Summer Movie Preview 2022: The Biggest Upcoming Movies and Release Dates

US Date: May 13 (in theaters and on Peacock)

UK/AU Date: May 13 (UK), TBA (AU)

In this new adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 best-seller (which was turned into a 1984 movie starring a kid Drew Barrymore), a young girl (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) tries to understand how she mysteriously gained the power to set things on fire with her mind. Zac Efron, Gloria Reuben, Michael Greyeyes, and Sydney Lemmon also star.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

US Date: May 20

UK/AU Date: April 29 (UK), April 28 (AU)

A sequel to both the hit series and the 2019 film, Downton Abbey: A New Era once again reunites creator Julian Fellowes with stars Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Robert James-Collier, Maggie Smith and more – while also adding Hugh Dancy, Matthew Goode, and Dominic West.

Read our Downton Abbey: A New Era review.

Men

US Date: May 20

UK/AU Date: June 1 (UK), TBA (AU)

A24’s latest dose of disturbia comes from Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs) and stars Fargo’s Jessie Buckley as a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside following the death of her ex-husband, only to be tormented by the men around her (all played by Penny Dreadful’s Rory Kinnear).

Read our Men review.

Top Gun: Maverick

US Date: May 27

UK/AU Date: May 27 (UK), May 26 (AU)

After a few delays, this decades-later sequel to Tony Scott’s Top Gun features Tom Cruise’s return as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The cast also includes Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Ed Harris. Tron: Legacy and Oblivion’s Joseph Kosinski directs.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie

US Date: May 27

UK/AU Date: May 27 (UK), May 26 (AU)

Bob’s Burgers makes its leap to the big screen as the second theatrical feature film based on a Fox animated series following 2007’s The Simpsons Movie. The Belchers try to save the restaurant from closing as a sinkhole forms in front of it, while the kids try to solve a mystery that could save everything. H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, and Kristen Schaal are all on hand to voice the befuddled Belcher clan while creator Loren Bouchard makes his directorial debut.

Crimes of the Future

US Date: June 3

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Iconically taboo director David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly, A History of Violence) returns to sci-fi/body horror for the first time since 1999’s eXistenZ with Crimes of the Future – his fourth collaboration with star Viggo Mortensen. Described as a deep dive into the not-so-distant future in which humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings, Crimes of the Future moves humans beyond their natural state and into a metamorphosis, which alters their biological makeup. Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, and Scott Speedman co-star.

Jurassic World Dominion

US Date: June 10

UK/AU Date: June 10 (UK), June 9 (AU)

Jurassic World heroes Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard star alongside Jurassic Park originals Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum for a culminating event that looks to cap off this six-film franchise. This adventure takes place about five years after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Lightyear

US Date: June 17

UK/AU Date: June 17 (UK), June 16 (AU)

Written by Monsters, Inc. and Up director Pete Docter, Lightyear is a curious spin-off of Pixar’s Toy Story that looks to serve as an origin story for the fictional human character Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans), who inspired the action figure of the same name. Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, James Brolin, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Uzo Aduba also star/voice.

Elvis

US Date: June 24

UK/AU Date: June 24 (UK), TBA (AU)

Baz Luhrmann’s first feature film since 2013’s The Great Gatsby is an Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler (Tex in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as “The King” and Tom Hanks as famed manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

US Date: June 24

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

This quirky A24 mix of live-action and stop-motion is here to brighten up your summer as a documentary filmmaker helps Marcel (Jenny Slate, who co-wrote), a one-inch-tall shell, search for his family. Also featuring Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Isabella Rossellini and a few TV personalities as themselves – like Lesley Stahl, Conan O’Brien, and Brian Williams.

The Black Phone

US Date: June 24

UK/AU Date: June 24 (UK), June TBA (AU)

The Black Phone is finally here! After a multi-month delay, this acclaimed scarefest hits theaters for real. Based on a short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone stars Mason Thames as an abducted child who can communicate with the past victims of his kidnapper, portrayed by Ethan Hawke. Director Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), after bowing out of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, returns to horror for this creepy new thriller.

Read our The Black Phone review.

Minions: The Rise of Gru

US Date: July 1

UK/AU Date: July 1 (UK), June 16 (AU)

Minions: The Rise of Gru — aka Minions 2 — finds Steve Carell playing a young Gru growing up in the suburbs in the early 1970s. A fanboy of a supervillain group known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. When the Vicious 6 fire their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles, Gru interviews to become their newest member. Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, and Danny Trejo co-voice.

Thor: Love and Thunder

US Date: July 8

UK/AU Date: July 8 (UK), TBA (AU)

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, as the only O.G. Avenger to get four solo movies, returns in Taika Waititi’s Love and Thunder along with the MCU’s Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Jeff Goldblum, and Vin Diesel. Christian Bale enters the mix as baddie Gorr the God Butcher while Portman’s Jane Foster becomes a new version of Thor.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

US Date: July 15

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Loosely inspired by the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank stars Michael Cera as down-on-his-luck dog, Hank, who’s trained to be a samurai by a cat mentor, Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson), all while a villainous cat, Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais), wants to destroy their village. Mel Brooks, Michelle Yeoh, George Takei, and Djimon Hounsou also star.

Where the Crawdads Sing

US Date: July 15

UK/AU Date: July TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

This Reese Witherspoon-produced drama, based on the book by Delia Owens, stars Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones as a young woman, Kya, who grew up in the marshes of North Carolina and becomes a suspect in the murder of a man who once pursued her. Taylor John Smith, David Strathairn, and Garret Dillahunt co-star – along with Jojo Regina, who plays the child version of Kya.

Nope

US Date: July 22

UK/AU Date: July 22 (UK), TBA (AU)

Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya reunites with Get Out writer/director Jordan Peele for Nope, a new sci-fi horror film that also stars Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Barbie Ferreira, and Brandon Perea. Nope marks Peele’s third big venture into Twilight Zone-style chills as the residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

DC League of Super-Pets

US Date: July 29

UK/AU Date: July TBA (UK), July TBA (AU)

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart reunite (this time voice-only) for a 3D animated adventure where Johnson plays Superman’s dog, Krypto, and Hart portrays Batman’s dog, Ace. When the Justice League is kidnapped, Krypto is exposed to green kryptonite and stripped of his powers. Now Krypto must teach a dog, a pig, a squirrel, and a turtle how to save the day. Other voices include Marc Maron as Lex Luthor, as well as Keanu Reeves, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, and Jameela Jamil.

Bullet Train

US Date: July 29

UK/AU Date: July 29 (UK), July 21 (AU)

John Wick and Atomic Blonde’s David Leitch wrangles Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, and Brian Tyree Henry for a film based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, which is about five assassins on a Japanese bullet train who realize their individual assignments are all interconnected.

Vengeance

US Date: July 29

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Written and directed by The Office’s B.J. Novak, Vengeance is a thriller about a radio host who attempts to solve the murder of his girlfriend and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death. Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Boyd Holbrook, Lio Tipton, and Novak himself star.

Bodies Bodies Bodies

US Date: August 5

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

This satire-laced Gen-Z slasher follows a group of rich 20-somethings as a party game turns deadly and beautiful BFFs become backstabbers. From Dutch actress/director Halina Reijn, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a black comedy mystery starring Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, and Lee Pace.

Secret Headquarters

US Date: Aug 5

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Owen Wilson stars in Secret Headquarters, about a kid who discovers a hidden lair under his home that seems to belong to a superhero. He shares it with his friends, and they start to believe that his estranged father might have a secret double life.

Beast

US Date: Aug 19

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley star in this thriller about a man visiting a game reserve in South Africa with his daughters who becomes prey to a dangerous lion that begins stalking them.

Samaritan

US Date: Aug 26

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

Julius Avery, who helmed 2018’s Overlord, directs Sylvester Stallone in Samaritan, the tale of a young boy who believes a famed superhero, who was thought to have gone missing after an epic battle 20 years ago, may in fact still be around. The film is based on the Mythos Comics graphic novels created by Bragi F. Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta.

Three Thousand Years of Longing

US Date: Aug 31

UK/AU Date: TBA (UK), TBA (AU)

George Miller’s first film since Mad Max: Fury Road is this epic romantic fantasy about a woman who encounters a djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton star.

What movies are you most looking forward to this summer? Let’s discuss in the comments!