With a little over a month left until the Venice Film Festival lineup is unveiled, a clutch of buzzy prestige titles with top talent has emerged as likely contenders for the Golden Lion.
New works by internationally renowned auteurs such as Florian Zeller with “Bunker,” a psychological thriller starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz; Martin McDonagh with “Wild Horse Nine,” a Searchlight Pictures political thriller starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell; Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard” starring Rooney Mara and Kate Mara;” and Nanni Moretti with “It Will Happen Tonight” with Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca are expected to be among the highlights, alongside “The Echo Chamber,” the latest drama from Italy’s Andrea Pallaoro starring Alicia Vikander and Luca Marinelli as enraptured lovers and featuring Susan Sarandon.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera is, as usual, racing against the clock to finalize the festival’s 83rd edition, with several slots still in flux. What already appears clear, however, is that — much like Cannes this year — Venice 2026 is likely to have a lighter Hollywood footprint. A combination of studios’ growing reluctance to spend heavily on festival premieres, production delays affecting several anticipated U.S. films (and probable PTSD from “Joker 2″ getting panned) is expected to thin the ranks of major commercial titles. Among the projects unlikely to be ready in time are David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” — the sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” once again starring Brad Pitt — and Tom Ford’s “Cry to Heaven,” which marks Adele’s acting debut.
There is still hope, however, for some Hollywood star power on the Lido in the form of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” the follow-up to “The Social Network” in which Jeremy Strong succeeds Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Talks are believed to be underway between Barbera — who has yet to see the completed film — and Sony regarding a Venice premiere.
While Netflix may not bring “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” to the festival, the streamer is expected to still show up with several titles, notably Fernando Meirelles’ “Here Comes the Flood,” a heist thriller starring Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
There is also the possibility that Apple TV+’s Seth Rogen-directed series “The Studio” Season 2, which shot on the Venice Lido in March with Madonna on-set and features a cameo by Barbera, could screen in some form at the festival.
Meanwhile, below is a first batch of titles likely to compete for the Golden Lion. As previously announced, Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over the jury.
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Aaron Sorkin — “The Social Reckoning”
Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg (taking over from Jesse Eisenberg) in this companion piece to “The Social Network,” based on the events that sparked the Wall Street Journal’s exposé “The Facebook Files.” The film follows Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a young Facebook engineer, who enlists WSJ reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) to blow the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets. Sony Pictures releases the film on Oct. 9, which tracks with a Lido bow.
Florian Zeller — “Bunker”
This elevated thriller features real husband-and-wife Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz playing a couple facing tensions as a mysterious construction project — a bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul — begins to infiltrate their lives. “Bunker” also stars Paul Dano, Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger. Zeller, who made his feature debut with the Oscar-winning film “The Father,” was last at Venice with “The Son” starring Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern.
Fernando Meirelles — “Here Comes the Flood”
From Academy Award nominee Fernando Meirelles (“The Two Popes,” “City of God”) and written by Simon Kinberg (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), the film tells the story of a bank guard plotting with a master thief to carry out a heist. The Netflix film stars Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Danai Gurira and Sean Harris.
Martin McDonagh — “Wild Horse Nine”
Set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island. When Chris bonds with a pair of rebellious students, it threatens to derail the entire mission. The film stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Wait, and Parker Posey, with Searchlight Pictures distributing.
Werner Herzog — “Bucking Fastard”
Herzog’s new film stars Rooney Mara and Kate Mara as two sisters, Jean and Joan Holbrooke, who attempt to dig a tunnel through a mountain range in search of an imaginary land where true love exists. The film was initially invited to Cannes 2026 as an official selection, but Herzog declined after it wasn’t offered a competition slot. It also stars Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson.
Andrea Pallaoro — “The Echo Chamber”
Based on an unfinished script by Bernardo Bertolucci (completed by Ludovica Rampoldi and Ilaria Bernardini), the film revolves around a man, a woman and an apartment where an affair takes place. The cast is led by Alicia Vikander, Susan Sarandon, and Luca Marinelli. Pallaoro’s previous films “Hannah” and “Monica” were both in competition at Venice.
Stéphane Brizé — “A Good Little Soldier”
The film stars Alba Rohrwacher as a woman navigating a corporate environment where vulnerability is not an asset. At 43, Carla is a high-performing executive newly recruited as the HR manager of a major insurer, tasked with rebuilding its brand. Vincent Lindon also stars.
Cédric Kahn — “15/18” (aka “A Place to Heal”)
Set in a French public hospital’s adolescent psychiatry unit, the film follows the erratic rhythm of teenagers coming and going while a doctor and his team navigate the relentless cycle of treating, listening and confronting suffering. When 17-year-old Lucia is brought back by police yet again, the arrival of a new patient threatens to shatter the fragile balance of the ward.
Ilya Khrzhanovsky — “DAU: Mother”
The next major entry in Khrzhanovsky’s monumental “DAU” project, which he spent over two-and-a-half years finishing. “DAU. Natasha” and “DAU. Degeneration” previously premiered at the 2020 Berlinale. Khrzhanovsky renounced his Russian citizenship and has been an outspoken critic of Putin’s regime, but he has also faced allegations about the way he treated women on the set of “DAU. Natasha.”
Nanni Moretti — “It Will Happen Tonight”
A drama loosely based on Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo’s short story collection “Hungry Heart”, co-written by Moretti with Federica Pontremoli and Valia Santella. It stars Louis Garrel, Jasmine Trinca and Angela Finocchiaro. It marks Moretti’s first collaboration with Garrel, and his first with Trinca since “The Son’s Room” in 2001. “It Will Happen Tonight” will likely mark the first time in more than two decades that Moretti – who has had nine movies in competition at Cannes – will launch a new movie from the Lido.
The 84th edition of Venice will run Sept. 2-12, with the festival’s lineup being announced July 23.
From Variety US