Coming off a pretty decent run of science fiction films in 2021, like Dune and Matrix: Resurrections, 2022 seems to be another solid year for sci-fi blockbusters and indie darlings alike. Due to being considered a niche interest, studios have a hard time taking a chance on science fiction, which makes those movies that reach the screen all the more special. Even with that in mind, there are plenty of science fiction movies for fans to look forward to.
Science fiction encompasses many different tones and genres and can range from blockbuster fair or cerebral think pieces. 2022 has a wide range in store for sci-fi that genre fans can look forward to.
Moonfall
Roland Emmerich’s last movie, Independence Day: Resurgence, did not go over well with audiences and critics alike. However, audiences seem interested in Moonfall, which is a new original work from the director. His latest film pits humanity against the moon itself as something has severed the moon from its orbit and sent it hurtling to the Earth.
The trailers promise a crazy big sci-fi romp from Emmerich. The trailer promises this to be one of the biggest disasters that he’s ever put to screen. It also teases the audience that there is something inside the moon that humanity must face, which means this has the potential to be a very fun popcorn sci-fi blockbuster. This is the kind that audiences might be longing for after such a long 2021.
Lightyear
Technically a Toy Story spin-off, Lightyear is Pixar’s first attempt into hard sci-fi. Lightyear was pitched as the movie that Andy would have seen to get him interested in the Buzz Lightyear toy line, which makes this the “origin story” for the character. Chris Evans replaces Tim Allen as the voice of the “real life” Buzz Lightyear.
Not much is known about the plot of this film since only a teaser trailer has been released. Pixar seems to have pulled out all the stops when it comes to the animation so the film will, at the very least, be gorgeous to look at. Making it a Buzz Lightyear “origin” movie seems like Pixar’s excuse to make another cool-looking sci-fi film, which is pretty exciting.
Jurassic World: Dominion
Starting in 1993 with Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, the film has inspired multiple sequels, games, comics, and a new show from DreamWorks animation. The sixth film in that franchise Jurassic World: Dominion is due to release this year and will pick up after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with the dinosaurs now loose around the world.
An IMAX look at the opening of the film was released recently to the public, showing the grand scale audiences could expect. Now that that franchise is no longer contained in an island setting, the heroes of the film have the opportunity to see dinosaurs in new environments. When it comes to dinosaurs, audiences aren’t quite tired of them yet.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
From Michelle Yeoh and Dan Kwan, the director of the bizarre Swiss Army Man, comes a crazy sci-fi film that everyone should have on their radar. Michelle Yeoh plays a woman who is caught up in some kind of multiverse war where she can access the powers and abilities of herself from different timelines.
The Multiverse is a hot concept right now with both Marvel and DC looking to capitalize on the idea with their cinematic universe, but the appeal to a film like Everything Everywhere All At Once is how small it is. A24 sci-fi films can dive deep into the emotional core of a person and reflect a mirror on the audiences, and they do that better than most.
Avatar 2
James Cameron’s latest film and sequel to Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time is about to come out. After many delays and false starts, it seems like the world is finally ready for what the genius filmmaker has come up with. Jake and Neytiri now have a kid and the film will somehow explore the underwater areas of Pandora.
While it was a bit on the nose, Avatar was a major passion project for James Cameron. The director dedicated more than a decade now to making the next four films. Even if it has become a kind of a joke at this point, James Cameron has, arguably, not made a bad film yet. It wouldn’t be a smart move for anyone to count him out at this point as these films could surprise everyone.
The Adam Project
Hot off the critical and financial success of Free Guy, Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds are teaming up for the original sci-fi film The Adam Project. While no trailer has been released for the upcoming Netflix film yet, the film’s premise, according to Collider, is “an original time travel adventure story about a man who travels back in time to get help from his younger self to confront their late father”.
Based on Shawn Levy’s prior works, audiences can expect a heartfelt film where sci-fi takes a back seat to human emotion and drama. Expect plenty of the warm and fuzzies mixed with the charms of Ryan Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo in this film.
Prey
Prey is the first-ever prequel film to the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Predator. Set 300 years ago. The film follows Naru, Legion alum Amber Midthunder, a skilled female warrior as she fights to protect her tribe against one of the first Predators to land on Earth.
The Predator franchise has seen a lot of ups and downs with many directors giving it a shot to revitalize the franchise. Dan Trachtenberg is just the latest and his approach seems the freshest since 2010’s Predators. This proves to be a more intimate story than The Predator, the last outing of this franchise, bringing it back to the roots of the 1987 original.
Borderlands
Video game adaptations have an uphill battle at all times. Only a handful of them are considered good and the joke of a “curse” around the genre still persists. Borderlands could be the one to finally break that curse. From Eli Roth and Craig Mazin, who recently wowed everyone with the critically acclaimed Chernobyl, take their shot at a video game adaptation where the characters travel to the planet Pandora in search of the mysterious Vault.
Video games are lush sci-fi vehicles, and turning them into movies is a tall order. The most recent video game adaptation Mortal Kombat failed to wow critics and audiences alike. Borderlands has the potential to be a big and bombastic sci-fi spectacle that only the big screen can deliver.
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Written and directed by the writers of A Quiet Place, Scott Beck, and Bryan Woods, and starring Adam Driver, not much is known about this mysterious sci-fi film. All that’s been said about the film at this point is that it’s about an astronaut who crash lands on a mysterious planet only to find that he’s not alone.
Given the writer/director’s previous history this film will probably be very tense, if not outright horror. Horror in sci-fi is pretty rare these days, with only a few examples in the last five or ten years. Sci-Fi is a great playground for horror since filmmakers can play with the audience’s fears of the unknown in unique ways, so this is an original sci-fi film audiences should be prepared for.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
The state of the Transformers franchise is a bit in flux at this point. While a critical success, Bumblebee didn’t make the numbers that Paramount was hoping for but proved profitable enough to use the 2018 film as a reboot. Now, the Autobots are back once again and this time they’re bringing the Maximals with them in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Transformers have always been good sci-fi fun. Bringing in the likes of Optimus Primal and other Maximals introduces some serious 90s nostalgia, especially with the movie set in the 90s. Beast Machines and Beast Wars were the Transformer shows for kids of the 90s and getting to see big-budget versions of those characters on the big screen is just too exciting to pass up.
