Putting together the 100 Most Anticipated Films list is a beast in any year. Still, in the new accelerated age of streaming with HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon, Netflix, and all the new players popping up every single day, it seems, the task becomes more and more daunting and nearly impossible (we could have easily gone to 200 this year).
So we’re post-COVID, but oops, not-yet post-COVID, but somehow movies have survived, even if the theatrical market becomes a more challenging and riskier gambit. While there are plenty of mainstream blockbusters coming this year, the new avenues for content (chiefly HBO Max and Apple TV+ and Netflix releasing close to 100 new films a year) mean there are so many amazing choices coming soon, sometimes we had to push some of the stuff to the margins (look they’re going to get enough attention as is).
Not appearing in our list proper, but things you may want to look out for including the new “Scream” movie, “Morbius,” the “Uncharted” movie in February with Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, Pixar’s “Turning Red” in March, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” in April, a new “Legally Blonde” and “DC League of Super-Pets” movie in May, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and the Untitled ‘Super Mario‘ film in December, among others. We’re sure these big corporations will give all these films the significant boosts they need. 😀
While there are a lot of good mainstream and blockbusters coming this year, many on our list, our main preoccupations are films that will likely turn up at the big film festivals this year, Sundance, Cannes, TIFF, Telluride, Venice, and many more (and previews for each will ensure we capture those things that fall through the cracks). BTW, if you’re going to complain about the order, note that specific titles that aren’t 100% coming this year and may arrive in 2023 have been slotted lower than usual and noted. OK, without further ado, our list of the 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2022, a list that nearly killed us. Oh, and btw, we’re starting with a cheat and doing 101 films because our math got f*cked up. Let’s do this.
101. “Black Adam”
Boy, some time has passed since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was announced as wanting to play “Black Adam,” Shazam’s arch-nemesis. Fittingly, the film itself will pick up after the titular villain has been imprisoned for 5,000 years, much like “The Scorpion King.” Director Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise”) pairs again with Johnson for the “Shazam!” spinoff, which looks to retain that film’s ’90s fantasy action movie vibe, a la “The Mummy.”
Release Date: July 29 via Warner Bros. – AB
100. “The 355”
During the making of “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” Jessica Chastain proposed to director Simon Kinberg, “What about an all-girl spy movie with badass female espionage stars?” Kinberg agreed, Chastain called up famous friends and now this movie about a CIA agent who teams up with other international agents to recover a top-secret weapon stars Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Bingbing Fan, Sebastian Stan, and Édgar Ramírez. Not too shabby.
Release Date: January 7, 2022, via Universal. – RP
99. “Pinocchio”
Disney’s live-action remakes are coming fast and furious, with Robert Zemeckis’s “Pinocchio” looking like one with genuine potential. Starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erivo as The Blue Fairy, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy, Zemeckis’ strengths as an animated filmmaker should lend themselves well to translating Disney magic into a believable light.
Release Date: TBD, via Disney – AB
98. “Dog”
Following a five-year absence from live-action film appearance, Channing Tatum finally returns to the big screen for a road movie comedy he co-directed with directing/writing/producing partner, Reid Carolin (the two tried hard to make a “Gambit” movie during this period). Co-starring Q’orianka Kilcher, Jane Adams, Bill Burr, and more, the film centers on an army ranger who embarks on a road trip with his newfound dog along the Pacific Coast Highway to attend a friend’s funeral.
Release Date: Feb 18 via MGM and United Artists Releasing.
97. “The Haunted Mansion”
Once again, attempting to turn one of their most popular theme park rides into a narrative property, Disney’s new “The Haunted Mansion” reboot stars Tiffany Haddish as a psychic medium who can communicate with spirits, while the always reliable Lakeith Stanfield will play the spooky mansion’s tour guide. Also featuring Danny DeVito as a history professor, director Justin Simien’s (“Dear White People”) upcoming film is likely aiming for old-fashioned family fun.
Release Date: TBD, via Disney – AB
96. “The Lost City”
Starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Patti Harrison, Oscar Nunez, and Daniel Radcliffe, “The Lost City” follows a reclusive romance novelist (Bullock) who becomes wrapped in a kidnapping attempt alongside her cover model (Tatum), resulting in a “cutthroat jungle adventure.” Directed by comedy duo Aaron and Adam Nee (“Band of Robbers”), “The Lost City” sounds like an entertaining hoot.
Release Date: March 25 via Paramount – AB
95. “Prey”
Before you ask, yes, “Prey” is a prequel to “Predator.” Directed by the talented Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane”), the upcoming Hulu project stars Amber Midthunder as Naru, a Comanche warrior who must protect her tribe against the invading Predators. Possibly intended to connect with the planned ‘Alien’ TV series and other arms of Fox’s franchise down the line, one wonders if “Prey” will be “Predator’s” equivalent to “Prometheus.”
Release Date: TBD Summer via 20th Century Studios/Hulu. – AB
94. “Avatar 2”
It will be fascinating to see how James Cameron’s “Avatar” saga performs in our overly-IP saturated era. Being released over a decade after the original movie, Cameron’s planned sequels were allegedly conceived in full before filming. Most of the original cast is coming back (including some dead characters), Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, and Sigourney Weaver. Newcomers include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, and more.
Release Date: December 16 via 20th Century Studios. – AB
93. “Batgirl”
Yes, DC continuity is confusing. Ben Affleck is about to leave as Batman in “The Flash,” which will also re-introduce Michael Keaton as Batman back into the DC Universe (and then there’s the Robert Pattinson film which isn’t connected, oy, headache). That leaves room for a new, younger Bat-character, Batgirl, played by “In The Heights” breakout star Leslie Grace. J.K. Simmons returns as Commissioner Gordon (Batgirl’s father) from the DCEU to try and tie things all together. Not much else is known, but it’s an HBO Max-only movie, Brendan Fraser is the villain Firefly, and Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life“) direct.
Release Date: TBD, via HBO Max. – AB
92. “Argylle”
Matthew Vaughn sure seems to have settled into a spy film grove. Following the popular ‘Kingsman’ series, he’s assembled another stacked cast for “Argylle,” based on author Ellie Conway’s debut novel. Starring Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson, the movie follows “a world-class spy suffering from amnesia, tricked into believing they are a best-selling spy novelist.” Fun premise! Vodka martini, please.
Release Date: TBD, via Apple – AB
91. “Ambulance”
Although Michael Bay long ago became the butt of big-budget explosion jokes, he genuinely used to be an exciting action filmmaker. After a slew of extravagant misfires a la “6 Underground,” Bay returns to his ‘90s genre roots with “Ambulance,” a stylish flick looking like a cross between “Speed” and a Michael Mann caper. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and rising star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, all parties involved seem to have understood the assignment.
Release Date: February 18 via Universal. – AB