Cannes 2026: Ruben Östlund Delayed, Spielberg Out, Malick in Purgatory, and James Gray Rejected?

This is spitball #4 for the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It should be noted that, although many films have already been submitted, only a handful have been selected for competition so far — I’ve heard it’s just three. That said, we have quite a few updates to tackle, so let’s dive in, shall we?

Firstly, Deadline is confirming that Ruben Östlund’s “The Entertainment System is Down” will not be ready for the festival and has now been delayed to 2027. This is due to the sheer amount of material he still has to edit. The two-time Palme d’Or winner will have to wait another year in his attempt to win a third.

Furthermore, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” will not be headed to Cannes, and that’s despite the film opening only three weeks after the festival. The same goes for Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” and, of course—not that there was ever much of a chance—Christopher Nolan’s epic “The Odyssey.”

Now, here are a few things I’ve been hearing: for the past few days, sources have been telling me that James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” was in danger of not being at Cannes. No reasons were given. Was it a rejection? Is the film not ready? Well, it is ready, having just been rated by the MPA this week. An interesting development, to say the least.

You can also forget about Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger” showing up—given its October release date, it has already set its sights on Venice in September. Ditto Paul Schrader’s “The Basics of Philosophy,” which is just about to finish post production, and has set its sights on the Lido.

As for Mike Leigh’s latest, still untitled, well, it wrapped production in January, and currently in the editing stages — the aim is Cannes, but it will most likely be ready for the fall fests.

I can, however, confirm that Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastards” has been submitted, although there’s no guarantee it will be accepted. I hear Venice has shown interest in having the film in competition, something Cannes has not committed to yet. The same goes for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beloved,” starring Javier Bardem, which has also been submitted to Cannes and will most likely premiere there, although it might end up screening in a sidebar instead of vying for the Palme d’Or.

So, what does that leave us with?

Apparently, the Zellner brothers’ “Alpha Gang” is aiming for Cannes. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Léa Seydoux, Chris Pine, Lily-Rose Depp, and Adria Arjona. The plot centers on a group of alien invaders disguised as a leather-clad biker gang from the 1950s. Sent to conquer Earth, their plans are complicated when they begin to experience human emotions.

I thought the Zellners’ last film, “Sasquatch Sunset,” was a visionary hoot—unfairly shrugged off upon release—but a bow at Cannes would surely raise their stock.

This is the point where I need to start being more realistic with my predictions and not “hopedict.” That means I sadly have to remove Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind,” which I’ll write about in a separate article soon. That film is in “purgatory” at the moment. Seven years on, many are running out of patience with that one.

I’ll probably have another spitball coming next week. For now, this is what the intel hints at.

COMPETITION

Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodovar)
Fjord (Cristi Mungiu)
Jack of Spades (Joel Coen)
Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Her Private Hell (Nicolas Winding Refn)
Parallel Tales (Asghar Farhadi)
Coward (Lukas Dhont)
Hope (Na Hong-jin)
1949 (Pawel Pawlikowski)
Out of this World (Albert Serra)
Sheep in the Box (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
It Will Happen Tonight (Nanni Moretti)
The Unknown (Arthur Harari)
Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer)
Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov)
Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)

POSSIBILITIES

Après (Kirill Serebrenikko)
Alpha Gang (The Zellner Brothers)
The Loved One (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
The Long Winter (Andrew Haigh)
Let Love In (Felix Van Groeningen)
Double Freedom (Lisandro Alonso)
Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)
The Man I Love (Ira Sachs)
The Costume (Corneliu Porumboiu)
The Diary of a Chambermaid (Radu Jude)
Bucking Fastards (Werner Herzog)
Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun)
The Dream Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)
Hot Spot (Agnieszka Smoczyńska)
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning (Clio Barnard)

As is tradition, Cannes boss Thierry Frémaux will select the French films in competition—usually four or five titles—at the very last minute, the day before the lineups are announced. Here are the films vying for those spots.

FRENCH CONTENDERS

Moulin (Laszlo Nemes)
A Good Little Soldier (Stephane Brizé)
Roma Elastico (Bertrand Mandico)
Histoires De La Nuit (Lea Mysius)
I’ll Forget Your Name (Yann Gonzalez)
Milo (Nicole Garcia)
Strawberries (Laïla Marrakchi)
Garance (Jeanne Herry)
When the Night Falls (Daniel Auteuil)
A Girl’s Story (Judith Godreche)
A Place To Heal (Cedric Kahn)
Red Rocks (Bruno Dumont)
La Chaleur (Stéphane Demoustier)
Venus Electrificata (Pierre Salvadori)
The Last Concert (Alexandre Arcady)
Love Lessons (Martin Prevost)

OUT OF COMPETITION

Full Phil (Quentin Dupieux)
Colony (Yeon Sang-ho)
Imperium (Sergei Loznitsa)
Victorian Psycho (Zachary Wigon)
De Gaulle: Part One (Antonin Baudry)
Violette (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Takashi Miike)

NEVER SAY NEVER (BUT PROBABLY NOT)

Paper Tiger (James Gray)
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)
Untitled (Mike Leigh)
Digger (Alejandro G. Inarritu)
Disclosure (Steven Spielberg)