‘Here Comes the Flood’ Moves to 2027, A24 Surprise Drop Coming

Don’t believe every Oscar list you read.

With the fall festivals gearing up for launch and studios locking in their year-end release plans, a handful of high-profile titles that many had penciled into the 2026 awards conversation are not likely to drop this year. Some are moving to 2027, others are still searching for a distributor and a few need more time in the edit bay.

None of this is a referendum on the work, and it should not be read as such. In an awards ecosystem that increasingly rewards a clean runway and a well-timed festival launch, holding a film can be the savvier play, and a packed slate can force even a strong contender to wait its turn. Here is a look at the titles poised to sit out this year’s race, several of which Variety has confirmed exclusively, and the thinking behind each.

“Saturn Return” (Netflix)

Greg Kwedar’s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Sing Sing” is a Chicago-set romance that unfolds across two timelines, tracing a decade in the lives of three college friends. Charles Melton, a 2026 Emmy nominee for the Netflix anthology series “Beef,” stars alongside Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan and the always remarkable Will Poulter, with Plan B producing. Once expected to bow this year, the drama could instead set its sights on a March launch at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, the same festival that introduced “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” That would fold it into the next awards conversation rather than this one.