24 Biggest Movies Coming in 2022 & 2023

2022 and 2023 are set to be bumper years for blockbusters, with some highly-anticipated sequels, franchise entries, and exciting new projects on the cards for movie-lovers to gawk at. We’ve rounded up 24 of the hottest and most-anticipated movies to get your popcorn ready for in 2022 and 2023:

The 355

Release date: 7 January 2022

Simon Kinberg, who is best known for his work on the X-Men franchise and The Martian, brings a spy-thriller worth taking note of. The 355 stars Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan and Édgar Ramírez, and follows a group of international agents who have to hunt down a criminal who’s got his hands on a top-secret weapon.

Scream

Release date: 14 January 2022

The next instalment in the Scream franchise, simply called Scream, is set 25 years after the first film and includes many of the stars who appeared in the original, such as Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) and David Arquette (Dewey Riley). This time, a new killer has emerged and donned the infamous Ghostface mask, aiming to continue the legacy of the original killer, who racked up a streak of brutal murders that shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre

Release date: 21 January 2022

Guy Ritchie’s next film once again reunites the British director with Jason Statham and Hugh Grant. The film follows super-spy Orson Fortune (Statham) and his team of top operatives, who recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), to help them on an undercover mission to stop billionaire arms broker (played by Grant) from selling a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order.

Morbius

Release date: 1 April 2022

After being delayed from 2020, Marvel and Sony’s vampiric anti-hero Morbius movie (which tells the origin story of classic Spider-Man villain, Morbius) is seeing its release in 2022. The plot follows Dr. Michael Morbius (played by Jared Leto), a dangerously ill doctor who is determined to save others suffering his same fate, and in a desperate gamble, combines his blood with that of a vampire bat. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease. Alongside Leto, Morbius stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson; with Daniel Espinosa (who helmed the Jake Gyllenhaal space-horror, Life) in the director’s chair.

The Black Phone

Release date: 24 June 2022

Fans of supernatural horror films will want to look out for The Black Phone. Starring Ethan Hawk, directed by Scott Derrickson and produced by Jason Blum, the movie is an adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill. The film stars Mason Thames as an abducted child who can communicate with the past victims of his kidnapper (Hawk). It looks weird, creepy, and we can’t wait to see it.

Moonfall

Release date: 4 February 2022

Moonfall might sound like a James Bond sequel, but it’s actually the next big disaster movie from Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow director Roland Emmerich. Sticking with his end-of-the-world motif, Moonfall is as self-explanatory as you can imagine: the moon is falling in a collision course with Earth, and a handful of scientists are going to have to try and stop it. The film stars Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Michael Pena, Charlie Plummer and John Bradley.

Death on the Nile

Release date: 11 February 2022

Following up 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile sees Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot tasked with investigating another mysterious murder. Gal Gadot, Tom Batema, Annette Bening, and Russell Brand co-star in what should be another twisty tale of murder and deceit.

Uncharted

Release date: 18 February 2022

Sony has been busy working alongside its new film subsidiary, Playstation Studios, to help develop some of Playstation’s biggest franchises into big-screen adventures, and the first of which is Uncharted, directed by Venom and Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer. Based on one of the best-selling series from Naughty Dog, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Spider-Man‘s Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in the dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.

Ambulance

Release date: 18 February 2022

Since his tenure with the Transformers franchise came to an end, Michael Bay is focusing on smaller, character-driven action films, and his latest, Ambulance, sounds like another intriguing project. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Source Code, Prisoners) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman) as a pair of bank robbers who steal an ambulance containing a paramedic (Baby Driver‘s Eiza González) and a patient in critical condition.

The Batman

Release date: 4 March 2022

While we’ve seen a few iterations of DC’s iconic vigilante crime-fighter, The Batman promises to bring a darker and more mature look at the hero. Directed by Matt Reeves (Planet of the Apes), The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as a more young and violent Bruce Wayne, pushed to his limit by Paul Dana’s Riddler.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Release date: 6 May 2022

After popping up in some other Marvel entries, Benedict Cumberbatch gets his full Doctor Strange sequel in 2022. Titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the follow-up is directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) from a script written by Jade Bartlett and Michael Waldron. It also stars Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez. The story sees Doctor Strange unleash an unspeakable evil, which forces him to face a friend-turned-enemy.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Release date: 1 April 2022

After the breakout success of the original, Sonic the Hedgehog gets his live-action sequel in 2022. Ben Schwartz returns to voice Sonic, alongside James Marsen, with Jim Carrey also reprising his charismatic role as Dr. Robotnik. The sequel also sees the addition of Shemar Moore, Idris Elba (voicing Knuckles), and Colleen O’Shaughnessey (as the voice of Tails). The sequel picks up after the events of the first movie as Sonic is out to prove his worth as a hero. He’ll have to face Dr. Robotnik (again), who has teamed up with a powerful individual known as Knuckles, as they seek to harness the power of a Chaos Emerald.

Bullet Train

Release date: 29 July 2022

Bullet Train is Brad Pitt’s next big starring action spectacle, and follows 5 assassins who find themselves on a Japanese bullet train, realising that their individual assignments are all interconnected. Alongside Pitt is Joey King, Andrew Koji (Warrior, Snake Eyes), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kickass, Godzilla), and Brian Tyree Henry. It’s directed by Deadpool and Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch, so expect an explosive affair.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Release date: 8 July 2022

The fourth standalone Thor movie sees the return of Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder and picks up following the event of Avengers: Endgame, with Thor now tagging along with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Vin Diesel (Groot), and Sean Gunn (mo-capping for Rocket Raccoon) are on board, along with Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, and Jeff Goldblum on the cast list.

Mission Impossible 7

Release date: 14 July 2023

The long-running IMF agency is on track for another daring espionage adventure in 2023, with Mission Impossible 7 set for release in May. Of course, Tom Cruise returns, alongside Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Frederick Schmidt, all of whom will reprise their roles from the previous films. Newcomers include Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Cary Elwes.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Release date: 24 March 2023

John Wick is returning for one final outing to settle the score with The High Table and its league of assassins, and will see Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski reunite for one last time. Lawrence Fishburne and Ian McShane will return as the Bowery King and Winston respectively, and you can be certain that a whole host of bizarre and deadly hitmen will be lining up to take Wick down when it hits theatres in March 2023.

Jurassic World: Dominion

Release date: 10 June 2022

One of the biggest films set for a 2022 release is the next instalment in the beloved Jurassic Park (now, World) franchise, which will pick up following up the events of 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World: Dominion picks up in a world in which dinosaurs are now living among us following the events of Fallen Kingdom. The sequel also sees the return of Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Daniella Pineda, Isabella Sermon, Justice Smith, Omar Sy, and BD Wong, all reprising their roles from previous films in the franchise.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Release date: 9 June 2023

The Transformers movie franchise seems to have been under the assessment of Paramount and Hasbro regarding the direction the ‘robots-in-disguise’ series was going to take going forward. Reboots, sequels, and reinvigorations were all on the cards, but it’s now confirmed that the next Transformers film will be a prequel within the main universe. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be set in 1994, after the events of Bumblebee but before the first Transformers film, and follow Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots’ encounter with the Maximals, a similar race of robot lifeforms who transform into giant animals. While the Autobots have to constantly battle the Decepticons, the Maximals bring enemies of their own in the form of the Predacons and Terracons. The film will be directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) with franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura returning to the series, with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback in the starring roles.

Indiana Jones 5

Release date: 30 June 2023

Yeah, it’s a big franchise, but it’s slipping under the radar. The next instalment in the beloved Indiana Jones series is in the works, with 79-year-old Harrison Ford returning to reprise the titular role. Boyd Holbrook (The Predator) and Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal) also star, although not too much is known about the plot, but it is being directed by Logan‘s James Mangold. It’ll obviously entail a globe-spanning adventure surrounding some myth or another, so expect that and a lot of one-liners, whip cracking, and shootouts.

Black Adam

Release date: 21 October 2022

Everyone has been wanting to see Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in a superhero movie role, and the time has finally come, as Black Adam hits cinemas in July 2022. The film is intended to be a spin-off from 2019’s Shazam! and the eleventh film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screen story and screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, the film stars Johnson as the titular character alongside Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Quintessa Swindell, and Pierce Brosnan.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part 1)

Release date: 7 October 2022

After the smash success that was the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the sequel will see the light of day in October 2022. Across the Spider-Verse (Part 1) will continue Miles Morales’ journey as Spider-Man, while also once again featuring Hailee Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man, and include Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099, an alternate version of Spider-Man from the future.

The Flash

Release date: 23 June 2022

After Zack Snyder’s original cut of Justice League reinvigorated the franchise, The Flash will get his own standalone movie to continue the ongoing world-building of the DCEU. The film is directed by IT‘s Andy Muschietti and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Kiersey Clemons, Maribel Verdú, and Ron Livingston. The story sees The Flash travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, which brings unintended consequences.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Release date: 17 March 2023

Director James Wan and Jason Mamoa return for the sequel to 2018’s Aquaman, which also sees the return of Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Also appearing are Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin, a marine biologist obsessed with finding Atlantis; Vincent Regan as Atlan, the first king of Atlantis; Jani Zhao as Stingray; Indya Moore as Karshon; and Pilou Asbæk in an undisclosed role.

Avatar 2

Release date: 16 December 2022

It’s been a long wait since Avatar‘s original release 13 years ago, but the sequel is on track for a December 2022 release. James Cameron directs once again, and the wait is said to be due to Cameron filming the second and third movies back-to-back. Avatar 2 will pick up with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) living with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.

Which movies are you most looking forward to in 2022? Let us know by tweeting @MenStuffZA, posting on our Facebook page, or commenting below.