Some huge sequels and some very interesting originals…
Despite everything, 2021 was actually a very decent year for movies.
Between the great big releases and the great hidden gems, there was plenty to enjoy on the big screen in the last 12 months.
Thankfully, the next 12 months look even more exciting!
Your pals at The Big Reviewski have chosen their 10 most-anticipated blockbusters of the year, and you can watch that countdown in full right here:
Or you can read our list right here:
The Batman
Release date: 4 March
Every new trailer for this movie has accelerated our excitement to see it.
Some brilliant casting decisions – Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone – teamed with brilliant director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), we could be looking at new contender for Best Comic Book Movie Ever.
The Lost City
Release date: 25 March
Sandra Bullock is a romance novelist who finds herself in the depths of a real-world kidnapping plot, with Channing Tatum as the hunky model who poses for the cover of her books, deciding to take it upon himself to save her.
Also in the mix is Brad Pitt playing an actual hero who saves people’s lives for a living.
The whole thing looks like a blast.
Jurassic World: Dominion
Release date: 10 June
Smushing together the casts of Jurassic Park (Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum) and Jurassic World (Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard), Dominion will close out the two sets of trilogies, dropping us into a world where dinosaurs run free amongst the human population.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Release date: 8 July
New cast additions such as Russell Crowe (as Zeus) and Christian Bale (as big baddie Gorr the God Butcher) join the mega mix ensembles of Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy which, in reality, should’ve been titled Asgardians of the Galaxy.
Taika Waititi returns to work his magic again after Thor: Ragnarok turned out to be such a big hit.
Nope
Release date: 22 July
Can writer/director Jordan Peele make it three-for-three with his creepy horrors after 2017’s Get Out and 2019’s Us?
The plot is still top-secret, but we do know that it involves a great cast including Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Keke Palmer (Hustlers) and Steven Yeun (Minari), with cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema, who has recently worked on very big, sci-fi’y blockbusters (Tenet, Ad Astra, Interstellar).
Mission: Impossible 7
Release date: 30 September
No plot synopsis, no official title, but considering Fallout was one of the best action movies of the last decade, our anticipation remains very high.
Tom Cruise and his IMF cohorts will be joined by some new recruits/villains (Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Rob Delaney, Mark Gatiss), as well as Henry Czerny, returning to the role of Eugene Kittridge for the first time since the original 1996 movie.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse – Part One
Release date: 7 October
2018’s Into The Spider-Verse kind of came out of nowhere, surprising us all by being legitimately one of the greatest animated movies of all time.
Considering how much was squeezed into that first movie, our mind is boggling at the idea that this sequel is so big that it already comes equipped with a Part One subtitle.
Again, the plot details are pretty thin-on-the-ground, but rumour has it that Miguel O’Hara aka Spider-Man 2099 (voiced by Oscar Isaac) will play a big part in proceedings.
Avatar 2
Release date: 16 December
No, we can’t believe it is finally almost here, either.
13 years (!!!) after the original, James Cameron is finally taking us back to Pandora.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are somehow rejoined by Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, despite the fact that – spoilers for one of the biggest movies of all time – both of their characters died in the first movie.
They’ll be joined by some new cast members including Kate Winslet (reuniting with Cameron for the first time since Titanic), Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Jermaine Clement.
The sequel is said to focus on a completely different part of Pandora, with a lot of the action taking place underwater.
Deep Water
Release date: TBC
Originally due for release in cinemas in January 2022, Disney pulled this Ben Affleck/Ana de Armas erotic thriller from the release schedule, with latest word being that it will be debut on a streaming platform later in the year.
Regardless, with Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, Unfaithful) returning to movie-making for the first time in 20 years, we’re more than happy to watch it regardless of how it arrives.
For the 10th pick…
We cheated, so here are just some of the other big releases coming to cinemas in 2022…
Scream, Belfast, Jackass Forever, Moonfall, Uncharted, Ambulance, Legally Blonde 3, Doctor Strange 2, Lightyear, the Elvis Priestly biopic, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, Fantastic Beasts 3, Black Adam, Halloween Ends, Black Panther 2, Aquaman 2, Hocus Pocus 2, Super Mario Bros, and an untitled A Quiet Place spin-off.
