If you love nothing more than watching an action star take the fight to the bad guys, there’s plenty to look forward to in May 2026; whether you’re after big-screen, blockbuster thrills, a revenge thriller, or some superhero action, there’s at least one high-octane release coming our way this month that you’re not going to want to miss.
If you’re still planning your viewing for the month, I’ve just scoured the release schedules of all the best streaming services and movie theaters and picked out seven new movies and TV shows that look like they’ll sate your appetite for action.
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What to watch in May if you love action’Citadel’ season 2
Citadel Season 2 – Official Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube
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Several years (and multiple spin-offs) later, The Russo Brothers’ original globetrotting spy thriller series is returning to Prime Video this May.
“Citadel” Season 2 will find surviving Citadel operatives Mason Kane (Richard Madden), Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and spymaster Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) pulled back into action to face down a terrifying new threat. To confront it, they’ll need some extra help, and so the trio must recruit an unlikely team of skilled operatives and mount another globe-spanning mission to confront a unravel a new conspiracy that has the potential to reshape humanity.
Premieres May 6 on Prime Video
‘M.I.A’
M.I.A. | Official Trailer | Peacock Original – YouTube
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“M.I.A.” is a new Peacock original created by Bill Dubuque (“Ozark”), and the streamer promises this nine-part series (which is dropping in full in early May) is “action-packed.”
“M.I.A.” centers on Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela), a restless woman in the Florida Keys who dreams of a life in Miami’s sub-tropical kingdom. When her family’s drug-running business is upended by tragedy, she embarks on a dangerous journey for revenge into the criminal underbelly of Miami — a journey that we’re told will define who she is, and what she’s capable.
Premieres May 7 on Peacock
‘Mortal Kombat II’
Mortal Kombat II | Official Trailer II – YouTube
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We’ll soon be able to see the latest instalment in this fighting game franchise, as “Mortal Kombat II” will be pitting its competitors against one another in suitably brutal fashion on the big screen.
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This time around, the fan-favorite champions — including Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) — are being summoned to face one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred contest to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
In theaters May 8
‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’
A Marvel Television Special Presentation: The Punisher: One Last Kill | Official Trailer – YouTube
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Before he crops up in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” later this year, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) is suiting up for his own Marvel Television special: “The Punisher: One Last Kill,” which hits Disney+ in mid-May.
The special finds the titular vigilante searching for meaning beyond seeking revenge, though he’s pulled back into the fight by some unexpected force. You can see this in action in the trailer: it starts out meditatively, but soon, Frank sporting his iconic vest, brawling and dispatching his foes in suitably lethal fashion.
Premieres May 12 on Disney+
‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War’
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War – Official Trailer Prime Video – YouTube
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Later this month, John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan is being (reluctantly!) thrust back into the field for a new, feature-length mission on Prime Video.
Operating in real time, “Ghost War” reunites Ryan with CIA operative Mike November (Michael Kelly) and former CIA boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce) and teams him with MI6 officer Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller). Together, the team confront an escalating threat, navigate a treacherous web of betrayal, buried secrets, and an enemy that appears to know their every move…
Premieres May 20 on Prime Video
‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | Final Trailer | In Theaters May 22 – YouTube
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Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his adorable pal Grogu have left Disney+ behind and are blasting their way into theaters for “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the first big-screen Star Wars adventure since “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Following the fall of the Empire, The Mandalorian bounty hunter and his apprentice have been recruited by the New Republic for what Disney has called “their most thrilling mission yet.” And, from everything we’ve seen so far, it sure looks like it’ll deliver on that promise.
In theaters May 22
‘Spider-Noir’
“Spider-Noir” – Authentic Black & White Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube
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The final thing I’d make sure to catch this month is “Spider-Noir,” a new live-action series outing for the Marvel character you’ve doubtless enjoyed seeing alongside Miles Morales in Sony’s “Spider-Verse” movies.
The show (which you can enjoy in “Authentic Black & White” or “True-Hue Full Color”) sees private investigator Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) hired to take on a couple of apparently straightforward cases… but mobsters, monsters and a mysterious femme female spin a web that sees him face to face with his old life as New York City’s only super-hero: The Spider.
Premieres on MGM+ May 25 or Prime Video on May 27
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