With the pandemic somewhat over (fingers crossed the world manages to handle the Omnicron variant) and theatres doors reopening, moviegoers finally have something to look forward to in 2022. Numerous major releases from Warner Bros., Disney, and many more give plenty of reasons to head back to the big screen after more than a year of FOMO. Here is a list of blockbusters you do not want to miss this New Year. P.S. This list does not include movie releases on streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus Hotstar, Apple Tv Plus etc.
JANUARY
1. Scream
The classic slasher franchise returns for its fifth installment. According to Paramount Pictures, this all-new sequel is set ‘Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro.’ A new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. The sequel features the return of original cast members David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, and Roger L. Jackson alongside newcomers Melissa Barerra, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jack Quaid. The Ghostface returns to cinemas on January 20th.
2. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Serving as a reboot to the original movie franchise starring Milla Jovovich, this adaptation of the famous video game provides a fresh, new take on the origin of the Umbrella Corporation virus. The reboot stars the likes of Kaya Scoldario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John Kamen, Tom Hooper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue, and Neal McDonough. Audiences can visit Raccoon City once again in cinemas on January 20th.
3. Morbius
Marvel starts their year with a feature that expands the Sony Spider-Verse (or the Venomverse? Hard to tell). Like Venom, Morbius introduces yet another potential villain for our friendly neighborhood superhero to face in the near future. In this movie, Dr. Michael Morbius suffers from a rare blood disease, and goes to unreachable heights to be able to cure himself which, unfortunately, brings about an effect of vampirism. Morbius stars Jared Leto as the titular lead, alongside Matt Smith, Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson, as well as a cameo by Michael Keaton, possibly reprising his role as Adrian Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming. After being delayed twice due to the pandemic, the film will finally premiere in theatres on January 27th.
February
1. Death on the Nile
Based on the book series featuring the investigator Hercule Poirot by acclaimed murder/mystery author Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile is the follow-up to 2017’s Murder on Orient Express. Taking place on the River Nile, Kenneth Branagh directs and reprises his role as Poirot alongside the likes of Tom Bateman, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, and many more. Having also gone through its fair share of delays, Death on the Nile premieres in theatres on February 9th.
2. Uncharted
Based on the hit video game, Sony presents a live-action adaptation of Uncharted. Unlike the games that center around Nathan Drake as an adult, the film features the origin story of the character in his first treasure-hunting adventure alongside his partner in crime, Sully. The film supposedly involves the two on the hunt for the ‘Greatest Treasure Never Found’, alongside the mystery that involves Nathan’s long-lost brother’s disappearance. After years of Sony considering Mark Wahlberg and Chris Pratt portraying Nathan Drake, they finally cast Spider-Man star Tom Holland to take on the main role, while Wahlberg was given the role of Sully. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, who has directed Venom and the Zombieland duology, Uncharted premieres in theatres on February 10th.
March
1. The Batman
This latest remake stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in the second age of Gotham, skipping his origin story. Pattinson’s Batman does not take place in DC’s shared franchise since Ben Affleck is Batman in that regard; however, it does seem to reintroduce the iconic character by including a longer narrative, a villain we barely see, as well as the emergence of an ancient cult living within the fictitious city. Only true fans know what this means. The cast includes Jeffrey Wright (Jim Gordon), Zoe Kravitz (Selina Kyle/Catwoman), Colin Farrell (Penguin), and Andy Serkis (Alfred), alongside unconfirmed appearances that Warner Bros. seems to be keeping under wraps. The Batman arrives in theatres on March 5th.
2. Turning Red
This is Disney/Pixar’s upcoming animated original feature directed by Domee Shii in her directorial debut. Set in Toronto, Chinese-Canadian Mei goes through the motions of a typical coming-of-age story but with an odd twist. Mei has the power to transform (or rather, ‘poof’) into a large red panda when she is excited or stressed. This is the first full-feature-length Pixar film to feature an Asian cast voicing Asian characters including the likes of Sandra Oh, James Hong, and even Maitreyi Ramakrishnan from the hit Netflix series Never Have I Ever. Turning Red ‘poofs’ its way to theatres on March 10th.
3. The Bad Guys
This is an original Dreamworks Animation feature based on a children’s book of the same name by Aaron Blabey. The film centers around Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Tarantula, who try to pull off a heist operation in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist. It features voice talents such as Owen Wilson, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz, and many more. The Bad Guys will sneak its way into cinemas on March 31st.
April
1. Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore
We return to the Wizarding World as we step back into the Fantastic Beasts franchise after the critically lukewarm Crimes of Grindelwald sequel. With Steve Kloves, writer of the Harry Potter film screenplays, co-writing alongside J.K. Rowling this time around, the third installment of five delves into the secrets of the most mysterious yet most famous family within the Harry Potter universe. Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, and the rest of the introduced ensemble reprise their roles from previous films alongside Mads Mikkelsen, who is recast as Grindelwald after Johnny Depp’s ‘step down’ from the role in light of his allegation case. Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore conjures its way to cinemas on April 14th.
May
1. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Serving as a follow-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange’s second solo act sees the Master of Mystic Arts paying the price after haing tampered with time on a number of occasions. With Wong by his side, Strange enlists Wanda Maximoff and newcomer America Chavez to help him fight off the dangers that threaten our world as well as the Multiverse. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, and the return of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo. This time around, Sam Raimi, who directed the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films, helms the upcoming mystical and supposedly horrific Marvel event. Doctor Strange gives us a first look at the wider Multiverse in theatres on May 5th.
2. League of Super Pets
This is an animated take on the Legion of Super-Pets where Superman’s dog, Krypto, forms a team of superpowered home-friendly animals attempting to save the world as well as the Justice League. This 3D animated comedy features the voice talents of Dwayne Johnson (who also produces the film), Kevin Hart, Diego Luna, John Krasinski, and many more. The League of Super Pets puts their paws on the big screen on May 19th.
3. Top Gun Maverick
Tom Cruise returns as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell after 36 years since the original film as the test pilot. No confirmations as to what the plot is but a lot of the original cast are returning. Maverick flies the skies once more on May 26th.
June
1. Jurassic World: Dominion
Four years after the events of Fallen Kingdom, the world has changed, and Dinosaurs now roam free alongside humans. This third installment of the Jurassic World trilogy and sixth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Owen and Claire alongside OG cast, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum return for an upcoming dinosaur adventure that takes them all around the globe. The main plot has been pretty vague as of yet, but the central conflict mainly surrounds how dinosaurs stomping around the modern world affects the ecosystem as we know it. Jurassic World: Dominion stomps its way to cinemas on June 9th.
2. Lightyear
This Disney/Pixar film features a narrative of the Buzz Lightyear toy we have come to love through the Toy Story franchise. But this movie does not take place in the film franchise; it instead tells us the origin story of Buzz Lightyear joining the Star Command arsenal. It will hopefully give us an actual showdown between the titular character and his arch-nemesis, Emperor Zurg. Chris Evans has been cast to give the voice of Buzz, as well as Taika Waititi in an undisclosed role. Lightyear soars to infinity and beyond (and the big screen) on June 16th.
3. Minions: The Rise of Gru
The sequel to the Minions movie and the second prequel to the Despicable Me franchise gives a look at how the Minions meet their master, Gru, as a young boy working towards his dream of becoming the famous supervillain (prior to meeting Margo, Edith, and Agnes). Steve Carell returns to voice young Gru, alongside new voice talents such as Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lungren, and many more. The Minions return to screen on June 30th.
July
1. Thor: Love and Thunder
Taika Waititi returns to direct Thor’s fourth entry to the MCU, marking the first Marvel Studios stand-alone series to feature more than three films. The film shows us what Thor has been up to since leaving Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy in Avengers: Endgame. With The God Butcher on the loose, Thor Odinson and Peter Quill/Star Lord are next on his list… or at least, that is the rumored storyline. We will not only see the return of Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman; this film will also feature the all-star cast from Guardians of the Galaxy. Christian Bale makes his MCU debut as the villain, Gorr, The God Butcher. Thor returns to the big screen on July 7th.
2. Black Adam
Set in the main DCEU and a spin-off to Shazam, Black Adam introduces us to DC’s most powerful and destructive villain. The plot involves Black Adam being awakened from his prison to fight the Justice Society of America. This DCEU entry is supposedly meant to showcase Black Adam’s ability to change the power scale that has been set based on DC’s more iconic characters. Dwayne Johnson stars in the titular role, alongside Noah Centineo, Pierce Brosnan, and many more. Black Adam smashes the rules of superheroes on July 28th.
September
1. Mission Impossible 7
The untitled 7th entry to the Mission Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise is set to arrive in September. No plotlines have been disclosed as of yet, but MI favorites Rebecca Ferguson and Simon Pegg have been cast alongside newcomers Hayley Atwell from the Marvel movies and Vanessa Kirby from The Crown and Hobbs and Shaw. The untitled sequel arrives September 29th.
October
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse Part One
Sony Animation takes us on yet another journey with Miles Morales and Spider Gwen involving another collision of multiple Spider-Men from alternate universes to fight a common threat. After the success of the Oscar-winning animated feature, this new sequel has a story so large that it is split into two parts. Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld return to voice their respective characters, but keep your eyes peeled for more alternate Spider-Men. We travel into the Spider-Verse once again on October 6th.
2. Halloween Ends
Michael Myers is on the loose again, and Laurie must take her revenge. The conclusion to the Halloween reboot trilogy will finally show what Laurie will do after the traumatic events of that endless Halloween night. The terror is not over, and we will finally see it end on October 13th, the aforementioned celebration right around the corner.
November
1. The Flash
Taking place within the DCEU, The Flash gives us the chance to witness the origin of Ezra Miller’s iteration of the iconic Scarlet Speedster. Adapting the famous Flashpoint Paradox comic book run, Barry will have to run through time to change a massive event that not only affects his life but many others as well. The movie will also delve deeper into the DC multiverse, as Michael Keaton returns to don the Batman costume once again. The Flash runs to theatres on November 3rd.
2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Chadwick may have left us, but Wakanda is forever. Marvel Studios brings us back to the world of Wakanda, without the rightful king this time around. The plot for the upcoming sequel has not been disclosed, but Ryan Coogler returns to helm the film alongside the core cast and crew to pay respect to both Chadwick and T’Challa. The Black Panther sequel plays in theatres on November 10th.
December
1. Avatar 2
After 13 years, James Cameron brings us back to Pandora. Avatar was known to be the highest-grossing movie of all time, and now, Cameron has finally decided to expand the Universe with not one, not two, but three sequels to this cinematic legend. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver are set to return alongside newcomers to the franchise such as Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, and many more. The Avatar sequel arrives in theatres on December 15th.
2. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom
The DCEU’s third and last feature of the year, marking 2022 to feature more DC titles on the big screen than ever before. In this undisclosed sequel to the Jason Momoa-led superhero epic, James Wan returns to direct to take us further into the sea for Arthur Curry, the King of Atlantis, to explore. Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, and Yahya Abdul Mateen II are set to reprise their respective roles from the previous movie, alongside a few new faces we have yet to learn. Aquaman swash-buckles his way into cinemas once again on December 15th.
WIth this many movies to look forward to, 2022 will hopefully make up for the lack of theatrical experiences in the last two years. However, we must remember that the pandemic is not over, and that when we head out to watch these movies, we should be careful, wear masks and follow the SOP’s provided by the cinemas. Hopefully, this list helps you be up to date with these upcoming blockbusters.