21 Of The Best New Films Coming In 2022, From 'Don't Worry Darling' To 'The Batman'

Films were back with a bang (literally, in the sense of No Time To Die and Black Widow) in 2021, after many of their releases were put on hold during the first Coronavirus pandemic outbreak of 2020.

We had a pared back awards season, where films like Promising Young Woman, The Father and Nomadland triumphed, and in-person film festivals, which ushered in directorial debuts from Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter) and celebrated hugely-anticipated projects from seasoned directors like Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God) and Jane Campion (The Power of The Dog).

And in 2022, we have even more to look forward to. Olivia Wilde returns with her Booksmart follow-up, Don't Worry Darling, Alana Haim stars in her first movie, Licorice Pizza under the guidance of Paul Thomas Anderson, and there are big-budget long-awaited sequels to Black Panther and Avatar.

Here's a list of the most exciting 2022 film releases - starring everyone from Julia Roberts to Daniel Kaluuya - so you can start budgeting for those cinema visits.

Starring: Alana Haim, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights).

What's the gist?

Set in 1973 (the 'Life On Mars' soundtrack to the trailer will transport you right there) in the Californian San Fernando valley, it's the story of first loves and big dreams.

Release date: January 7, 2022.

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Starring: Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong'o, Penelope Cruz, Sebastian Stan.

Director: Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix).

What's the gist?

An international, action-packed, spy film led by a powerful group of women who come together for one operation despite belonging to different intelligence organisations.

Release date: January 7, 2022.

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Starring: Jamie Dornan, Catriona Balfe, Dame Judi Dench.

Director: Kenneth Branagh (Thor, Murder On The Orient Express).

What's the gist?

A semi-autobiographical story from Branagh, of his Northern Ireland childhood, which rapidly changes as the decades-long 'troubles' conflict emerges in the 1960s.

Release date: January 21, 2022.

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Starring: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara.

Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

What's the gist?

Set in 1940s New York City, Cooper plays a down-on-his-luck character Stanton Carlisle, who meets a clairvoyant at a carnival he takes inspiration from to con the wealthy elite clientele.

Release date: January 21, 2022.

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Starring: Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield

Director: Michael Showalter (The Big Sick)

What's the gist?

A biopic about Tammy Faye Bakker (played by an unrecognisable Chastain) and her husband Andrew Bakker, two televangelists who rose to prominence in the 1970s before being engulfed in various scandals.

Release date: January 22, 2022.

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Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Maluma, Sarah Silverman.

Director: Kat Coiro (Dead To Me, Single Parents)

What's the gist?

Lopez plays global superstar Kat Valdez, one half of a celebrity power couple (with her other half played by Maluma) who decide to get married in front of a live audience to coincide with the release of their single, 'Marry Me'. Kat learns that her fiancé has cheated on her just before they are about to wed so she makes an impulsive decision to marry someone in the audience instead... in the form of divorced school teacher Charlie (Owen Wilson), who has been dragged to the show by his daughter and best friend.

Release date: February 11, 2022.

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Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Eiza Gonzales.

Director: Michael Bay (Pearl Harbour, Armageddon)

What's the gist?

Two bank robbers hijack an ambulance, leading to a huge police chase, after their heist goes awry.

Release date: March 25, 2022.

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Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell.

Director: Matt Reeves (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Cloverfield)

What's the gist?

Pattinson's long-awaited debut as Batman/Bruce Wayne - and Kravitz as Catwoman/Selina Kyle - take centre stage in The Batman.

Release date: March 4, 2022.

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Starring: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Brad Pitt and Da'Vine Joy Randolph.

Director: Adam Nee and Aaron Nee (The Last Romantic)

What's the gist?

Author Loretta Sage (Bullock) hides away from promoting her book, all about a magical lost city. Until, she is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire, played by Radcliffe, who believes she can lead him to the treasures depicted in her novel. The model on her book covers, Alan (Tatum) then sets out to rescue her. Cue hilarity.

Release date: March 25, 2022.

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Starring: Alexander Skaarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman.

Director: Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse)

What's the gist?

A young viking prince (who later grows up to be Alexander Skaarsgard) continues with his treacherous mission to avenge his father's murder.

Release date: April 22, 2022.

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Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks.

Director: Baz Luhrman (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge)

What's the gist?

A biopic about the 'king' of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, with Hanks starring as Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Release date: June, 2022

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun.

Director: Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us)

What's the gist?

Another horror from the acclaimed director which sees him reunite with Kaluuya after the phenomenal success of Get Out. The plot of Nope has been kept under wraps with all we have to go on just a mysterious poster released on Peele's Instagram.

Release date: July 22, 2022

Starring: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Chris Pine.

Director: Olivia Wilde Booksmart)

What's the gist?

A young couple (Pugh and Styles) live in a utopian community in 1950s California, where things slowly start to seem they are not as perfect as they first appear.

Release date: September 23, 2022

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Starring: Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd.

Director: Ol Parker (Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again)

What's the gist?

Exes (Roberts and Clooney) reunite for a mission to stop their lovestruck teenage daughter from making similar mistakes to them.

Release date: October 21, 2022

Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett and Michaela Coel.

Director: Ryan Coogler (Black Panther)

What's the gist?

Following on from the gargantuan success of the first instillment of the Marvel film, the sequel is finally set to arrive in November. Plot details are being closely guarded for now, but filmmakers have confirmed that the late Chadwick Boseman's character KingT'Challa will not be recast.

Release date: November 11, 2022

Starring: Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet

Director: James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic)

What's the gist?

The long-awaited sequel (seriously, the first film came out in 2009 and has been hit by delays, especially from the pandemic, ever since) and catches up with Jake Sulley and Neytiri in Pandora.

Release date: December, 2022

Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Harris Dickinson, Taylor John Smith.

Director: Olivia Newman (First Match)

What's the gist?

Based on the bestselling novel (and produced by Reese Witherspoon), the film follows Kya a social outcast who lives in marshlands by herself after being abandoned by her family. She's then accused of the murder of a man she was once involved with by the community of the town who disregarded her for so long.

Release date: 2022

Starring: Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead

Director: Frances O'Connor (directorial debut)

What's the gist?

Mackey plays Emily Brontë in this biopic chronicling the rebellious Brontë sister as she attempts to find her voice and put pen to paper by the way of Wuthering Heights.

Release date: 2022

Starring: Viola Davis, Lashana Lymch, John Boyega.

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Love & Basketball).

What's the gist?

According to Deadline, The Woman King is based on true events dating back to the 18th century in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful African states. Davis will play the General of the all-female military unit who teams up with a new recruit (played by Thuso Mbedu) to fight enemies who violated their honour and enslaved their people.

Release date: 2022

Starring: Harry Styles, Emma Corrin

Director: Michael Grandage (Genius)

What's the gist?

Three older people look back at a love triangle they were involved in during a dangerous time. Styles plays Tom Burgess, a policeman -married to Marion, played by Corrin - who enters into a same-sex relationship with Patrick (David Dawson) in the 1950s, when homosexuality was illegal in the UK.

Release date: Expected in 2022

Starring: Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Niamh Algar.

Director: Sebastián Leilo (A Fantastic Woman)

What's the gist?

Set in 1862 in the Irish midlands, a community becomes famous attracting pilgrimages and tourists when a young girl stops eating but somehow remains alive and healthy. Pugh plays an English nurse who has been brought to the village to observe what is really going on.

Release date: 2022

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