After many ups and downs over the last year, with movies constantly being shifted around, moved from cinema to streaming and in some cases being indefinitely postponed, we are almost ready to usher in a new year of big movies that will hopefully all be seen in the way their creators intended. According to a new list compiled by IMDb, the movie seen as the most anticipated in 2022 is the Matt Reeves directed The Batman, which will see Robert Pattinson taking on the role of the masked crime fighter of Gotham City. Considering the packed schedule for 2022, along with the fact that there were many DC fans who had initial doubts about Pattinson taking the lead role as the latest iteration of Batman, it will be news that Warner Bros. are more than happy to hear.
In another universe, we would have already seen The Batman by now, but thanks to the Covid pandemic bringing numerous delays in both filming and release, Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight debut was initially pushed back from June this year, to October before finally settling on a March 2022 slot. Despite still being three months away, The Batman has been getting a lot of attention over the last few months from special viewings and exclusive clips being shown as part of this year’s DcFandome and CinemaCon events, and with each new trailer much of the initial uncertainty about the film seems to have been slowly chipped away by what seems to be a raw, rough take on the younger years of Gotham’s Caped Crusader.
The Batman will follow Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne during his second year as Batman, mostly without all the tech gadgets of other big screen versions of the character, as he takes on The Riddler, who seems to be responsible for a series of violent murders happening around Gotham. However, Batman will have his hands full as the ensemble film also features Catwoman and The Penguin as well as hints at the Joker lurking somewhere in the shadows whether he turns out to be in the movie or not. With Warner Bros. having already set in motion two spin-off TV series based on Gotham PD and Penguin to stream on HBO Max, they are clearly going all in on Robert Pattinson being able to do the business as the man in the man in the bat suit.
Overall, the IMDb’s list is good news for both Marvel and DC, with The Flash just managing to make it at #10, while Marvel take the #3 and #7 spots with Thor: Love and Thunder and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness respectively. Being largely dominated by many big delayed blockbusters, you can see the full list below:
- The Batman
- Scream
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Jurassic World: Dominion
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Mission: Impossible 7
- Uncharted
- The Flash
While this list is compiled based on the internet traffic passing through IMDb’s title pages, it is quite interesting to note that many of the movies featured on the list are from the early part of 2022 and have already had quite hefty marketing done on them, which is probably why the likes of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Black Panda: Wakanda Forever don’t feature in the top ten, although I’m sure Dwayne Johnson will have his own thoughts on Black Adam not making the cut.