war machine. Alan Ritchson is 81 in War Machine. Ten million. Netflix © 2026.
Netflix’s biggest movie of 2026 is officially ready for another go, and it’s taking a page out of the classic sci-fi sequel playbook. We now know that the highly anticipated follow-up to the monster hit War Machine has been officially named War Machines.
Earlier this year, we got confirmation that a sequel to the sci-fi military actioner was in early development, but details have been kept quite a secret. Now, the title has been confirmed thanks to recent Instagram teases.
In a black-and-white photo shared on social media, a script cover is shown resting beneath a menacing mech figure. But the real revelation comes from a deliberate, multi-frame zoom-in on the final letter of the title: “S.”
That’s right – leveling up in James Cameron’s Aliens, taking a lot of lessons from Ridley Scott’s Alien, Patrick Hughes and James Beaufort, the sequel’s two writers, are adding an S. We are no longer dealing with just a war machine. We have war machines.
Movie star Alan Ritchson took to social media to celebrate the confirmation of the first sequel and express his gratitude to the fans who made the first film such a huge success.
“What a day to remember. So many of you are now part of the War Machine world. It’s incredible to have it built with you in mind.
A world that started with a dream that @patrick_hughes_ fought for. A dream that @Lionsgate believed in and @Netflix built a house and a home for it. They all took a huge gamble on me and I’m very grateful. I consider myself lucky that I got the chance to suffer for you at the age of 81. Bringing such difficult roles to life gives me a lot of direction, I’m grateful to play a small role in it. Shout out to the cast and crew of Hell.
The top 10 movies of all time on Netflix are crazy. But this was just an appetizer. Wild times are ahead. We are just getting started.”
According to the production listing, the film is currently in development with an estimated budget between $50M and $100M. The sequel is expected to be a co-production between Australia and the United States, with Lionsgate, Hidden Pictures, Range Media Partners and Hughes Film all backing the project for Netflix.
Hughes with Rich Cook, Todd Lieberman, Greg McLean and Alexander F. Young is returning to produce, with Valerie Blythe Sharp joining as executive producer.
A look at the massive success of War Machine
If you’re wondering why Netflix was so quick to greenlight the sequel and throw a $50M+ budget at it, you just have to look at the numbers.
Netflix recently dropped its audience data for the first half of 2026, and War Machine topped the movie list by a considerable margin. Released globally on March 6, 2026, this film earned tremendously. 146,900,000 views (equivalent to 266.8 million hours watched) in just a few months.
To put this in perspective, it handily beat out the #2 movie of the year (incision (136.1 million views) and completely eclipsed other major 2026 tentpoles cloudy (130.8 million views) and top (129 million views). As Ritchson wrote in his post, the film has officially made it to Netflix’s coveted top 10 most watched movies list.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on War Machines as it moves from development to active production.
Are you excited to see Alan Ritchson return as 81 in War Machines? Let us know in the comments below!
