It’s that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2022. We’re changing up this year’s preview by adding several trailers. Unlike in previous years, we have trailers for most of these movies. These are the genre films we think borg readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year. In all we pulled 60 movies from the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production and slated for next year’s movie calendar. Many of these will be more than familiar to you, as we’ve previewed some going back to 2019.
The biggest surprise is there aren’t a lot of surprises on the horizon, at least for big movies, like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Black Adam, Lightyear, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse, Halloween Ends, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion, a new Predator movie called Prey, and The Batman. Compare the below list to our 2021 list, 2020 list, 2019 list and even the 2018 list, 2017 list, 2016 list, 2015 list, or 2014 list, and you’ll see the studios continue moving genre content from the big screen to the small screen via streaming services. Hollywood hasn’t made its way back to full production mode yet since the pandemic risks aren’t over yet, and it’s beginning to look like TV will be the location most people watch their movies for the foreseeable future, if not permanently. What do the big movies have in common? They’re all sequels–and more remakes of movies, books, and TV shows are on the way.
First up, the top 15 movies expected in 2022 that don’t have an announced release date yet, followed by our annual month-by-month rundown of trailers. Grab your calendar and start making your plans–here are the movies you’ll want to see in 2022 (and some you might not!):
- Havoc –Tom Hardy stars as a detective in a crime drama directed by Gareth Evans (Netflix)
- Enola Holmes 2 – sequel, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill (Netflix)
- Prey – the fifth movie in the Predator franchise will be a prequel, starring Amber Midthunder as a Comanche who must protect her tribe from the alien threat (Hulu)
- Pinocchio – live-action version of the fairy tale stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket (Disney+)
- The Amazing Maurice – animated young adult fantasy about a sentient cat, based on the 2001 book The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, starring Emilia Clarke, Hugh Laurie, David Thewlis (theatrical release)
- Blonde – a biopic about Marilyn Monroe starring Ana de Armas, with Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale (Netflix)
- Wendell and Wild – comedy duo Key and Peele create a stop-motion dark horror comedy (Netflix)
- The Gray Man –the Russo brothers direct a film about a an ex-CIA agent, starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas (Netflix)
- The Adam Project – sci-fi movie stars Ryan Reynolds as a man who goes back in time to get his younger self for help (Netflix)
- Spaceman – sci-fi movie stars Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan (Netflix)
- The School for Good and Evil – long-delayed young adult fantasy with Charlize Theron (Netflix)
- Slumberland – kids fantasy adventure starring Jason Momoa and Kyle Chandler (Netflix)
- All Quiet on the Western Front – remake of novel adaptation, this time starring Daniel Bruhl (Netflix)
- Blade of the 47 Ronin – sequel to 47 Ronin, starring Mark Dacascos (Netflix)
- Deep Water – another Ben Affleck bad marriage “erotic psychological thriller,” with Ana de Armas (Hulu).
January
The 355 – Spy/thriller, starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Bingbing Fan, Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz, Sebastian Stan – January 7.
The Tender Bar – Coming of age story starring Ben Affleck and Christopher Lloyd (Amazon) – January 7.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania – Latest entry in the animated franchise (Amazon) – January 14.
Scream – Horror, the big reboot/sequel stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette – January 17.
Escape from Spiderhead – Sci-fi crime story, stars Chris Hemsworth (Netflix) – January 21.
The King’s Daughter – Action-adventure/fantasy starring Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, with Kaya Scodelario – January 21.
Morbius – Marvel/Sony superhero, stars Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Michael Keaton – January 28.
February
The Black Phone – Horror/supernatural, Ethan Hawke stars in a creepy role with a cool and intriguing trailer – February 4.
Moonfall – Science fiction, stars Josh Gad, Patrick Wilson, Michael Pena, Roland Emmerich, Donald Sutherland, Halle Berry – February 4.
Death on the Nile – Mystery, stars director Kenneth Branagh back as Hercule Poirot, with new cast of suspects played by Annette Bening, Dawn French, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Russell Brand, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Ali Fazal, Rose Leslie, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, and Emma Mackey – February 11.
Uncharted – Adventure/action, stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas – February 18.
Ambulance – Michael Bat action/drama, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt – February 18.
Rumble – Animated, stars voice of Will Arnett and others in a WWE family show – February 18.
Dog – Buddy comedy starring Channing Tatum and Lulu – February 18.
Sneakerella – Modern Cinderella story about a boy who wants to design shoes (Disney+) – February 18.
March
The Batman – Superhero, director Matt Reeves takes the reins, starring Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard – March 4.
Everything Everywhere All at Once – Sci-fi/martial arts/fantasy starring Michele Yeoh – March 11.
Turning Red – Animated, Pixar’s latest is about a 13-year-old girl destined to turn into a large red panda when she gets excited. Voice talent includes Sandra Oh – March 11.
Unwelcome – Supernatural, Hannah John-Kamen stars with Douglas Booth and Jon Wright about a couple moving from London to Ireland where they find murderous goblins in their yard – March 17.
Downton Abbey: A New Era – Drama, sequel to the TV series and first movie – March 18.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre – Guy Ritchie directs spy comedy starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, and Hugh Grant – March 18.
The Lost City – Adventure/romance. The creators of Romancing the Stone should sue for this plot. Stars Sandra Bullock as a novelist and Channing Tatum as the cover model for her book, on a book tour they end up in the jungle, with Brad Pitt and Daniel Radcliffe – March 25.
April
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Family/Action. Ben Schwartz returns as Sonic, based on the video game character – April 8.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Fantasy, stars Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law, with Mads Mikkelsen stepping in as Grindelwald – April 15.
Thirteen Lives – Ron Howard directs biographical survival story of the Thailand cave rescue, starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton – April 15.
The Northman – Thriller, stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk – April 22.
Summer Season Begins
May
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Superhero, Benedict Cumberbatch returns in what looks to be the centerpiece of the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; with Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Olsen, and Benedict Wong – May 6.
DC League of Superpets – Animated/superhero, stars voices of Dwayne Johnson as Krypto and Kevin Hart as Ace – May 20.
Bob’s Burgers: The Movie – Animated, the favorite series gets a movie! Starring voices of Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, John Roberts, Dann Mintz, Eugene Merman, and Larry Murphy – May 27.
Top Gun: Maverick – Action, Tom Cruise returns as the ace pilot, with Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer – May 27.
June
Jurassic World: Dominion – Action/adventure, returning cast includes Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, and Laura Dern, directed by Colin Trevorrow – June 10.
Lightyear – Animated, new Disney/Pixar look at the “real” Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Chris Pratt (apparently the only actor in the U.S.) – June 17.
July
Minions: The Rise of Gru – Animated, latest entry in the franchise – July 1.
Thor: Love and Thunder – Superhero, Chris Hemsworth is back with the Guardians, starring Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff – July 8.
Bullet Train – Based on the bizarre novel we reviewed here at borg in 2021, bound to be better than the novel, starring Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Michael Shannon – July 15.
Nope – Writer-director Jordan Peele’s next horror story, starring Daniel Kaluuya – July 22.
Black Adam – Superhero, starring Dwayne Johnson in the title role, with Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, and Sarah Shahi – July 29.
August
The Man from Toronto – Action comedy, a screw-up and an assassin are confused for each other at an Airbnb, starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson (theatrical and Netflix) – August 12.
September
Distant – Sci-fi, asteroid disaster in space starring Zachary Quinto – September 16
October
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse Part One – Animated sequel, divided into two movies – October 7.
Halloween Ends – Horror, sequel to end all sequels stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle – October 14.
November
The Flash – Superhero, Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton – November 4.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Superhero, sequel to reveal aftermath of DC without Chadwick Boseman as leader – November 11.
December
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Superhero, Jason Momoa, and Amber Heard return with Patrick Wilson – December 16.
Avatar 2 – Fantasy, follow-up to James Cameron’s 2009 movie – December 16.
Babylon – Drama about the golden age of Hollywood, stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as Clara Bow – December 25.
As with every year, some of these films will have revised release dates, or get pushed to 2023.
Those are the big, known 2022 genre releases as of December 27, 2021! Come back next year for previews and reviews of some of the most eagerly awaited movies from the above list.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
