Venice Film Festival Takes Shape: ‘The Social Reckoning,’ ‘Here Comes the Flood’ With Denzel Washington, Florian Zeller’s ‘Bunker’ and ‘The Studio’ Season 2 Among Potential Titles

Jun 16, 2026 9:47am PT Venice Film Festival Takes Shape: ‘The Social Reckoning,’ ‘Here Comes the Flood’ With Denzel Washington, Florian Zeller’s ‘Bunker’ and ‘The Studio’ Season 2 Among Potential Titles

Like Cannes this year, Venice 2026 will have a lighter Hollywood presence than in previous editions

By Nick Vivarelli, Elsa Keslassy

Sony Pictures/Getty Images/Blue Morning Pictures

With a little over a month left until the Venice Film Festival lineup is unveiled, a clutch of buzzy prestige titles with top talent has emerged as likely contenders for the Golden Lion.

New works by internationally renowned auteurs such as Florian Zeller with “Bunker,” a psychological thriller starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz; Martin McDonagh with “Wild Horse Nine,” a Searchlight Pictures political thriller starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell; Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard” starring Rooney Mara and Kate Mara;” and Nanni Moretti with “It Will Happen Tonight” with Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca are expected to be among the highlights, alongside “The Echo Chamber,” the latest drama from Italy’s Andrea Pallaoro starring Alicia Vikander and Luca Marinelli as enraptured lovers and featuring Susan Sarandon.

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