bombed at the box office under the weight of its $50 million budget. Statham will have a chance at redemption this August for another action thriller, Mutiny, which co-stars Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders). As part of our Exclusive Preview Event here at Collider, we recently debuted a hot new image from Mutiny ahead of its August 21 release date. Statham will also return to his signature role as Adam Clay early next year in The Beekeeper 2, which is a direct sequel to the 2024 action smash hit directed by David Ayer. Ayer is not returning to direct The Beekeeper 2 due to a prior commitment to helm Heart of the Beast, an action thriller starring Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons.

Marvel fans have a lot to look forward to later this year, particularly the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday. After occupying the role of Iron Man in the MCU for over 10 years, Downey Jr. will shift to the villain side of the aisle to play Doctor Doom in the film — there could be Tony Stark crumbs coming, though, considering the multiversal implications. Marvel viewers were treated to a street-level project to start the year with the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, which led directly into the Jon Bernthal-led Punisher special, One Last Kill. Bernthal will also reprise his role as Frank Castle in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth solo MCU Spider-Man film coming to theaters on July 31. The movie co-stars Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo.

When it comes to TV shows, few networks have the same level of stacked lineup as NBC, which has been producing the top hits for years now. The first group of shows that come to mind are those that operate under the One Chicago banner, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med. The trio of interweaving procedurals were all written and created for TV by Derek Haas, who also recently penned Countdown, the Jensen Ackles-led crime thriller on Prime Video. The series was tragically canceled after only one season, but having the One Chicago series to fall back on certainly helped soften the blow for Haas. NBC is also responsible for the highly popular Law & Order franchise, which has been on the air for the better part of the last 35 years.

Hugh Jackman has had one of the more interesting careers of any actor working consistently in Hollywood today. Jackman earned an Oscar nomination 13 years ago for his performance in Les Misérables, which co-stars Russell Crowe, but it’s not what he’s become remembered for in the larger scope of his career. Jackman has become synonymous with playing Wolverine, the jaded Marvel mutant whom he first starred as in the Fox X-Men movies before crossing over to the MCU a few years ago in Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman first played the character more than 25 years ago in the first X-Men movie with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, and he’s expected to continue playing the clawed mutant, at least through Avengers: Secret Wars next year. Jackman has always found time for other roles, though, even between big Marvel blockbusters.