Not only are there two movies coming out in 2026 that have essentially the same title -- that would be Runner and The Runner -- but they are both being unleashed on the world in the month of September.
First up is the Gal Gadot vehicle The Runner, directed by a director of some note, Kevin Macdonald. He directed The Last King of Scotland and Whitney. Fun fact: I still haven't seen The Last King of Scotland, even though it won an Oscar for its lead actor, Forrest Whitaker. The IMDB synopsis describes it thus: "A high powered attorney must race through London to save her abducted son while following cryptic commands from a mysterious caller."
Yawn.
Then next week it's Runner, which would appear to be a buddy action comedy starring Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson, directed by somebody I've never heard of: Scott Waugh. Maybe because I have yet to see a film of his I've actually liked and haven't been a watcher of Jack Reacher, I'm very suspicious of the fact that I have to incorporate Ritchson into my awareness of the world. This one is described as follows: "A former soldier and his unlikely partner become the targets of a ruthless cartel while racing to complete a critical medical delivery and save the life of a little girl."
Double yawn.
In fact maybe both of these movies are boring enough that I don't need to work out the difference between them and can just leave them both on the sidelines of my 2026 rankings in progress.
By the way, if you're wondering where you know the subject of this post, it's from a third Runner movie which might have also put us to sleep:
