2025 saw the revival of Daredevil, who was “reborn” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then there was the successful launch of the Alien franchise’s first series, with Alien: Earth, along with continued runs of the YA goth mystery, Wednesday, and the sci-fi epic, Foundation. R-rated superhero fans were exhilarated by the sophomore seasons of Peacemaker and Gen V, even if they turn out to be the end of both of their short tenures.
Squid Game had a surprising winner in its finale, while Stranger Things looks to finish the year off on a high note. Still, the pinnacle of genre television rests assuredly with Andor; the Star Wars offshoot delivered one the highest quality science fiction spy thrillers of all time.
With the year coming to a close, superhero/sci-fi/fantasy fans can begin to look forward to these ten offerings in 2026.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — HBO | January 18
The first widely anticipated show of the year will be a Game of Thrones prequel… and no, not House of the Dragon (more on that later). A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be the third series to spawn out of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books. It will take place after the events of House of the Dragon, yet before Game of Thrones.
Unlike the focal fantasy novels, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be adapted from the author’s novellas, called Tales of Dunk and Egg. Egg is actually named Aegon Targaryen, making him a descendant of the Targaryen royalty from House of the Dragon and a predecessor to the famed Mad King, often spoken about in Game of Thrones. With this new show, the emphasis on two characters, as well as the source material being novellas, suggests that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may settle into a more intimate milieu, rather than the grander scale of the other HBO epics.
Wonder Man — Disney Plus | January 27
Wonder Man will be the fourth MCU series to debut an eponymous Marvel superhero, after Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk. Echo, Agatha All Along, and Ironheart all featured characters who were previously introduced. Yahya Abdul-Mateen stars as Simon Williams, who has a long comic book history of being a foil for Tony Stark.
Instead of operating in the tech/manufacturing field, the MCU is utilizing the actor version of Wonder Man. The trailer promises a unique take on a superhero story. The entertainment backdrop is also the perfect reason to have Sir Ben Kinglsey reprise his farcical role as Trevor Slattery. He last appeared in the MCU in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Destin Daniel Cretton directed that origin story and is also at the helm for the Wonder Man pilot.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 — Disney Plus | March 4
This will be Daredevil: Born Again’s second chapter of a planned trilogy of seasons. Born Again is already one of the best MCU shows ever produced. And of course, it is itself a revival of the Daredevil Netflix series that ran from 2015-2018, with all the main actors returning for Born Again. In 2025, Daredevil continued to go head-to-head with Kingpin, while also investigating the deadly Bullseye and the serial killer Muse.
Born Again assimilated the original series with the MCU, as Daredevil re-teamed with The Punisher in climactic scenes and then met with Ms. Marvel’s father in another sub-plot. Season 2 will spotlight Krysten Ritter’s comeback as Jessica Jones, another Marvel-Netflix veteran. And while Jon Bernthal’s Punisher had many pieces set up toward the end of Season 1, those will play out in a Punisher Special Presentation, which is also expected to drop in 2026.
One Piece season 2 — Netflix | March 10
One Piece may end up joining shows like Stranger Things and Severance for longest gaps between seasons. Last airing in the summer of 2023, One Piece’s live-action adaptation drew millions of more fans to the fantasy globe-trotting IP. With hundreds of manga volumes, dozens of video games, and over a thousand episodes of its anime series, an eight-chapter season of television is much more palatable to general audiences that don’t have spare weeks or months on their hand. Although hardcore fans tend to adore the live-action version as well.
The first season set the Straw Hat pirates sailing towards episodic adventures, with captain Monkey D. Luffy at the forefront, surrounded by an ensemble of distinguished caricatures for his crew, while memorable antagonists constantly block their passage. Inaki Godoy was a fantastic find to embody the larger-than-life Luffy, who will be heading into the Grand Line in his sophomore season. And Chopper, a fan favorite reindeer in the animated series, will be converted to live-action when One Piece returns in March.
House of the Dragon season 3 — HBO / HBO Max | Summer 2026
2026 will be a rare year with two shows releasing from the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. After Knight of the Seven Kingdoms commences earlier in the year, House of the Dragon will follow with its third season. The first season set the pyre and poured some fuel with the impending death of King Viserys. After that, the fire spread and raged on in Season 2.
Rhaenyra, King Viserys’ daughter, and Alicent, King Viserys’ wife, clash for queen of the kingdom. Meanwhile the dragon riding intensifies and many heads roll as a larger war threatens to breakout. Even bigger battles are promised for Season 3, with teaser images of Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen leading Rhaenyra’s black army.
Lanterns — HBO / HBO Max | Summer 2026
Lanterns has been in development by James Gunn’s team at DC for a while now. Unlike Peacemaker, which first premiered while the DCEU was still plodding along, Lanterns will be the first live-action series exclusively for the new DCU. Although Gunn created an animated show, Creature Commandos, which wrapped up in January 2025, and technically also falls under the DCU slate of programming. Lanterns has officially been pushed back to after Supergirl comes out in June.
Even though Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner established himself as the smug (but still heroic) Green Lantern, as a member of the Justice Gang, in Superman, he will not be the primary protagonist in Lanterns. Kyle Chandler will star as Hal Jordan; the same iteration of Green Lantern that Ryan Reynolds played in the ineffective standalone 2011 feature film. Jordan will partner up with John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Stewart is the beloved Green Lantern from the exceptional Justice League animated series, so this will mark the live-action entrance of the hero.
VisionQuest — Disney Plus | Fall 2026
As a follow-up to the treasured MCU mini-series, WandaVision, VisionQuest is easily the most enticing show on this list. The white Vision from the end of that arc is expected to headline, with Paul Bettany reprising the role. The most exciting inclusion in cast will be James Spader, whose Ultron was created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That is the epic sequel that initiated Vision and Scarlet Witch, as well as her brother Quicksilver, into the franchise.
And no Marvel fan can forget that WandaVision already continued a few of its story threads in the form of Agatha All Along. Wanda’s son Wiccan had a big part to play in that limited series. In the penultimate chapter, Billy transmuted his brother Tommy’s soul into the body of dying boy. Now, Speed will be zipping around in VisionQuest. The final big casting news comes with a record breaking MCU reappearance… Faran Tahir will return as the Ten Rings terrorist Raza, 18 years after playing the part in Iron Man.
Ahsoka season 2 — Disney Plus | 2026 (likely summer or fall)
Ahsoka Tano in live-action is truly impressive. Rosario Dawson stunned Star Wars fans when she first showed up in The Mandalorian and were delighted to see her join up with Luke Skywalker in a chapter of The Book of Boba Fett. Of course, the Jedi deserved her own series, which was so compelling that it earned a renewal for Season 2.
Animated heroes from Star Wars Rebels made the jump to live-action, from Sabine Wren to Hera Syndulla, to Ezra Bridger. And even the formidable master maneuverer, Grand Admiral Thrawn was played by the same actor who once voiced the villain, Lars Mikkelsen. Between the breathtaking mid-season episode where Ahsoka faces demons in the form of her former master, Anakin Skywalker, all the way up to the thrilling climax where Ahsoka is stranded with Sabine on the other side of the galaxy, more of Ahsoka’s story cannot come soon enough.
Avatar: The Last Airbender — Netflix | 2026
Early reports suggested The Last Airbender could return toward the beginning of 2026, but since the release date has still not been announced, all we can assume is that we will be getting more of Aang and his lovable flying bison sometime later in the year. An adaptation of what might be the best Nickelodeon cartoon, the live-action show successfully captured the spirit of the original; balancing the ebullient Aang within the context of impending war, waged by the Fire Nation.
The first season showcased the cool effects of water and fire bending. And Aang’s giant bison, Appa, looks a lot more naturalistic than the mostly forgettable M. Night Shyamalan movie. Importantly, Prince Zuko effectively walks the line between good and evil, while Katara is perfectly played by Kiawentiio, a Canadian actress with an Indigenous background. For season 2, the series will welcome fan favorite Toph, the blind earth bender.
The Boys season 5 — Prime Video | 2026 (likely summer / fall)
Showrunner Eric Kripke all but promised a schedule update by now, but the only thing for sure is that Amazon plans for The Boys to have its grand finale in the coming year. That’s right – the fifth season is set to be the last. The spin-off series, Gen V, has been tying its events into the prime Boys storyline. That show has revealed more about superhero origins in this universe and still, a prequel Vought Rising, is in development, which will take us back to some Boys’ characters’ earlier years.
The Boys Season 4 ended with the confrontation between Butcher and his Boys and Homelander and his followers heating up to an inevitably deadly collision course. The Boys have gained some superpowered support to even things out against the indestructible Homelander. Plus, Marie Moreau, along with her Gen V team, has been recruited by Starlight. It has been hinted at that Moreau just may be the key to finally defeating Homelander once and for all.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has an outside chance of releasing late in the year
Considering that filming of the third season has already wrapped and the previous seasons released in late August/early September, 2022 and 2024 respectively, it seemed possible that Amazon Prime Video would be aiming to air the third season around that time in the upcoming year. But the studio is holding off on confirming a 2026 release at this time and the show may be pushed to 2027, so we cannot officially count the J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation among the list.
Whenever Rings of Power continues, the stakes will rise to even more intense heights as the One Ring to rule them all is destined to take shape, and Sauron’s dark shadow will spread across all of Middle Earth.