The LGBTQ+ community’s ties to Hollywood and cinema have been deeply intertwined from the early days of the medium. And yet, the fight for 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 in the new year, and beyond.
And, with Pride Month around the corner, there’s definitely some good ones to check out!
Coming Soon
Stop! That! Train! - May 29, 2026
Attention Drag Race fans! RuPaul Charles is set to star in his own action comedy alongside a ton of famed drag queens like Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Marcia Marcia Marcia and Monét X Change in the movie Stop! That! Train! In a synopsis that sounds as camp as can be, two best friends have the opportunity to trade their day jobs as stewardesses on a regular train for the Glamazonian Express. While on the train, the besties must band with their attendees when a “Stormaganza” rolls in. The movie is helmed by Adam Shankman, who has made famed movies like Hairspray and Hocus Pocus 2, and it’s coming to theaters this summer.
Girls Like Girls - June 19, 2026
Queer pop star Hayley Kiyoko wrote her debut novel, Girls Like Girls, in 2023 after her song of the same name. It’s a YA book about a 17-year-old girl named Coley who’s forced to move to a rural town in Oregon after the loss of her mom. In her new town, she meets Sonya, whom she’s instantly attracted to, but is afraid to fall for, given she’s never been with a girl before. The book-to-screen adaptation was announced in December 2024 (per Deadline) with Kiyoko set to write its screenplay and direct and Focus Features as the production company. Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy are in the starring roles.
Leviticus - June 19, 2026
The horror genre has always been closely tied with queer culture, so it’s always exciting when a queer filmmaker comes up with a fresh idea. Adrian Chiarella wrote and directed a coming-of-age psychological horror film called Leviticus. It stars Joe Bird of Talk To Me and newcomer Stacy Clausen as two teenage boys who form a romantic bond in a small town. When they are found out, they are cursed by a “conversion ritual” where a violent entity takes the form of the person they desire the most, which is in this case, each other. We wonder how this will stack up to other great LGBTQ+ horror movies.
Maddie’s Secret - June 19, 2026
John Early, a queer comedian and actor known best for Search Party has written, directed and starred in his movie, Maddie’s Secret. The directorial debut sees Early playing a woman named Maddie, who jumps from being a dishwasher to food influencer, but leads her to fall back into her eating disorder. Them is already calling it a “queer cult classic in the making” for being a “campy melodrama” that’s “as heartfelt as it is hilarious.”
Heartstopper: Forever - July 17, 2026
After Heartstopper has had us in our feelings for three seasons on Netflix, it has been announced that Nick and Charlie’s romance will get a sendoff via a movie called Heartstopper: The Final Chapter. It’ll be about the couple’s struggles as they deal with the realities of being long-distance when they go to different universities. Joe Locke and Kit Connor will not only star, they are also executive producing. Filming concluded in July 2025, as author Alice Oseman shared on Instagram, and recently earned a streaming release in the middle of summer.
Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma - August 7, 2026
After director Jane Schoenbrun made one of the best LGBTQ+ movies of last year, that even got a shoutout from Martin Scorsese, I Saw The TV Glow, the trans filmmaker has another movie on the way, per Deadline. It’s called Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, and it’s about a famed slasher franchise called Camp Miasma that’s getting rebooted again, but the director starts to become obsessed with the reclusive actress who originally played the franchise’s “final girl,” the project takes a turn. The movie stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, and was filmed in summer 2025.
The Wrong Girls - August 14, 2026
Since married couple Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer are both in the biz, it was only a matter of time before they made a movie together. This summer they have a stoner comedy called The Wrong Girls coming out, which they wrote together and serves as Meyer’s directorial debut. We don’t know much about the plot, but Stewart and Alia Shawkat are the leads alongside Seth Rogen, LaKeith Stanfield, Kumail Nanjiani, Zack Fox and Tony Hale.
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 is 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.
I Want Your Sex
Notable queer filmmaker Gregg Araki hasn’t made a movie in over a decade, but he’s finally back with I Want Your Sex. The movie stars The Long Walk’s Cooper Hoffman as a young man who lands a job with a provocative artist played by Olivia Wilde, and becomes her sexual muse. The movie which also stars Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho and Charli XCX premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
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.
In Production
Red, White And Royal Blue 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.
A Long Winter
In addition to Kit Connor being in the upcoming Heartstopper movie, the actor is also attached to a movie called A Long Winter 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.
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.
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 Reed is about an iconic movie star from Old Hollywood who recounts the truth of her love life across her career to a reporter. The screenplay is being written by Little Fires Everywhere’s Liz Tigelaar and will be directed by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland.
Burning Rainbow Farm
Sebastian Stan and Leo Woodall are expected to star as a real-life gay couple in rural Michigan who build a “pot-friendly utopia called Rainbow Farm”, per The Hollywood Reporter. 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.
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.
