TIFF 2026 is heading into its final weekend with a little horror on the red carpet as Mike Flanagan’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie makes its TIFF premiere Friday! Matthew Lillard and other members of the cast are expected to attend, while Fan Bingbing is set to step out for the world premiere of Diary of a Mad Old Man.
Here’s a roundup of the biggest stars, premieres and events to watch on Day 9 of TIFF 2026.
Look out for Johnny Trí Nguyễn in the first big red carpet of the day
Friday’s first major premiere is the Vietnamese historical epic Spirit Guardians: The Last Secret of the First Emperor, which has its international premiere at 5:30 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall. Arrivals at the RBC Red Carpet Gallery begin at 4 p.m., and director Nguyễn Phan Quang Binh and actor Johnny Trí Nguyễn are expected to attend!
The film is the largest production in Vietnamese cinema history and takes audiences back to the 10th-century Đinh dynasty. After Đinh Bộ Lĩnh becomes the first emperor of a newly independent Vietnam, his death leaves his burial place vulnerable. A group of seven warriors is tasked with transporting 99 coffins through enemy territory in an elaborate mission designed to keep the location of the emperor’s true tomb secret. Tuấn Trần, Johnny Trí Nguyễn and Đỗ Thị Hải Yến lead the ensemble, so expect an epic movie packed with period costumes and battle sequences.
Zhou Xun leads The Road Not Taken
The red carpet for The Road Not Taken begins at around 4:45 p.m. at the Princess of Wales Theatre, ahead of its 6 p.m. screening, with director Peter Ho-Sun Chan and stars Zhou Xun and Wang Xiao scheduled to attend.
Zhou plays a TV host whose life begins to unravel after she develops early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Her worsening memory comes as her marriage is falling apart and tensions are growing at home with both her daughter and aging father, turning the film into a family drama about what remains of our relationships and sense of self as memory begins to disappear. Wen Qi and Tian Zhuangzhuang also star.
The cast of Carrie is expected on the red carpet
The cast of Carrie is expected on the red carpet for Mike Flanagan’s new adaptation of the cult classic. The carpet gets underway around 7:15 p.m. at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, followed by the TIFF Primetime screening at 8:30 p.m. Expected Director Mike Flanagan and stars Summer H. Howell (as Carrie), Matthew Lillard, Samantha Sloyan, Alison Thornton and perhaps even Amber Midthunder to attend!
Flanagan’s eight-episode Prime Video series brings Stephen King’s famous story into the social-media era. Summer H. Howell plays Carrie White, a sheltered teen who has spent her life at home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret, played by Samantha Sloyan. After her father dies, Carrie enters public high school and becomes the target of a bullying incident that goes viral. As the cruelty follows her both at school and online, mysterious telekinetic abilities begin to emerge.
Lillard plays school principal Grayle, while Amber Midthunder plays Miss Desjardin and Alison Thornton takes on the role of Chris Hargensen. The full series arrives on Prime Video on Oct. 7.
Fan Bingbing takes over Roy Thomson Hall
Fan Bingbing will strut the red carpet at the world premiere of Wayne Wang’s Diary of a Mad Old Man tonight. The official red carpet begins at 8 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall, with Fan, co-star Lily Franky and Wang all scheduled to attend before the film’s 9:30 p.m. screening.
The film adapts Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s celebrated novel and stars Franky as Utsugi, an aging widower recovering from a stroke that has left him partially paralyzed. He becomes increasingly dependent on his family, particularly his daughter-in-law, played by Fan Bingbing, and their relationship gradually develops an intimacy that begins to test the boundaries of family and propriety. Wang turns the story into a sometimes unsettling examination of aging, desire and the things people struggle to admit even to themselves.
Vampires take over Midnight Madness
Friday ends on a much bloodier note with the world premiere of Half, TIFF’s latest Midnight Madness offering. The red carpet is expected to start around 10:45 p.m., with director Samjad and actors Ranjith Sajeev, Aiswarya Raj and Sreekanth Murali expected before the film begins at 11:59 p.m. at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
The Malayalam-language action-horror film puts a supernatural twist on the Indian “curry western.” Sajeev and Raj play Ethan and Ivy, twin siblings who are half human and half vampire and possess supernatural strength without all of the usual vampire weaknesses. While travelling through the Rajasthan desert, the pair are brutally attacked and left for dead by a gang of highway robbers. They survive, recover after dark and set out on a violent revenge mission that blends vampire horror with martial arts and the dusty visual language of a western. The action choreography comes from Very Tri Yulisman, whose credits include The Raid 2.
TIFF-inspired parties after dark
Head to Queen West: Soluna Toronto is hosting a special TIFF Edition of Sounds of Soluna beginning at 10 p.m. and running until about 4 a.m. Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Morgan Page headlines alongside Massuma and Toronto’s Kill Them With Colour.
Film Festival Connect has a VIP reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Charles Puma Gallery, followed by The Next Cut Mixer at Cassius at 9 p.m. and a late-night Double Feature After Hours event at Petros82 beginning at 10:30 p.m.
No word on whether any celebs will be in attendance, but if you can’t make it downtown, here’s an inside look at every after-party and red carpet at TIFF with all your favourite celebrities!