Everything There Is to Know About Sunday’s Oscars |
The dust has settled on the 2026 Oscars, and we’re all due for a nice long rest.
Just kidding.
I’m Rebecca Ford, and while I’ll soon be turning my attention to Emmy contenders, I can’t help but keep an eye on the films that might be our future Oscar winners as well. We’ve got a lot of promising projects on the horizon and could see some of our first contenders as soon as May, when the Cannes Film Festival kicks off.
As of now, the big ones to watch are Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger, David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Greg Kwedar’s Saturn Return, and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
But those are just the headliners—there are plenty of films that will sneak up on us as well. One that’s already on my radar is Martin McDonagh’s latest, Wild Horse Nine.
I’ve got an exclusive first look at the black comedy, which will hit theaters in November. The ’70s-set film stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as a pair of CIA agents who travel from Santiago, Chile, to the mystical Easter Island. Malkovich’s character is a seasoned CIA agent who, as his health declines, is looking back at his life.
“It’s a very funny script, albeit mordant,” Malkovich told me. “Life is filled with regret and sorrow, even if you can bear that, and even if you find that funny, it doesn’t really change that, generally, life ends badly.”
McDonagh weaves together a colorful, funny, and bittersweet story that features knock-out performances from Malkovich and Rockwell, along with supporting actors Parker Posey, Tom Waits, and Steve Buscemi. Malkovich is one of those actors you assume has already won an Oscar—but though he’s been nominated twice, he’s never won. And McDonagh is also overdue: he has seven Oscar nominations, but has only won once, in 2005, for the live-action short film Six Shooter. Could this be their year? We’ll have to wait and see, but the future looks bright. |
