While COVID could yet play havoc with release dates, 2022 looks set to be a terrific 12 months at the flicks.
Comic-book adaptations, Tom Cruise continuing to defy his age, dinosaurs on the loose and finally - fingers crossed - a return to James Cameron’s Pandora are all on the cards as I examine the 10 biggest movies coming to multiplexes next year.
● The Batman (March) - If the trailers are anything to go by then Robert Pattinson’s outing under the cowl is going to be dark, disturbing and soaked in noirish glory.
● Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (April) - The first two films in this series haven’t set the world alight, but with Jude Law primed for a bigger role and Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp as Grindelwald , we may just be treated to more magic this time.
● Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May) - Teased at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home , Benedict Cumberbatch’s second solo outing as the wacky wizard looks like it will out-weird its predecessor.
● Top Gun: Maverick (May) - Thirty-six years on from the original Tom Cruise still has a need for speed as he returns to one of his most iconic roles.
● John Wick: Chapter 4 (May) - Very little is known about Keanu Reeves’ fourth turn as the one-man wrecking crew, but it’s sure to be delightfully outlandish bone-crunching brilliance.
● Jurassic World: Dominion (June) - Fallen Kingdom’s climax was divisive, however it teases an exciting new direction, while Sam Neil and Laura Dern make welcome returns to the franchise.
● Lightyear (June) - Bizarrely, Tim Allen isn’t voicing the space ranger in his debut solo flick, although Chris Evans is a fine replacement and Taika Waititi is also on board.
● Thor: Love and Thunder (July) - Natalie Portman’s Jane is back, while Christian Bale joins the MCU as Gorr the God Butcher and the Guardians of the Galaxy hitch a ride with Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder .
● The Flash (November) - While it’s great the Scarlet Speedster finally gets his lead big-screen bow, the real tantalising selling point is the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman as multiverse shenanigans abound.
● Avatar 2 (December) - It’s only taken 13 years for the sequel to the biggest film of all time’s arrival; here’s hoping James Cameron has still got it.
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