2022 Movie Preview: All the blockbusters coming in the new year

Last Updated on May 16, 2022

After a couple of low box office years due to the global pandemic, theaters and studios are hoping the 2022 slate of films will help restore the status quo. Lots of big budget blockbusters are set to hit screens all year long. Check out what’s coming up from our round-up below.

​January 14 – Scream

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.

T​he franchise cast returns as Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette play their famous characters in the first sequel of the franchise to not be directed by Wes Craven. The trailer looks interesting and seems to be drawing from the past of the franchise. The new characters seem to have connections to old characters from previous films and it looks like we’ll be revisiting some old locations from the first film.

J​anuary 28 – Morbius

Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease as he begins to crave human blood.

Ooriginally this was supposed to be released back in July of 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. It will be interesting to see how this plays into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also how it takes into account Spider-Man: No Way Home. There is no word on if any reshooting or changing of the story had to take place since it got pushed back and will now deal with its place in the Spider-Man story line as it deals with the multiverse and Sony’s upcoming superhero slate of Spider-Man related films. T​he horror aspects of the film look like a lot of fun and can help set it apart from other superhero.

https://youtu.be/0iObB8MiDSk

F​ebruary 4 – Jackass Forever

T​he Jackass crew reunites after 11 years to film new stunts and pratfalls. With the aging crew this could end up being the final outing for the group.

T​he film has been mired in a public battle after Bam Margera was fired from the film due to his alleged alcohol and drug use. This would seem to put some viewers off since the full crew won’t be together on screen, but after the first trailer dropped fans seem to be on board. It could be that after a hard few years due to the pandemic, fans just want the comfort food of seeing the guys get back together to their usual hijinks. Won’t win any awards but will for sure make people laugh.

February 4 – Moonfall

A mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman believe her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.

From Roland Emmerich who gave us great planet destruction movies like Independence Day and 2012. It has a star-studded cast with Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and Michael Pena leading a group of heroes on a space shuttle to figure out what is happening with the moon. Should be a great visual effects-driven popcorn movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0VbeQhhimY

F​ebruary 18 – Uncharted

Based on one of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed video game series of all time, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.

Gamers always thought of the games as an update to the famed Indiana Jones series and now it finally is turned into a feature film series. Tom Holland gets out of his Spidey onesie to become a young Nathan Drake. Years ago when David O. Russell was set to direct the film Mark Wahlberg was set to play Drake but now is going to be playing his cohort Sully. It should be interesting if a globe trotting, treasure hunting, adventure will work for current film goers as other similar films have failed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwytMUpUmJ8

M​arch 4 – The Batman

A young Bruce Wayne uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler. As his alter ego The Batman he dishes out vengeance to the criminal underworld. Set in Batman’s early years we’ll see an inexperienced hero try to navigate his place in Gotham.

O​ne of the most anticipated films of the year. While the DC films have more stumbled than anything else among fans and critics, the Batman films usually have everyone excited. The expectations are pretty high after portrayals by Christan Bale and Ben Affleck. The film looks to take a darker tone which is unusual for the films even though the character lends itself to a scarier film. Director Matt Reeves seems to have captured the detective side of the character that has not been present in previous incarnations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLbnlgz_jR4

A​pril 15 – Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore

Set in the 1930s, the story leads up to the Wizarding World’s involvement in World War II and will explore the magical communities in Bhutan, Germany and China in addition to previously established locations including the United States and United Kingdom. With Grindelwald’s power rapidly growing, Albus Dumbledore entrusts Newt Scamander 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.

A​nother film that has been affected by matters outside of the film. Johnny Depp had played the character of Gellert Grindelwald but was asked to depart the film after his divorce from Amber Heard had been getting ugly in public. Here Mads Mikkelsen takes over the role. The film has been delayed a few times due to the poor reception of the last film and the global pandemic.

M​ay 6 – Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Dr. Stephen Strange continues his research on the Time Stone. But an old friend turned enemy seeks to destroy every sorcerer on Earth, messing with Strange’s plan and also causing him to unleash an unspeakable evil.

T​he original film’s director Scott Derrickson was set to return but ended up leaving due to creative differences. Marvel would bring in original Spider-Man director Sam Raimi to helm this film. His history of comedic horror films seems like it will be a perfect fit for the tone of the film. With both Spider-Man and this film tackling aspects of the Multiverse could we end up seeing Raimi directing a Spider-Man once again? Let’s hope so.

M​ay 27 – Top Gun: Maverick

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.

F​ilmed back in 2018 this film had been delayed multiple times. Tom Cruise has said that this was a film he was very excited to get back into. He loved the character of Maverick and couldn’t wait to make another film. With the advances in technology, it should be interesting to see if they favor CGI over real footage of fighter jets for the film.

J​une 10 – Jurassic World: Dominion

C​hris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return. After the end of the last film in the series, dinosaurs seem to have escaped out into the normal world. How these beasts will interact with the modern world will provide new challenges and obstacles to overcome.

T​he actual plot has been kept under wraps but one big thing that fans know is that Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum will all be returning to the franchise. While some of them have popped up in some of the films throughout the series of films, this will be the first time all three will be together in one film since the original. Should be an interesting film to fans of the original movie and hopefully a good conclusion to this new trilogy.

June 24 – The Black Phone

Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

S​cott Derrickson comes back to the horror genre after his turn on Doctor Strange. His previous films like The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and Sinister delivered on the scares so expectations are high. It will be nice to see Ethan Hawke be able to play a straight up horror villain. He worked with Derrickson on Sinister but played the flawed protagonist. Here he gets to go full-blown evil and it looks like he is relishing in it.

J​uly 1 – Minions: The Rise Of Gru

In the heart of the 1970s, amidst a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans, Gru (Steve Carell) is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of a super villain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making back-up from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto – a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please – deploy their skills as they and Gru build their first lair, experiment with their first weapons, and pull off their first missions.

S​teve Carell comes back to once again voice the now younger version of Gru as he first meets the Minions. The Despicable Me movies were a surprise hit and the Minions have become audience’s favorite characters. Families will be once again talking in Minion voices after this film comes out as well as laughing up a storm.

Thor Love & Thunder

J​uly 8 – Thor: Love And Thunder

C​hrisHemsworth and TaikaWaititi return from their magical pairing on Thor: Ragnarok to once again bring the God Of Thunder to the big screen.

No plot details yet but the casting shows that the Guardians Of The Galaxy will feature in at least part of the film. The last film was a lot of fun and moved it from the serious magic action films of the previous ones into the more comedic buddy film we got with Ragnarok. This will hopefully continue that trend.

Jordan Peele's Nope

J​uly 22 – Nope

J​ordan Peele directed horror film.

A​fter his successful run with Get Out, Us, and producing and co-writing the new Candyman, Jordan Peele returns with another horror film. No plot details are available yet but if his previous films are any indication this should be an interesting film.

July 29 – Black Adam

The Rock plays Black Adam. After getting the powers of SHAZAM he sets out to protect his people from any and all threats.

The full plot is not yet released but the character from DC Comics often straddles the line between hero and villain. He will go to any length to protect the people of his homeland but will often go to nefarious lengths to punish those that would do them harm.

Tom Cruise

S​eptember 30 – Mission: Impossible 7

T​om Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the action series for the 7th film in the franchise.

N​o plot details but with any of these films fans can expect some big action scenes and something crazy that Tom Cruise actually did on camera. The films seem to have gotten more over the top as they go along but are always fun.

October 7 – Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse Part 1

Miles gets pulled throughout the Spiderverse in the sequel to Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse.

After the hit of Into The Spiderverse it was only a matter of time until we got another animated adventure featuring Miles Morales and Spider-Men from multiple realities. The film did so well we can thank any multiverse adventures in No Way Home to the first film.

October 14 – Halloween Ends

A few years after Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode faces off with Michael Myers for the final time. At least in this new trilogy. After the many deaths handed out to Haddonfield Laurie will seek revenge for what Michael has done to her and her family.

This installment closes out the new trilogy from Blumhouse and David Gordon Green. The expectations are that Laurie, Michael, or both will finally meet their end. Whether that proves to be true will be decided by the box office more than likely. The reboot/sequel series has done pretty well in both outings so it would not be a surprise to see the franchise continue on from this point without Curtis or Green attached. The Halloween franchise has been able to weather remakes, multiple reboots, and even Halloween III. How this series ends should be interesting to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC7Yh242w1A

N​ovember 4 – The Flash

E​zra Miller returns to the Barry Allen character from the Zack Snyder Justice League movies. With his time and reality altering speed he begins to explore more of the DC Multiverse.

T​he small teaser trailer we saw out of DC Fandome has lots of fans excited. It looks like we’ll be dealing with multiple versions of the Barry Allen character as well as multiple Batmen. Ben Affleck is returning to place the caped crusader but the biggest news about the film is that the 1989 Batman, Michael Keaton will be coming back to once again put on the suit. All of this has fans in a frenzy waiting for this movie to hit the big screen.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

N​ovember 11 – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

S​equel to the 2018 film that saw T’Challa officially take over the role of Black Panther. With the death of star ChadwickeBoseman the story will show someone else taking of the Black Panther role.

T​he release date could easily change as production delays due to set injuries seems to be hampering the shooting of the film. It should be interesting to see what the story ends up being as there are conflicting reports with what direction Marvel is intending to take the characters.

D​ecember 16 – Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom

A​rthur once again faces off against Black Manta and Ocean Master to protect Atlantis.

J​ason Mamoa is back on the throne of Atlantis as James Wan returns to direct.

Avatar

D​ecember 16 – Avatar 2

J​ames Cameron returns to bring the sequel to the stunning 3D film to the big screen.

Not much is known other than Cameron has been working on the film ever since the release of the first Avatar. It will be interesting to see what he can do with how much technology has advanced since the last film was released.

Source: JoBlo.Com

About the Author

Bryan Wolford is a feature writer for JoBlo, and also writes scripts for both JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals, including a multi-part retrospective on the Highlander franchise. When not writing for the site, he’s an avid podcaster.