Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander Reunite on Screen After a Decade, Thanks to Her Push

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander play aliens in an exciting new movie titled 'Hope,' which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17

NEED TO KNOW

• Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander premiered their new sci-fi thriller Hope at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival

• The couple, married since 2017, last costarred in 2016’s The Light Between Oceans where they fell in love
• Vikander and Fassbender, parents of two, balance family life with careers and shared laughs at the film’s press conference

Michael Fassbender follows his wife Alicia Vikander's lead.

Fassbender, 49, and Vikander, 37, stepped out together at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, May 17, where the husband-and-wife duo premiered their new science-fiction thriller Hope, from Korean writer-director Na Hong-jin, alongside costars Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Hwang Jung-min, Hoyeon and Zo In-sung.

Hope marks the first movie Vikander and Fassbender, who have been married since 2017, have starred in together since 2016's The Light Between Oceans. The couple famously fell in love while making that movie, in which they portrayed a married couple.

Vikander and Fassbender made a room full of journalists and attendees laugh during a Monday, May 18 press conference for the movie, when Vikander was asked why she decided to star in the buzzy new thriller. She said that she and a friend of hers had developed another project for years that they asked filmmaker Na, 51, to direct, but he ultimately decided to make Hope after developing it for several years.

"Then he reached out, I don't know, two, three years later and said, 'I have some aliens [for you to play]," Vikander said. "And I was intrigued. I didn't think; I said yes. I think [Na] is incredible, such a visionary and I felt very honored to be part of his film."

"Alicia told me to do it," Fassbender added, making himself — and everyone else in the room — laugh. "Alicia also told me to do it," Russell, 31, quipped as well.

Russell, Vikander and Fassbender each portray aliens who invade Earth and attack its inhabitants, as multiple outlets reported following the movie's premiere.

"Reinforcements have been diverted to battle wildfires and all communication has been cut off," reads an official festival synopsis for the movie. "Hope's police outpost chief Bum-seok and officer Sung-ae struggle to defend a village of the elderly, while in the mountains, Sung-ki and the locals who set out to track the beast find themselves hunted instead. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Fassbender and Vikander are parents of two: they welcomed a son in early 2021, and their second son followed in 2024. Last August, Vikander made rare comments about family life with Fassbender, telling British Vogue that she often experiences “mom guilt” balancing parenthood with her screen career. 

“It can be very long days, and a lot of the time you will leave before the kids get up and then maybe not be back before they sleep,” said The Danish Girl Oscar winner. "Now with the 4-year-old we talk about it: ‘It's time for Papa to go back and then I'll be at home,'" she added.

Following its Cannes Film Festival premiere, Hope does not yet have a U.S. release date. The Cannes Film Festival runs through May 23.

Read the full article here