Hollywood hit the Vegas desert for CinemaCon 2026, promoting the films they hope will bring in the big box office bucks. There was a lot to discuss from a studio standpoint. How is the proposed Paramount/Warner merger going to affect the industry? Who’ll be the next Bond (and when we know)? And finally, what we wanted to know – does Hollywood have a lot of our gente on the way to our movie theaters?
Sadly, there aren’t a ton of us on the way.
Now, not every studio presents at CinemaCon – streamers do not go, and A24 and Lionsgate both skipped this year. And for the studios that do go, they don’t promote every movie on their slate, only the ones that they think will wow exhibitors with flashy trailers or their white-hot Hollywood stars.
But, many of the clips and trailers at CinemaCon 2026 did not show the Latinos in their cast. I was cross-checking press notes, cast announcements, and studio sites to find our gente in front of or behind the camera. Here’s what I uncovered:
Walt Disney Studios
Pedro Pascal was not on site (much to my dismay), but he has two projects on the way with Disney alone – the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu film and the lesser-known Behemoth! Hemky Madera also stars in The Mandalorian film, while Andor creator Tony Gilroy directs Behemoth! about a family of musicians who return to their Los Angeles hometown.
On the animation front, Toy Story 5 is adding SNL alum Melissa Villasenor to the cast while John Leguizamo is bringing back his legendary lisp as Sid in Ice Age: Boiling Point.
Also exciting? Actor John Ortiz stars in Whalefall, a terrifying look at a deep-sea diver who gets swallowed by a whale with only an hour’s worth of oxygen left.
Amazon/MGM Studios
Very few Latinos were onsite in Vegas, but the few that were are at the top of their game. Adria Arjona tried her luck in Vegas as she and newly minted Best Actor Oscar Winner Michael B. Jordan promoted The Thomas Crown Affair remake. Directed by Jordan, the film also stars Aubrey Plaza and is scheduled to hit theaters in March of 2027.
I don’t know about you, but the film title of How to Rob a Bank certainly gets my attention. It costars Rhenzy Feliz and Gloria Laino and is due out later this year in September.
Masters of the Universe features Riverdale’s Camilia Mendes, while Verity boasts Lord of the Rings’ Ismael Cruz Cordova and American Sports Story’s Daniel Echevarria in its cast.
Universal Studios/Focus Features
For Disclosure Day, Colman Domingo did a one-on-one chat with director Steven Spielberg for the eager Vegas crowd. Generating similar buzz, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey features John Leguizamo, Lupita Nyong’o, and Mia Goth.
Other notable Latinos with Universal productions include Oscar-nominee Monica Barbaro in One Night Only and Stranger Things’ Eduardo Franco in the next installment of the Fockers franchise, Focker-In-Law.
Warner Bros.
Oscar-winning Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu brought his latest project Digger to CinemaCon 2026, which stars Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell, a big-time oil guy who just might end up destroying the world as we know it. Digger hits screens in October.
Anya Taylor-Joy is coming back for Dune: Part Three in December. America Ferrera, Xochitl Gomez, and Tiago Martinez voice characters in The Cat in the Hat. While Jenna Ortega (aka Wednesday) stars opposite Glen Powell in the Star Trek film, The Great Beyond.
Sony Pictures
Ortega also stars in Sony’s Klara and the Sun, based on the best-selling book of the same name and directed by Taika Waititi.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-verse had the most visual footage at CinemaCon 2026 and features one of the biggest slates of Latinos, including Oscar Isaac, Jharrel Jerome, Shameik Moore, and Luna Lauren Veléz.
NEON
Eiza González is back on the big screen courtesy of NEON in Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters, due in theaters next month. Also from NEON is A Place in Hell, starring Arturo Castro (and Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones).
Paramount Pictures
Turns out SNL’s Marcello Hernández can be both funny and mad – he stars in The Angry Birds Movie 3, flying into theaters this Christmas. And, Renata Vaca is helping to start off 2027 on a high note in K-POP Superstar: The Movie.
Angel Studios
The mostly faith-based studio is bringing us Zero A.D. with Gael Garcia Bernal. It’s the story of the birth of Jesus and the king who is hunting the baby down. Not surprisingly, it is due out Christmas.
What it All Means
Are there enough of our Latino family onscreen? Hell no. Even if some studios do better than others. And some may feature more of our talent than they chose to showcase at CinemaCon 2026. Plus, there’s always streaming.
Does that make our representation good enough? Also, hell no. But it does help.
Until next year mi gente – we will see you at the movies!
