2022 is shaping up to be an amazing year for cinema, with even more action, drama, adventure and open-mouthed moments – and that’s just based on the trailers alone.
Superhero movies are set to top the box office yet again after a highly successful year in 2021, but sequels and reboots are all the trend now – and this list has plenty.
From dinosaurs to heroes, villains to blue people – cinema is going to have it all this year.
The Batman
Twilight star Robert Pattinson is starring as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the latest reboot of the Batman film series, and he will play opposite Zoe Kravitz’s character Selina Kyle/Catwoman with the two set to be partners in crime.
This film is to be separate from the DC Extended Universe and will focus on Batman’s second year of fighting crime where he will try and take down a serial killer called the Riddler (Paul Dano), who is targeting the elite in Gotham City.
Batman has to join forces with Catwoman to protect the citizens and catch the villain, but he is set to uncover some of his own family secrets and corruption along the way.
This really is going to be another superb year for superhero films, and it isn’t looking like they’ll be a shortage of them.
Two sequels and two TV spin-off shows are already in the works off the back of this movie.
The Batman is due for release in March 2022.
The Northman
If you aren’t into historical films and the Viking look of this is putting you off, please watch the trailer before reading the description and the glimpses of Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke will be enough to make you want to book tickets to a showing of this as soon as it’s released.
The Northman is based during the 10th century in Iceland and it centres on a Nordic prince who hopes to get revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, which he watched when he was just a boy.
It’s easy to glance over this film as ‘just another Viking re-enactment film’, but from the trailer alone it appears to be much more than that.
The Northman is due for release in April 2022.
Operation Mincemeat
Now this one is a proper British film – it has Oscar winning Colin Firth CBE, it has Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen, it has the late Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter, and yes, it’s a war film.
It’s based on Ben Macintyre’s book on the British Operation Mincemeat during WW2 when British Intelligence released a corpse carrying fictious documents about a planned invasion of Greece and Sardinia which they hoped would be picked up by the Germans, when in fact Britain was trying to disguise its invasion of Sicily in 1943.
If you aren’t a fan of in-depth war films then not to worry because this is jam packed with British humour, the kind you really don’t get with American movies, and amazing home-grown talent – ingredients for an excellent motion picture.
The likes of Dunkirk, 1917 and Darkest Hour didn’t disappoint, and it doesn’t look like Operation Mincemeat will either.
Operation Mincemeat is due for release in April 2022.
Top Gun: Maverick
The theme in 2022 seems to be sequels, but this is perhaps one of the most long-awaited sequels ever. Tom Cruise is back as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.
Top Gun first appeared in cinemas in 1986 and has been a fan favourite ever since.
This film of course centres around Maverick who, as a former fighter pilot himself, is now training a group of Top Gun graduates for a specialised mission, with the detachment including the son of his late friend Lt Nick Bradshaw aka Goose, Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw.
Although this movie was originally scheduled for release in 2019, it was delayed and delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic which halted filming, but its latest release date is May 2022.
Fans have been anxiously anticipating for a second instalment for the past 36 years, so a couple of months really isn’t that much longer...
Top Gun: Maverick is due for release in May 2022.
Jurassic World: Dominion
Jurassic World is returning with its third instalment, and Laura Dern is set to reprise her role as Dr Ellie Sattler - the first time she’ll be appearing in the film series since Jurassic Park 3 in 2001.
Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill are also bringing their characters back for this heavily-anticipated blockbuster and of course Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, both main characters in the previous Jurassic World films, will be featuring heavily.
This film is set to take place four years after the events of the preceding movie in the trilogy, Fallen Kingdom, when genetically-engineered dinosaurs were sold to companies around the world, and some were released in the US.
The trailer for Dominion takes audiences back to what the world looked like 65 million years ago with dinosaurs roaming freely and cuts to present day which is now largely the same, except humans are also sharing the Earth with them - you already know this film isn’t going to be short of chaos and dramatic screaming.
Jurassic World: Dominion is due for release in June 2022.
The Flash
If you haven’t heard enough about multiple timelines and universes over the past few months then fear not, because The Flash is due for release this year and, it includes two Batmen.
If that isn’t enough to confuse you, the titular hero, played by Ezra Miller, is hoping to prevent his mother’s murder in the film and to do that he’s travelling back in time, which is going to mess up his timeline and bring unintended consequences to it.
Michael Keaton is reprising his role as Batman in this film for the first time in 30 years; the last time he played the Caped Crusader was in 1992’s Batman Returns, after he turned down the chance to come back for Batman Forever.
As a result of Keaton’s return, Ben Affleck who also played Batman between 2016-17, confirmed he’d be making an appearance in the film.
Make sure your brain is ready for a workout before you watch this film.
The Flash is due for release in November 2022.
Avatar 2
After 13 years the wait is finally over for the sequel to award winning film Avatar, despite its expected release date being back in 2014.
James Cameron’s latest instalment in the series is set to centre around Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, and Neytiri, portrayed by Zoe Saldana, who have formed a family and are trying their best to stay together, but when an old threat makes a comeback they are forced out of their home.
Kate Winslet is also set to make an appearance in the film, playing Ronal who is a free diver of the Metkayina, after both her and Cameron have been waiting to work with each other again on a project for the past 20 years, following their work on Titanic.
Even though this film hasn’t even been released yet, there are already a further three sequels planned, with the last due to come out in 2028, so fans have still got a lot coming their way over the next few years!
Avatar 2 is due for release in December 2022.
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Words by Lucy Roberts for Female First, who you can follow on Twitter, @Lucy_Roberts_72.
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