films in – As the 2026 Venice Film Festival approaches Sept. 2–12, streaming and major studios weigh splashy premieres on the Lido, with Netflix, Searchlight, Martin McDonagh, and a strong wave of female-led projects among the most discussed contenders.
The Croisette still hums after Cannes—but by the time the talk moves from the beach to the city, the real magnet is the Lido. This year, conversations on the Italian coast have started circling the films that could surface at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, running September 2-12.
Netflix is at the center of the chatter. Two projects in particular are being floated as potential arrivals: The Adventures Of Cliff Booth. scripted by Quentin Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt. and Fernando Meirelles’ heist thriller Here Comes The Flood. with Denzel Washington. Robert Pattinson. and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Not every major name seems locked in, though. At Warner Bros and Legendary, the question of whether to send Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger starring Tom Cruise is still under discussion. and it appears unlikely that Albert Serra’s Not The End Of The World will be ready in time. Even with those uncertainties. the list of stronger bets is crowded and specific: Tom McCarthy’s satire The Statement. Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care. and Searchlight Pictures’ Chile-set Wild Horse Nine from Venice regular Martin McDonagh.
The possible line-up broadens again with films that could tilt the festival toward spectacle, ideas, or genre. Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard, led by Rooney and Kate Mara, is among the candidates. Andrew Haigh’s mountain-set A Long Winter. with Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Caitriona Balfe. is also in the mix. as is Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary.
Other titles bring different geographies and tones. Fellipe Barbosa’s Morocco-set family drama Leila Et La Nuit could be among the films aiming for international resonance. Paul Schrader’s The Basics Of Philosophy. starring Bill Pullman and Sofia Boutella. adds a more philosophical edge. while Guy Nattiv’s thriller Harmonia. starring Bella Ramsey. leans back toward suspense.
Venice’s red carpet gravity is part of the calculus too. Married couple Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz are expected to boost the glamour in support of Florian Zeller’s thriller Bunker. Another romantic draw could come from Felix van Groeningen’s Let Love In. which draws on the director’s real-life relationship with co-writer and star Charlotte Vandermeersch.
One thread running through the discussions is the uneven field for women directors. In what’s described as a poor year for contenders by women directors, several names still stand out. May el-Toukhy’s A Woman Unknown is being cited among the candidates. Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s period horror The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands stars Alexander Skarsgard. Rubaiyat Hossain, from Bangladesh, is represented with the feminist supernatural drama The Difficult Bride.
Sian Heder’s Being Heumann is also drawing attention, including because it reunites the filmmaker with Apple, which took her feelgood hit Coda all the way to multiple Oscars in 2022.
The possible Italian contingent could add another layer to the festival’s identity. Andrea Pallaoro’s love story The Echo Chamber. starring Alicia Vikander. Luca Marinelli and Susan Sarandon. is part of the conversation. Nanni Moretti’s romance It Will Happen Tonight is another. Roberto Saviano’s animated biopic I’m Still Alive—co-directed by Ivan Cappiello—sits alongside Mario Martone’s Naples-set Trick starring Toni Servillo.
A set of dramas and biopics also keep the runway wide. Daniele Vicari’s mountaineering biopic Bianco is mentioned, as is Gianni Amelio’s drama No Pain.
Other international projects are circling Venice as well. Shane Meadows could be packing his bags for a trip to Italy in late summer with his first film in over a decade. Chork. Exiled Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov is also in the running with his French-language After. stacked with an A-list French cast of Ludivine Sagnier. Fanny Ardant. Vincent Macaigne. Guillaume Gallienne and Louis Garrel.
Stephane Brize’s A Good Little Soldier, starring Alba Rohrwacher and Vincent Lindon, is another title under consideration. Cedric Kahn’s A Place To Heal rounds out the roster in this wave, centered on an adolescent psychiatry unit in a French public hospital.
Venice Film Festival 2026 Lido Netflix Quentin Tarantino Brad Pitt Denzel Washington Robert Pattinson Daisy Edgar-Jones Martin McDonagh Mike Leigh Florian Zeller Javier Bardem Penelope Cruz
So Netflix is running Venice now? Like they own the beach or what. Brad Pitt better show up cause otherwise who cares.
I don’t get it, isn’t Venice like mostly art films? Now it’s all heist thrillers and Elon Musk docs like it’s some streaming awards thing. The Lido being the magnet makes it sound like a shopping mall.
Wait Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Digger with Tom Cruise… is that the same movie title as the one with the dinos? I swear I’ve heard “Digger” like 3 different ways. Also Searchlight Chile set Wild Horse Nine? That sounds made up but I guess Venice is just whatever’s trending.
Venice 2026 already?? they’ll debut stuff on Lido and people act like it matters more than Cannes. It’s funny how “female-led projects” is a whole selling point though. If Elon Musk doc is there I’m just gonna assume it’s gonna be a hit and also controversial, like always.