If even half of these films deliver, 2026 will not just be a good year for Mollywood—it will be the year Malayalam cinema taught the world that the future, like home, is a place you carry inside you.
For decades, Malayalam cinema wore its realism like a badge of honour. From the earthy frames of Adoor Gopalakrishnan to the procedural thrills of Drishyam , Mollywood prided itself on stories rooted in the quotidian. But something shifted in the early 2020s. With Minnal Murali (2021) and 2018: Everyone is a Hero (2023), the industry proved it could handle spectacle and genre with intelligence. Now, a new vanguard of filmmakers is quietly preparing its most audacious gambit: a slate of original, high-concept science fiction films set for release in 2026. sci-fi malayalam coming soon movies 2026
Early signs are promising. Samsaaram ’s script reportedly went through 37 drafts to ensure its time-loop mechanics are flawless yet secondary to character. And Lijo Jose Pellissery has allegedly banned the word “sci-fi” on his set, calling Neelakasham 99 “just a folk tale that happens to have floating islands.” These four films are only the beginning. At least two more unannounced sci-fi projects are in development: a cyberpunk adaptation of a M. T. Vasudevan Nair short story, and a “zero-gravity musical” from a debut director who trained under Rajamouli. If even half of these films deliver, 2026