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The 42 Most Anticipated Movies of 2022

The Film School Rejects team digs into this year’s list of promised releases in search of the most anticipated movies of 2022.
Most Anticipated Movies
By  · Published on February 22nd, 2022

Salem’s Lot (September 9)

Salem’s Lot is one of Stephen King’s most-adapted novels – and that’s saying a lot! The book, written in 1975, was turned into a miniseries starring singer David Soul in 1979, a sequel in 1987, and a TV show starring Rob Lowe in 2004, and the story even got a nod in a 2018 episode of Hulu’s Castle Rock. Now, it’s getting a brand new film helmed by Gary Dauberman: director of Annabelle Comes Home (2019), and writer of It (2017).

Salem’s Lot follows Ben Mears, a writer who travels to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot only to discover it has become infested with vampires. With a King adaptation, you can always expect a lot of entertainment and even more scares; and if this rendition is anything like its source material, I for one will be sleeping with the lights on! (Aurora Amidon)


The Woman King (September 16)

It was great, especially for those of us who hold up Love & Basketball among our favorite films of all time, to see Gina Prince-Blythewood deliver an absolute banger of a sci-fi actioner for Netflix in 2020 with The Old Guard. It’s a reminder that she’s immensely talented and can work in a wide variety of genres.

In 2022, we’ll get to see her work back on the biggest screen possible with the TriStar release The Woman King, a historical epic set in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. She’s also rounded up an incredible cast led by Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega. Sign us up. (Neil Miller)


Don’t Worry Darling (September 23)

In 2019, actress Olivia Wilde wowed the world with her feature directorial debut, Booksmart, a Superbad-esque comedy that follows two teen girls navigating the end of their senior year of high school. Now, Wilde is back behind the camera with Don’t Worry Darling, a psychological thriller that follows a 1950s housewife (the inimitable Florence Pugh) who begins to suspect that her husband (Harry Styles) is harboring a grim secret.

Rounding out the impressive ensemble cast is Wilde herself, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. Not a whole lot has been disclosed about the film just yet, which is probably for the best as it looks like it’s going to be an edge-of-your-seat thriller. And based on Booksmart, we can rest assured that it’s also going to be a great watch. (Aurora Amidon)


Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One (October 7)

By the time we’re able to slip back into the beautifully-animated world of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) once again, it will have been almost four years since we first went Into the Spider-Verse. But as is the case with any great animated sequel, these things take time. The good news is that Across the Spider-Verse is a Part One, with Part Two promised a year later in 2023.

The even better news is that the creative brain trust of Phil Lord and Chris Miller have not only re-assembled a great voice cast (including having Oscar Isaac and Issa Rae join the already-stacked ensemble from the first film), they’ve also put these next two films in the hands of a trio of talented directors: Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra), Kemp Powers (co-director of Pixar’s Soul) and Justin K. Thompson (production designer on the first film). When it comes to traversing the Spider-Verse, we’re all the way in. (Neil Miller)


Ticket to Paradise (October 21)

My tastes might seem to run dark and violent at times – just look at all of my picks elsewhere on this list – but I also love a good romantic comedy just as much as the next person. Julia Roberts has been in some of the best (Notting Hill, My Best Friend’s Wedding), and after too long away from the genre she’s returning alongside George Clooney as a divorced couple hoping to stop their daughter’s (the great Kaitlyn Dever) wedding in Bali. Will the couple reconnect? Obviously, but if it comes with laughter, hijinks, and sweetness I’m all for it. (Rob Hunter)


Creed III (November 23)

The third entry in the Creed franchise is likely to sneak up on a lot of folks. It’s been four years since we last saw Michael B. Jordan don his star-spangled shorts and trade punches with a large European man. After successfully re-envigorating the Rocky legacy with the first Creed and bringing back the rivalry with the Dragos in the second Creed, it will be interesting to see what story this third film has left to tell. What makes it interesting is that Michael B. Jordan is sliding into the director’s chair for his feature debut. It’s also been heavily rumored that Jonathan Majors will play Adonis Creed’s next antagonist. It will be fascinating to see how that all comes out as Creed attempts to retain its title as the Best Currently Running Legacy Sequel Franchise. (Neil Miller)


The Fabelmans (November 23)

There wasn’t a lot of anticipatory heat on Steven Spielberg’s next film — a semi-autobiographical tale about his own childhood, co-written by Tony Kushner — until very recently when it was announced that David Lynch was joining the cast. Now we’ve got David Lynch, Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Paul Dano starring in a film directed by Spielberg, shot by Janusz Kaminski, scored by John Williams, releasing on Thanksgiving weekend. Even if you’re among the folks who think that Spielberg’s recent output has been hit-or-miss, this film will be worthy of your attention. (Neil Miller)


Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 16)

Look, no matter where you land in the great DC vs. Marvel debate there’s no denying that James Wan’s Aquaman (2018) absolutely swings for the fences delivering epic amounts of weird fun along with the usual comic book antics. Last year’s Malignant shows Wan is still as mischievous a filmmaker as they come, so you’re damn right I’m anticipating what kind of madness he’s conjured up for Aquaman’s second solo adventure. Also, and this is between you and me, Aquaman has always been my favorite superhero since I was a kid. Don’t judge! (Rob Hunter)


Avatar 2 (December 16)

At this point, our collective anticipation for the second (of five!) promised Avatar movies is less about excitement for the movie and more about the thrill of the seemingly endless game of chicken that we’re playing with James Cameron. He continues to threaten to not only make but release Avatar sequels well into the latter part of this current decade. Is it a little sad that one of our greatest living purveyors of cinematic science fiction wants to throw away an entire decade of work into the same story universe? Yes, it is. Is it possible that these Avatar sequels might turn out to be great? Absolutely. It’s still James Cameron we’re talking about. We’ll be delighted to finally find out, one way or another. We’ve waited this long. (Neil Miller)


Babylon (December 23)

This year, Damien Chazelle returns to the starry locale of his not-quite-Best-Picture-winning La La Land with Babylon. Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, the period drama will chronicle the varying impact of Hollywood’s transition from silent movies to talkies on a host of characters, many of whom are inspired by real-life figures. Brad Pitt plays a fictionalized version of John Gilbert – a silent star who frequently shared the screen with Greta Garbo, but whose career began to nosedive following the introduction of sound – while his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Margot Robbie’s character is rumored to be at least partially based on original “It Girl” Clara Bow.

Jean Smart joins them as a power-broking journalist while rising talent Li Jun Li plays a character said to be inspired by Anna May Wong (Hollywood’s first Chinese-American movie star). Rounding out the superlatively stellar cast are the likes of Tobey Maguire, Samara Weaving, Olivia Wilde, Katherine Waterson, Spike Jonze, Jovan Adepo, Jeff Garlin, and newcomer Diego Calva, who may well break out as Manny Torres, a character described as “critical” to the movie. With Chazelle’s right-hand crew of Linus Sandgren and Justin Hurwitz providing the sights and music (respectively), this “Great Gatsby on steroids” looks set to be an unmissable cinematic event. (Farah Cheded)

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