Will 2022 be the year the film release calendar returns to semi-normalcy? No one knows yet, but while many movies premiered directly on streaming last year, there are dozens of big titles set for theatrical-only debuts, from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” to “Avatar 2.”
Streaming offerings will also continue to represent strongly, with Netflix planning Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise,” starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, and Apple TV Plus’ “Killers of the Flower Moon” from Martin Scorsese among the high-profile offerings.
Some of the film world’s most prominent auteurs have pics expected this year, with many likely to premiere at film festivals in Cannes, Telluride and Toronto. Wes Anderson, Luca Guadagnino, Kasi Lemmons, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Schrader are among the indie favorites who have movies planned to debut in 2022.
The coming year looks to be a pivotal one for the movie business, and the pandemic has accelerated the transition from a theatrical-dominant model to a time when each film gets evaluated on how it can best reach the audience, whether streaming, in theaters, for premium rental prices or a combination. But one thing is clear: There are plenty of exciting pics coming out in the next year, whether your jam is superheroes, sci-fi, horror or maybe something completely new. And yes, Tilda Swinton stars in almost every one of them.