2022 promises to be a blockbuster year when it comes to film and tv releases, and that may well be aided by the fact that we are now easing ourselves out of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected our daily lives and led to a number of projects being scrapped or delayed.
Now, if your film or tv niche happens to be in the field of sci-fi and fantasy, then there are many great productions set for our screens, both big and small, so let’s take a closer look at what awaits us.
Lord Of the Rings: The Rings of Power
To say that this tv show is keenly anticipated would be a massive understatement and the show promises to be a spectacular one, to say the least. Amazon has reportedly spent huge sums to bring J.R.R Tolkein’s show to the small screen.
Firstly a fee of $250 million was paid for the rights and another $750 million to shoot the six series that are planned. Fans of the books, and the hugely successful films from Peter Jackson, are notoriously hard to please, so everyone will wait with bated breath to see how this pans out when it airs on September 2nd.
By all accounts, a great deal of effort was made to shoot on location, as opposed to relying on VFX, which is certainly more in keeping with the way Jackson shot his trilogy.
Moonfall
Now, if you like your sci-fi with a good dose of the ridiculous, then Roland Emmerich has you covered with this wildly implausible film Moonfall. As the title suggests, the plot revolves around the possibility that the Moon will fall and crash into the earth (spoiler alert, it does).
The whole film is something of a disaster, but in such a way that is almost so bad, it’s good, and of course, Emerich has a rich history in this genre, having helmed the likes of Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012. This is the kind of movie to watch with a bucket of popcorn and absolutely no preconceptions.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
It does seem as if every week there’s a new Star Wars show on Disney Plus, which makes sense as they need to make up for the massive amount of money they paid for the rights to the universe it's part of, but the upcoming release of Obi-Wan Kenobi does seem very exciting indeed.
Ewan McGregor returns as Obi-Wan and takes place as he keeps a watchful eye on a young Luke Skywalker and seeks to aid the rebellion against the dark side. Hayden Christensen returns as Anakin/Darth Vader, so there’s plenty of top acting talent backing what promises to be a great new show.
The Batman
Now it’s Robert Pattinson’s turn to put on the cape and the tight bodysuit as Batman gets a new incarnation in the simply titled, The Batman. This time it’s Matt Reeves who’s at the directorial wheel (he gave us Cloverfield and War for the Planet of the Apes), and the world is a little darker than when Ben Affleck briefly took the part of Batman.
Whether or not Reeves can hold a candle to the great work put in by Christopher Nolan remains to be seen, but it should be a step up from what Zach Snyder did with the source material.
House of the Dragon
It would be fair to say that the finale of the Game of Thrones series left many fans unhappy, and the resolution of the show kind of left a bad taste in the mouths of those who had loved the show from its inception.
House of the Dragon is a spin-off that takes place prior to the Fire & Blood series and promises to be a similar mix of sex and violence, and there’s a top cast involved, including former Doctor Who Matt Smith.
It’s sure to be a big hit for HBO, but one wonders if it can create the same level of hype and fandom that Game of Thrones did at its peak?
The Sandman
Talking of hype and fandom, pretty much anything created by legendary writer Neil Gaiman is greedily lapped up by his fans, and the tv adaptation of his comic book series The Sandman is sure to be of great interest to sci-fi fans.
Netflix airs this one, and there’s a great cast to back it up, including Tom Sturridge and Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie. The Sandman begins in 1916 and follows Morpheus, otherwise known as Dream, and is one of the Endless.
As with much of Gaiman’s work, it’s very complex, and it will be interesting to see how The Sandman is brought to life as a TV show.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
The MCU (Marvel Comic Universe) is having a new lease of life of late, with the latest iteration of the Spiderman series proving a monster hit, and now it’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn to shine.
We are now in the realms of the multiverse, which not only proves to be something of a head scratcher for the audience but no doubt may see some of those who have passed on coming back for a revival (yes, we think there is every chance Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans will make a comeback at some point).
In Marvel terms, the first Doctor Strange movie was a moderate success, but we expect this sequel to his story to be a far bigger box office smash.
