Exodus is announced for 2026: a new sci-fi epic

Exodus, the sci-fi game announced for 2026, is probably the closest thing on the horizon if you want The Expanse’s political realism fused with Project Hail Mary’s science-driven tension. No movie, series, or game has been officially pitched as that exact mix.

Its marketing keeps circling the same ideas: a big, cinematic sci-fi story, grounded science, weighty choices, deep worldbuilding, and time dilation that affects gameplay, relationships, and the cost of travel. That’s the clearest connection to Project Hail Mary. Even so, Exodus doesn’t stay strictly in hard sci-fi territory the whole time. It’s also willing to go a little stranger, up to and including an octopus companion piloting a mech.

If you follow sci-fi at all, Exodus is one to keep an eye on, because 2026 is loaded. The Project Hail Mary film adaptation reaches theaters on March 20, with Ryan Gosling starring and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing, after reports that the trailer pulled in 400 million views in its first week. Then Dune: Part Three arrives on December 18, adapting Dune Messiah and dealing with the fallout of Paul Atreides’ rule.

You can’t get any of them yet. But the bigger picture is hard to miss: sci-fi now accounts for 10% to 15% of fiction revenue, based on industry estimates. Emotional sequels and adaptations have real momentum, blockbuster attention keeps squeezing smaller international stories, and audiences still want first contact, political fallout, ethical dilemmas, and the human cost of survival.