2022’s Sci-Fi Movies Already Feel Disappointing After The Last Two Years

Although in its infancy, 2022’s sci-fi movies already feel disappointing after the genre spoiled audiences across the last two years. No less than 37 accredited sci-fi films were released across 2021, marking a continued contemporary appetite for the dystopian and otherworldly. 2022’s sci-fi release slate, however, looks decidedly underwhelming, with very few cinematic offerings on par with the quality science fiction put forth by 2020 and 2021.

2021, in particular, saw a remarkably consistent level of ambitious, smart, and touching sci-fi movies from some of the best directors in the business hit cinemas. Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling sci-fi epic Dune looks set to sweep several end-of-year awards ceremonies, while John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II marks a dazzling return to his expanding “silent universe“. 2021’s festive period also saw the highly anticipated release of Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections, which brought the iconic pair of Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) back to audiences after an 18-year absence.

Yet 2022’s announced sci-fi movies look disappointing right out of the gate, with the year’s current film list also appearing decidedly short in comparison with prior calendar years. 2022 sci-fi features such Johan Renck’s Spaceman and Shawn Levy’s The Adam Project simply do not carry the same gravitas as 2020 and 2021’s big-budget science fiction films. Even 2022’s most anticipated sci-fi project, Avatar 2, feels underwhelming, with a genuine appetite for James Cameron’s world of Pandora long since passed.

In many ways, 2022 feels like the inevitable lull for the sci-fi after several stellar, record-breaking years for the genre’s movies. Projects like Dune stand as the epitome of this statement, with director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation far outstripping the majority of sci-fi offerings in recent memory and finally cracking the riddle of Frank Herbert’s original, expansive source material. However, these genre wins appear to have come at a high price for 2022, with a significant lack of films that look set to compete with Dune‘s rampant success.

Many of 2022’s sci-fi movies are smaller projects, such as the aforementioned Spaceman or Daniel Kwan’s upcoming indie-sci-fi feature Everything Everywhere All At Once. While sure to be serviceable movies in their own right, they do not necessarily exude the epic feel of The Matrix Revolutions or Tenet, for example. However, the one exception to this current trend may well be James Cameron’s Avatar 2, although his sequel is still arguably arriving far too late to reach the zenith of the past two years’ box office numbers.

While Avatar 2 is almost dead-set to be a grandiose spectacle, the original film’s mixed reception coupled with the fact Avatar turns 13 in 2022 may well hinder the film’s overall success. Cameron is doggedly plowing forward with plans for his expanded Avatar universe across four more installments, yet it feels as if the time to strike for the Avatar franchise has come and gone after a series of production delays that started as far back as 2013 hampered his expansive film projects. Of course, there is also the MCU, whose continued popularity is never in question, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe dabbles with sci-fi elements rather than being a flagship franchise for the genre itself. 2022 may still pull a rabbit out of its proverbial hat, but for now, its sci-fi movies already feel disappointing when compared to the last two years.