Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde’s New Movies: The 2026 Festival Surge, What’s Next, and Why Hollywood Is Watching

Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde are colliding on the same stretch of the movie calendar in a way that feels unusually intentional: adult-skewing material, a big festival spotlight, and a slate that leans into risk rather than safety. In late January 2026, Wilde arrived with two high-profile titles as both filmmaker and performer, while Norton’s latest turn reinforces his pattern of picking projects that feel like cultural conversation starters instead of routine star vehicles.

“The Invite” puts Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde in a high-wire dinner-party comedy

Wilde’s newest directorial feature, “The Invite,” premiered at a major U.S. film festival on Saturday, January 24, 2026 ET, with Wilde also starring alongside Edward Norton, Seth Rogen, and Penélope Cruz. The setup is deliberately contained and combustible: a married couple in a rough patch hosts neighbors for a dinner that turns into an escalating confrontation about desire, commitment, and the stories couples tell themselves to stay together.

The business side matters too. A movie like this is built for the festival marketplace: a tight cast, a single-night pressure cooker premise, and the kind of dialogue-driven tension that generates fast reactions. In the days after the premiere, it quickly became one of the most discussed sale targets, with a specialty distributor landing it and a wider release expected later in 2026, though a specific date has not been announced publicly.

“I Want Your Sex” gives Wilde a sharper, stranger leading role

Wilde’s other headline moment is “I Want Your Sex,” directed by Gregg Araki, which premiered on Friday, January 23, 2026 ET. The story centers on a young man hired by a provocative artist, played by Wilde, who turns him into her muse and draws him into a spiral of power, obsession, betrayal, and violence.

This film signals something important about Wilde’s career strategy: she’s not only directing adult material, she’s also acting in it, choosing roles that dare the audience to argue about tone, provocation, and taste. Whether viewers find the film thrilling or abrasive, it positions Wilde as a performer willing to go bigger and stranger than her mainstream work typically allows.

“Behemoth!” is the next Wilde project to watch, even without a release date yet

Beyond the festival circuit, Wilde is also attached to “Behemoth!,” a drama written and directed by Tony Gilroy and starring Pedro Pascal alongside Wilde and a deep supporting cast. The story follows a musician from a family of musicians returning to Los Angeles, with the project framed as a tribute to film music and the people who make it.

Here’s what makes “Behemoth!” notable right now: it’s the kind of adult drama that lives or dies on execution, not on franchise gravity. Release plans have not been publicly dated, but the production itself signals that Wilde is keeping one foot in prestige-driven, director-led work while her more provocative titles dominate headlines.

What Edward Norton’s 2026 choices say about where he is in his career

Norton’s biggest fresh spotlight is “The Invite,” but the larger point is the pattern. He has increasingly favored projects that give him either sharp dialogue, reputational heat, or a distinct angle on modern life. Even when he appears in shorter-form or voice-heavy work, the throughline is selectivity: he’s not chasing volume, he’s chasing impact.

In “The Invite,” Norton’s role sits in a sweet spot for him: sophisticated, unpredictable, and built for scenes where micro-expressions matter as much as punchlines. It’s not a superhero-scale assignment. It’s a pressure-cooker acting assignment, the kind that can quietly dominate a movie even in an ensemble.

Behind the headline: why these projects are landing now

This moment is happening for reasons beyond artistry.

Context: Hollywood has been hungry for adult movies that feel like events again, not homework. Tight, talky films with recognizable casts can cut through noise if they arrive with festival momentum.

Incentives: Wilde has every reason to prove she can deliver a crowd-pleasing adult comedy after the scrutiny that followed her last directing cycle. Norton has every reason to keep choosing roles that protect his brand as a high-caliber actor who doesn’t need constant visibility to stay relevant.

Stakeholders: Distributors want titles that can anchor a spring or summer slate. Filmmakers want projects that don’t require universe continuity. Audiences want grown-up stories that feel bold without feeling disposable.

Second-order effects: If “The Invite” breaks out commercially, expect more buyers to chase actor-director projects with adult themes, not just franchise tie-ins. If “I Want Your Sex” becomes a lightning rod, it may still benefit Wilde by widening her creative identity: she becomes harder to typecast and easier to market as “must-see,” even when the material is divisive.

What we still don’t know, and what happens next

There are three missing pieces that will shape how big this moment becomes:

• The theatrical release plan and exact date for “The Invite”

• Whether “I Want Your Sex” secures a wide release or stays more limited

• When “Behemoth!” is positioned on the 2026 calendar and how aggressively it’s campaigned

Next steps to watch, realistically:

1. A formal release-date announcement for “The Invite,” likely tied to a spring rollout strategy.

2. Distribution clarity for “I Want Your Sex,” which will determine whether it becomes a mainstream conversation or a niche phenomenon.

3. A first-look push for “Behemoth!” once the studio locks its awards or commercial lane.

The takeaway: Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde aren’t just both “working.” They’re both betting on adult-forward stories in a market that’s been uncertain about how to sell them. If even one of these films lands in a big way, it will be remembered as a turning point for what kinds of non-franchise movies get greenlit next.