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Especially in tumultuous times, people like the comfort of familiar stories, faces and places. Episodic storytelling remains extremely popular, whether those tales are being told in the pages of a book, on television or in a theater. Streaming has made franchises easier to access than ever before, so audiences who missed out on a first film or season can pick things up at their convenience. That’s helpful, particularly when some of the originals premiered before some fans were born.
From high society in Downton Abbey to Jurassic World’s dinosaurs to The Lord of the Rings‘ Middle-earth, 2022 will see the continuation of more than its fair share of celebrated franchises. And now is the perfect time to catch up on the books, movies and shows that came before. However, this list does not include any DC, Marvel Studios or Star Wars properties. As those franchises are perpetually releasing new content, fans can be assured that numerous projects are slated for release in 2022, some sooner than expected.
Watch Downton Abbey Before Downton Abbey: A New Era
It’s been more than a decade since the residents of Downton Abbey, above stairs and below, captured the hearts of audiences first on Britain’s ITV then on PBS. This highbrow but exceedingly binge-able period piece soap opera ran for six seasons and chronicled the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 through World War I and into the roaring twenties. Along the way, there were more scandals, marriage proposals, births, deaths and moments of near ruin than one can count, which is what makes Downton so engaging, even to those who don’t usually have a taste for historical dramas. A 2019 feature film saw the Royal Family pay a visit was a bigger-than-expected hit, which led to 2022’s sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era.
Downton Abbey: A New Era comes to theaters March 18.
Watch Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts Before The Secrets of Dumbledore
The seven books that make up the Harry Potter series are among the most beloved and successful pieces of modern culture. The eight-movie series they inspired ranges in quality but more or less does the novels justice. Then came Fantastic Beasts, a prequel franchise based on a Hogwarts textbook that is expected to span five films. The first installment, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, debuted to middling reviews, but audiences and critics alike were widely disappointed by the second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The prequels have been plagued by misfortune and controversy, but with Jude Law as young-ish Professor Dumbledore and the story just beginning to hit its stride, there is hope that the third try will be the charm.
Muggles should start with the books, then work their way through all ten prior films for the best experience. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore arrives in theaters April 15.
Watch the Jurassic Park Series Before Jurassic World: Dominion
Jurassic Park began life as a 1990 Michael Crichton novel but quickly adapted into a now-classic blockbuster film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The original is as flawless as it is timeless. The sequels? Let’s just say it’s easier to replicate dinosaur DNA than it is Hollywood magic. Spielberg returned to helm The Lost World, and the trilogy is rounded out by the notoriously campy (but nevertheless fun) Jurassic Park III. Colin Trevorrow brought the franchise roaring back to life in 2015 with Jurassic World. The fifth entry, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, introduced the genetically modified beasts to the mainland and took some of the wildest turns yet. Though the series has evolved (not always for the best), the upcoming sixth film Jurassic World: Dominion is sure to remain as popular as the T-Rex.
Jurassic World: Dominion invades theaters June 10.
Watch the Mission: Impossible Series Before Mission: Impossible 7
America’s version of James Bond is Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise. The wry smiled star has become best known for the Mission: Impossible movies, which began in 1996 and, like the star, are still going strong. The action franchise enables Cruise to pull off some truly death-defying stunts as the fearless spy leading the IMF team. Inspired by a 1960s TV series of the same name, the films are as entertaining as one would expect and, unlike many series, they’re getting better as they go.
Mission: Impossible 7 hits theaters September 30.
Watch Game of Thrones Before House of the Dragon
Perhaps no franchise has experienced highs and lows like the one begun (but not yet finished) by author George R. R. Martin. His A Song of Ice and Fire books create a fantastical history-adjacent world to rival Tolkien’s Middle-earth but are considerably more provocative. They spawned a TV series, Game of Thrones, that, for at least five or six seasons, was the best thing television had to offer. Then show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss ran out of pages to adapt, and the much-theorized about and long-awaited conclusion was one of the most derided finales of all time.
Meanwhile, Martin was busy writing a history of the Targaryen family called Fire & Blood. It was optioned by HBO and turned into the upcoming prequel series, House of the Dragon. Though Season 8 left a bad taste in fans’ mouths, the vast majority of Game of Thrones is still excellent and worth watching. Miguel Sapochnik, who directed some of Thrones‘ best-loved episodes, is running the show now, so there’s reason to believe the franchise will soar again.
House of the Dragon is expected to premiere in 2022 on HBO Max.
Watch The Lord of the Rings Before The Rings of Power
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on Tolkien’s genre-defining work, is thought by many as the greatest film trilogy to date. The three movies — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King — were made simultaneously in New Zealand, which allowed Jackson to keep the tone and production value consistent. A less revered but still enjoyable Hobbit trilogy came later.
For those looking for meticulously described fantasy to escape into, one can’t do better than Tolkien’s books or Jackson’s films. Amazon is hoping that Middle-earth translates to the small screen as well, with a $250 million TV series that takes place in the Second Age (thousands of years earlier) and was filmed in the same now-iconic New Zealand location.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is expected to begin streaming on Prime Video in September of 2022.
Watch Rocky & Creed Before Creed III
Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky punched above its weight in 1976, becoming the highest-grossing film that year and earning ten Oscar nominations. The boxing drama was followed up by five more sequels each focused on Rocky Balboa. Then, in 2016, Ryan Coogler reinvigorated the franchise by switching the protagonist to Adonis Creed, the son of the standout character Apollo Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan. That film was nearly as well-received as the original, earning critical praise, award nominations and huge box office receipts, too. Jordan returns to direct and star in the third installment, which is currently in production.
Creed III is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 23.
Watch Avatar Before Avatar 2
James Cameron’s Avatar still dukes it out with Avengers: Endgame for all-time box office champion… which is pretty funny. The latter was the culmination of 20 plus movies, while the former was the first in a franchise that technically still hasn’t become one. Avatar has all the markers of invaluable IP: a bioluminescent world that captivated audiences, cool creature designs, a pliable premise and even its own theme park. But it’s taken Cameron more than a decade to get back to Pandora. Thankfully, production on Avatar 2 and 3 (which were also filmed simultaneously in New Zealand) is now complete. The sequels add Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement and Michelle Yeoh to the cast list.
Avatar 2 is scheduled to premiere in theaters on December 16.
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