After the pandemic of 2020 ravaged the globe, there was a sincere sense of hope for 2021. Sadly, it turned out that we weren’t quite in the clear yet. Although we are still trying to be optimistic, nothing apart from films and series can provide solace as we head into 2022.
With quite an interesting lineup for 2022, the upcoming Netflix Originals this year seem to be more promising than the last. After 2021 had a series of interesting flicks including tick, tick…boom!, Don’t Look Up, The Power of the Dog and more, 2022 will see more such exciting releases.
And rest assured, Ana de Armas, our dream girl, will be making an appearance in more films than one.
Grab some popcorn and show some excitement for the best that is yet to come. With a very interesting line-up of Netflix Original films yet to arrive in 2022, here are ten such films that deserve your unhinged attention.
10 most highly-anticipated Netflix Original films in 2022
Texas Chainsaw Massacre – David Blue Garcia
Leatherface is an iconic horror legend who is set to make a return once again in 2022. In the pictures released by Netflix, the deranged maniac is seen holding a rusted chainsaw in his hand, waiting to unleash his wrath upon innocent, unsuspecting victims, namely the four characters as shown in Netflix’s first-look photos.
The new film will not be taking into account the other spin-offs and will take place directly after the harrowing events of the 1974 flick, beginning with a premise where Leatherface has mysteriously disappeared.
Enola Holmes 2: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady – Harry Bradbeer
Adapted from Nancy Springer’s books, the sequel is a follow-up to the original Netflix film’s unprecedented success. Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles yet again, it is unknown whether Sam Claflin will be making a return.
While the first film ended with an ambiguous Holmes family reunion and Enola finally finding the freedom to pursue her own path in life, the second part will, according to Bradbeer, deal with hordes of unresolved family tension within the “dysfunctional [Holmes] family” that had many unaddressed issues and the various political tensions in the country as a result of the suffragette movement.
Knives Out 2 – Rian Johnson
Daniel Craig will be seen reprising his role as the detective Benoit Blanc, the detective from the first film. The cast will also include Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Ethan Hawke and more.
Filmed in Greece, the viewers were interested to know if Ana de Armas would reprise her role in the sequel while Johnson had quashed such rumours, de Armas said, “I hope this is one of those surprises that 2021 will bring for me, a phone call from Rian!”
All Quiet on the Western Front – Edward Berger
Netflix has seen a surge in viewership of German content that has led to a new German production by the BAFTA-winning director. This tragic war drama is adapted from the famous eponymous World War I classic novel by German war veteran Erich Maria Remarque and provides a humbling narrative derived from the author’s own experiences about the futility of warfare.
Starring Daniel Bruhl, Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch and more, it is, according to Berger, a never-before made “physical, visceral and very modern film” made from the German perspective, which allows them “the chance to make an anti-war film that will truly touch [our] audience”.
Blonde – Andrew Dominik
Starring Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson and Bobby Cannavale, this upcoming biopic deals around the life of the iconic Marilyn Monroe who continues to be a pop-cultural phenomenon, decades after leaving a gap in the industry with her untimely demise. However, the biopic faced a lot of controversies due to the graphic content that led to an unprecedented delay in release.
Netflix was not happy with Dominik’s explicit raunchy version that painted Monroe’s life in an overtly sexual and misogynistic manner. While Netflix had hoped for the biopic to partake in the Oscar race, the film, which borders on the “obtuse arthouse” realm, left them disgruntled, and the director soon engaged in a conflict with the studio, causing further delay.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover – Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
Starring Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell, adapted from D.H. Lawrence’s eponymous novel that is said to be a “female-focused re-telling of a classic”. While it is not known what the film would entail, it would most likely stay true to the original source material by talking about the titular Lady Chatterley’s intimate and torrid love affair with a gamekeeper on their English estate.
A taboo tale of love and passion, the film is also the first-ever project produced in collaboration with Netflix and Sony Pictures. However, Netflix will probably have an interesting twist to this period remake which is something we are highly anticipating.
Munich: Edge of War – Christian Schwochow
Based on Robert Harris’ novel, the film is set in the fall of 1938 and focuses on the tensions before the commencement of the Second World War in the times that precede Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. It focuses on the increasing pressure of two old friends as they attend an emergency conference in Munich.
Starring Jeremy Irons, Jessica Brown Findlay, George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, August Diehl and Sandra Huller in pivotal roles, the film will see the friendship getting entangled in an epic mess amidst negotiations, high-strung political tension and conflict.
Pinocchio – Guillermo del Toro
Set to direct his “dream project” as a part of his deal with Netflix, del Toro spoke of how directing Pinocchio had always been a prominent dream of his since 2008 while emphasising that animation is “the ideal medium to retell this classic story in a completely new way.”
Starring a star-studded ensemble, namely Gregory Mann, David Bradley, Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Ron Pearlman and more, the film is set in a Fascist Italy under Mussolini’s regime. Del Toro’s love for magic and the macabre will surely have something surreal in store for us.
The Gray Man – Russo Brothers
Starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling in main roles, the upcoming $200 million spy action-thriller will see Gosling as Court Gentry aka Gray Man, a CIA veteran, who is betrayed by his agency and forced to be on the run. He will be pursued by Evans as the antagonist, a CIA Operative named Lloyd Hansen, who has been tasked to hunt the Gray Man down.
The rest of the cast will also include Ana de Armas, Rege-Jean page, Billy Bob Thornton and more. Talking about the film, Joe Russo said that this “intense action film” would be “fantastic and electric” that would comprise “very, very entertaining performances from both actors, and they’re absolutely pitted against each other in the movie.”
The Pale Blue Eye – Scott Cooper
Starring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Robert Duvall and Gillian Anderson, the story is set in 1830 and sees Bale take the lead as a veteran detective investigating a murder, who takes on the eponymous and pioneering dark murder-thriller novelist Edgar Allen Poe as an assistant.
Based on Louis Bayard’s 2006 novel, this film was in development for nearly a decade as Cooper tried his best to adapt the book into a film. It has finally been picked up by Netflix for a staggering $55 million which is the highest global deal at the European Film Market.
