18 Upcoming Movies From Female Directors We're Excited To See

There’s been a lot of game-changing movies directed by women in recent years, but films helmed by women still continue to be much less common than male-directed features. That being said, there’s a lot of releases on the way over the next year that we wanted to bring attention to. It’s exciting to see more women filmmakers than ever with their name all across a variety of genres across the rest of 2025 and the 2026 movie release calendar. Let’s talk about them:

Rental Family - Hikari (November 21, 2025)

Hikari is a Japanese filmmaker who previously helmed a movie called 37 Seconds along with having her name on three episodes of Netflix hit Beef. Rental Family is her English-language feature directorial debut, which she co-wrote as well. The movie starring Brendan Fraser is about an American actor living in Tokyo, who begins working for a rental family service.

Hamnet - Chloé Zhao (November 26, 2025)

Chloé Zhao is one of three women to win the Oscar for Best Director for her work in 2020’s Nomadland – which earned Best Picture as well. The Chinese-born filmmaker is also behind the Marvel movie Eternals. Hamnet is her fifth feature directorial effort. It’s a book-to-screen adaptation of a novel that tells the story of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes after their 11-year-old son tragically died.

Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 - Emma Tammi (December 5, 2025)

When Emma Tammi made the first Five Nights At Freddy’s in 2023, it was a huge commercial hit for Blumhouse, the director was rehired to do the sequel, too. And, we can’t wait to see what she does with the video game property next. There’s not enough women behind big horror movies, so it’s great to see Tammi breakout here.

100 Nights Of Hero - Julia Jackson (December 5, 2025)

Back in 2016, a graphic novel titled The One Hundred Nights Of Hero offered a retelling of One Thousand And One Nights from a female perspective. Now, it’s been adapted by writer/director Julia Jackman with an all-star cast. Starring Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe, Charli XCX and more, this fantastical romance seems like it will provide a fresh take on the Middle Eastern folktale.

Merv - Jessica Swale (December 10, 2025)

Rom-coms may often be called “chick flicks”, but not enough women direct them. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can look forward to Merv from Jessica Swale. She is an acclaimed British theatre playwright and director. The movie stars Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox as a recently broken up couple who go on a vacation together to cheer up their shared dog.

Atropia - Hailey Gates (December 12, 2025)

Hailey Gates’ feature directorial debut, Atropia, is on the way to theaters this December after it premiered at Sundance, and won its Grand Jury Prize. Also written by Gates, the movie stars Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner and is a war satire about an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility.

The Testament of Ann Lee - Mona Fastvold (December 25, 2025)

Off the heels of co-writing ten-time Oscar nominated film The Brutalist with Brady Corbet, the writing duo have done The Testament Of Ann Lee together – but this time Fastvold is the director. It’s a musical led by Amanda Seyfried about the founding leader of the Shakers religious sect in the 18th century.

SOULM8TE - Kate Dolan (January 9, 2026)

There’s a M3GAN spinoff movie coming early this year called SOULM8TE. It will give Kate Dolan (who previously helmed You Are Not My Mother) the opportuinty to do her biggest genre movie to date. Backed by James Wan and Jason Blum, the film is about a man who buys an android to cope with the death of his wife.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - Nia DaCosta (January 16, 2026)

Nia DaCosta has been making her name as one of the most exciting filmmakers making movies in recent years, and that continues with her fifth directorial effort, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The director who’s also made the recent Candyman movie, The Marvels and Hedda, has helmed a new script from Alex Garland to go with this past summer’s 28 Years Later.

Wuthering Heights - Emerald Fennell (February 13, 2026)

From Promising Young Woman to Saltburn, Emerald Fennell has shown she likes to make movies that start conversation, and can be a little controversial. This continues with her peculiar adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which promises to be erotic, and quite different from the source material.

The Bride! - Maggie Gyllenhaal (March 6, 2026)

After Maggie Gyllenhaal stunned in 2021 with her directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, she’s back in the director’s chair for The Bride! It’s another take on Frankenstein that takes a lot of inspiration from the 1935 movie, Bride of Frankenstein. It stars Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale.

Reminders Of Him - Vanessa Caswill (March 14, 2026)

There’s been a couple of Colleen Hoover movie adaptations so far, but Reminders Of Him will be the first from a woman director. Vanessa Caswill, who also made the solid Netflix rom-com Love At First Sight in 2023, is behind the movie about a woman who returns to her hometown seven years after being sent to prison.

Italianna - Kat Coiro (April 10, 2026)

Another female-helmed romantic comedy to look forward to is this spring’s Italianna starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page. The movie will be directed by Kat Coiro, who also did Marry Me, A Case Of You and many She-Hulk episodes. It's about a whirlwind romance that takes place during a destination wedding in Italy.

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank - Frankie Shaw (April 17, 2026)

We’ll get the chance to see the directorial debut of Frankie Shaw, who has been an actor for the past twenty years. 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank is a black comedy heist movie starring the likes of Liam Neeson, Talia Ryder, Whitney Peak, Jack Dylan Grazer, Spike Fearn and Jim Sturgess.

Is God Is - Aleshea Harris (May 15, 2026)

It’s rather rare to hear the original playwright behind their own play is helming a movie based on their work, but that’s the case for Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is. The thriller will be Harris’s first time directing a movie, and boasts a cast including Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox and Janelle Monáe. It’s about twin sisters who are ordered by their mother to kill their abusive father.

Poetic License - Maude Apatow (May 15, 2026)

Maude Apatow, the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, has made her first movie called Poetic License. It stars her mom as a former therapist and empty nester who gets in the middle of two best friends / college seniors (played by Cooper Hoffman and Andrew Barth Feldman). It premiered already to positive thoughts from critics.

Practical Magic 2 - Susanne Bier (September 18, 2026)

Almost two decades after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman played witches in Practical Magic, they’ll continue the story, this time with a female director behind it. Suzanne Bier has made a lot of movies over the years, but has notably already directed Practical Magic 2’s stars before – Bullock in Bird Box and Kidman in The Perfect Couple.

The Legend Of Aang - Lauren Montgomery (October 9, 2026)

The last movie we'll highlight for now (though there's more to come from women directors) is the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, The Legend of Aang. Director Lauren Montgomery has a massive resume of being a storyboard artist and director in the animated space for 20 years primarily on DC animated projects, but this is her highest-profile movie to date.

We'll keep you updated as this list continues to change. Go out and support these women-fronted projects!