We had a lot of first-time winners at the 2026 Oscars: Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Jessie Buckley and Amy Madigan among them.
So now that they have Oscars in their hands, where do they go next?
Winning an Academy Award can historically be a massive boon to one’s career. After his steamroll on the awards trail in 2024 with “Oppenheimer,” all eyes are on Christopher Nolan this summer for his follow-up feature, “The Odyssey” (which sold out of some early screenings a year before its release).
But not every Oscar winner capitalizes on the buzz in the same way. Some winners follow their success with a string of shaky projects, while others (often women and people of color) simply don’t get the same offers guaranteed. Halle Berry has been historically open about the lack of opportunity generated by her win.
“That Oscar didn’t necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door,” Berry told The Cut in February. “While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, ‘If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it’s a Black movie. Black movies don’t sell overseas.’”
So what’s next for the six above-the-line Oscar winners of 2026?
Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”)
Wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson spent decades trying to get “One Battle After Another” made, and you’re already going to ask him about his next movie?
PTA has long had a steady streak of releasing a film every 3-5 years, though the writer/director auteur is notably selective with his projects. After spending most of his career courting Leonardo DiCaprio before “One Battle,” Anderson has in the past decade talked to talent like Denzel Washington and Tiffany Hadish about creating movies for them. One project that’s swirled is a rumored film about Los Angeles’ Central Ave., focusing on “Little Harlem” and the jazz scene of the 1940s.
Right now, the word is mum on what’s next for PTA. In reality, the next project we’ll see from this three-time Oscar winner will probably be a music video.
Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”)
Win: Best Original Screenplay
After winning Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, Ryan Coogler is headed back to the world of IP.
The next film from the writer/director will be “Black Panther 3,” a film presumably set after the upcoming “Avengers” event films “Doomsday” and “Secret Wars.” Little is known about the movie beyond the fact that Coogler has been working on the screenplay over the last several months, though Denzel Washington has been loose-lipped on his starring role.
Coogler is also set to revitalize a classic sci-fi franchise with “The X-Files.” Danielle Deadwyler will star in the series developed by Coogler, with the filmmaker writing and directing the pilot for Hulu. Production begins in March, so “The X-Files” is Coogler’s next direct project.
Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”)
Win: Best Actor
Even before he won his Oscar, Michael B. Jordan was booked and busy.
Jordan is currently directing a remake of the iconic heist story “The Thomas Crown Affair.” Drew Pearce wrote the screenplay, while Jordan will star in the role of Thomas Crown alongside Adria Arjona, Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone, Danai Gurira, Aubrey Plaza and Ruth Negga.
Jordan may also soon be returning to the world of “Creed.” At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, Jordan said, “I think there’s definitely going to be a ‘Creed IV,’ for sure.” Whether he will return to the director’s chair after making his feature debut with “Creed III” remains to be seen.
He’s also in early talks to star in Joseph Kosinski’s new “Miami Vice” movie opposite Austin Butler, and is in production on Danny Boyle’s actioner “Methuselah” about a 1,000-year-old man with a particular set of skills.
Fans can next expect to see Jordan in “Swapped,” an animated feature hitting Netflix on May 1. Jordan stars in the film as Ollie, a small otter-like creature who magically switches bodies with a bird played by Juno Temple.
Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”)
Win: Best Actress
After picking up trophy after trophy on the awards trail, nothing could get in the way of Jessie Buckley picking up the Best Actress Oscar for “Hamnet.” Some Academy Awards fanatics, however, wondered if “The Bride” (a massive flop with Buckley front and center) would have caused a “Norbit”-like loss had it opened during or before Oscar voting instead of immediately after. It’s unlikely that “The Bride’s’” failure will negatively affect Buckley’s coronation, but the newly-minted Oscar winner will definitely want another success soon.
That could be “Three Incestuous Sisters,” a new film from “La Chimera” and “The Wonders” director Alice Rohrwacher. Buckley just joined the cast in late February, joined by Dakota Johnson, Saoirse Ronan and Josh O’Connor. The film adapts Audrey Niffenegger’s novel of the same name.
Sean Penn (“One Battle After Another”)
Win: Best Supporting Actor
Congratulations to Sean Penn for what will surely be a massive boon to his career.
Penn won his third Academy Award on Sunday, following two Best Actor wins this century for “Mystic River” (2004) and “Milk” (2009). The actor notably did not go to the Oscars for his third win, going instead to to visit Ukraine, according to The New York Times.
“Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening…or didn’t want to,” last year’s winner Kieran Culkin said with a grin. “So, I’ll be accepting this award on his behalf.” Penn’s next project is not currently known.
Amy Madigan (“Weapons”)
Win: Best Supporting Actress
Our dear Aunt Gladys currently has one of the most stacked slates of the 2026 Oscar winners. After taking home Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for her work in Zach Cregger’s horror/thriller “Weapons,” the character actress (first nominated at the Oscars 40 years ago for “Twice in a Lifetime”) has a healthy set of projects coming up.
Madigan is set to star in “The Ploughmen” directed by her husband and four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. The film adapts Kim Zupan neo-noir thriller of the same name. Nick Nolte, Owen Teague and Bill Murray are all set for the cast, but the film currently remains in pre-production limbo.
The Oscar winner will also soon have a guest appearance in “All the Sinners Bleed,” a Netflix miniseries adaptation of S. A. Cosby’s southern noir novel of the same name. Coincidentally, series creator Joe Robert Cole previously co-wrote the two “Black Panther” films with Madigan’s fellow winner Ryan Coogler.
Madigan will star alongside Jason Segel and John C. Reilly in “Sponsor,” an upcoming thriller directed by James Ponsoldt that’s currently filming. Ponsoldt, who serves as an EP and director on “Shrinking,” co-wrote the project with Segel. “Sponsor” follows Segel as a man who joins a recovery group after getting a DUI and falls into a troubling relationship with his sponsor, played by Reilly.
