“Every night is movie night,” says Charlize Theron in Netflix's latest promo unveiling its list of a whopping 86 new movies being released in 2022.
With a cast list that includes the who's who of Hollywood, top stars from South Korea including Squid Game sensation Park Hae-soo and Tabu and Rajkummar Rao from Bollywood, the schedule this year promises at least two big movies a week.
Theron returns to the streaming service with The School for Good and Evil alongside Kerry Washington, in a film adaptation of the bestselling young adult novel of the same name. Rian Johnson's much-awaited detective follow-up Knives Out 2 will also be released this year, featuring a star-studded cast that includes Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista and Ethan Hawke.
Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans will team up with their Avengers pals the Russo brothers who will direct the espionage thriller The Gray Man, which also features South Indian star Dhanush. Meanwhile, fellow Avengers Chris Hemsworth stars in the sci-fi drama Spiderhead, along with Miles Teller.
Jennifer Lopez will return to action as an assassin on the run in The Mother and Dev Patel makes his Directorial debut with Monkey Man, a revenge drama in which he also stars.
Other big films coming this year include Jason Momoa's fantasy film Slumberland, John Boyega and Jamie Foxx's sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone, Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in the Brad Pitt-produced Blonde, and The Mothership, a Halle Berry sci-fi thriller, also starring Omari Hardwick.
After its massive success with Korean content in 2021, with Squid Game and Hellbound breaking records, this year's line-up also includes six titles from the country, including spy action film Yaksha: Ruthless Operations. Hae-soo, who became a global star following the success of Squid Game, plays a lawyer in this thriller set in China.
Bollywood is not left behind either, with acclaimed actors Tabu and Ali Fazal starring in the espionage film Khufiya, directed by award-winning filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. Rao, who has a number of awaited films in the pipeline, pairs up with Huma Qureshi and Radhika Apte for the black comedy Monica O My Darling.
Here are our top picks of films coming to Netflix in 2022:
'The School for Good and Evil'
Cast: Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh and Sir Ben Kingsley
Director: Paul Feig
What it's about: Best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides of a modern fairy tale when they are swept away into an enchanted school where young heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance of good and evil.
'The Gray Man'
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Dhanush, Billy Bob Thornton and Rege-Jean Page
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
What it's about: When the CIA’s most skilled mercenary – whose true identity is known to none – accidentally uncovers dark agency secrets, a psychopathic former colleague puts a bounty on his head, setting off a global manhunt by international assassins.
'Spiderhead'
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollet
Director: Joseph Kosinski
What it's about: Set in the future, two young convicts grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary, who experiments on inmates with emotion-altering drugs. The film is based on The New Yorker article Escape From Spiderhead by George Saunders.
'Blonde'
Cast: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale
Director: Andrew Dominik
What it's about: Based on a bestselling novel from five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is the reimagined private story of the world’s most famous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. The film is a fictional portrait of the model, actress and singer during the 1950s and '60s, told through the modern lens of celebrity culture.
'Slumberland'
Cast: Jason Momoa, Marlow Barkley and Chris O’Dowd
Director: Francis Lawrence
What it's about: A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
'Knives Out 2'
Cast: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista and Kate Hudson
Director: Rian Johnson
What it's about: In the follow-up to the 2019 hit Knives Out, detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colourful suspects.
'The Mother'
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick and Gael Garcia Bernal
Director: Niki Caro
What it's about: A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.
'They Cloned Tyrone'
Cast: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris
Director: Juel Taylor
What it's about: A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio on to the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy in this pulpy mystery caper.
'Monkey Man'
Cast: Dev Patel and Sharlto Copley
Director: Dev Patel
What it's about: An unlikely hero emerges from prison to take on a world enmeshed in corporate greed and eroding spiritual values, seeking revenge from those who took everything from him many years ago.
'The Mothership'
Cast: Halle Berry, Omari Hardwick and Jaiden J Smith
Director: Matt Charman
What it's about: One year after her husband mysteriously vanishes from their rural farm, a woman discovers a strange, extraterrestrial object underneath their home and embarks on a race to find him and uncover the truth.
'White Noise'
Cast: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle and Jodie Turner-Smith
Director: Noah Baumbach
What it's about: The life of a professor in a small American town is thrown into chaos when a cataclysmic train accident casts chemical waste over his town. The film is based on a 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo.
'Yaksha: Ruthless Operations' – South Korea
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Park Hae-soo, Yang Dong-keun and Park Jin-young
Director: Na Hyun
What it's about: A merciless man known as Yaksha crosses paths with a prosecutor on a special inspection mission in Shenyang, China.
'Seoul Vibe' - South Korea
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Go Kyung-Pyo, Lee Kyoo-hyung, Park Ju-hyun and Ong Seong-wu
Director: Moon Hyun-sung
What it's about: A talented crew of baby drivers, known as the Sangedong Supreme team, prepare for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, but end up uncovering corruption at the highest levels of the racing industry.
'Monica O My Darling' – India
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Huma S Qureshi and Radhika Apte
Director: Vasan Bala
What it's about: A young man desperately tries to make it big with some unlikely allies and a dastardly diabolical plan to pull off the perfect murder.
'Khufiya' – India
Cast: Ali Fazal, Ashish Vidyarthi and Tabu
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
What it's about: Krishna Mehra, an Indian spy, is assigned to track down the mole selling her country's defence secrets while grappling with her dual identity as a spy and a lover.
