For many of us, last year marked an official return as patrons of the theater. And with all due respect to the glorious convenience of streaming from home, the experience of seeing a new release in person remains one of the great joys out of all the entertainment options one could possibly partake in. Reach back far enough and some of us can remember how it felt to watch the White House get destroyed for the first time in INDEPENDENCE DAY and even more can recently recall the legendary return of Earth’s greatest heroes in AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
With a full slate of films on tap to hit your local picture houses over the course of the next 12 months, I’ve gone ahead and identified the ones you’re not going to want to miss. So plan to put your GovX member ID to good use by saving on tickets early and often, because we’ve got a blockbuster year ahead of us.
UNCHARTED – February 18th, 2022
Crikey. This video game property has been in development for so long that Mark Wahlberg, the film’s initial lead essentially aged out of the role and now will be playing the mentor/father figure character, Sully. Coming in hot on the heels of the ultra-successful SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, Tom Holland swings back to theaters as fledgling treasure hunter, Nathan Drake. Partaking in a relentless search for both his long-lost brother and long-forgotten fortunes, UNCHARTED promises to be a thrilling tale of adventure for all that enjoy going off the map.
DOG – February 18th, 2022
This one may pull at the heartstrings just a little. Channing Tatum (21 JUMP STREET, GI JOE: RETALIATION) portrays Briggs, a U.S. Army Ranger tasked with transporting Lulu, an emotionally-damaged military working dog to her handler’s funeral. Along the way, they bond, heal, and take in a cross-country adventure together despite their challenges.
THE BATMAN – March 4th, 2022
You’d be forgiven if you’re feeling some degree of bat exhaustion at this point and time. After all, over the last 30 years, we’ve had The Keaton, The Kilmer, The Clooney (aka Bat Nipples), The Bale, The Affleck, and now, the dude from Twilight, Robert Pattinson. However, based on the early looks, this incarnation seems willing to explore avenues that the other films simply chose to ignore. Namely, Batman’s gritty start in Gotham and how he earned his title as The World’s Greatest Detective. Cue the Nirvana and count me in. With muted expectations of course.
AMBULANCE – April 8th, 2022
Look, either you think Michael Bay (BAD BOYS, ARMAGEDDON) is an awesome director or he’s an awful director. There is no between. He’s the undisputed champion of making visual spectacles for the big screen, but occasionally he falls a little flat when it comes to the story. In any case, it appears he’s scaled back a bit with the Jake Gyllenhaal-led AMBULANCE to offer a character-driven heist movie with his patented high-intensity cinematography. Be interesting to see how this one turns out.
THE NORTHMAN – April 22nd, 2022
Inside the offices of GovX, this film has been the subject of much anticipation since the trailer was released and for good reason—it looks absolutely savage. Taking place in Iceland during the turn of the 10th century, the film focuses on a Nordic prince played by Alexander Skarsgård, who is driven to seek justice on behalf of his murdered father. For this one, we’re prepared to go epic.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK – May 7th, 2022
So this one’s been grounded for a while now. Originally set to be released way back in the pre-pandemic days of 2019, Tom Cruise’s return to the cockpit has been severely delayed by reshoots and COVID-19 scheduling issues over the last two years, much to the dismay of anyone with a need for speed. Fortunately, it looks like it’ll finally land in theaters just in time for the summer. And honestly, we can’t wait. “Alexa, play DANGER ZONE by Kenny Loggins”.
BULLET TRAIN – July 25th, 2022
An official trailer has yet to be released for the Brad Pitt thriller, but with what we know so far about this flick, it looks abundantly clear like it has a chance to hold its own against the franchise blockbusters. Featuring a stacked cast around Pitt that includes the likes of Sandra Bullock and Zazie Beetz, the plot is rumored to center around five assassins traveling by bullet train through Japan, who discover their missions are all connected.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 7 – Delayed until July 14th, 2023
Editor’s note: Well dammit. This one’s been delayed nearly a whole year. It seems we’ll have to wait just a little longer for more epic rooftop runs and ridiculous chase sequences.
Is it still a comeback if he never really left at all? The well-oiled machine that is Tom Cruise continues to crank out hit movies, and if his next foray into the world of Ethan Hunt is anything like the last, well, he could be doing these movies well into the next decade. Like BULLET TRAIN, an official trailer has yet to be released, but word on the street is that Cruise spent a year training, performed 500 skydives, did 13,000 motorbike jumps, and publicly chastised about 2000 crew members for violating COVID protocols in preparation for this flick. Hell yes.
MORE 2022 RELEASES TO REMEMBER:
JACKASS FOREVER (February 4th)
MOONFALL (February 4th)
BLACKLIGHT (February 11th)
OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE (March 18th)
THE CONTRACTOR (April 1st)
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (May 1st)
JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (June 10th)
LIGHTYEAR (June 17th)
THOR: LOVE & THUNDER (July 8th)
SAMARITAN (August 26th)
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (October 7th)
FLASH (November 4th)
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (November 11th)
CREED III (November 22nd)
AVATAR 2 (December 16th)
DEEP WATER (TBA)
KNIVES OUT 2 (TBA)
SAVE UP TO 40% OFF MOVIES TICKETS WITH YOUR GOVX ID
