2022 Big Movie Preview
Family Films
A late 2021 surge for family movies at the box office will no doubt have strengthened the probability of the coming year’s biggest studio offerings appearing on the big screen in 2022. Among them are video game adaptations, book adaptations, sequels and reboots. We may even get a few original titles…
(Note: animated films will be listed separately.)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (rel. 1 April 2022) – No, this is not an April Fools. In this sequel to one of the best video game adaptations ever (admittedly not a high bar), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) sees himself as a kind of Batman-figure, but when Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey) returns from off-planet with a powerful new ally, Sonic must mature and confront his past. Director Jeff Fowler, who made his feature debut with the first film, returns to direct here.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (rel. 8 April 2022) – Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald has been re-cast as Mads Mikkelsen for this third instalment in J.K. Rowling’s latest Harry Potter-universe entry that has the villain facing off against Dumbledore (Jude Law), Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and their allies. David Yates, the director behind both previous Fantastic Beasts entries and four Harry Potter movies (including Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2) returns.
Hocus Pocus 2 (rel. Autumn 2022) – A sequel 29 years in the making, Hocus Pocus 2 will reunite stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters. In this film from a woman writer and director (Jen D’Angelo and Anne Fletcher respectively) three young women will accidentally reintroduce the sisters to the world and will have to figure out how to stop them from wreaking havoc.
Some more to add to your watchlists (use Letterboxd, we do: /thefilmagazine):
+ Cheaper by the Dozen (rel. March 2022) – Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union star in a reimagining of the 2003 family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen starring Steve Martin and Hillary Duff.
+ Secret Headquarters (12 August 2022) – An original film from ‘The Mandalorian’ writer Christopher Yost, Secret Headquarters will star Owen Wilson and Michael Peña as superheroes with a hidden layer under the house of some young children.
+ Disenchanted (rel. Autumn 2022) – Amy Adams, James Marsden, Idina Menzel and Patrick Dempsey are set to return in the highly anticipated sequel to the criminally underrated Enchanted (2007), which will see Hairspray and Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman take the reins from Kevin Lima for Disney Plus.
+ Pinocchio (rel. Autumn 2022) – Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future; Forrest Gump; The Polar Express) has assembled an all-star cast for his live-action/CG hybrid re-telling of the famous “Pinocchio” story, bringing together stars like Tom Hanks and Cynthia Erivo for one of Disney’s biggest late-year offerings.
Blockbusters
Competing with the superheroes of Marvel, DC and company for the title of “biggest box office hit” in 2022 will be a number of long-awaited and intriguing blockbusters. While most of the blockbusters lined up for the coming year have the same reliance upon source material as their comic book brethren, there is at least a silver screen debut for some lovable characters to look forward to.
Uncharted (rel. 18 February 2022) – Sony are releasing their adaptation of one of their most successful video game console exclusives in 2022, with the first Uncharted movie being helmed by Zombieland and Venom director Ruben Fleischer. With an all-star cast including Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas, this continent-hopping adventure film could prove to be a huge hit.
Jurassic World: Dominion (rel. 10 June 2022) – The third instalment in the Jurassic World trilogy will see the dinosaurs of Jurassic World set loose on the human population, with Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow returning for another all-star dino-spectacular starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and the original trio from Jurassic Park (Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum).
Avatar 2 (rel. 16 December 2022) – It will be 13 years since the release of Avatar when its sequel comes out, and director James Cameron has been working on it (and other entries into his franchise) this whole time. With new stars like Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh and Jermaine Clement joining the cast, and hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into it, Disney will be hoping for an almighty box office return.
Some more to add to your watchlists (use Letterboxd, we do: /thefilmagazine):
+ Moonfall (rel. 4 February 2022) – Another visual extravaganza is on the way from Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow director Roland Emmerich, and this one stars ‘Game of Thrones’ alum John Bradley, Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry and Donald Sutherland.
+ Top Gun: Maverick (rel. 27 May 2022) – Originally set for release in 2020, this Top Gun sequel 36 years in the making will see Tom Cruise climb back into the cockpit as the titular Maverick in a new film from Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski.
+ Bullet Train (rel. 15 July 2022) – Though little is known about this action-thriller set to star A-listers Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock – other than how the plot revolves around 5 assassins tasked with killing each other while on a bullet train – it can be expected that this film from John Wick and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch will be a blockbuster heavyweight this coming summer.
+ Mission: Impossible 7 (rel. September 2022) – Tom Cruise returns for the 7th instalment of the ever-growing Mission: Impossible franchise, and with stories already being spread about which death-defying stunts Cruise has performed on set, this could be yet another end-to-end action spectacular.
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