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With Maggie Gyllenhaal set to lead the jury, Venice’s 83rd edition is already circling prestige titles from Aaron Sorkin, Fernando Meirelles, Florian Zeller, Martin McDonagh, Werner Herzog and Nanni Moretti.

The 2026 Venice Film Festival is beginning to take shape, and even before the official lineup is unveiled, the Lido already looks positioned for another prestige-heavy awards-season launch.

With just over a month until artistic director Alberto Barbera announces the slate, a group of major auteur projects and star-driven dramas has emerged as likely contenders for this year’s Golden Lion. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival is set to run Sept. 2-12, with Maggie Gyllenhaal serving as president of the main competition jury. The full competition lineup is traditionally announced in July.

Among the buzziest potential titles is Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Reckoning,’ Sony’s follow-up to ‘The Social Network.’ The film stars Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, taking over the role from Jesse Eisenberg, while Mikey Madison plays Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White plays Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. Rather than returning to Facebook’s origin story, Sorkin’s new film focuses on the internal documents and reporting behind ‘The Facebook Files,’ shifting the franchise from dorm-room ambition to institutional accountability.

A Venice premiere would make strategic sense. Sony is set to release ‘The Social Reckoning’ on Oct. 9, putting it directly in the awards-season corridor. Sorkin’s return to Facebook also feels tailor-made for a festival launch built around prestige, political urgency and media conversation. If the film makes the lineup, it could become one of Venice’s highest-profile Hollywood titles of the year.

Netflix is also expected to have a presence on the Lido, with Fernando Meirelles’ ‘Here Comes the Flood’ among the most likely candidates. The heist thriller stars Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Danai Gurira and Sean Harris, with Simon Kinberg writing the script. The film follows a bank guard, a teller and a master thief caught in a dangerous game of cons and double-crosses, bringing together a major international cast with Meirelles, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind ‘City of God’ and ‘The Two Popes.’

Florian Zeller’s ‘Bunker’ is another major title expected to be in the mix. The psychological thriller stars Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz as a couple whose lives are disrupted by a mysterious bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul. With Paul Dano, Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger also in the cast, the project gives Zeller another high-profile festival opportunity following ‘The Father,’ which won two Oscars, and ‘The Son,’ which previously premiered at Venice.

Hollywood’s overall footprint may be lighter than usual, however. Several anticipated U.S. projects are not expected to be ready in time, including David Fincher’s ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ the sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ starring Brad Pitt, and Tom Ford’s ‘Cry to Heaven,’ which marks Adele’s acting debut. Studios have also become more cautious about spending heavily on festival launches, particularly when high-profile premieres carry the risk of early critical backlash.

Still, Venice rarely needs a giant studio slate to become an awards-season force. In recent years, the festival has proven especially effective at launching international auteurs, prestige dramas, Netflix contenders and actor-driven films into the fall conversation. A lineup including Sorkin, Meirelles, Zeller, McDonagh, Herzog, Moretti and Pallaoro would give Barbera a mix of political drama, psychological thriller, heist cinema, literary adaptation and European auteur work even without a heavier blockbuster presence.

There is also the possibility of television playing a larger role. Apple TV+’s ‘The Studio’ Season 2, directed by and starring Seth Rogen, reportedly shot on the Venice Lido in March with Madonna on set and even includes a cameo from Barbera. While it remains unclear whether the series would screen at the festival in any official capacity, its Venice connection makes it one of the more entertaining wild cards surrounding this year’s lineup.

Meanwhile, below is a first batch of titles likely to compete for the Golden Lion. As previously announced, Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over the jury.

Aaron Sorkin — ‘The Social Reckoning’

Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg, taking over from Jesse Eisenberg, in this companion piece to ‘The Social Network,’ based on the events that sparked The Wall Street Journal’s exposé ‘The Facebook Files.’ The film follows Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, a young Facebook engineer who enlists WSJ reporter Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, to blow the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets. Sony Pictures releases the film on Oct. 9, which tracks naturally with a possible Lido bow.

Florian Zeller — ‘Bunker’

This elevated thriller features real-life husband-and-wife Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz as a couple facing rising tension when a mysterious construction project, a bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul, begins to infiltrate their lives. ‘Bunker’ also stars Paul Dano, Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger. Zeller, who made his feature debut with the Oscar-winning ‘The Father,’ was last at Venice with ‘The Son,’ starring Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern.

Fernando Meirelles — ‘Here Comes the Flood’

From Academy Award nominee Fernando Meirelles, the filmmaker behind ‘The Two Popes’ and ‘City of God,’ and written by Simon Kinberg, the film tells the story of a bank guard plotting with a master thief to carry out a heist. The Netflix title stars Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Danai Gurira and Sean Harris.

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Martin McDonagh — ‘Wild Horse Nine’

Set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, ‘Wild Horse Nine’ follows CIA agents Chris and Lee as they are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island. When Chris bonds with a pair of rebellious students, it threatens to derail the entire mission. The film stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Parker Posey, with Searchlight Pictures distributing.

Ilya Khrzhanovsky — ‘DAU: Mother’

The next major entry in Khrzhanovsky’s monumental ‘DAU’ project arrives after more than two-and-a-half years of finishing work. ‘DAU. Natasha’ and ‘DAU. Degeneration’ previously premiered at the 2020 Berlinale. Khrzhanovsky has renounced his Russian citizenship and has been an outspoken critic of Putin’s regime, though he has also faced allegations about the treatment of women on the set of ‘DAU. Natasha.’

Nanni Moretti — ‘It Will Happen Tonight’

A drama loosely based on Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo’s short story collection ‘Hungry Heart,’ the film is co-written by Moretti with Federica Pontremoli and Valia Santella. It stars Louis Garrel, Jasmine Trinca and Angela Finocchiaro. It marks Moretti’s first collaboration with Garrel and his first with Trinca since ‘The Son’s Room’ in 2001. If it launches from the Lido, ‘It Will Happen Tonight’ would mark Moretti’s first Venice premiere in more than two decades after a long history with Cannes.

Werner Herzog — ‘Bucking Fastard’

Herzog’s new film stars Rooney Mara and Kate Mara as two sisters, Jean and Joan Holbrooke, who attempt to dig a tunnel through a mountain range in search of an imaginary land where true love exists. The film was initially invited to Cannes 2026 as an official selection, but Herzog reportedly declined after it was not offered a competition slot. Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson also star.

Andrea Pallaoro — ‘The Echo Chamber’

Based on an unfinished script by Bernardo Bertolucci, completed by Ludovica Rampoldi and Ilaria Bernardini, the film revolves around a man, a woman and an apartment where an affair takes place. The cast is led by Alicia Vikander, Susan Sarandon and Luca Marinelli. Pallaoro’s previous films ‘Hannah’ and ‘Monica’ both competed at Venice.

Stéphane Brizé — ‘A Good Little Soldier’

The film stars Alba Rohrwacher as Carla, a 43-year-old high-performing executive newly recruited as the HR manager of a major insurer and tasked with rebuilding its brand. As she navigates a corporate environment where vulnerability is not an asset, the film appears to continue Brizé’s interest in labor, institutions and moral pressure. Vincent Lindon also stars.

Cédric Kahn — ‘15/18’ aka ‘A Place to Heal’

Set inside a French public hospital’s adolescent psychiatry unit, the film follows the erratic rhythm of teenagers coming and going while a doctor and his team navigate the relentless cycle of treating, listening and confronting suffering. When 17-year-old Lucia is brought back by police yet again, the arrival of a new patient threatens to shatter the fragile balance of the ward.

The 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival will run Sept. 2-12, with the official lineup expected in late July.