My Most Anticipated Films of 2022

Since I still have some 2021 films out from the library that I need to see to give an accurate favorite movies list for the year, I once again have to release my anticipated films list before my favorite films from last year. As usual, just because something is on this list doesn’t mean I’ll rush to see it in theaters. Some of these are on here out of pure curiosity.

23) The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild - I’ve actually stayed loyal to the Ice Age franchise until the fifth film, which was fine but not as funny as the others. While I’ve been hoping another film would be made, I don’t have high hopes for this one. Not only does it look like an excuse to add content on Disney+ now that Disney owns Fox, but the animation that isn’t from Blue Sky does not look as good and the original voice actors (except for Simon Pegg) aren’t even returning. This is just on the list for the pure curiosity of how badly it’ll be received.

22) Nope - I haven’t seen Us yet but greatly enjoyed Get Out and after seeing that poster and seeing the title for this, I’m really curious to even know what this film is about.

21) Untitled Mario Film - Mario Kart is the only video game outside of Wii Sports that I consistently play, so Mario is the one video game franchise that I know anything about. After the disaster of the live-action film from everything I’ve seen on it, I’m really curious to see how this animated Mario Brothers film will be received.

20) Minions: Rise of Gru - I did not hate the first Minions at first, though I do think it went off the rails about halfway through. I love that the Honest Trailer for the first film pointed out that it would have been more fun with young Gru and that’s exactly what the sequel is going to be. Hopefully, this is more like the Despicable Me films than its predecessor.

19) Morbius - I thought Venom and its sequel were okay and the trailers for this don’t really excite me, though I am curious about this film. I’m most curious about Michael Keaton’s appearance, especially after watching Spider-Man: No Way Home.

18) Avatar 2 - I do not like the first Avatar, finding it very cliche and kind of dumb. After so long, I’m just really wondering how is this going to be received and if it’s actually going to come out this year. I just hope it isn’t as massively a success at the box office as its predecessor.

17) Black Adam - I had mixed feelings about Shazam!, enjoying parts of it but found that the villain tanked the movie overall by being too dark. The Rock being an antihero is an interesting choice, so hopefully, this film will be an improvement.

16) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - I respect the MCU’s decision to not recast T’Challa and am curious to see how this film will honor Chadwick Boseman’s legacy. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first film but am curious to see how the sequel will be compared to its predecessor.

15) Thor: Love and Thunder - I really loved Thor: Ragnarok and am looking forward to Natalie Portman’s return. I’m curious how she’s going to wield Mjolnir, especially considering that it’s still destroyed after the last Thor film. However, I’m not quite as excited as I probably should be. Looking forward to seeing a trailer.

14) The Flash - The Flash is my favorite television show of all time and possibly my favorite superhero of all time. I wasn’t a big fan of the DCEU version in Justice League, though, and I still need to see the Synder cut. I also found this version’s cameo in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover weird. I also find it weird that they’re starting out his first film with the Flashpoint storyline. I just hope that it isn’t as rushed as it was on the show. Also, I’m really looking forward to seeing Michael Keaton as Batman again.

13) Lightyear - This film feels like Pixar’s annoying trend of going back to existing franchises, which did not work for those last two sequels in my opinion (though I do love Cars 3). Since I adamantly feel that Toy Story 4 is Pixar’s worst film by a long shot, that does not give me confidence for this film. While it does look like a fun adventure, it doesn’t look like it takes place in the Toy Story universe, so why isn’t this just an original film? I always got the impression that the extent of space travel they had was the same as our world’s. Only the fact that Pete Doctor is the writer is giving me hope.

12) The Batman - I’m not the biggest Batman fan ever and while I understand the hype for this film and it does look really good, this is a film that I most likely will wait to see on DVD from the library. However, maybe the reviews and word of mouth will change my mind. I do like the idea of this being more of a detective story, though.

11) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - While I did not love it, I did enjoy the first Aquaman movie. It was fun and zany, cramming quite a bit into one film. I am curious to see how Arthur handles actually being king and how the sequel will top the craziness of the original.

10) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) - I enjoyed Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, though I didn’t love it as much as most people. I am curious to see where this story goes, though, and hope it doesn’t end on too annoying a cliffhanger like Dune. Let’s see if this sequel can top the original.

9) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Doctor Strange, finding it rather standard, but Spider-Man: No Way Home has made me really interested in this film (though I wish that film had a better post-credits scene than simply the trailer for this film). Also, I love the irony of Sam Raimi directing this after Doctor Strange last appeared in the Spider-Man film that crossed over with his previous films. I do need to finally see WandaVision though before this is released.

8) Indiana Jones 5 - I did not hate Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as much as most people and thought it was a fine ending (though not as good as the original ending with The Last Crusade). I like Raiders and Last Crusade but haven’t seen The Temple of Doom since I’ve heard it was too gross. I am curious to see if this movie sticks the landing. Hopefully, it’s not as disappointing.

7) Babylon - La La Land is one of my favorite films of the last several years and Whiplash was really well done, just not a film I want to see again (as a musician in high school, I found it too intense). I did not like First Man, however, but Chazelle also did not write the screenplay for that one. Because he’s writing the screenplay for this, hopefully, this film will be put his career back on track.

6) Disenchanted - I absolutely love Enchanted, and while I’ve been curious about what a sequel could be, I’m really skeptical about this one, especially after so much time and the details I’ve heard so far haven’t gotten me excited so far. This would be a little higher on this list, though, if it were going to be released in theaters. But no, I can’t watch it in theaters like the original and even if I like it, I won’t be able to own it on DVD because streaming has ruined the movie experience.

5) Knives Out 2 - Knives Out is one of my favorite films in the last five years and am looking forward to seeing another unusual mystery to be solved by Benoit Blanc, Daniel Craig’s second most iconic character so far after James Bond. The only reason that this isn’t higher on this list is once again because it won’t be shown in theaters and if I love it, I won’t be able to own it on DVD. I really hate the exclusiveness of streaming. If they released it on DVD after five years or something, I’d happily wait to buy it.

4) Death on the Nile - I really enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express and after recently seeing the 1974 version, I disagree with people who say that version is the definitive version and I prefer the recent remake. I am looking forward to this mystery and want to see it in theaters.

3) Turning Red - While I hated the short film, Bao, which the director of this film made because I think it went too far into shock value, I hope this feature does not do the same. It looks like a really cool premise and metaphor. I am really mad that this won’t be shown in theaters as well, but because I live in Los Angeles and Disney has shown the last two Pixar films at the El Capitan Theatre, I’m confident that I’ll at least be able to see this in theaters.

2) Creed III - I loved the first two Creed movies and am looking forward to the sequel. However, I am curious as to how they’ll continue the story without Sylvester Stallone, as well as the fact that they ended the last film in a good place. I am looking forward to seeing Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut and hope he does a good job. Hopefully, this franchise does not run out of steam too quickly.

1) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - I was surprised by how much I loved Sonic the Hedgehog, especially as someone who has never played the video games, and wish I had seen it in theaters. Now I get to make up for it by seeing this sequel in theaters, which looks like a ton of fun.