12 Action Thrillers You’ll Be Talking About This Fall
The first trailers have started landing for autumn’s big action-thrillers led by Alan Ritchson, Brad Pitt and Liam Neeson — all hailing from rather decorated directors.
If summer's barrage of action movies wasn't enough, the next few months are out to absolutely rinse your free time. As autumn creeps in, cinemas and streaming services are rammed with new releases — some slightly bonkers, some unmissable, and quite a few genuinely original for a change. From September to November 2026, the line-up is madly eclectic, starring everyone from Ryan Reynolds and Brad Pitt to Liam Neeson running from the police yet again.
If you're here for kinetic set-pieces, messed-up sci-fi, or just star power, here's your unofficial roadmap to the big action movies closing out the year.
Big names, surprising setups
Let's start with the batch you'll definitely hear people arguing about online. Ryan Reynolds is heading up Mayday (4 September, Apple TV+), which pitches him as a wisecracking Navy pilot dropped behind Soviet lines in 1987.
The catch: Kenneth Branagh is his sidekick, playing an ex-KGB carpenter who's mad about America and a bit unhinged (it's Branagh; that's really the least surprising bit).
It's scripted by the pair behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, so expect silliness, not sombre Cold War drama. You'll probably get more quips here than bullets, so if you're not sold on their flavour of comedy-action, maybe steer clear.
Meanwhile, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett finally bring their post-The Guest reunion to bear with Onslaught (also 4 September, but actually in cinemas). Rebecca Hall is a PTSD-plagued sniper, forced to fend off a squad of you-know-they're-not-normal mercs with her daughter in tow. Dan Stevens is here too, but no, it's not literally a Guest sequel.
There's a definite Universal Soldier vibe and, knowing Wingard, things will turn grisly and weird. If you couldn't handle the horror-tinged chaos of their earlier films, you're warned.
For something more grounded (though honestly, not much), check out By Any Means (4 September, cinemas): based on an actual partnership between a young Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, everywhere this year) and real-life mob capo Gregory Scarpa Sr., played by Mark Wahlberg with his usual bassy growl.
They're investigating civil rights killings — so think shootouts, but also law-enforcement bureaucracy and a bit of heavy social commentary. If trudging through paperwork mid-gunfight sounds a bit much, this one's probably not for you.
The definitive list
- Mayday — 4 Sep, Apple TV+. Reynolds & Branagh's comic action in Soviet territory.
- Onslaught — 4 Sep, cinemas. Wingard & Barrett unleash super-soldiers on Rebecca Hall.
- By Any Means — 4 Sep, cinemas. Wahlberg & Abdul-Mateen II's real-life FBI/mobster duo in 1960s drama.
- Hope — 9 Sep, cinemas. Na Hong-jin's monster hunt in South Korea, 10 years in the making.
- The Uprising — 11 Sep, cinemas. Greengrass gives medieval rebellion the Bourne treatment, starring Garfield.
- Runner — 11 Sep, cinemas. Ritchson & Wilson try to deliver a liver — literally.
- Heart of the Beast — 25 Sep, cinemas. Brad Pitt vs. wilderness, Ayer at the helm.
- Matchbox the Movie — 9 Oct, Apple TV+. John Cena in globe-trotting toy-action adventure.
- Street Fighter — 16 Oct, cinemas. Momoa, Centineo and co. in the latest attempt at video game glory.
- The Mongoose — 30 Oct, cinemas. Liam Neeson chased (again), but with extra car stunts.