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Hollywood's on a roll. Here are 7 movies we're looking forward to this spring

Ryan Gosling stars as a middle school teacher sent to space in Project Hail Mary.
Jonathan Olley
/
Amazon MGM Studios
Ryan Gosling stars as a middle school teacher sent to space in Project Hail Mary.

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 

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 

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 

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 

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

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 

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 

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.

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Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello, who jokes that he was a jinx at the beginning of his critical career — hired to write for every small paper that ever folded in Washington, just as it was about to collapse — saw that jinx broken in 1984 when he came to NPR.