The year 2022 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and most exciting yet for fans of DC, as all manner of movies and television shows featuring DC characters are primed for release. We’re going to run through all of the biggest, most exciting DC releases coming your way.
The first DC movie release of 2022 is one of the most anticipated superhero movies in years: The Batman. Given that Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader film never materialized, it has been about a decade since the last solo Batman flick (2012’s The Dark Knight Rises), and now hype is at an all-time high for the debut of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman in what looks like a gritty, intense take on the Dark Knight from director Matt Reeves. Rounding out the star-studded cast is Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano’s Edward Nash/Riddler, Colin Farrel’s Oz/Penguin, Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon, John Turturro’s Carmine Falcone, and Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth. The plot sees Batman honing his detective skills as he tries to figure out why the Riddler is targeting Gotham City’s elite, and he’s shocked to find out his personal connection to the mystery.
Those looking for some lighter DC fare will be chomping at the bone for DC Super Pets, an animated movie featuring a team of superpowered animals. The lead is none other than Superman’s dog, Krypto the Superdog (Dwayne Johnson), who teams with Ace (Kevin Hart) the dog with super strength, PB (Vanessa Bayer) the pig with size-changing powers, Merton (Natasha Lyonne) the turtle with super speed, and Chip (Diego Luna) the squirrel with the power to control electricity. The plot sees the Justice League taken out, leaving it up to this ragtag group of powered-up pets to save the world.
Black Adam is a film eight years in the making, and now the Rock will introduce movie audiences to the most electrifying anti-hero in blockbuster entertainment. Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is the dark counterpart to Shazam in the comics, but he’s making his solo movie debut with the tragic origin story of this incredibly powerful and dangerous being. Black Adam is on the same power level as Superman, so when this ancient warrior awakens in the present angry and overflowing with magical lightning, it’s the Justice Society that answers the call and tries to help him. But will Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) be able to reform Black Adam, or will he convert them to dishing out his own personal brand of brutal justice?
The Flash movie sees Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) go on an adventure into the DC multiverse. Get ready for time travel, alternate realities, multiple Flashes, and, believe it or not, multiple Batmans. That’s right, both Michael Keaton’s Batman from the Burtonverse and Ben Affleck’s Batman from the Snyderverse will show up in the Flash’s first big-screen flick. Not to mention, there will be a new Supergirl played by Sasha Calle. The universe-hopping story is inspired by the Flashpoint comic book event where Barry used his superspeed to go back in time to save his mother’s life, accidentally unleashing a catastrophic butterfly effect that changed the world and its heroes in shocking ways.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) as they uncover the mystery of the missing kingdom only hinted at in the first film. The icy movie logo may be hinting that we’ll see the return of the first king of Atlantis, King Atlan aka the Dead King from the comics who wields terrifying ice powers and seeks to reclaim the throne of Atlantis by eliminating its current king, Aquaman. It seems Aquaman will need help battling this threat, as we’ve seen that he will team up with his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the former king of Atlantis who now resides in a maximum security desert prison. Also returning for Aquaman 2 is Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren), and Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison).
In the post-credits scene for The Suicide Squad, John Cena’s Peacemaker was shown recovering in the hospital after narrowly escaping death at the hands (er, tiny bullet) of Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, and then Amanda Waller’s lackeys (Steve Agee’s John Economos and Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt) visited him in the hospital with a new assignment for him to save the world. That scene sets up the eight-episode Peacemaker TV show coming to HBO Max by The Suicide Squad director James Gunn. The series will finally let us in on this new secret mission Waller has for Peacemaker while at the same time peeling back the layers to reveal his origin and show just how he turned out to be such a murderous douchebag.
Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic series The Sandman is finally coming to the small screen with actor Tom Sturridge playing Dream aka Morpheus. The dark fantasy story follows what happens when Morphues is kidnapped from his realm and stripped of the magic artifacts that give him power over the Dreaming. The first season will have 11 episodes.
Superman & Lois is set to return for Season 2, continuing the story of the Man of Steel and reporter Lois Lane moving their family to Clark’s hometown of Smallville to raise their teenage sons Jonathan and Jordan, one of whom starts to show signs of Superman’s signature powers. Though we don’t know much about the plot of Season 2 yet, it’s probably safe to assume we’ll follow up on the biggest Season 1 twists including the revelation that another Kryptonian is on Earth and the arrival of the daughter of a DC icon.
The new kid on the superhero block is Naomi, a coming-of-age tale from comic creators Brian Michael Bendis (co-creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones) and David F. Walker and now brought to the screen by series executive producer and writer Ava DuVernay. Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall) lives a seemingly normal life until a superhero-related incident rocks her world and sends her down the path to discovering her connection to the greater DC Universe.
The Flash debuted Season 8 in 2021 with the five-part Armageddon crossover and will go on hiatus before returning to finish out the season on March 9, 2022. Armageddon sees Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) join forces with other Arrowverse heroes to defend Earth from the invading alien Despero. The rest of the season is poised to explore the fallout of the villain’s defeat and the return of Barry’s longtime nemesis.
Legends of Tomorrow will return from its Season 7 hiatus on January 12, 2022, picking up where things left off as the team must face their android doppelgangers created by Evil Gideon. This is part of a larger season arc where the Legends are stranded in 1925 without their time-traveling ship known as the Waverider.
Batwoman will return from its Season 3 hiatus on January 12, 2022. The mid-season finale left fans with a taste of Poison Ivy, who will continue to be the main villain of the season. Along with the Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and a surprise family revelation, Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder/Batwoman has a lot on her hands in Season 3.
Stargirl has been renewed for Season 3 in 2022. As teased at the end of Season 2, the next season will be subtitled “Frenemies” and feature the arrival of The Helix Institute for Youth Rehabilitation. The story will presumably focus on the tension between Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl and her various allies and enemies as she juggles being a teen and a member of the Justice Society of America.
Titans has been renewed for Season 4 on HBO Max. Season 3 saw the young heroes fighting evildoers in Gotham City, but the finale saw them heading back to sunny San Francisco - though they’re doing so road-trip style, so maybe the new season will just focus on that journey. As for what villain awaits them, Season 3 did tease a possible Ra’s al Ghul appearance in Season 4, but there’s been no official word on who the big bad will be just yet.
Harley Quinn will return for Season 3 in 2022. Details are slim on the plot of the new season, but given how Season 2 ended, expect to see Season 3 explore the love between our two favorite lunatic lovebirds.
Doom Patrol has been renewed for Season 4. There’s no word on who the villain will be, but given how the team finally embraced being the oddball heroes that they are at the end of last season, we imagine that will be the main source of conflict going forward.
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DC Movies Releasing in 2022
The Batman
Release Date: March 4, 2022
The first DC movie release of 2022 is one of the most anticipated superhero movies in years: The Batman. Given that Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader film never materialized, it has been about a decade since the last solo Batman flick (2012’s The Dark Knight Rises), and now hype is at an all-time high for the debut of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman in what looks like a gritty, intense take on the Dark Knight from director Matt Reeves. Rounding out the star-studded cast is Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano’s Edward Nash/Riddler, Colin Farrel’s Oz/Penguin, Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon, John Turturro’s Carmine Falcone, and Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth. The plot sees Batman honing his detective skills as he tries to figure out why the Riddler is targeting Gotham City’s elite, and he’s shocked to find out his personal connection to the mystery.
DC League of Super Pets
Release Date: May 22, 2022
Those looking for some lighter DC fare will be chomping at the bone for DC Super Pets, an animated movie featuring a team of superpowered animals. The lead is none other than Superman’s dog, Krypto the Superdog (Dwayne Johnson), who teams with Ace (Kevin Hart) the dog with super strength, PB (Vanessa Bayer) the pig with size-changing powers, Merton (Natasha Lyonne) the turtle with super speed, and Chip (Diego Luna) the squirrel with the power to control electricity. The plot sees the Justice League taken out, leaving it up to this ragtag group of powered-up pets to save the world.
Black Adam
Release Date: July 29, 2022
Black Adam is a film eight years in the making, and now the Rock will introduce movie audiences to the most electrifying anti-hero in blockbuster entertainment. Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is the dark counterpart to Shazam in the comics, but he’s making his solo movie debut with the tragic origin story of this incredibly powerful and dangerous being. Black Adam is on the same power level as Superman, so when this ancient warrior awakens in the present angry and overflowing with magical lightning, it’s the Justice Society that answers the call and tries to help him. But will Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) be able to reform Black Adam, or will he convert them to dishing out his own personal brand of brutal justice?
The Flash
Release Date: November 4, 2022
The Flash movie sees Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) go on an adventure into the DC multiverse. Get ready for time travel, alternate realities, multiple Flashes, and, believe it or not, multiple Batmans. That’s right, both Michael Keaton’s Batman from the Burtonverse and Ben Affleck’s Batman from the Snyderverse will show up in the Flash’s first big-screen flick. Not to mention, there will be a new Supergirl played by Sasha Calle. The universe-hopping story is inspired by the Flashpoint comic book event where Barry used his superspeed to go back in time to save his mother’s life, accidentally unleashing a catastrophic butterfly effect that changed the world and its heroes in shocking ways.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom
Release Date: December 16, 2022
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) as they uncover the mystery of the missing kingdom only hinted at in the first film. The icy movie logo may be hinting that we’ll see the return of the first king of Atlantis, King Atlan aka the Dead King from the comics who wields terrifying ice powers and seeks to reclaim the throne of Atlantis by eliminating its current king, Aquaman. It seems Aquaman will need help battling this threat, as we’ve seen that he will team up with his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the former king of Atlantis who now resides in a maximum security desert prison. Also returning for Aquaman 2 is Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren), and Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison).
DC TV Releasing in 2022
Peacemaker
Release Date & Platform: January 2022 on HBO Max
In the post-credits scene for The Suicide Squad, John Cena’s Peacemaker was shown recovering in the hospital after narrowly escaping death at the hands (er, tiny bullet) of Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, and then Amanda Waller’s lackeys (Steve Agee’s John Economos and Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt) visited him in the hospital with a new assignment for him to save the world. That scene sets up the eight-episode Peacemaker TV show coming to HBO Max by The Suicide Squad director James Gunn. The series will finally let us in on this new secret mission Waller has for Peacemaker while at the same time peeling back the layers to reveal his origin and show just how he turned out to be such a murderous douchebag.
The Sandman
Release Date & Platform: Sometime in 2022 on Netflix
Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic series The Sandman is finally coming to the small screen with actor Tom Sturridge playing Dream aka Morpheus. The dark fantasy story follows what happens when Morphues is kidnapped from his realm and stripped of the magic artifacts that give him power over the Dreaming. The first season will have 11 episodes.
Superman & Lois
Release Date & Platform: January 11, 2022 on The CW
Superman & Lois is set to return for Season 2, continuing the story of the Man of Steel and reporter Lois Lane moving their family to Clark’s hometown of Smallville to raise their teenage sons Jonathan and Jordan, one of whom starts to show signs of Superman’s signature powers. Though we don’t know much about the plot of Season 2 yet, it’s probably safe to assume we’ll follow up on the biggest Season 1 twists including the revelation that another Kryptonian is on Earth and the arrival of the daughter of a DC icon.
Naomi
Release Date & Platform: January 11, 2022 on The CW
The new kid on the superhero block is Naomi, a coming-of-age tale from comic creators Brian Michael Bendis (co-creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones) and David F. Walker and now brought to the screen by series executive producer and writer Ava DuVernay. Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall) lives a seemingly normal life until a superhero-related incident rocks her world and sends her down the path to discovering her connection to the greater DC Universe.
The Flash
Release Date & Platform: March 9, 2022 on The CW
The Flash debuted Season 8 in 2021 with the five-part Armageddon crossover and will go on hiatus before returning to finish out the season on March 9, 2022. Armageddon sees Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) join forces with other Arrowverse heroes to defend Earth from the invading alien Despero. The rest of the season is poised to explore the fallout of the villain’s defeat and the return of Barry’s longtime nemesis.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Release Date & Platform: January 12, 2022 on The CW
Legends of Tomorrow will return from its Season 7 hiatus on January 12, 2022, picking up where things left off as the team must face their android doppelgangers created by Evil Gideon. This is part of a larger season arc where the Legends are stranded in 1925 without their time-traveling ship known as the Waverider.
Batwoman
Release Date & Platform: January 12, 2022 on The CW
Batwoman will return from its Season 3 hiatus on January 12, 2022. The mid-season finale left fans with a taste of Poison Ivy, who will continue to be the main villain of the season. Along with the Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and a surprise family revelation, Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder/Batwoman has a lot on her hands in Season 3.
Stargirl
Release Date & Platform: Sometime 2022 on The CW
Stargirl has been renewed for Season 3 in 2022. As teased at the end of Season 2, the next season will be subtitled “Frenemies” and feature the arrival of The Helix Institute for Youth Rehabilitation. The story will presumably focus on the tension between Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl and her various allies and enemies as she juggles being a teen and a member of the Justice Society of America.
Titans
Release Date & Platform: Sometime 2022 on HBO Max
Titans has been renewed for Season 4 on HBO Max. Season 3 saw the young heroes fighting evildoers in Gotham City, but the finale saw them heading back to sunny San Francisco - though they’re doing so road-trip style, so maybe the new season will just focus on that journey. As for what villain awaits them, Season 3 did tease a possible Ra’s al Ghul appearance in Season 4, but there’s been no official word on who the big bad will be just yet.
Harley Quinn
Release Date & Platform: Sometime 2022 on HBO Max
Harley Quinn will return for Season 3 in 2022. Details are slim on the plot of the new season, but given how Season 2 ended, expect to see Season 3 explore the love between our two favorite lunatic lovebirds.
Doom Patrol
Release Date & Platform: Sometime 2022 on HBO Max
Doom Patrol has been renewed for Season 4. There’s no word on who the villain will be, but given how the team finally embraced being the oddball heroes that they are at the end of last season, we imagine that will be the main source of conflict going forward.
Continue reading...