We’re in the throes of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and with it have seen plenty of highly anticipated new movies make their world premiere. Earlier in the festival, the horror film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma from I Saw the TV Glow‘s Jane Schoenbrun premiered to rave reviews, plus James Gray’s crime-drama Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller. This year’s Cannes has also seen classic films like Pan’s Labyrinth, Ken Russell’s iconic film The Devils, and even the original The Fast and the Furious all return for special Cannes Classics screenings.
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Among the films to have made their world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is the latest from South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin. Previously the mastermind behind the likes of The Wailing and The Yellow Sea, Na Hong-jin’s latest film Hope sees the filmmaker push into new territory: science fiction. Not only have the first reviews for the movie made their way online, but distributor NEON has revealed the first official trailer as well. Buried in the wild surprises of the first look at the film is one that takes every genre fan by surprise: the reveal that Michael Fassbender is making his return to the sci-fi genre (his first since 2017’s Alien: Covenant) but actually stars in this movie as an alien.
Hope Movie Trailer Reveals Bizarre First Look at Wild New Sci-Fi
According to the official plot description for Hope, the new film is set in the remote South Korea village of Hope Harbor, which wakes up one morning to a bizarre circumstance: a mysterious creature is destroying their village. Even on the outskirts of this rural town, other beasts are making themselves known and attacking, with the trailer for the film seemingly revealing a slew of various monsters and/or aliens that have apparently landed on this tiny village.
Though the cast for Hope features notable South Korean stars like Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-Sung, and even Squid Game‘s Hoyeon, the cast title card in the trailer confirms that not only is Michael Fassbender in the film, but he’ll star alongside his actual wife, Alicia Vikander. Reviews and interviews for the film have confirmed that the pair aren’t playing themselves, or even humans, in the movie, but instead will be among the aliens that appear in the film’s story.
In a blistering D+ review from IndieWire, critic David Ehrlich said the film has “some of the worst creature effects this side of the Syfy Channel or ‘The Mummy Returns,’” going on to specifically mention that it is “absolutely wild to see Michael Fassbender get his own Scorpion King moment in the year of our lord 2026.” Despite this takedown, Hope currently has a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though there are only eleven total reviews as of this writing.
It’s worth noting as well that even though Hope does not currently have a theatrical release date, the filmmaker is already thinking about the future. Speaking at a press conference today at Cannes, Na Hong-jin revealed, “I think you can readily imagine this sequel. And there’s a script that’s already been done that I’d like to shoot. So if I have the opportunity, I would indeed make a sequel if possible.”
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