The Daniels Are Making Another Sci-Fi Movie and It’s Bigger Than Expected

Four years after Everything Everywhere All at Once stunned audiences and swept the Academy Awards, the filmmaking duo known as the Daniels are officially back — and their next project sounds anything but small.

According to a report published by Collider on March 19, 2026, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — the pair behind one of the most celebrated indie films in recent memory — are moving forward with a new movie described as a colossal sci-fi action film. The news came directly from an interview with Daniel Kwan at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where he was present for the screening of a separate project: his new documentary titled The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.

For anyone who has been waiting to find out what the Daniels would do next, the wait is finally getting a clearer endpoint.

Why Everything Everywhere All at Once Made the Daniels Impossible to Ignore

When Everything Everywhere All at Once was released, it did something that almost never happens in Hollywood anymore — it came out of nowhere and genuinely surprised everyone. A mid-budget, multiverse-hopping film from A24 starring Michelle Yeoh became a cultural phenomenon, a box office success, and eventually one of the most decorated films in Oscar history.

The film’s success put Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who co-write and co-direct under the shared name “the Daniels,” in a rare position. They had earned enormous creative credibility without being absorbed into the blockbuster machine. Whatever they chose to do next would be watched closely by both studios and audiences.

That attention has only grown in the years since the film’s release. Four years is a long time to wonder what comes next — and now there are real answers beginning to emerge.

What We Know About the Daniels’ New Sci-Fi Action Movie

The confirmed details at this stage are limited but significant. Based on the Collider report, here is what has been established:

• The Daniels — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — are officially returning with a new film
• The project is described as a colossal sci-fi action movie
• Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke directly with Daniel Kwan at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas
• The interview took place in the context of Kwan’s new documentary, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, which screened at the festival
• The report was published on March 19, 2026, and is described as an exclusive
• The interview provided a clearer sense of when audiences can expect to see the new film

Specific plot details, casting announcements, and a confirmed release date have not been made public based on the available source material. What is clear is that the project is real, it is in motion, and the Daniels themselves are talking about it.

The Daniels at a Glance — Then and Now

Why This News Matters Beyond Just Film Fans

The Daniels occupy a genuinely unusual space in modern filmmaking. They are not franchise directors, and they are not auteurs who make quiet, difficult films for small audiences. Everything Everywhere All at Once proved they could work at scale — emotionally, narratively, and commercially — while still making something that felt deeply personal and strange.

A new “colossal sci-fi action movie” from this team carries real weight. The word colossal suggests ambition of a different kind than their previous work, pointing toward something larger in scope and presumably larger in budget. Whether that means a studio partnership or another independent production remains to be seen.

The fact that Daniel Kwan was at South by Southwest promoting a documentary about artificial intelligence — The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist — also hints at where his head has been in the years since the Oscars. The title alone suggests someone grappling seriously with technology, the future, and what it means to remain hopeful inside an uncertain world. Whether any of that filters into the new sci-fi film is an open question, but it would be surprising if it didn’t.

What Comes Next for the Daniels

According to Collider’s reporting, the South by Southwest interview with Daniel Kwan offered a clearer picture of the timeline for the new film. The full details of that timeline were not included in the available source material, but the fact that Kwan was willing to discuss it publicly at a major festival suggests the project is far enough along to talk about with some confidence.

For now, the headline is simply this: the Daniels are back, the next film is described as a colossal sci-fi action movie, and the conversation has officially started. After four years of waiting, that is no small thing.

More details — cast, studio, release window — are expected to follow as the project moves through development and into production.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Daniels?
The Daniels is the shared filmmaking name for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the co-writers and co-directors behind Everything Everywhere All at Once.

What is the Daniels’ new movie about?
It has been described as a colossal sci-fi action movie, though specific plot details have not yet been made public.

Where was the new film announced?
Daniel Kwan discussed the project in an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March 2026.

What was Daniel Kwan doing at South by Southwest?
He was there for the screening of his new documentary, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.

Has a release date been confirmed for the new Daniels film?
A specific release date has not yet been confirmed based on available reporting, though the Collider interview reportedly offered some indication of the timeline.

Will the new film be connected to Everything Everywhere All at Once?
This has not been confirmed. The project is described as a separate colossal sci-fi action movie, not a sequel or continuation of the previous film.