The LGBTQ+ community’s ties to Hollywood and cinema have been deeply intertwined from the early days of the medium. And yet, authentic representation of queer people in film continues to be a rarity (especially when it comes to high-profile movies). With the 2026 movie schedule here, we've rounded up what queer films we can look forward to.
From important documentaries to original films from queer filmmakers, there’s definitely some good upcoming LGBTQ+ movies to check out in the second half of this year and beyond!
Coming Soon
Barbara Forever - September 4, 2026
Documentary fans – this fall you can learn the story of Barbara Hammer, who was a trailblazer in the lesbian film genre from the 1960s up until her death in 2019. The movie about her life is called Barbara Forever and uses archival footage to chronicle her life and work. The movie currently has a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering at Sundance earlier this year.
Virginia Woolf’s Night And Day - September 4, 2026
Virginia Woolf is a beloved English writer who famously had several affairs with women at a time decades before the LGBTQ+ community even had a name. So, it feels right that a 2026 adaptation of her novel, Night And Day, would have some representation. The story itself is about a female astronomer living in 20th century Britain who tries to fend off the tradition of the time in order to pursue her passion. It stars Haley Bennett, Timothy Spall, Lily Allen, Jack Whitehall and Jennifer Saunders.
Club Kid - November 6, 2026
Jordan Firstman, who most recently found a main role in I Love LA, has written, directed and stars in his debut feature, Club Kid. The dramedy is about an underground party promoter whose life turns upside down when he learns he has a 10-year-old son named Arlo that he must now care for. The movie also stars Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva and Kirby Howell-Baptiste. It earned a lot of praise at its Cannes Film Festival premiere and is being distributed by A24.
Elsinore - November 20, 2026
In Elsinore, Andrew Scott is playing Scottish actor Ian Charleson, who lived from 1949 to 1990. The drama depicts the life of the gay actor as he played Hamlet at the National Theatre while he was seriously ill from AIDS. Scott is a queer actor himself, but the movie also features the talents of Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn and Joe Locke.
Clarissa - December 11, 2026
Virginia Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway is also being revisited in a modern-day context with the new movie, Clarissa. Helmed by Nigerian filmmakers Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri, it’s set in Lagos and stars Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, Queen Charlotte’s India Amarteifio, Ted Lasso’s Toheeb Jimoh, and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri. Just like the book, it revolves around a society woman getting ready to host a party at her home when she unexpectedly reunites with two friends from her past at the same time. It recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to much acclaim.
Completed Movies With TBD Release Dates
The Brittney Griner Story
Britney Griner is an American basketball player who has scored three Olympic gold medals for the U.S. team and become a WNBA All-Star six times. She also famously made headlines for her wrongful detention in Russia during most of 2022. The Brittney Griner Story gives the figure a chance to tell her side of the story alongside her wife, Cherelle, and friends and family. The movie is produced by ESPN and Disney Entertainment and premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Cry To Heaven
Openly gay fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford is currently working on his next film, Cry To Heaven, which is an adaptation of the Anne Rice book of the same name. You may be aware of Anne Rice via her supernatural book series like Interview With The Vampire (which has its own TV show starring gay vampires) and Mayfair Witches, but this work of hers is about two men living in 18th-century Italy trying to make it in opera. The movie is set to star Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the main roles alongside two queer talents, Hunter Schafer and Lux Pascal (Pedro Pascal’s sister).
Ephemera
Queer filmmaker Shan Jiang has written and directed a lesbian romance set in Shanghai called Ephemera. It centers on two women, one about to leave the city, and the other remaining there during a single night together. The independent movie is set to premiere at June’s Tribeca festival.
Give Me The Ball!
Another documentary from a queer sports legend coming out this year is one for Billie Jean King called Give Me The Ball! The account of the world champion tennis player uses archival footage and new interviews to discuss the importance of King on the sport and culture. She was previously highlighted in 2017’s Battle of the Sexes, where Emma Stone portrayed her.
The Man I Love
Following Rami Malek previously playing the LGBTQ+ icon Freddie Mercury, the actor is tackling another story set in the 1980s and about the AIDS crisis. Written and directed by Ira Sachs, who has made queer movies like The Delta, Passages and Peter Hujar’s Day, it follows an actor taking on a major role as he deals with illness. It also stars Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Rebecca Hall and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Mouse
In addition to starring in Clarissa, Sophie Okonedo also leads another queer indie darling called Mouse. This one is a coming-of-age story set in 2002 about two best friends Minnie and Callie whose friendship hits a rough patch ahead of their senior year. Amidst the change, Minnie forms a “complicated relationship” with Callie’s mom, per Variety.
Red, White And Royal Wedding
After Red, White And Royal Blue had us feeling all the feelings with an Amazon Prime subscription, a sequel is on the way called Red, White and Royal Wedding. Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine will reprise their roles as Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry alongside Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Ellie Bamber, Clifton Collins Jr, Stephen Fry, Thomas Flynn, Aneesh Shethand, Malcolm Atobrah all returning.
Also joining the cast are Lena Headey and Chloe Fineman. The original novel’s author, Casey McQuiston, co-wrote the movie with Matthew López. The movie wrapped filming via TikTok in March, and is expected to come out by the end of the year, per Lena Headey’s comments to ScreenRant.
Tangles
Another film that came out of 2026’s Cannes Film Festival to look forward to is an adult animated film called Tangles starring the voice talents of Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Beanie Feldstein, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Bowen Yang and Wanda Sykes. It’s based on the graphic novel Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me, which is an autobiographical story about the author Sarah Leavitt as she deals with her mom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Leavitt is a queer cartoonist who injects her lived-in experiences with her family throughout the touching story, and we expect it to be in the movie.
That Friend
Queer actor Harvey Guillén is the star of a new comedy called That Friend, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. It’s about a couple Penny and Henry (Billie Lourd and Josh Brener) who are enjoying a vacation in Palm Springs when their friend Paul (Guillén) decides to crash and tag along.
In Production
Untitled Rebecca Ferguson/Greta Lee Rom-Com
Earlier this month, Silo’s Rebecca Ferguson and the Past Lives’ Greta Lee were spotted kissing while filming an untitled sapphic romance in London, per X. Lee referenced the movie to Interview Magazine, sharing that she was “scared” to do it because she’d never done a romance “between two women” before. We’ll be curious to learn more details.
A Long Winter
In addition to Kit Connor being cast in the new X-Men movie, the actor is also attached to a movie called A Long Winter. It comes from queer director Andrew Haigh – who famously wrote and directed 2023’s All Of Us Strangers. In a report from Deadline in October 2025, the movie was announced along with word that D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Fred Hechinger will be his costars. The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Outlander’s Caitriona Balfe also joined (per Variety) as production began in Canada. Apparently, the movie’s events will revolve around the search for the missing alcoholic mother of Hechinger’s character that starts to involve the whole neighborhood.
De Noche
Openly gay filmmaker Todd Haynes is reportedly working on a gay romance called De Noche, with Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez as the leads after Joaquin Phoenix previously left the production, and the movie was expected to be dead, per Deadline. It’s about two male lovers who leave Los Angeles for Mexico in the 1930s. It was filmed in Mexico City earlier this year.
Burning Rainbow Farm
Sebastian Stan and Leo Woodall are starring as a real-life gay couple who built a “pot-friendly utopia called Rainbow Farm” in rural Michigan. However, when their young son is taken from them after local authorities catch wind of them, “one of the largest and most dramatic sieges involving police and the FBI” ensues. The events happened back in 2001, and the story was previously told through a book by Dean Kuipers. The movie was reportedly shot in Australia starting in late 2025 and has wrapped production, per the Film & TV Industry Alliance.
In Development
Atmosphere
Before Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ‘80s-set novel, Atmosphere even became a bestseller last year, a movie adaptation was announced in May from the filmmakers of Captain Marvel, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and LAIKA’s new live-action subsidiary. Especially after we loved another movie about space, Project Hail Mary, we can’t wait to see the story of two women astronauts fall in love.
Jennifer’s Body 2
The original Jennifer’s Body may have been a flop when it first came out. But, it’s since become a cult classic, especially among queer women. The movie’s writer Diablo Cody is reportedly working on the sequel. The latest news on the project came in July 2026, when Production Weekly revealed the movie is expected to start filming this October with stars Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried (via Phantasmag).
Transdemic
Vera Drew is a trans filmmaker best known for her crowd-funded 2022 film, The People’s Joker. Her next movie is a “cosmic found footage horror-comedy” called Transdemic, per Deadline. Drew was given a $25,000 cash grant to produce the movie after entering the script into the Transgender Film Center’s inaugural Found Footage Feature Fund award. There've been a lot of great queer horror movies over the years, so we’re certainly curious about this one.
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo
One of the best mainstream LGBTQ+ novels in recent years that’s among upcoming book adaptations is a movie version of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The book, also from author Taylor Jenkins Reid, is about an iconic movie star from Old Hollywood who recounts the truth of her love life across her career to a reporter. The latest update is that Anna Kendrick will direct the movie after previously making her feature debut with Woman of the Hour.
Will any of these be regarded as some of the best LGBTQ+ movies once they are released? We’ll keep you updated here and look forward to supporting these queer films.
