2025 is in our collective rear-view, KFK readers, and for the action-oriented cinephiles among us, that means a rundown of the most anticipated martial arts movies 2026 has in store is in order. Luckily, we at KFK are once again on hand to give our two cents on the matter, and the landscape of martial arts flicks arriving this calendar year is not only plentiful, but one of exceptional potential. That being said, it’s also one that might seem a little familiar when compared to our radar of anticipation in 2025.
Naturally, the film industry is one of where rescheduling and fickle release windows are anything but uncommon. However, the slate martial arts fans were anticipating in 2025, for whatever reason, fell particularly subject to musical chairs in release dates, and in some cases, debuts that haven’t even been formally scheduled yet. Ergo, a glance at KFK’s list of 2025’s Most Anticipated Martial Arts Flicks displays an unusually bountiful collection of butt-kicking titles expected for release that year, only for the calendar to change to 2026 without them making their grand debut.
Of course, the silver lining that that admittedly huge bummer is that, with 2025 behind us, 2026 is here, and bringing with it all the postponed martial arts films at last ready to be unveiled to the world. Additionally, quite a few additional titles with their dates already set in 2026 are on the way, as well, which gives martial arts fans a tremendous amount to look forward to on both the big-screen and among the myriad of streaming and home media options available to them. So, buckle upon for another epic rundown, KFK readers – here, in descending order, are KFK’s Top 15 Most Anticipated Martial Arts Movies of 2026!
15.) “Street Fighter”
For many “Street Fighter” fans, martial arts movie buffs, and even us here at KFK, the anticipation for the upcoming big-screen reboot of “Street Fighter” comes with a lamentable asterisk – that, of course, being Joey Ansah and Christian Howard’s epic series plans for “Street Fighter: World Warrior” – the intended follow-up to their 2014 YouTube hit “Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist” – lapsing away through a combination of studio politics and IP rights shifting. While the “what could have been” of that will always hover over all things “Street Fighter”, there’s no denying that the upcoming return of “Street Fighter” to cinema screens looks fittingly bonkers, wild, and action-packed. With an ensemble cast that includes, but isn’t limited to, Andrew Koji of “Warrior” as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Rayna Valladingham of “Cobra Kai” as Juri, and Bollywood action star Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, “Street Fighter” is clearly leaning heavily into the fantastical martial arts fun of its namesake that could make it the first adaptation of the games franchise to truly bring the spirit of “Street Fighter” to life on the big-screen. Come October 21st, “Street Fighter” is rearing to bring a Hadouken-powered whirlwind into theaters, and we’re eager to see what it has up its sleeve.
14.) “The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender”
It’s been a long time coming for “Avatar” fans, but after the founding of Avatar Studios at Nickelodeon by original series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, the studio’s first project will arrive this year on Paramount+ in the animated epic “The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender”. Set after the conclusion of the acclaimed animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, “The Legend of Aang” brings Team Avatar back together for another adventure to maintain the balance of the Four Nations. As a fully realized Avatar in control of the elements of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, the young Avatar Aang (voiced by Eric Nam) will surely be challenged like never before, while “Avatar” fans will embark on an all-new adventure with a voice cast the includes Steve Yeun, Dave Bautista, and Ke Huy Quan, and with the epic scope and bending-based martial arts action the franchise is beloved for, “The Legend of Aang” is a bound to be a fun and emotional return to the Four Nations.
13.) “Purgatory: Kill Zone
Bruce Khan kicked his way into martial arts movie stardom with 2019’s sleeper streaming hit “Revenger”, but while the weight has ended up being a bit longer for his follow-up “Purgatory: Kill Zone” (which Bruce also co-directed), it seems to have been well worth it, as we at KFK can personally attest from our interview with Bruce on the movie earlier this year. Like “Revenger”, “Purgatory” places Bruce in a prison setting once more as a man forced to fight his way out, and like “Revenger”, Bruce and co. had to fight an uphill battle against obstacles like the harsh South Korean winter and the film industry’s economical hurdles in the post-COVID-19 world. Nevertheless, with Bruce’s fighting spirit leading the way, “Purgatory” promises to be another spin-kicking prison smackdown to remember – and one need only take a peek at some exclusive pre-viz footage provided to KFK by Bruce Khan himself to feel compelled to lock in for the debut of “Purgatory: Kill Zone” later this year!
12.) “Without Remorse”
Philip Ng, Andy On, Tiger Chen – a trio of Hong Kong action legends sure to be a genuine “Triple Threat” in any martial arts flick, and a trio getting the opportunity for exactly that in the upcoming Hong Kong actioner “Without Remorse”. Unfortunately, 2025 came and went without the trio’s latest effort debuting, but that simply means that 2026 will be that much better with it. Plot details and a hard release date remain on stand-by, but the promise of Philip, Andy, and Tiger as a unit is plenty to entice any Hong Kong action fan to ready themselves for the fury of “Without Remorse” when it hits, and undoubtedly hits harder, upon its pending release.
11.) “Daredevil: Born Again”
The Marvel-Netflix era is gradually transitioning the entire Defenders roster over to Disney+, which the migration commencing with season one of “Daredevil: Born Again” in 2025, the revival series/continuation of the three season Netflix phenomenon “Daredevil”. When last we saw The Man Without Fear, his archnemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) had become mayor of New York City, while his frenemy The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) had returned for a tense team-up of clashing crime-fighting ideologies. For “Daredevil: Born Again” season two, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock will get some help from one of his most trusted, albeit crankiest, friends, superhuman private investigator Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), while Daredevil fans and martial arts lovers alike can surely expect plenty of superheroic butt-kicking to be on the table in season two, undoubtedly complete with a Daredevil signature one-shot hallway fight. And who knows – with “Daredevil: Born Again” season three already in the works, another iron fisted ally of Hell’s Kitchen’s really good lawyer might drop in to lend Matt Murdock a hand!
10.) “Wings of Dread”
One of the biggest shifts in Asian action, and more specifically Chinese action, of the last half decade is the rise of the Chinese streaming world on such platforms as Youku and iQiyi, with the output therein not only being superb, but often matching the exhilarating thrills of the ‘80s-90s golden age of Hong Kong action movies. The upcoming “Wings of Dread” is riding that wave with its forthcoming debut on iQiyi. Even better, “Wings of Dread” also pairs homegrown rising star Ashton Chen with Indonesian action legend Iko Uwais as two heroes forced to battle terrorists on a plane. While the teaser trailer is brief, it offers plenty to go on that “Wings of Dread” has plenty of the kung fu flair of the Chinese streaming action renaissance merged with the blinding Silat power that has kicked Indonesia into spotlight of martial arts movie fandom, a combo that makes “Wings of Dread” a worthy addition to the collection of 2026’s most anticipated martial arts flicks!
9.) “Timur”
The directorial debut of Iko Uwais graced theaters screens at last in 2025…but just in Indonesia. Admittedly, the late release of “Timur” in December 2025 makes it understandable that it wouldn’t arrive in the West until sometime in 2026, but with the New Year in full swing, the Western release “Timur” is that much closer. “Timur” is based upon a real-life Indonesian hostage crisis in 1996, and early response suggest that Iko has crafted the story into an extremely gripping action thriller with an abundance of Silat action in play. No word yet on when “Timur” will be released in the English-speaking world, but a timeframe of within a year of its Indonesian domestic release seems plausible as projects move into full swing for the newly minted Uwais Pictures.
8.) “Bedlam”
“What’s coming up with Scott Adkins?” – at this point, words that surely every martial arts movie fanatic, living or dead, asks at the beginning of every calendar year. In 2026, Scott has plenty coming down the pipeline, including one of his most off-the-wall yet simultaneously intriguing projects in the upcoming “Bedlam”. Set in 18th century London, “Bedlam” sees Scott as an underground fighter who drops into the city’s infamous Bedlam insane asylum to rescue to wrongfully committed sister. The details of “Bedlam” alone give off a vibe akin to placing Scott Adkins into one of the Robert Downey Jr.-led “Sherlock Holmes” movies, so one assumes that copious use of slow-mo as Scott strategizes his battle plan mid-fight is at least on the table in some capacity. Joking aside, Scott Adkins kicking butt in a period setting in his home country doesn’t happen terribly often, which places “Bedlam” right in the line-up of KFK’s most anticipated martial arts movies of 2026.
7.) “Avatar: The Last Airbender” – Season Two
What’s better than a new animated adventure set in the universe of “Avatar: The Last Airbender”? A second season of Netflix’s “Avatar” reboot arriving right alongside it in the same year. Admittedly, with seasons two and three of Netflix’s live-action “Avatar” series filming back-to-back, a release of the former in 2024 seemed quite plausible, hence its place on the 2025 rundown of most anticipated martial arts flicks. Nevertheless, despite the longer than expected wait, that just means double the “Avatar” for fans one of the most popular animated series of all time to enjoy in 2026. Added to that, “Avatar” season two is, of course, an adaptation of the second season, or Book Two, or the original “Avatar” series, which means that none other than Toph Beifong (Miya Cech) will debut on the show to train Aang in the ways of Earthbending as Team Avatar seeks to prepare the young Avatar to stop the Fire Nation’s conquest of the Four Nations. As we wait to see the first trailer and upcoming release date, “Avatar” fans would be advised to prepare themselves for another wave of adventure and fun with “Avatar” season two on the way and the general cornucopia of “Avatar” projects dropping in 2026.
6.) “Beast”
MMA has become such a cornerstone of the martial arts world, it is commonplace for MMA-style action to be prominently featured on any list of annually anticipated martial arts films. The upcoming MMA drama “Beast” fits that bill flawlessly, with the story following struggling MMA fighter Patton James (Daniel McPherson) as he enters the Octagon for a shot at the title. Russell Crowe, who also served as co-writer, brings gravitas to the story as Patton’s trainer and corner man Sammy, but for martial arts fans, the real star of “Beast” is a man fully worthy of that title, none other than Australia’s homegrown rising action star Bren Foster. Hot off the heels of the success of his 2024 directorial debut “Life After Fighting”, Bren goes from hero to villain as the heavy of “Beast” and Patton’s fearsome opponent in the cage, Xavier Grau. “Beast” hits theaters on April 10th, and is sure to bring with it a maelstrom of MMA energy with its ensemble cast and Bren Foster as its highly formidable antagonist.
Beast 2026 movie fight scene pic
5.) “Mexicali”
After blowing expectations out of the water with his phenomenal 2024 directorial and leading man debut “Life After Fighting”, Australia’s renown master of spinning kicks and armbars is Bren Foster is leaping back into action with a trifecta of butt-kicking fun in 2026. On top of his turn as heel of the Octagon in the aforementioned “Beast”, Bren is also anchoring the soon to be released “Mexicali”. Scripted by DTV action king Jesse Johnson and directed by Jesse’s frequent fight choreographer Luke LaFontaine, “Mexicali” sees Bren as an Australian mercenary turned farmer trying to live a peaceful life of seclusion in Mexico, only for a run-in with some cartel enforcers to force him out of retirement. Having already established himself as an instant martial arts movie powerhouse with “Life After Fighting”, Bren’s sophomore action hero outing looks equally electrifying and well-poised to be one of 2026’s first must-see DTV actioners of fists, feet, and bullets galore.
4.) “Relentless”
And for our third Bren Foster martial arts actioner of 2026, it’s one in which he pulls another “Life After Fighting” as leading man, director, producer, and writer in the upcoming “Relentless” – so named, undoubtedly, as much for Bren’s exceptional drive as captain of the ship as it is for the tale of its protagonist, Connor Aldonci. In “Relentless”, Connor faces an internal fight after being diagnosed with cancer, but continuing to fight valiantly in the arena for his family. At face value, “Relentless” speaks to battles many of us face on a day-to-day basis of the need to provide for those dearest to us, the tragic nature of what cancer does to those afflicted, and the determination of one warrior faced with both to let nothing stand in his way. Bren already displayed his capabilities for both emotional storytelling and enthrallingly powerful action in “Life After Fighting”, so there’s little reason to doubt the presence of both in “Relentless”, or its well-deserved place as one of the most anticipated martial arts films of 2026.
3.) “Mortal Kombat 2”
Here’s another holdover from the 2025 list, but to be fair, at the time, it had a release date in October of 2025 before being kicked back to its current spot of May 8th, 2026. Word has it that Warner Bros. sheer confidence in “Mortal Kombat 2” after some reportedly phenomenal test screening reactions led to the studio rescheduling the tournament for the fate of Earthrealm as the kick-off for the summer movie season. An encouraging rumor to be sure, and one bolstered by the fate that yours truly personally knows a number of folks in the business who have been privy to “Mortal Kombat 2”, with nothing but phenomenal things to say about it. Even better, none other than Timo Tjahjanto of “The Night Comes For Us” and “The Shadow Strays” fame himself saw an early glimpse of “Mortal Kombat 2”, with Indonesia’s reigning action maestro declaring the sequel a Flawless Victory. The marketing for “Mortal Kombat 2” has also been nothing if not impressive, highlighting Karl Urban’s grizzled Johnny Cage with showcasing a plethora of spellbinding and Fatality-filled action in the upcoming tournament. In the end, 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” had its share of shortcomings amid its virtues, but there is little doubt at this point that the right lessons were learned, setting up “Mortal Kombat 2” as one hell of a way for general audiences and martial arts fans alike to kick off summer 2026.
Scorpion in Mortal Kombat 2 pic
2.) “Skyline: Warpath”
Good ole’ Liam O’Donnell is continuing to build out the ridiculously fun and captivating “Skyline” universe with the franchise’s fourth installment, “Skyline: Warpath”, itself boasting the extremely enticing selling point of being an Iko Uwais-Scott Adkins double header. Set between the events of 2017’s “Beyond Skyline” and 2020’s “Skylin3s”, “Warpath” sees Iko reprise his role in the former as Sua, with Scott joining as cop Eric Corley, the two fighting to protect a mysterious weapon known as the Radial Gauntlet from falling into the wrong hands. While it seemed likely that “Skyline: Warpath” was going to drop in 2025, ultimately 2026 seems to be where it has instead planted its flag, but an Iko Uwais-Scott Adkins team-up in a sci-fi alien invasion martial arts smackdown surely makes such a wait worth it. As the world waits for a trailer and release details for “Skyline: Warpath”, readers can take a glimpse at KFK’s exclusive reporting, courtesy of Ms. Jordan Crucchiolla, from 2024’s Big Bad Film Fest on footage showcased at the festival!
Iko Uwais and Scott Adkins in Skyline Warpath pic
And in at number one is…
“The Furious”
Well, surely this was expected, wasn’t it KFK readers? Not just for the fact of “The Furious” topping KFK’s Most Anticipated list of 2025. Not just for how exuberant our excitement and that of every martial arts and Hong Kong action fan on the planet already was for “The Furious”, with the movie’s pitch as being both a throwback to ‘80s and ‘90s Hong Kong action and a re-energization of it in a modern context. Not just for its absolutely electrifying ensemble of martial arts kings and queens that includes Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Jeeja Yanin, Yayan Ruhian, Joey Iwanaga, and Martial Club’s Brian Le, under the direction of the heir to Yuen Woo-ping’s throne, Kenji Tanigaki. Not just for how awesome that first fight clip above was along with the reported franchise plans for “The Furious”. No, “The Furious” retains its number one spot on the list from 2025 for all of the above, AND everything that’s unfolded with it throughout last year and leading into 2026.
Xie Miao and Joe Taslim in The Furious pic
That includes the unstoppable hype train “The Furious” has built on the film festival circuit since its debut at 2025’s Toronto International Film Festival, with reactions not just being overwhelmingly positive, but a level of instant acclaim that points to “The Furious” as a generational martial arts action game-changer on the level of “Ong Bak”, “The Raid”, or “John Wick”. It’s KFK’s own conversations with Kenji Tanigaki and Brian Le, which have given a peek behind the curtain into the making of “The Furious”, and left us even more excited than before. It’s the fact that the writer of this very list personally knows multiple people who have seen “The Furious”, all of whom corroborate its phenomenal early buzz with the most infectious of enthusiasm. Simply put, “The Furious” has been an unstoppable force of anticipation even for those not lucky enough to have seen it early on the festival circuit, and one that has snowballed into a mushroom cloud of excitement and anticipation. Countless martial arts movie lovers around the world continue to count down the minutes until a release date is announced or a trailer is unleashed for “The Furious”, but with early screenings beginning stateside this very month, starting at the Boston Underground Film Festival, it seems the end is near for the wait for the debut of the highly anticipated Hong Kong martial arts action ensemble that is “The Furious” – the deserving recipient of KFK’s Most Anticipated Martial Arts Movie of 2026!
And that’s KFK’s countdown of our Most Anticipated Martial Arts Movies of 2026! Did any of your picks make the list? Are you excited to see all the exceptional martial arts flicks on the way in 2026? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram. (And don’t forget to pay a visit to KFK’s FU-niverse of movie reviews and exclusive interviews, grab your official KFK gear and subscribe for more action on YouTube, too!)
