List compiled by Eddie on 14/01/2022

If the last few years has taught us anything, it’s that best laid plans have become less of a guaranteed commodity but with the world and the landscape of cinema hopefully moving towards the new normal of a world riddled with Covid and various other nasties, it’s right to be hopeful that the feature film space can deliver on the products we are eagerly waiting on in what could be the biggest year for cinema in a number of years. 

With audiences still cautious in some territories about returning to the cinema to view the latest products from around the globe and with productions being constantly halted due to issues outside of their control, it’s likely that 2022 with still have its fair portion of delays and halted films but with everyone learning to deal with the space we find ourselves in at this present time there’s no reason why these below films can’t arrive on time to provide keen audiences with the type of varied experiences we have been starved of over the last few years. 

2022 appears to be a year that’s a little lighter on than usual when it comes to Marvel fair and other known blockbuster properties and below are a collection of a films that mix in the known and the unknown properties, many from some of the most respected and also up and coming filmmakers working today, ensuring that at the very least the calendar year should provide a little something for everyone’s tastes. 

Finger’s crossed for a further return to normal and a world where films can shine on the big screen once more. 

Happy reading and happy watching. 

Disclaimer – Plot summaries from IMBD.com  

10. The Fabelmans 

Director: Steven Spielberg (Jaws)   Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano 

A semi-autobiography based on Spielberg’s own childhood. 

What’s likely to be one of his most intimate and personal films yet, The Fabelman’s should provide acclaimed director Steven Spielberg with a canvas to create a touching, heartwarming and funny semi-autobiographical film. An all star cast of proven performers and up and coming actors only enhance an intriguing all round package.  

9. Nope

Director: Jordan Peele (Get Out)  Cast: Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun

Plot not disclosed. 

There’s been very little word from anyone anywhere about what exactly Nope is about but for his third feature film following on from the socially aware horrors of Get Out and Us, it’s likely Nope will be another unique horror from the mind of Jordan Peele. 

8. Disappointment Blvd.

Director: Ari Aster (Hereditary)   Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Parker Posey, Amy Ryan

A decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.

Creating two of the modern era’s most memorable horror entries in the form of Hereditary and Midsommar, director Ari Aster has well and truly established himself as a name brand to keep a very close eye on and while its hard to gage exactly what Disappointment Blvd. might exactly be, his teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix and a run time proposed to be close to 4 hours long makes one hope for very good things.   

7. Samaritan 

Director: Julius Avery (Overlord)   Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Martin Starr 

A young boy learns that a superhero who was thought to have gone missing after an epic battle twenty years ago may in fact still be around.

Having already made two almost great films in the form of Son of A Gun and Overlord, it’s hoped that Australian director Julius Avery will knock a film out of the park and Samaritan could just be the lucky one. I don’t know what it is about this film but one can’t help but feel as though it could be a real winner and provide Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone a new iconic character to call his own. 

6. The Batman

Director: Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)   Cast: Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano

In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

I know there is some trepidation about getting excited for yet “another” Batman film but with Matt Reeves fairly impeccable track record behind the camera, a stunning cast and some top notch trailers, it’s looking like this more detective focused Batman could be the start of something wonderful.  

5. The Banshees of Inisherin 

Director: Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)  Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell 

A pair of lifelong friends on a remote Irish island find themselves at an awkward time in their relationship when one of them no longer wants to be friends.

If the idea of the reunion of In Bruges buddies Martin McDonagh, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell doesn’t get you excited as a movie fan then you’re in the wrong line of hobbies. Fresh off his Oscar winning work on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, writer/director McDonagh hopefully has something special planned for his cast and audiences when The Banshees of Inisherin finally hits our screens. 

4. Havoc 

Director: Gareth Evans (The Raid)  Cast: Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant 

The story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.

A director who reignited the action genre with his Raid double bill, Gareth Evans teaming up with Tom Hardy for this Netflix released outing should provide some extremely memorable and chaotic genre beats. While the plot sounds rather 80’s/90’s by the number fair, its very likely that Havoc will be a film that gets a lot of people talking when it hits our streaming screens. 

3. The Northman 

Director: Robert Eggers (The Witch)  Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård

From acclaimed director Robert Eggers, The Northman is an epic revenge thriller that explores how far a Viking prince will go to seek justice for his murdered father.

His third feature appears to be his biggest undertaking yet but if his work on The Witch and The Lighthouse is anything to go by, The Northman could be the biggest and best Viking set tale outside of the beloved TV show. A loaded ensemble and a picturesque European backdrop should make for a film that is at the very least a feast for the senses.   

2. Babylon 

Director: Damian Chazelle (La La Land)   Cast: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie 

Plot unknown. Rumored to be set in period Hollywood. 

Coming back for the first time since his sadly underappreciated work on the stunning space drama First Man, Damian Chazelle has enlisted a collection of Hollywood heavyweights to take us back to period Hollywood in what is hopefully another fully formed drama from the man that also gave us Whiplash and La La Land. Likely to be a massive player at next years awards season. 

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

Director: Martin Scorsese (Casino)   Cast: Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio  

Members of the Osage tribe in the United States are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s sparking a major F.B.I. investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover. 

It’s been a long time coming but work is well underway on the Apple backed and released epic from Martin Scorsese that is based on a stunning true life tale that should provide thrills, chills and some seriously meaty characters for the likes of Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio to bring too life. With Scorsese near the twilight of his career, this could be one of our last chances to witness a master at work with some of his all time favorite collaborators in tow. 

Best of the Rest – 

11. Top Gun: Maverick

Director: Joseph Kosinski (Tron:Legacy)   Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.

12. Untitled Elvis Film

Director: Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby)   Cast: Tom Hanks, Austin Butler 

A look at the life of the legendary rock and roll star, Elvis Presley.

13. Avatar 2

Director: James Cameron (Titanic)   Cast: Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet 

A sequel to Avatar (2009). 

14. Peter Pan & Wendy

Director: David Lowery (The Green Knight)    Cast: Jude Law, Alexander Molony

Live-action adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of a boy who wouldn’t grow up and recruits three young siblings in London to join him on a magical adventure to the enchanted Neverland island.

15. Don’t Worry Darling

Director: Olivia Wilde (Booksmart)    Cast: Harry Styles, Florence Pugh, Gemma Chan 

A 1950’s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.

16. Prey

Director: Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane)   Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro

The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled female warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.

17. Poor Things

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster)   Cast: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo 

The film will be a Victorian tale of love, discovery and scientific daring, Poor Things tells the incredible story of Belle Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by an eccentric but brilliant scientist.

18. Blonde

Director: Andrew Dominik (Chopper)   Cast: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody 

A fictionalized chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe.

19. Thor: Love and Thunder

Director: Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)   Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt 

The sequel to Thor: Ragnarok and the fourth movie in the Thor saga.

20. Licorice Pizza 

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood)   Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn 

Plot currently unknown 

What films are you looking forward to in 2022? Let me know in the comments below!