Two years on from the start of the pandemic, the future of film remains uncertain but, thankfully, that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from assembling a staggeringly impressive line-up for the next 12 months. Among the releases hoping to draw audiences back to cinemas? A rip-roaring Gotham-set reboot, a hallucinatory tale of vengeance in 10th-century Iceland, the latest mind-bender from one of the modern masters of horror and what could be the definitive film about the #MeToo movement. These are the 10 you just can’t miss.
The Batman (4 March)
Robert Pattinson transforms into the caped crusader with Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler and Colin Farrell as the Penguin in this explosive blockbuster from Matt Reeves. Expect heart-stopping car chases, moody cinematography and an ominous score.
Downton Abbey: A New Era (18 March)
When the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) reveals that she has come into the possession of a villa in the South of France, the Crawleys take a trip in Simon Curtis’s sun-soaked, unapologetically lavish sequel. There are summer soirées as well as a spectacular wedding.
The Northman (22 April)
After his nightmarish thriller The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers returns with a blood-soaked Viking epic: the story of a prince (Alexander Skarsgård) who must save his mother (Nicole Kidman) and avenge the death of his father (Ethan Hawke) with the help of a witch (Anya Taylor-Joy).
Elvis (24 June)
The long-awaited musical biopic – starring Austin Butler as the king of rock ’n’ roll, Tom Hanks as his manager Colonel Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley – is on its way to theatres. With Baz Luhrmann at the helm, it’s set to be a sequin-strewn romp.
Where the Crawdads Sing (22 July)
Normal People’s magnetic lead, Daisy Edgar-Jones, will take on the part of Kya, the young girl who grows up in a North Carolina marsh, in Olivia Newman’s adaptation of Delia Owens’s beloved bestseller. Look out for Harris Dickinson, too, as an ill-fated love interest.
Nope (22 July)
With its plot line still mired in mystery, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his genre-defining horror sensations Get Out and Us is this chiller featuring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun and Barbie Ferreira. The poster alone was enough to send the internet into a tailspin.
The Woman King (16 September)
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and with a cast that includes Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega and Thuso Mbedu, this historical saga will be worth the wait. Set in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, it centres on the general of an all-female military unit.
Don’t Worry Darling (23 September)
Eerie, stylish and impossibly steamy, the first teaser for Olivia Wilde’s psychological hair raiser has us counting the days until its release. It tracks a couple (Florence Pugh and Harry Styles) in a 1950s utopian community in California who find their lives slowly unravelling.
She Said (18 November)
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan will play Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, The New York Times reporters who broke the story of Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual misconduct, in Maria Schrader’s rousing drama. It could very well be an awards season frontrunner for 2023.
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (23 December)
Whitney Houston’s precipitous rise and tragic fall will be the subject of Kasi Lemmons’s emotionally-charged fable which sees Naomi Ackie embody the legendary singer, with Ashton Sanders as her former husband Bobby Brown and Stanley Tucci as record producer Clive Davis.
