12 of the most awaited Hollywood films of 2022

‘The Batman’ (March 3): A lot has been said and written about the Matt Reeves directorial that drew polarized reactions to Robert Pattinson donning the suit in yet another dark re-telling of the dark knight. Fans will get to spend nearly three hours in Gotham City with the Caped Crusader, with plot details as sparse as they come. The trailer does offer snatches of Paul Dano as Edward Nashton or The Riddler, with Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle or Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot or Penguin. But perhaps what many are eager to see how ‘The Batman’ will weave in some horror elements akin to the infamous Zodiac Killer.

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (March 25): The excellent Michelle Yeoh pulls out her top-notch martial arts skills for this sci-fi film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Yeoh plays Chinese immigrant Evelyn Wang who is able to exist across the multiverse in thousands of versions of Evelyn. “You can access all of their memories, their emotions, even their skills,” Evelyn’s husband, played by Ke Huy Quan, says in the trailer. “There’s a great evil spreading across the many verses. And you may be our only chance of stopping it.” (No, it’s not a Marvel spin-off.) It also stars Stephanie Hsu, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr, James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis.

‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ (April 8): The magic continues for a third instalment with Eddie Redmayne returning as wizard Newt Scamander in a new adventure. When ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’ released in 2018, it left fans with lots of burning questions. They’re (hopefully) going to get answers with the upcoming movie as wizard Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) entrusts Newt and his sidekicks to pursue evil wizard Mads Mikkelsen (Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp). The movie has been mired in controversy and delays due to the pandemic, so this one’s especially one to watch out for.

‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (May 6): With ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ continuing its global domination at the box office, all eyes will be on this next offering by Marvel Studios that marks the return of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. The trailer, which served as the end credit to the latest Spidey instalment, sees a dark side to Dr Stephen Strange after he casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. Sam Raimi, the director behind the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, takes the helm of this multiverse with speculations aplenty that his webslinger could make a return after his ‘No Way Home’ surprise cameo.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (May 27): We’re flying back into the danger zone with Tom Cruise, and we can’t wait to see what awaits us. The sequel to the 1986’s hit movie ‘Top Gun’, which has been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic, sees Cruise’s character Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell training the next Top Gun graduates for a specialised mission. One of those trainees is Lt Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late friend Lt Nick Bradshaw, aka ‘Goose’. Prepare for lots of aerial action, dog fights and nostalgia.

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ (June 10): What is a summer box office even without a tentpole flexing its muscles? Cue for pre-historic creatures to run amok as the latest instalment in the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise heads to theatres, marrying stars from two eras. Laura Dern’s Ellie Satler, Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, and Sam Neill’s Alan Grant all return from the original trilogy to help Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt as their adventures continue after ‘Fallen Kingdom’s’ ending where the dinosaurs are let out into the larger world. Fans got a peek earlier this week as the first trailer for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ dropped is a crossover with the Winter Olympics featuring a T-Rex menacing a skier. Colin Trevorrow directs.

‘Lightyear’ (June 17): Almost three decades since the release of Disney’s ‘Toy Story’, we’re getting another round of wholesome entertainment in the form of a Buzz Lightyear origin story. Despite this much time passing, there’s still lots of excitement for the spin-off that will see Chris Evans voicing the title character. It will follow the story of how a young (human) test pilot became the inspiration behind the toy Space Ranger that we all know and love. It’s also set to star Taika Waititi in a yet to be revealed role.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (July 8): Taika Waititi returns to direct this next Marvel instalment which is supposed to be the direct sequel to ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017). Chris Hemsworth as Thor, with Tess Thompson’s Valkyrie returning as the new ruler of Asgard. Also returning will be the gang from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, with Christian Bale joining the franchise as Gorr the Butcher. But what really has fans cheering is the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who will also wield Thor’s might hammer and take on his powers. Waititi has said earlier that the film would adapt elements from Jason Aaron’s run on the Mighty Thor comic book series.

‘Nope’ (July 22): From the genius mind of Oscar-winning writer and director Jordan Peele comes a new horror movie that’s likely to be as subversive as his earlier films ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’. However, we can’t tell you what it’s about because no one really knows. Peele revealed the poster on social media on July 22, a year before its expected release date. The mysterious image shows a town nestled in a valley, with a kite flying overhead. What we do know is that it’s going to feature amazing actors Steven Yeun, Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya.

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (November 11): With multiple setbacks, a pandemic, the death of its lead star and cast members sustaining injuries, the good news is that the ‘Black Panther’ sequel has resumed production and should be on track for its Q4 release. However, with no Chadwick Boseman to don the suit, following his death in 2020 from cancer, fans are eager to see the role recast with a new face to take up the mantle, rather than one of the existing cast members take on the role. The plot, of course, is under wraps, but we do know that Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Nakia, T’Challa’s love interest in ‘Black Panther,’ will reprise her role in ‘Wakanda Forever’ alongside Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, and Martin Freeman. How it plays out remains to be seen.

‘Avatar 2’ (December 16): Perhaps the most anticipated film of the year is James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to 2009’s ‘Avatar’, which went on to become the highest-grossing film ever made. Fans will return to the director’s fantasy saga of blue-skinned aliens with a story set 14 years after the original. Former human soldier Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have settled down and started a family, with much of the film centered on their offspring, according to Entertainment Weekly. The film, a predecessor to ‘Avatar 3’, will take a deep dive into a new clan of reef-dwelling Na’vi called the Metkayina. A lot remains unsaid about the plot but Cameron has confirmed Sigourney Weaver will return in a top secret new role after dying in the first film, while Kate Winslet joins the cast.

‘Knives Out 2’ (TBA): After the massive success of the first film in 2019, director Rian Johnson is set to entertain audiences with a new murder case. The upcoming sequel to the mystery film is again written and directed by Johnson and sees actor Daniel Craig reprise his role as detective Benoit Blanc. The first movie followed Blanc’s investigation into the death of a novelist. The new movie will have an all-star cast of Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, Jessica Henwick and Ethan Hawke.