If we look at the year 2021, then it has been an amazing year for films. The cinephiles really enjoyed a lot of movies that were released last year such as West Side Story, Dune, The Power of Dog, Coda, Luca, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Encanto, and so on. However, the thrill doesn’t end there, as even in this new year 2022, there are a lot of big movies that are coming out to your nearest theatre, or OTT platform if the things go well.
If we look at the statistics of 2022, we see that a lot of these most anticipated movies are either sequels or spin-offs to the previous hit franchises. But that will definitely not stop movie lovers from watching them, and who knows maybe one among these movies would be one of the biggest hits of all time?
So let us see which are the most anticipated movies of 2022:
10. Bullet Train:
Genre: Action Thriller
Director: David Leitch
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, 87North Productions, Fuqua Films
Release Date: July 15, 2022
Starring: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz
Based on the novel named Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka, Bullet Train follows the story of five assassins who wind up on a Japanese bullet train and soon realise that their assignments are connected. The movie features Brad Pitt, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Zazie Beetz as Ladybug, Prince, Kimura, Tangerine, Lemon and Hornet respectively.
9. The Batman:
Genre: Superhero
Director: Matt Reeves
Production Company: DC Films, 6th & Idaho, Dylan Clark Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: March 4, 2022
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell
This reboot of the Batman franchise features the Twilight fame Robert Pattinson as the new Batman. The movie follows the story of Bruce Wayne, a reclusive billionaire, who protects Gotham City as a masked vigilante, although he is not a trained crime fighter. Paul Dano will be seen playing the character of Riddler, who plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Batman and Commissioner Gordon (played by Jeffrey Wright) in Gotham City.
8. The Flash:
Genre: Superhero
Director: Andy Muschietti
Production Company: DC Films, Double Dream, The Disco Factory, Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: November 4, 2022
Starring: Ezra Miller, Ron Livingston, Michael Keaton, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Shannon, Antje Traue, Sasha Calle, Ben Affleck
Another movie of the year by DC Films is The Flash, which is based on the comic book series of the same name. There is also a CW TV series of the same name, but the movie is not related to the show. The movie follows the plot of Barry Allen (played by Ezra Miller), who travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder for which his father was falsely imprisoned, which was revealed in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Barry will end up causing a butterfly effect and venture into alternate dimensions across the multiverse, and that is how he will end up confronting the two versions of Batman, played by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton.
7. Knives Out 2:
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Director: Rian Johnson
Production Company: T-Street
Release Date: Late 2022
Starring: Daniel Craig, Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson
Sequel to 2019 movie Knives Out, this new movie will feature Daniel Craig reprising his role of Detective Benoit Blanc from the original movie, taking a new murder case in Greece. It is said that this new movie will have no connection with the previous story, and there will be a host of new cast members.
6. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:
Genre: Superhero
Director: Ryan Coogler
Production Company: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date: November 11, 2022
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Dominique Thorne
Following the real life death of Chadwin Boseman, who played the lead character T’Challa aka Black Panther, in all the previous Marvel movies, it will be difficult for the loyal viewers to not shed a tear while watching this superhero movie. Although the plot of the movie has not been released by Marvel, it is said that Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o) or Shuri (Letitia Wright) will be leading the movie with a different storyline.
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One):
Genre: Animated Superhero
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Lord Miller Productions, Pascal Pictures
Release Date: October 7, 2022
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae
Sequel to 2019 movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this new movie will feature Miles Morales or Spider-Man (played by Shameik Moore) going on an adventure across the multiverse with Gwen Stacy or Spider-Woman (played by Hailee Steinfeld), and a new team of Spider-People, and faces a powerful villain. Other Spider-Man variants include Miguel O’Hara (the spiderman from 2099), Peter B. Parker (an older and dishevelled version of Sipder-Man) and Jessica Drew (another version of Spider-Woman). Also, Takuya Yamashiro,the Japanese Spider-Man, from the 1978 Spider-Man series, will also appear in the film.
4. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore:
Genre: Fantasy
Director: David Yates
Production Company: Heyday Films, Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: 8th April, 2022 (the UK) and 15 April, 2022 (the USA)
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterson
One of the most beloved characters from the Harry Potter movie series, Albus Dumbledore, is getting his own movie. Set in the 1930s, the story leads up to the Wizarding World’s involvement in World War II and explores the magical communities in Bhutan, Germany and China. With Gellert Grindelwald’s (played by Mads Mikkelsen) power rapidly growing, Albus Dumbledore (played by Jude Law) entrusts Newt Scammander (played by Eddie Redmayne) and his friends on a mission that will lead to a clash with Grindelwald’s army, and will lead Dumbledore to ponder how long he will stay on the sidelines in the approaching war.
3. Thor: Love and Thunder:
Genre: Superhero
Director: Taika Waititi
Production Company: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date: July 8, 2022
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jamie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Jeff Goldblum, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel
The third sequel to the Thor franchise, this new movie is intended to be the direct sequel to Thor:Ragnarok (2017). Since Marvel is very secretive regarding the plot of its movies, we don’t have much information about what the plot actually looks like for Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth). But by far, it is assumed that Thor: Love and Thunder will be heavily inspired by Jason Aaron’s acclaimed run on The Mighty Thor, in which Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman) becomes the new incarnation of the God of Thunder.
2. Avatar 2:
Genre: Science Fiction
Director: James Cameron
Production Company: Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Studios
Release Date: December 16, 2022
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saladana, CCH Pounder, Cliff Curtis, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Duane Evans Jr., Kate Winslet, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao
Avatar 2 is the sequel to the 2009 movie Avatar, which is also the highest grossing movie of all time with a worldwide gross of $2.8 billion. The second movie will tell the story of Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (played by Zoe Saladan), who have formed a family and are doing anything to stay together. However, when an old threat returns to finish what they started, they are forced to leave their home and explore the different regions of Pandora. It will be interesting to see if this movie will come close to its previous movie in terms of earning.
1. Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness:
Genre: Superhero
Director: Sam Raimi
Production Company: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date: May 6, 2022
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochiti Gomez
This is the second movie of the Doctor Strange franchise, and it will follow after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the first season of Loki. Dr. Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) casts a forbidden spell that opens the door to the multiverse and an alternate version of Strange, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong (played by Benedict Wong) and Wanda Maximoff or Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen).
So these are some of the top 10 most anticipated movies of 2022.
Honourable Mentions: Baylon (directed by Damien Chazelle), Don’t Worry Darling (directed by Olivia Wilde), The Killer (directed by David Fincher), Killers of the Flower Moon (directed by Martin Scorsese), Nope (directed by Jordan Peele), The Northman (directed by Robert Eggers).
Which movie are you most excited about? Do let us know.