It’s that time again, time to look forward to the films releasing in 2022. The past two years have been rough with many films being delayed. There are a few movies on our list today that were previously scheduled to launch in past years, but ultimately, with Spider-man No Way Home breaking the box office last year, things seem to be getting back to normal. Here are the 2022 films that the Reality Breached team is looking forward to most.
Uncharted – 2/18/2022
Here’s a potential blockbuster that was slated for last year. I’m just gonna be honest upfront, Nathan Drake is a VERY established character, and Tom Holland playing Nathan Drake feels like a mistake. He’s very young and doesn’t at all look the part. The trailer seems exciting, and the team-up between Holland and Wahlburg could be fun. My biggest worry is that it won’t feel like Uncharted, and as a huge fan of the video game series, that could be a big problem. I guess there’s always the chance that it doesn’t feel like Uncharted AND it’s good, but that prospect makes me uncomfortable. I’d love to know the numbers of how many people watch this film with zero video game context, that could be a huge influence on how it’s received.
The Batman – 3/4/2022
We finally have a new Batman movie and it’s from Planet of the Apes alum Matt Reeves. Of the movies on this list, The Batman has trailered the best. Pattinson as Batman is a bold move, that could really pay off on both the Bruce Wayne and Batman sides of the tale. The most exciting part of the footage we’ve seen so far is the FEAR. This Batman is leveraging the fear his reputation has created to get a leg up during fights. It lends itself to a more horror-like tone, and what feels like a breath of fresh air. My hope here is that DC lets Reeves make a daring movie and doesn’t studio-note it to death.
Morbius – 4/1/2022
As one of the most delayed films in Hollywood (it just got delayed again), Morbius’ release is quite a long time coming. It made last year’s list and 2020’s list of anticipated movies. Sadly, the more movies that get released in the Spider-man franchise, the less faith I have in this movie. A Morbius movie within the Venum-verse sounds nice and without a Spider-man in that universe, Sony could use some variety. The problem shows up when Micheal Keaton’s Vulture character is shown in the trailer. Vulture is an MCU villain, and if Sony is comfortable enough revealing giant plot holes in their trailers, I can’t imagine the mess this movie will end up being. I guess let’s hope for the best, but it’s not looking good. Maybe with this last delay, its 7th delay overall, they are making some necessary modifications to the final product.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 4/8/2022
The first Sonic movie was fun and way better than it had any right to be. Most of that was on the strength of funny-man Ben Schwartz. The trailer promises more of the same while mixing in additional aspects of the video game. One of the best parts of the first movie was the film being grounded in the real world. By throwing in both Tails and Knuckles into the mix with a decidedly more cartoonish Jim Carrey as Robotnic, I worry that the sequel will lose some of the relatability the first movie had.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – 4/15/2022
Despite years of bad press surrounding both J.K. Rowling and the Warner Bros. casting dept, Fantastic Beasts 3 comes out in 4 months. So far, the Beasts series has lacked much of the whimsy that made the Potter movies so beloved. Personally, I can’t remember the plot details of The Crimes of Grindlewald so I hope this entry does a better job at grabbing my focus and making the Wizarding World exciting again.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 5/6/2022
As the first of 3 MCU movies this year, Docter Strange 2 has the tall order of following up Spider-man: No Way Home. With Multiverse being in the title and Elizabeth Olsen in the cast it looks like the MCU films will finally be addressing the events of the Disney+ Marvel universe. We’ve been promised that the TV shows matter, and both Wandavision, and Loki look to factor into Multiverse of Madness. It’s directed by Sam Raimi and has been pitched as the MCU’s first horror movie. That’s a lot to digest, but Doctor Strange is probably the best character to saddle with telling this type of story.
The Bob’s Burger’s Movie – 5/27/2022
On the schedule again is Bob’s Burgers the Movie. We finally got a teaser trailer, and despite my love for the show, it didn’t hit me with any kind of excitement. I was very close to writing the film off and assumed it would be pushed yet again. You can check out last year’s write-up for more info and opinions on the film.
Jurassic World: Dominion – 6/10/2022
Dominion is the 3rd entry in the Jurassic World franchise and the 6th one overall. Fallen Kingdom left the story in a dark and potentially terrible place. Dinos are loose on the mainland. The series has dealt with this before in The Lost World, and the results were quite bad. Part of the charm of the Jurassic series is the light-hearted low-stakes nature of the tale. Bringing the dinosaurs to the general population, and naming your movie Dominion, sets huge expectations that I don’t know if this series can meet. Bringing back the 3 main actors from the original Jurassic Park can help, but cinema magic would have to happen for them to stick the landing, and I don’t know if that’s possible.
Lightyear – 6/17/2022
Lightyear is 1 of 2 Pixar movies coming this year, but due to its ambitious nature, it will be the one we really focus on. In this film, Buzz Lightyear is an ACTUAL Space Ranger, played by Chris Evans, not Tim Allen. Neither a sequel nor prequel to the Toy Story films, Lightyear looks to be a semi-serious sci-fi epic, and presumably the IP that the Buzz toys are based on in the Toy Story films. All the available footage from the film has it looking like a gritty fan-made tale inspired by the Buzz character. It’s odd, yet promising. I trust Pixar implicitly, so I can’t wait to see exactly what Lightyear is.
Thor: Love and Thunder – 7/8/2022
Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster and it looks like big changes are in store for the Thor character and franchise. It makes sense for Hemsworth’s Thor to get a 4th movie, while his peers Ironman and Captain America only got 3, as Thor didn’t hit his creative stride until Taika Waititi helmed Ragnarok. With where the story was left at the end of Avengers Endgame, there could be alot of story to mine in New Asgard, Thor in Space with the Guardians, possible Multiversal repercussions of Spider-man and/or Dr. Strange, and even the Loki Season 1 repercussions. The tea-leaves are pointing to the debut of Lady-Thor, so Love and Thunder could be wild and being a huge Taika Waititi fan, I’m here for it.
Black Adam – 7/22/2022
Apparently, Black Adam is a DC universe villain, and apparently Dwayne The Rock Johnson is playing him. To further explain this, I guess I need to say that Black Adam is traditionally a SHAZAM villain. However, this is not the sequel to 2019’s SHAZAM. This is yet another comic film centered around a bad guy. Joker, Venom, Morbius, bad guys are all the rage right now, and I don’t know if I can picture The Rock playing a villain. This could be a great idea or a terrible one. But if I were a betting man, I would bet that DC films sells out the villain motif and somehow makes The Rock a good guy, which ultimately turns this into just another Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson film.
Mission Impossible 7 – 9/30/2022
How are they still making these movies? Tom Cruise is like 70 years old, no one remembers the plots of the previous movies and at some point, doesn’t the mission have to become possible? Ok, that last one was a low blow, but seriously, as much as I’ve liked the MI films, I don’t know if I need any more of them. So to see that #7 will be out in September has me shrugging. Whether Ethan Hunt’s new adventure is a trainwreck or not, I’ll be there to see Tom Cruise jump on to, or off of it.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One – 10/7/2022
The first Spider-verse film was a breath of fresh air for both Superhero movies and animated films. It was a damn-near-perfect way to introduce Miles Morales, and in some ways, it outshined the mainline Holland-led Spider-man films. The prospect of a sequel is exciting, especially knowing that we have an infinite number of universes to pull from. My only question, and it’s quite a dumb question, is, why is this Part One? It’s not like this is based on a popular Spider-man novel like Harry Potter or Hunger Games, and lord knows marketing a movie with the same name 2-3 years in a row will be a huge headache. I’m hoping it’s a placeholder name and Part Two’s name will be revealed later.
The Flash – 11/4/2022
The Flash is DC’s opportunity right the ship. We already know this is a Flashpoint story, so anything goes. This could reset the continuity, it could render the Snyderverse vestigial, it could even further validate everything we’ve seen in a new context. That’s not me putting pressure on the film, that’s just the nature of the Flashpoint storyline. I really like Ezra Miller’s Flash, and the director, Andy Muschietti, seems to know what he’s doing, so chalk me up as cautiously optimistic on this one.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 11/11/2022
How do you replace a legend? In his short career, Chadwick Boseman played some of the most famous and influential Black Americans history has ever seen, then he completely embodied the spirit of Black Panther to wild acclaim and success. Losing Boseman fundamentally changes what the Black Panther franchise can become. Disney’s answer is to not replace him. Is that a mistake? Who knows? Prior to Boseman’s death, I would have penciled in Black Panther 2 as a lock for the biggest film of 2022, but now I just hope they tell a compelling story and properly honor one of the best actors of this generation. I could care less if it’s a huge hit.
(Trailer Coming Soon)
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – 12/16/2022
The first Aquaman film worked in many ways. Mamoa’s wreckless portrayal of one of DCs silliest characters was exciting and visually it is still one of the best-looking films I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if they can just do more of the same and get away with it again. DC hasn’t proven they can get sequels right yet, but James Wan can typically be trusted to make a decent film. I don’t know what to expect from the Lost Kingdom, but I’m excited to see if they can produce a solid follow-up.