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With 2021 in the books, it is time to look ahead to what is coming to 2022. With tons of movies coming out, a lot of which were delayed in production due to the pandemic. As a fair warning, there is a solid chance that some of these dates could change since Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first movie with staying power at the box office from week one to week two. Pending further box office results, these movies could come out differently from where they are currently listed. It is also unlikely that say Black Panther: Wakanda Forever comes out a week after The Flash without one of them (probably The Flash) moving and, as of writing this, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to open against Avatar 2 so one of them is likely to blink off that date.
January: The 355
Simon Kinberg is going to get his chance to prove that X-Men: Dark Phoenix was a blemish on his resume as he writes and directs this star-studded ensemble action movie led by Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, and Fan Bingbing. The 355 wins out over other big franchise movies like Scream and Morbius because it is fresh, new, and the predecessors for the other movies left a lot to be desired.
February: Moonfall
Roland Emmerich is probably the most qualified person on Earth to create the planet so a movie where the moon is crashing into Earth is sure to scratch the disaster movie itch that he has made a career out of. Is it going to be ridiculous? Yes. Will the general laws of physics be followed? Probably not. Is it worth seeing anyway? Almost certainly. The most recent trailer leans into the ridiculousness of the movie setting the action to “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival so the producers know exactly what they are doing with this. February is also a weaker month theatrically with Marry Me, Uncharted, and Death on the Nile also slated for release.
March: The Batman
Matt Reeves’s take on Batman is clearly very Noir inspired and looks insular enough to the rest of DC’s release slate where they could take some serious chances in this movie. It is also worth noting that this most recent trailer (The Bat and The Cat) adds to the speculation that The Batman is being forthcoming about the identity of Paul Dano’s villain. As of right now, he is shown to be playing the Riddler but speculation is all around that he is actually playing Hush, a childhood friend turned villain who is a sort of dark version of Bruce Wayne as the wealthy playboy.
April: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog was substantially better than it had any right to be when it came out in early 2020. The turn around on the sequel was pretty quick but it seems like they are leaning directly into some of the deeper aspects of the character’s lore. With Idris Elba playing Knuckles and Colleen O’Shaughnessy reprising her role as Tails from the video games and tv show, this movie is shaping up to be a fun romp with familiar characters and a probably absurd plot.
May: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to be an interesting test case for Marvel Studios to see how well audiences are taking to the streaming/theatrical hybrid storytelling model. The trailer indicates that both WandaVision and What If…? are required viewing to understand this movie to its fullest with Strange Supreme from What If…? making an appearance and Wanda being the full Scarlet Witch as she was at the end of WandaVision. That said, it is likely that this trailer is misleading the audience about what is truly going on and it is likely that Wanda actually is the villain with Strange Supreme being dispatched by The Watcher to try and stop her from destroying the multiverse. If that was not enough, the multiverse-hopping fan favorite character America Chavez is making her cinematic debut as well.
June: Lightyear
Lightyear did not seem to be the most interesting movie of the year until that trailer dropped set to David Bowie’s “Starman.” Not to be confused with an origin story for the toy, lead actor Chris Evans was very (almost comically) clear about the fact that this is an origin story for the person that the toy was based on. It is worth noting that apparently in the world that Toy Story is set in, there is faster than light travel, should that statement be accurate. This movie does have a pretty high bar to clear considering there are some who have a particular affinity for the 2000 animated movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (which had a pretty awesome PlayStation game).
July: Black Adam
Dwayne Johnson has been putting the “passion” in “passion project” for his development of Black Adam for what feels like a decade now. Originally teased in a post-credit stinger of Shazam!, Black Adam will feature a wide spectrum of DC characters from the Justice Society of America including Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Isis, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher. One can only hope that after this movie there is a faceoff between Black Adam and Shazam or Black Adam and Superman, both of which are said to be in development.
August: Samaritan
August is a tough month where none of the movies announced have trailers yet so without a franchise to back it up, it is just loglines for the most part that don’t deliver a ton of information. That said, Samaritan seems the most interesting, featuring Sylvester Stallone as an aged superhero who went missing during a fight and has been hiding out among the people after faking his death.
September: Mission Impossible 7
Mission Impossible: Fallout was the best action movie of 2019 when it came out and worked for audiences who were fans of the franchise as well as newcomers who had never seen a movie before. With the cast reprising and Christopher McQuarrie back in the director’s chair, this is shaping up to be a pretty solid action movie as well.
October: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1
The first time, the multiverse came to Miles, now Miles goes into the multiverse. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Justice League Unlimited, and Voltron: Legendary Defender fame, this movie is shaping up to be another heartfelt but fun exploration of the multiverse. Miles (Shameik Moore) and Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) are joined by Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099, voiced by Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman, voiced by Issa Rae) in this first of two parts.
November: Creed III
Creed III takes this slot only because the two other major movies coming out this month (The Flash and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) have a ton of narrative groundwork to lay and the movies could both end up bloated as a result. Creed III does not need to set up the entirety of the Flashpoint Paradox, Supergirl, multiple Batmen, and multiverse hopping; nor does it have to address the untimely death of its lead actor, set up a villain (allegedly Namor the Sub-Mariner), introduce Ironheart, and possibly resurrect a character who was killed in a previous movie. Michael B. Jordan is directing and starring in this movie which introduces Jonathan Majors (He Who Remains in Loki), who is rumored to be playing the son of Mr. T’s Clubber Lang (this is unconfirmed).
December: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Given the choice between the two underwater, CGI heavy, science fiction movies opening against each other on December 16th, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is probably the better of the two movies. The concept art released at DC Fandome looks incredible and Aquaman would have probably won a production design Oscar had it not come out the same year as Black Panther. Besides Jason Momoa reprising as the titular Aquaman, Patrick Wilson reprises as Orm the Ocean Master and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II reprises as Black Manta. It is unconfirmed who Aquaman will be facing off against, however if memory serves, the “Lost Kingdom” is Necrus (similar to Atlantis except it K’un-Lun’s its way into and out of reality every once in a while) which is led by Mongo so that’s probably it.
