Almost every box office hit lately has been a sequel of some kind, and new sequels for films, whether they be superhero films, horror films, or action films, are announced quite regularly. Just recently we received confirmation that The Batman will be getting a sequel, while the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (which was originally set to be released this year) was recently pushed back to 2023.
Even though it is only April, there have already been a number of sequels released in 2022. In just four months we’ve had Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Death on the Nile, and Scream hit the theaters. These are definitely not the only sequels heading for the big screen this year, with somewhere between ten to fifteen sequels coming to theaters in 2022. With that being said, let’s take a look at ten sequels set to release this year that you can look forward to.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit cinemas pretty soon, on May 6th. This film not only continues Doctor Strange’s story from the first film, but will also presumably deal with the ramifications of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Wandavision.
The film marks director Sam Raimi’s return to Marvel since his last Marvel project, Spider-Man 3 in 2007. The Multiverse of Madness will also introduce the Young Avenger, America Chavez, while also seemingly delivering many multiversal cameos that will excite Marvel fans. The trailers show different versions of Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch including zombie versions of both characters, so hopefully, Marvel won’t disappoint with the number of different characters that make an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick, after numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will come out in theaters on May 27, 2022. The sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun is directed by Joseph Kosinski, and both Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer are set to reprise their roles from the first film. The sequel is, of course, subtitled after Cruise’s character from the first film, LT Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, who is now a Captain.
Top Gun: Maverick has Maverick taking on a new group of pilots to instruct for a unique mission. One of the pilots that Maverick has to train is the son of his deceased friend, LTJG Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw, who died in the first film. Miles Teller will be playing that character, Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw.
Jurassic World: Dominion
The third entry in the Jurassic World franchise, Jurassic World: Dominion, is set to hit theaters on June 10th. The film will be directed by Colin Trevorrow, who also directed 2015’s Jurassic World. While the second film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, brought back Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, this film is going to be a Jurassic Park reunion with the return of Sam Neill and Laura Dern as Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler respectively.
Following Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Dominion will see the dinosaurs living alongside humans after their release into the world at the end of the previous film. This is an interesting idea as this will be the first time in any Jurassic film that the dinosaurs will be loose in the wild. Hopefully, the dinosaurs don’t cause too much havoc and are allowed to roam the Earth in peace.
Minions: The Rise of Gru
The only animated film on this list, Minions: The Rise of Gru will be released on July 1st. The sequel to the original Minions which came out in 2015, Minions: The Rise of Gru is directed by Kyle Balda and will feature the return of Steve Carell as the voice of Gru. As the films serve as a prequel to the Despicable Me series, Gru will be a child in this instalment, and The Rise of Gru will pick up after his fateful meeting with the Minions at the end of the previous film.
Minions: The Rise of Gru will see Gru get kidnapped by the supervillain group The Vicious Six, and it will be up to the Minions to go and save their boss. Taraji P. Henson and Michelle Yeoh also voice characters in the film.
Thor: Love and Thunder
This Marvel movie might be the most anticipated film of 2022. Thor: Love and Thunder is releasing in theaters on July 8, 2022. Directed by Taika Waititi, who also directed the previous entry in the franchise Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder will be the fourth film in the Thor franchise. The film will see Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as Thor Odinson, with Taika Waititi reprising his role as Korg.
Even more exciting is the return of Natalie Portman to the franchise, reprising her role as Jane Foster, except this time she will be wielding Mjolnir and taking up the mantle of the Mighty Thor. Thor abandons his past as Thor and attempts to reinvent himself with the Guardians of the Galaxy because of what he went through in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Christian Bale also stars as the main antagonist of the film, Gorr the God Butcher.
Halloween Ends
Halloween Ends will be the thirteenth entry in the Halloween franchise, while being the third and last entry in the new trilogy that started with Halloween in 2018. The trilogy was directed by David Gordon Green, with Halloween Ends slated for release on October 18, 2022. This film and Halloween Kills were originally planned to be filmed back to back, but they wanted to gauge the audience’s reaction to Kills for the new film.
Halloween Ends boasts an end for Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who has come to an end before in the franchise multiple times, and an end for the Shape also known as Michael Myers, not that this would be the first time. Hopefully, the film will stay the course of the last two films, providing the right amount of fan service and delivering a sense of finality that would make both horror buffs and Halloween fans happy.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
After a noteworthy production, especially for a Marvel film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to release on November 11, 2022. The film is directed by the same director who made the original Black Panther released in 2018, Ryan Coogler. Unfortunately, Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played T’Challa the Black Panther, died from colon cancer in August 2020.
The film, due to Boseman’s death, had to change its story as Marvel decided not to recast the character of T’Challa. While filming, actress Letitia Wright (who plays his sister Shuri) sustained an injury that halted production. It is unclear at this time what the story of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be, but Marvel fans will surely agree that they are eager to return to Wakanda in this sequel.
Creed III
The third installment of the Creed franchise, the spinoff of the Rocky franchise, will be the first film set in that universe to not feature Sylvester Stallone. Creed III will be directed by the star of the film, Michael B Jordan, who plays Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed, son of the boxer Apollo Creed who fought Rocky throughout the original series. The film is due to be released on November 23rd, and Tessa Thompson will be returning along with a newcomer to the series, Jonathan Majors.
While the story of the film is under wraps at the moment, it would be interesting if the film told a similar story to Rocky III, considering Creed II was similar to Rocky II. It would not be far-fetched if Jonathan Majors was playing a relative of Clubber Lang, the character played by Mr. T in Rocky III.
Avatar: The Way of Water
While this film might not be the most anticipated film of 2022, it is certainly the one that has had the longest wait between entries. Avatar: The Way of Water is finally set to release this year on December 16th. The original Avatar was released back in 2009, and remains the highest-grossing film of all time. The sequel has undergone substantial delays, to allow for the development of new technology and due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña will reprise their roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri as they explore new regions of Pandora. The sequel was planned alongside three other sequels, which are all slated to be released two years starting in 2024. With the film being in production for so long, it will be interesting to see how the film is received when it is eventually released in December.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to release on the same day as Avatar: The Way of the Water on December 16, 2022. The film is the sequel to Shazam! which was released in 2019. Fury of the Gods will also share the director of the original, with David F. Sanberg returning to direct the sequel. Zachary Levi will be returning to play the titular Shazam, the alter ego of teenager Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel), who can turn into the superhero by saying the phrase, ‘Shazam’.
Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu will be joining the franchise in this entry, playing two daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso respectively. While many of these films have experienced delays and this film was indeed no exception, the film was moved up from its third release date in 2023 to its fourth and hopefully final release date at the end of this year.
There are many great sequels expected to release this year. Of course, some of these films could end up getting delayed, but hopefully they keep their release dates this far into the year. If this release schedule does hold up, it seems like a great 2022 is on the cards for movie sequels.