If These Two Movies Deliver In The Next Year, They'll Cement The Best Modern Trilogies

2026 has been a fantastic time for movies and there's still so much more to come during the second half of the year. Blockbusters like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5, Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and Project Hail Mary have already been released, while there were also unexpected hits like Backrooms, Obsession, Hoppers, and more. The rest of the year has so much lined up, including Avengers: Doomsday, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Social Reckoning​​​​​​, and more.

2027 is also shaping up to be a pretty big year for movies. Avengers: Secret Wars, The Batman Part II, Shrek 5, Man of Tomorrow, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, The Legend of Zelda, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and more are lined up, at least for the time being. However, there are two exciting and highly anticipated films slated for release in the next 365 days that stand out above the rest because they could pull off something truly special.

They are two films that, if they end up on par with the previous installments in their respective series, would conclude the best modern movie trilogies. In fact, if they deliver as fans hope, they could potentially give us the two best trilogies of all time, which is saying something.

Dune: Part Three Looks Incredible

First up is Dune: Part Three, which is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2026. That'll be a huge day for moviegoers as Avengers: Doomsday will also arrive on the big screen. However, that won't take anything away from Dune: Part Three, as the level of hype is extreme on the project. It's kind of amazing that this franchise has become as big as it has because it's not exactly something that's easily accessible. Dune is a dense property and the films don't spend too much time overexplaining things.

Despite that, the films have become massive successes. The first installment made the bold choice of only announcing that it was part one when you're watching it, rather than being advertised as such. By the time the epic film ended, audiences were clamoring for more. Dune: Part One grossed over $400 million, won six of the 10 Academy Awards it was nominated for, holds an 83% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and made characters like Paul Atreides and Lady Jessica into household names.

Dune: Part Two took things a step further, delivering an even bigger epic. The movie was a spectacle to see on the big screen that grossed over $700 million and won a few more Oscars. Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and more joined the cast, while the likes of Zendaya were given more to do. Had the series ended there, it would've gone down as one of the greatest duologies in cinematic history, yet a third entry is on the way.

Dune: Part Three, according to the fantastic trailers, will conclude the story and all indicators are that it will be as good as the first two installments. If Dune: Part Three pulls that off, it'll be a trilogy with three spectacular entries that all succeeded at the box office. In fact, if Denis Villeneuve can stick the landing, it'll cap off the greatest sci-fi trilogy in history, even surpassing iconic properties like Star Wars. It'll even be in the conversation for the best trilogy, regardless of genre or era.

Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse Needs To Be Spectacular

2027 will mark the arrival of another highly anticipated third installment in a series, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Sony has struggled with the rights to Spider-Man over the past decade or so. Spider-Man has succeeded greatly in the MCU, but Sony's own projects in the franchise have been poorly received, from Venom to Madame Web to Morbius to Kraven the Hunter. However, their animated series is truly something special.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a critical darling, sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, grossing nearly $400 million, and winning the coveted Best Animated Feature Academy Award. It also gave us big screen versions of heroes who hadn't been there before, like Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman. It took five years but we finally got the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which, similar to Dune: Part Two, upped the ante in a huge way.

Even more characters appeared, the visual styles of each universe were unique, and the story was heartfelt. This sequel lived up to the hype, raked in just under $700 million worldwide, and was nominated for another Best Animated Feature Oscar. However, it also left things on a huge cliffhanger. Miles is in an alternate universe where his counterpart is the Prowler and his uncle is alive, the Spot is on his way to kill Miles' father, and Gwen is assembling a team to save him.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was slated to arrive in March 2024 but that was a generous date. It then got pushed back to 2025 and eventually given a June 18, 2027 release date. It seems like that's finally a concrete date, though that's still hard to be certain of. We haven't had a trailer yet, but the images look promising and the people behind the first two films have earned the benefit of the doubt. They know how to deliver something stunning on a visual level, as well as emotionally gripping from a screenplay perspective.

If Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is nearly as good as either of the first two, it has a strong case for the best animated trilogy ever. That honor is held by Toy Story, while How to Train Your Dragon is another contender, especially with new Toy Story installments coming out to take it past trilogy territory. It's high praise to expect Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse or Dune: Part Three to cap the best trilogies in history, yet it's not far-fetched to consider given the high praise of the first two installments of each.

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  Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

  Release Date June 18, 2027

  Director Bob Persichetti, Justin K. Thompson

  Writers Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

  Producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Jinko Gotoh

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    Shameik Moore

    Miles Morales

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    Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman

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    Brian Tyree Henry

    Jefferson Davis

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