Get ready for 2022 with our essential Cineworld blog list of upcoming comic book movies. Scroll down to find out what's coming out and when.
1. The Batman
Release date 4th March 2022
The movie File this one under: 'feverishly anticipated'. Robert Pattinson makes his Dark Knight debut in director Matt Reeves' moody-looking movie, which bills itself as a three-hour-long crime noir epic that takes Bruce Wayne/Batman back to his roots. The intense, growling nature of Pattinson's portrayal has already been teased in the trailers, as has his desperate battle with the fiendish Riddler, here reimagined as a Zodiac-esque killer played by Paul Dano, always a master at playing creeps and weirdos. The supporting cast includes Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred and Colin Farrell as The Penguin. Is this the start of a new Batman series to rival Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy?
2. Morbius
Release date 31st March 2022
The movie Jared Leto stars (absent a comedy Italian accent) in this expansion of the Sony Marvel Universe. He plays Michael Morbius, a scientist cursed with vampiric abilities who must learn to fight for a better cause. The movie belongs to the same universe as the blockbuster Venom franchise, so might we expect a crossover with Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock? Might we also (whisper it) see a crossover with Tom Holland's Spider-Man? His presence is invoked in the Morbius trailer, so watch this space.
3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Release date 6th May 2022
The movie The Sorcerer Supreme returns in the latest chapter in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In his 2016 debut, Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) graduated from arrogant surgeon to supreme manipulator of alternate dimensions, and his powers will surely be put to good use again in this sequel. It's directed by Sam Raimi who not only makes his MCU debut but returns to the comic book movie fold for the first time since 2007's Spider-Man 3. We're on tenterhooks to see how the emergent multiverse will contort and manipulate the ongoing MCU, and we also look forward to welcoming back Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch to the big screen, following her acclaimed series WandaVision.
4. Thor: Love and Thunder
Release date 8th July 2022
The movie It's a massive "Yes!" from us as Chris Hemsworth's beefy God of Thunder returns to the MCU. That said, the all-powerful Thor is no longer reigning the realm of Asgard; he's now passed that duty on Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), to whom we were introduced in 2017's deliriously entertaining Thor: Ragnarok. And the responsibility of wielding the hammer known as Mjolnir now falls to Natalie Portman's scientist Jane Foster, making her first proper return to the MCU since 2013's Thor: The Dark World. It's certainly an inclusive and template-tweaking spread, and it's set to be marshalled by Taika Waititi who helped spin Ragnarok into such a delightful blur of colour and humour. Ex-Batman Christian Bale makes his MCU debut as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher.
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Release date 7th October 2022
The movie In 2018, the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse acted as our cinematic introduction to the multiverse. The end result was a visually dazzling, playful and utterly delightful extension of the Spider-Man mythos, centering around Miles Morales and pairing him with an assortment of alternate Spidey characters. It proved to be a heady yet emotional experience, and one that went on to claim the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. At the time of writing, we know relatively little about Spider-Verse 2, but we can expect it to be a trippy and amusing continuation of Miles' multiverse adventures.
6. Black Adam
Release date 29th July 2022
The movie In real life, Dwayne Johnson possesses all the attributes of a superhero, from the muscles to the effortlessly likeable charisma. So, why have we had to wait so long for his comic book movie debut? Well, as of July 2022, the wait is over: Johnson leaps into the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) as Black Adam, a character notorious from the comics as the nemesis of Shazam. Johnson was originally slated to appear in the fledgling Shazam movie opposite Zachary Levi but that didn't work out. Now, he gets an entire comic book canvas to play with as the super-powered Black Adam is teamed with Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate and more.
7. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Release date 11th November 2022
The movie We wait with baited breath to see how the Black Panther sequel will respond to the absence of Chadwick Boseman. His quietly commanding presence anchored the 2018 MCU blockbuster, which garnered acclaim, Oscar wins and box office gold for its inclusive, open-minded tone. It's been reported that the character of T'Challa will not be recast, so we wonder who will take up the mantle. Letitia Wright's Shuri returns, as does Danai Gurira's Okoye, Winston Duke's M'Baku and Angela Bassett's Ramonda. Ryan Coogler is again behind the camera, having transformed the original Black Panther movie into one of the most striking and entertaining entries in the MCU canon.
8. Shazam: Fury of the Gods
Release date 12th December 2022
Meek teenager turned muscular superhero Billy Batson returns in this sequel to the 2019 comic book hit. Once again, the role of the likeable Shazam is split between actors Asher Angel and Zachary Levi, as director David F. Sandberg promises to spin more gold from the Big-meets-Superman premise. This time, the heroic Shazam must confront a trio of godlike foes in the form of Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler.
Will you be watching all of these comic book movies on the big screen? Let us know @Cineworld.
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