By Luca Newton
We've done dillydallying in the past, and now we must look to the future of films, and in this year, because I have a bunch of films I'm really excited for..
The last of my reflective series of posts going over films from last year and this year, after this I have a bunch of solo posts to do. Just for a sneak peak, there will be blogs on The King's Man, Xenoblade 3 content and a Studio Ghibli ranking.. anyways. Now, I will be going over 10 films that I'm most excited for that's coming in 2022. Let's not waste any time!
Honourable mentions:
Before getting into the top 10, there are a few films I feel I need to mention a few films that I'm extremely excited for, but not as much as the main 10, let's not waste more time..
Next Goal Wins (dir. Taika Waititi)
First is Taika Waititi's upcoming non-franchise, probably awards contender, starring Michael Fassbender about a coach who attempts to turn the American Samoa soccer team from losers to winners. It's here because I do love Taika and his style and I love Michael Fassbender as an actor. It's not on the main list because I don't have much of an opinion of it outside of that. I think it'll be pretty good, but I'm not AS enthusiastic about it.. maybe it's because of how long it was supposed to come out. It sounds pretty standard and formulaic but I know Taika will bring shovels of heart to it!
Peter Pan & Wendy (dir. David Lowery)
A Disney+ live action remake even remotely close to my list?! Yep, Peter Pan & Wendy is a film I'm genuinely very excited for this film. Part of it is due to Lowery's involvement, being the director of A Ghost Story and The Green Knight, 2 films I found incredible. I think it would be fascinating to see his vision for a remake of Peter Pan, which is a very very dated film. I don't know, I have a good feeling about this.
Fresh (dir. Mimi Cave)
Fresh is a film that is only recently on my radar as a result of the Sundance film festival occurring at the end of January, and this film in particular being talked about a lot. Fresh starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, is a dark comedy, drama and horror combination chronicling the relationship started through a produce-section meet-cute in the grocery store. It sounds fascinating and I've seen a pretty big range of opinions on it which makes it all the more interesting. The fact it drops next month on Disney+ is pretty exciting.
"Super Mario Bros" (Illumination Studios)
I'm more morbidly curious rather than excited for Illumination's Mario movie, just because out of the big animation studios, Illumination are notoriously lazy and safe, so that doesn't stack well for the chances of a good Mario movie, and the cast revealing Chris Pratt as Mario.. whatever happens, it's going to be fascinating and a sight to behold. So I'm very excited to see what they do.
Black Adam (dir. Jaume Collet-Serra)
Rounding off the honourable mentions, Black Adam. Out of the DCEU continuity films of the year, it's one that has me actually interested and pretty excited. Starring The Rock, he has been casted in role for absolutely ages. But everything I've seen and heard about the film sounds super promising. The JSA being here and cast with actors I love like Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge. I additionally heard that the fights were Infinity War levels, and that is NOT taken lightly for me. The DCEU is a bit of a mess nowadays, but I still have faith in Black Adam.
Now for the top 10..
#10 - Pinocchio (dir. Guillermo del Toro)
This year seems to be the year of Pinocchio with several projects of varying quality, including a live action remake for Disney+ by Robert Zemeckis, who has directed his fair share of great films, but that's not the one I'm here to talk about. Guillermo del Toro is directing a stop-motion animated Pinocchio film for Netflix. Something that he's been planning for years at this point. We don't know much about it, but the very premise of a Pinocchio movie directed by Del Toro is really exciting because based on the 2 movies of his I've seen already seen have the atmosphere and classical vibes down to a TEE, so much so that I fully expect this gothic, awesome, almost creepy Pinocchio story, and I'm very excited to see it. It's still a while away and we know so little about it, I can't be more excited for it at this point in time.
#9 - Thor Love & Thunder (dir. Taika Waititi)
The 4th entry in the Thor subseries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was always going to be one of my most anticipated films of any year it comes out. As a fan of Thor Ragnarok I definitely needed another Thor story from Taika Waititi, but damn does Love & Thunder sounds WAY better already. I love Ragnarok, but in comparison to what we know of this one it just sounds like that film dialled to 11. Gorr the God Butcher played by Christian Bale, Jane Foster returning and being the Mighty Thor, the Guardians showing up even if for a little bit. Jane Foster's Mighty Thor generally excites me more purely because it gives the film a point to get truly emotional, and Taika is incredible at making funny films also really become gut-wrenching, like Jojo Rabbit. I believe the game will have a huge emotional core and I feel like that makes me more excited.
#8 - Knives Out 2 (dir. Rian Johnson)
Probably not actually called "Knives Out 2", but the sequel to Knives Out is absolutely one of my most anticipated films because that first film is absolutely phenomenal. An Agatha Christie-inspired whodunnit which just does it perfectly. It's so stylish and the mystery itself is absolutely incredible and goes in so many interesting directions. The cast is incredible, and Daniel Craig as the lead is so good. I cannot wait to see what Rian Johnson crafts here with a new mystery with a mostly new cast but the same lead with Daniel Craig. It's coming to Netflix later in the year and I cannot wait to watch, although it's a little sad that it isn't in cinemas like the first film.
#7 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Part One
Another highly anticipated sequel is the second Spider-Verse film, and apparently part of a two-parter which makes it more intriguing. We haven't seen much of Across the Spider-Verse, but we have seen a small teaser and honestly it looks phenomenal. The first Spider-Verse is one of the greatest animated films, and films in general, and so a sequel? That's already exciting, but there's a LOT to live up to. Because it could easily fall short of it. However, the teaser trailer just shows us how it goes THROUGH the multiverse, and each universe having a different art-style, it looks phenomenal. I don't know if it'll be on par with the first film, but the 2-part aspect has me interested and I'm very excited to see what the story is to split it in 2..
#6 - Lightyear (Disney/Pixar)
I'd heard of Lightyear from Disney's investors meeting in 2020, and I was curious about it, but I wasn't fully sure if it'd be incredible. However, after the very first teaser dropped it just skyrocketed up my most anticipated films of the year. There's a certain magic I can FEEL with Lightyear, a classic Pixar magical feel and that's channelling my excitement. It doesn't cater to young children, it's this sci-fi adventure movie starring what would be the action-star Lightyear which inspires the toy we all know and love. The animation looks so beautiful, and there's this brilliant aesthetic to this film. It feels like Pixar's take on Star Wars, and it just feels like it's going to be another Pixar masterpiece. Nothing but pure enthusiasm and excitement for Lightyear.
#5 - Babylon (dir. Damien Chazelle)
Damien Chazelle is forming a resume to make an argument that he's one of our greatest directors living. Obviously, having only really having made 4 films, you can't claim that, but I believe Babylon will only further the narrative as I fully believe Babylon will be an absolute powerhouse of a film and a potential masterpiece. While First Man is very good, it doesn't reach the excellence of Whiplash and La La Land, both films I have addressed here as some of the greatest films of all time in my opinion, and he wrote those as well as directing, and Babylon is the same. Starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, it chronicles the transition from silent films to talkies in Hollywood with a mixture of real and fictional characters. It's vague for now, but when you look at La La Land, that film's aesthetic takes the Hollywood aesthetic and runs with it, so Damien Chazelle's interpretation of an older period in time will be interesting. It sounds like another hit to me. The fact I will have to wait until December is pretty cruel though..
#4 - The Batman (dir. Matt Reeves)
Who isn't excited by this film? The Batman is another Batman film, except it's through the vision of Matt Reeves who is setting up his own Batman universe. From that very first teaser, I was hooked with the gritty and grungy tone of the teaser with grounded elements but also very comic elements. At the end of the day, there's a detective narrative underlying this film, which is something that hasn't been touched on in other Batman fans, and combined with some clear Fincher inspiration, it has me so very intrigued and excited. The trailers have shown this film to have such a brilliant aesthetic and style, and the story focusing on Batman a year after his origins sounds refreshing. The Riddler played by Paul Dano looks great and seems like an actual threat from a psychological aspect rather than just being very strong. Robert Pattinson in the titular role is also really interesting and I'm glad that he got cast. The Batman is super close and I just know it's going to RULE.
#3 - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (dir. Sam Raimi)
If you know me, I am incredibly biased towards the MCU. I grew up on them and I've watched them all so many times. It's genuinely impressive that over a decade later, nearing 15 years, the franchise is not only still going, but it's absolutely still insanely popular. Multiverse of Madness is the sequel to the original Doctor Strange in 2016, but it is also something way larger than anyone could have expected, but most importantly, it's crazy. I was already ridiculously excited for this film, but the recent trailer only served to literally double my excitement with the best trailer the MCU has ever produced that just embraces the weirdness and wildness of the Multiverse of Madness, and not just cameos, but actual multiverse visuals and concepts. Raimi hasn't directed anything for almost a decade, but he's coming back and his style is so very present, the visual language of the film looks incredible. But it's also insanely dark. The trailer had no jokes, but it really pushed the limits of the films rating when we see Wanda splattered in blood, it SHOWS things are real. It's going to be a wild ride that will likely change the MCU forever. I also find Wanda and Stephen Strange to be my favourite MCU characters, and so them being the leads really just reaffirm my insane amount of excitement.
#2 - Everything Everywhere All At Once (dir. The Daniels)
Yes this is this high. No, that's not a mistake. I could go on all day about how genius I find the Daniels are. Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan form a directing duo called Daniels, and their first real film was Swiss Army Man. I need to properly talk about that film on this site because it becomes more and more close to becoming my favourite film the more I think about it. It's this combination of weirdness, charm, humour and emotion. I relate it to more like an experience than a traditional film, because it is unlike anything I've seen. The basic premise sounds like other things but it's not. But anyways, that's a different film. They are following this up with Everything Everywhere All At Once, a film that just goes absolutely crazy based on the trailer. I had no clue about the film beforehand, however after viewing the trailer I was instantly sold. Michelle Yeoh starring in a multiverse kung-fu film sounds just as weird and whacky but charming in true Daniels fashion. I am so ridiculously ready for the absolutely unparalleled experience of watching Everything Everywhere All At Once for the first time. If the next film doesn't come out this year, then this film is my most anticipated film of the year. However...
#1 - The Killer (dir. David Fincher)
As you'll know, I am a huge fan of David Fincher. He is by far my favourite director of all time. No director has as many films that I personally adore as much as Fincher does, he has so much gold in his filmography that I just find it ridiculous how one man can be this talented. I like Mank, but it is ridiculously underwhelming. It doesn't quite have that Fincher trademark to it. His upcoming film, which we assume is coming this year, sounds like it will reach Fincher's high. Starring Michael Fassbender, The Killer is an adaptation of French graphic novels of the same name. Fassbender is an assassin who is waiting for his next kill and is getting increasingly more insane and questions his morality in a world without a moral compass. I can just imagine this as a Fincher film, as it has this sort of tone that just IS Fincher's aesthetic. He strives at it. Se7en is proof. Speaking of, the writer of Se7en is on this film too which just furthers my utter faith in Fincher and this film. It not only interests me as a film on its own in a way I'd be interested regardless, but add Fassbender, Fincher and the Se7en writer.. yeah nothing is topping that for me. I fully expect this film to be a masterpiece - a stylistic noir thriller character study. I cannot wait.
Those are my most anticipated movies of 2022, what is your list? I fully admit parts of this list could change as we see more of films we know vague things about or as I see more and more gets announced it will shift, but for now these are definitely the top picks.
Thanks for reading.
Comments