The Batman
March 4, 2022
Warner Bros. announced this film in January 2019. Matt Reeves’ film will star Robert Pattinson in the title role, with Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Andy Serkis as Pennyworth. Moved back from June 2020 in the coronavirus shuffle, and then shipped to its current date after briefly being scheduled for October 1.
Morbius
April 1, 2022
This Spider-Man spinoff from Sony Pictures will star Jared Leto as the Marvel vampire antihero. They released a trailer in 2020 for the film (see "'Morbius' Trailer"), but then later moved its release date into 2022.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
April 8, 2022
The sequel adds new character, joining the cast from the original. The first release set an opening weekend record for videogame adaptations, in early 2020.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
April 15, 2022
This third movie in the Fantastic Beasts franchise was moved to this date from later in the year in September 2021. It stars Jude Law as Dumbledore and Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, with Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald, the role previously played by Johnny Depp.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
May 6, 2022
This second Marvel film featuring the powerful mystic will star Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. The storyline will connect directly to the storyline of WandaVision (see "'Wandavision' Gets a Date"), which was released on Disney+. Moved to this date from earlier in 2022 in an October 2021 shuffle.
Downton Abbey 2
May 20, 2022
This second movie spin-off of the TV series features the original cast from the first movie (see "'Downton Abbey 2' Gets Date, 'Flash' Shooting Starts, Mad Cave Signs with Echo Lake"). This movie's release date was pushed from December 22, 2021 to March 18, 2022, then to May 20, 2022.
Top Gun 2: Maverick
May 27, 2022
The Top Gun sequel will once again star Tom Cruise. The story will follow fighter pilots dealing with drone tech that is making their flying skills obsolete. Paramount bumped the film back a year from the planned July 2019 opening so that filmmakers could work out the flight sequences with new tech and planes, then several times in the coronavirus shuffle to arrive on this date.
Bob's Burgers
May 27, 2022
This new feature was scheduled for this date in September 2021.
Jurassic World 3
June 11, 2022
Universal Pictures announced this third film for the dinosaur adventure series well ahead of the June 22 opening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Colin Trevorrow, director of the 2015 reboot, and co-writer of Fallen Kingdom will write the new feature with Emily Carmichael (co-writer of Pacific Rim Uprising).
Lightyear
June 17, 2022
This latest film in Pixar's Toy Story franchise is the origin story of Buzz Lightyear. Expect a giant wave of kids merch to go with this movie.
Thor: Love and Thunder
July 8, 2022
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster will become the Mighty Thor in this fourth film in the Thor franchise from Marvel Studios. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson will also star; Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok, will direct. The release date was changed to May 6 at Disney's Investor Day 2020, and moved to this date in October 2021.
DC’s League of Super-Pets
July 29, 2022
Dwayne Johnson will voice Krypto in this Warner Bros. animated feature. The film has been in development since 2018, but has finally been scheduled (see "Dwayne Johnson in ‘Super-Pets’").
Clerks III
September 13
This film will be released by Fathom on September 13 and 15; Kevin Smith will also be touring with screenings of the show in September and October. The film features a return of most of the cast from the previous Clerks movies, including Jason Mews, Jeff Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, Trevor Fehrman, and Rosario Dawson. The movie also has cameos by Ben Affleck, Justin Long, and Fred Armisen.
Avatar
September 23, 2022
Disney is giving the original film, with restored picture and sound, a new theatrical relaese in the run-up to the first sequel, planned for December.
Black Adam
October 21, 2022
This Dwane Johnson-starrer seems like it's been in development forever, and has been moved around the schedule repeatedly. This latest date came in a coronavirus shuffle in early 2022. Footage has been around for a while now (see "'Black Adam' Trailer").
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
November 11, 2022
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige announced this release date for the sequel, also written and directed by Ryan Coogler, at D23 Expo 2019. The script has been reworked since the death of star Chadwick Boseman in 2020.
Strange World
November 23, 2022
Walt Disney Animation Studios produced this adventure film featuring a family of explorers with a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures, all attempting to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land.
Avatar: The Way of Water
December 16, 2022
Principal photography was completed in 2020, allowing two years for elaborate post-production. Walt Disney Studios claimed this date, along with several others, on May 7, 2019 as part of an extensive scheduling slate for Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, and Star Wars films (see "Disney Reserves Dates"). This movie later got moved to December 16, 2022 as part of the coronavirus shuffle (see "'Avatar 2' and 'Star Wars' Pushed Off").
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