Hulu Officially Releases Anthony Mackie's New 'Mad Max Meets Gladiator' Epic Next Month

Published Jul 22, 2026, 1:43 PM EDT Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Starting next month, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream the Anthony Mackie-led epic that’s been described as “Mad Max meets Gladiator.” Mackie has been keeping busy with a variety of projects over the last several years. This ranges from continuing to play Sam Wilson, a.k.a. Captain America, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (most recently in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Captain America: Brave New World), to anchoring the Peacock TV series Twisted Metal as John Doe. Additionally, Mackie appeared several months ago in the aforementioned, desert-set action movie, and it will drop on Hulu right before August is over. Hulu announced that Desert Warrior, which was released in theaters on April 24, will premiere on the platform August 28. It’s the only new content being added to the streaming service on that date. Following Desert Warrior’s drop, Hulu will finish off the month with both Fourth Weddings seasons 6-8 and 1000-lb Sisters seasons 7-8 arriving August 29. Set in seventh-century Arabia, Desert Warrior stars Mackie as Hanzala, a bandit who’s enlisted to help Aiysha Hart’s Princess Hind when Ben Kingsley’s Emperor Kisra wants to make her his concubine. Since Hanzala has his own score to settle with Kisra, he and Hind confront their shared enemy and kick off the Battle of Dhu Qar. In real life, this conflict occurred between various Arab tribes and the Sasanian Empire from 604 to 611 AD. Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Rupert Wyatt directed Desert Warrior, as well as co-wrote the script with David Self and Erica Beeney. With a reported budget of $150 million, it’s the largest production to film in Saudia Arabia. Principal photography lasted from September 2021 to February 2022. Desert Warrior’s lengthy post-production process came with various complications. It was reported in October 2024 that Wyatt briefly left the movie due to creative differences, then returned. Desert Warrior also reportedly had trouble securing a U.S. studio at first given issues with an earlier cut. Ultimately, Vertical handled the stateside release, and following its premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on September 28, 2025, it opened wide earlier this year on the same day as Michael, Over Your Dead Body, and various other movies. Along with Desert Warrior being a massive commercial disappointment, making only close to $734,000 worldwide, the movie earned primarily negative critical reactions. ScreenRant’s Desert Warrior review rated it four out of 10 stars, describing it as “a mostly boring, mostly forgettable movie.” The Mackie-led feature has a 26% Tomatometer and a 60% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. With Desert Warrior behind him, Mackie will next be seen reprising Sam Wilson in the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday, which hits theaters on December 18. His other upcoming movies include Speed-the-Plow and Barracuda, neither of which have release dates. On the TV front, Mackie will be back for Twisted Metal season 3, which was ordered in November 2025, as well as star opposite Jamie Dornan in the Apple TV series 12 12 12, which he’s also executive producing. Release Date April 24, 2026 Runtime 114 minutes Director Rupert Wyatt Cast Aiysha Hart Princess Hind Writers David Self, Erica Beeney, Gary Ross, Rupert Wyatt Producers Jeremy Bolt