Once Upon a Time in Seattle (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Once Upon a Time in Seattle assembles moments from more than 40 films shot in the city, blending archive footage, playful recreations and a nonlinear reflection on Seattle’s changing landscape. Directed by Shane Wahlund and Michael Anderson, the 2026 film considers how cinema preserves—and reshapes—the city’s relationship with its past.

Once Upon a Time in Seattle turns Seattle’s film history into the material for an unconventional feature. Rather than following a single conventional storyline, the film is built from moments drawn from more than 40 movies filmed in the city, alongside selected recreations.

The result is described as part tribute, part action-adventure and part free-form meditation on a changing urban landscape. Its focus is the tension between Seattle’s cinematic past and its rapid movement toward the future.

Once Upon a Time in Seattle movie details

Story without spoilers

The film traces Seattle through fragments taken from over 40 films shot in and around the city. These passages are joined by a few deliberately constructed facsimiles, creating a nonlinear narrative rather than a traditional character-led plot.

Its subject is not one fictional hero or a single chain of events, but the way movies have recorded Seattle across different moments. The supplied synopsis frames the film around the city’s complicated relationship with preserving its history while continuing to change.

What to expect

Viewers can expect an essay-like film assembled from varied movie excerpts instead of a standard beginning-to-end narrative. The stated blend of love letter, loony action adventure and free-associative meditation suggests a playful structure that moves between cinematic homage and reflection on place.

The film’s keywords point to Seattle, Washington and a nonlinear approach. Because its source material comes from more than 40 films, its appeal is closely tied to the city’s presence on screen and to the contrasts created by placing different filmed moments in conversation with one another.

Cast and creative team

Once Upon a Time in Seattle is directed by Shane Wahlund and Michael Anderson. The credited cast consists of archive appearances by Elvis Presley, Harrison Ford and Naomi Watts, each listed as playing themselves through archival footage. No writers are listed in the supplied credits.

• Elvis Presley as Self (archive footage)
• Harrison Ford as Self (archive footage)
• Naomi Watts as Self (archive footage)

Release and production context

Once Upon a Time in Seattle is a 2026 production from the United States of America, in English, with a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes. It is produced by Collide-O-Scope and is listed with a release date of September 11, 2026. The film’s supplied status is Released.

Production companies: Collide-O-Scope

Once Upon a Time in Seattle official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

Movies Dock view

Once Upon a Time in Seattle is a city-focused film collage that uses more than 40 screen appearances of Seattle as the foundation for a nonlinear portrait. Its combination of archival material, recreations and reflection on urban change gives it a distinct documentary-essay framework without reducing the city to a conventional plot.

Film data:
TMDB