2026 is set to be a fantastic year for thriller fans. We’ve already had several blockbusters throughout the start of the year, including Scream 7 and Return to Silent Hill. There is still plenty more to look forward to with many others sprinkled throughout the coming months.
We have a mix of brand-new movies, along with a few eagerly awaited sequels and even a reboot of a 90s classic. Many of these upcoming films boast all-star casts and range from shark-themed stories to revenge tales.
Whether you like your thrillers horror-adjacent or just want a movie to perch you on the edge of your seat, here are 9 upcoming thrillers to keep on your radar.
9 Cliffhanger (August 28, 2026)
Cliffhanger, due to release on August 28, is a reimagining of the 1993 movie of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone. Unfortunately, Stallone is not reprising his role in the new Cliffhanger. The 2026 film stars Lily James and Pearce Brosnan.
It remains unclear how closely the new movie’s story will follow the 90s classic, but we know James is playing the counterpart to Stallone’s character from the original. She plays a daughter-father duo with Brosnan, and the pair operate a luxury chalet in the Dolomites.
Chaos ensues when a group of kidnappers targets them, forcing James’ character to put her survival skills to the test. The 1993 movie was successful at the box office, but a Cliffhanger sequel reportedly went through development hell for years before the project shifted to a reboot.
8 A Quiet Place Part 3 (July 2027)
The latest movie in the A Quiet Place franchise isn’t due to premiere until Summer 2027. That said, the films are beloved for a reason, and we have plenty to look forward to with the next installment.
A Quiet Place Part 3 takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by terrifying monsters. These creatures are deadly and vicious, but they have one fatal weakness.
As the movie’s name implies, the creatures hunt by sound, and humans have learned to keep quiet to stay alive. The previous two installments explore the Abbott family’s struggle for survival, and fans will be expecting revelations in the upcoming film.
A Quiet Place Part 3 has had its release date pushed back several times, but is tentatively due in July next year.
7 Apex (April 24, 2026)
Apex is set to debut on Netflix in April and stars Charlize Theron as Sasha, who fights for survival against a ruthless killer.
The Apex teaser trailer reveals that Sasha is an adrenaline junkie exploring the Australian wilderness. However, she encounters her antagonist, played by Taron Egerton, who seems to be having a great time playing the villain.
During the trailer, Egerton gleefully tells Theron, “Run for your life,” as a deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds in the unforgiving outdoors.
At the time of writing, it’s safe to presume that Apex will not have a theater release, so this will be a thriller to enjoy at home.
6 Deep Water (May 1, 2026)
Deep Water isn’t marketed as a typical thriller per se, but the official trailer has all the hallmarks of a movie that will have audiences on the edge of their seats.
The movie stars Aaron Eckhart as an airline pilot flying a commercial plane over the ocean. The aircraft dramatically catches fire mid-flight, scattering wreckage into the water below.
During the official trailer, Eckhart tells a colleague that they must search for survivors. We see a woman jump into the water from the wreckage and quickly get pulled under by a shark. We don’t know much more about the movie’s plot, but it appears to be a must-watch for fans of thrillers and creature features.
5 Pretty Lethal (March 25, 2026)
Pretty Lethal is another movie skipping a theater release and debuting on Amazon Prime Video. The film stars Uma Thurman and a group of skilled ballerinas. The performer’s bus breaks down on the way to a competition, forcing them to take shelter in a remote inn.
Thurman plays a former ballet prodigy and a gang leader. The young ballerinas must set aside their differences if they are to survive their stay. The movie is R-rated, and snippets of the trailer suggest plenty of bloody encounters and a generous helping of ‘ballet-fu.’
Pretty Lethal premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this month. General audiences can watch the movie on Amazon Prime on March 25.
4 Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (March 20, 2026)
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come premieres on Friday and is a direct sequel to the 2019 original. The first movie was beloved for its blend of dark comedy, horror, and gory kills, and fans will look forward to more of those elements from the 2026 installment.
Ready or Not follows Grace (Samara Weaving), who weds into a wealthy, mysterious family. She discovers a bizarre family tradition in which she must play hide-and-seek with a twist. If the family members catch her, it’s all over.
Many of the kills in the first movie were refreshingly creative, so fans will expect the sequel to follow suit. Weaving reprises her role as Grace in Here I Come, and several stars, including Elijah Wood and Sarah Michelle Gellar, have joined the cast.
3 Whalefall (October 2026)
Many of the best thrillers play on the audience’s fears and expectations about situations grounded in reality. Whalefall has a particularly terrifying premise and is about a scuba diver who gets swallowed alive by a sperm whale.
We don’t have many details about the plot of Whalefall, but we do know the movie follows a pair of scuba divers and features Josh Brolin and Weapons star Austin Abrams.
One diver is searching for his father’s remains before an 80-foot whale swallows him whole. He survives being swallowed and desperately tries to escape as his oxygen levels start to dwindle. It’s a terrifying concept, and part of a thriller we won’t get to see until the fall.
2 Is God Is (May 15, 2026)
Is God Is tells a story of two sisters hellbent on revenge. The stylish trailer shows the sisters meeting their mom, who tells them to “Make your daddy dead.”
The trailer reveals that the dad set her on fire in front of his children and abandoned them. It’s a grim premise, but the movie’s tone seems lighthearted and punchy. Kara Young plays ‘The Rough One’ while Mallori Johnson is ‘The Quiet One.’
We’re introduced to several other characters, each more over-the-top than the last. The movie is R-rated, so expect plenty of unfiltered violence as the duo tracks down their target, leaving chaos in their wake.
1 Over Your Dead Body (April 24, 2026)
Over Your Dead Body is a comedy thriller about a dysfunctional couple who travel to a secluded cabin in an attempt to salvage their relationship. However, they both discover that their partners planned to kill them rather than make amends.
The movie stars Jason Segel as Dan and Samara Weaving as Lisa. Neither is a seasoned killer, and hilarity ensues when it becomes clear they don’t have a clue what they are doing.