6 Most Anticipated Movie Prequels Coming In 2022

Looking ahead at the movies of 2022, fans will have plenty of chances to return to their favorite franchises with highly anticipated sequels like Thor: Love and Thunder, Jurassic World: Dominion, and Top Gun: Maverick. But sometimes it is fun to see where beloved stories began which is why there is such a draw towards prequels.

The new year also has plenty of prequels to offer fans of all kinds. Some will explore the dark origins of horror movie villains, others will take a look at the beginnings of a family-friendly adventure, and some will hope to restart the franchise with a fresh perspective. They all make for some very exciting prequels to check out in 2022.

6 Orphan: First Kill

The first Orphan was released in 2009 and told one of the most twisted horror movie stories in recent memory. The movie followed a couple who adopts a 9-year-old daughter only to find that the girl is not as innocent as she seems. It was an effective and creepy thriller that featured one of the most infamous horror movie twists of all time.

The prequel comes out more than a decade later and explores the dark origins of the character of Esther in more detail. Interestingly, Isabelle Fuhrman will reprise her role as Esther despite being much older now. Though not everyone is a fan of the original movie, Esther is a fascinating horror movie character and it would be interesting to explore her a little more in a story like this.

5 Minions: The Rise of Gru

The Despicable Me franchise has had a very strange journey from its first movie in 2010. That movie followed Gru, a criminal mastermind who finds himself changing for the better thanks to a trio of orphans. That movie was followed by two sequels before the franchise shifted towards Gru’s popular sidekicks, the Minions who got their own spinoff movie.

It would seem the whole thing has come full circle now as a new Minions movie will explore the origins of Gru with Steve Carrell returning to voice the character. The story will follow a young adolescent Gru as he embarks on his dream of becoming the world’s greatest supervillain. With sequels and spinoffs already, it is not surprising that this very popular franchise made its way into the prequel territory.

4 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore

This is a rare instance of a movie being both a sequel and a prequel. Following the conclusion of the main Harry Potter franchise, Warner Bros. was obviously keen to keep the magical world going and explored the earlier days of Hogwarts with the first prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third movie in this prequel series with Eddie Redmayne returning as Newt Scamander and Jude Law returning as young Albus Dumbledore. Though the prequels have never been as popular as the Harry Potter movies, the added interest of the recasting of Johnny Depp with Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald seems to have increased fan interest in this new installment.

3 Prey

Ever since the first Predator movie delivered a hugely entertaining blend of science-fiction, action, and horror, the franchise has struggled to live up to that initial promise. However various new approaches and crossovers failed to connect, and the failure of 2018’s The Predator felt like a significant blow to the franchise.

However, the new movie, Prey, looks to take things back to basics with a gritty and violent survival story that also happens to tell the story of the Predator aliens’ first hunt on Earth. The movie is said to take place 300 years in the past and will reportedly follow a skilled female Comanche warrior who protects her tribe from the Predator.

2 Uncharted

Fans have been waiting for many years for a big-screen adaptation of the popular video game, Uncharted. After endless false starts, rumors, and delays, it is finally arriving with Tom Holland taking on the role of treasure hunter Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg playing the role of his partner Victor Sullivan.

Though this is the first Uncharted movie, it is actually a prequel to the games that fans know and love. It will tell the tale of how Drake and Sully met and went on their first globe-trotting adventure together. While some fans have been skeptical about the prequel approach to the franchise, they have also been waiting so long for an Uncharted movie of any kind. And the first trailer proved the movie will be living up to the grand action sequences of the games.

1 Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear is one of the most iconic characters in the Pixar universe and entertained fans through four Toy Story movies. But while his journey to discovering that he is not a space-exploring hero but rather a child’s toy was memorable, this new Pixar movie will take an unexpected look at where the character began.

Rather than serving as a prequel story about Buzz Lightyear the toy, Lightyear follows the intergalactic hero who inspired the toy in the first place. Chris Evans will step into the role of the human Buzz Lightyear for a new sci-fi adventure movie that feels like one of the biggest and boldest ideas Pixar has come up with. It is a very fun and inventive way to keep the character alive after the Toy Story franchise has ended and Evans feels like the perfect casting for the role.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2030 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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