A month after James Van De Beek died at the age of 48, following a tragic battle with colorectal cancer, audiences can watch the beloved ’90s actor in his final film: The Gates, a new thriller opening in theaters this weekend.
Written and directed by John Burr, The Gates stars Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, and Keith Powers as three friends who witness a grisly murder while driving at night through a gated community. Van Der Beek stars as Jacob, a pastor who is beloved by his community, despite the fact that these three friends witnessed him do a murder. Who will they believe?
Also starring Sofia Hublitz, Kylr Coffman, Elle Evans, and Brad Leland, The Gates 2026 is a tense thriller that demonstrates Van De Beek—known and loved for his roles in Dawson’s Creek, Varsity Blues, and more—had incredible range. If you’d rather wait to watch the movie at home, then read on to find out what we know about when and where we expect to be able to watch The Gates 2026 movie on streaming.
For now, The Gates 2026 will only be available to watch in a movie theater, when it opens in theaters wide in the U.S. on Friday, March 13. You can find a showing near you via Fandango. The Gates is not yet available to watch online or on streaming.
The Gates is not streaming on Netflix right now, and likely will not stream on Netflix any time soon. The Gates is a Lionsgate release, and Lionsgate has an output deal with Amazon Prime and Starz, not Netflix.
You will be able to purchase The Gates on Amazon Prime Video, when the movie becomes available to buy and rent on digital. You will also be able to stream The Gates on Prime for free eventually, thanks to the new deal between Lionsgate and Amazon that will send the 2026 Lionsgate movies to Amazon Prime for the “Pay 1” window, after the films play in theaters. The traditional “Pay 1” window is about four months, which would be around mid-July 2026 for The Gates.
If you aren’t a Prime Video subscriber yet, you can get started with a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, including Prime perks like the Prime Video streaming service, free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and more. After the free trial, Amazon Prime costs $14.99/month or $139/year.
All 18- to 24-year-olds, regardless of student status, are eligible for a discounted Prime for Young Adults membership as well, with age verification. After a six-month free trial, you’ll pay 50% off the standard Prime monthly price of $14.99/month — just $7.49/month — for up to six years and get all the perks.
You might see The Gates on Starz later this year, because it is a Lionsgate film, and Lionsgate extended its output deal with Starz, despite the fact the studios separated in 2025. Supposedly, under the new terms of the deal, Starz will have exclusive rights to Lionsgate films post-theaters, and that the window will now come sooner after the movie’s theatrical run.
It’s not clear if this deal will continue into 2026, now that Lionsgate deal with Amazon is kicking in. The 2025 Lionsgate movie Now You See Me, Now You Don’t will began streaming on Starz on March 14, about four months after the movie opened in the theaters.
If The Gates follows the same release pattern, you might see the movie on Starz in about four months, which would be around mid-July 2026.
But not all Lionsgate movies followed that strategy in 2025. Other Lionsgate movies have taken upwards of nine months to stream on Starz. Now that it’s 2026, the Lionsgate movies may be going to Prime instead of Starz. Right now, we don’t have a clear look at Lionsgate’s 2026 release strategy. If you want to see The Gates right away, you should go watch it in a movie theater.
