The summer movie season used to start in May. However, the last few years Hollywood seems to be scheduling its big blockbusters as early as mid-April. So, that’s where we’ll begin with our annual summer movie preview.

Scrolling through this year’s slate of big studio summer fare, I came up with a dozen titles that could turn out to be very good movies. I’m not including indies, most already seen by yours truly at festivals. Some of the smaller-scaled delights you shouldn’t miss this summer include Petite Maman, Vortex, Happening, Pleasure, Watcher, Fire, and Cha Cha Real Smooth.

You also won’t find a few potential blockbuster titles such as “Jurassic: World Dominion”, and “Firestarter” because, well, they just don’t look very promising. Instead, I’m heavily relying my anticipation-meter this summer on the filmmakers behind the titles — new movies from Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers, Judd Apatow, Sam Raimi, Alex Garland, Baz Luhrmamn, and Taika Waititi have me very excited.

Here are World of Reel’s 12 most-anticipated Summer movies:

1) “Nope” (07.22.22)

I will follow writer-director Jordan Peele whichever direction he chooses to go next in his career. After all, his first two films, “Get Out” and “Us,” weren’t just box-office smashes, but worthy examples of top-tier socially-conscious horror. Peele has already shot his third film, this one, again, will likely be surrounded by an insane amount of secrecy. Even more intriguingly, Peele has enlisted the services of Oscar Nominated DP Hoyte Van Hoytema. It could turn out to be the film that everyone talks about this summer.

2) “Elvis” (06.24.22)

Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic will have its world premiere at Cannes. Of course, we all knew that “Bohemian Rhapsody” would just kick-start a whirlwind of Hollywood rock biopics. In “Elvis,” Austin Butler plays Elvis Presley. Tom Hanks stars as his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Luhrmann hasn’t directed a feature-length film since 2013’s “The Great Gatsby.” Before that he had a time-capsule-worthy bomb titled “Australia”? Remember that one?

3) “Men” (05.20.22)

Writer-director Alex Garland doesn’t make standard sci-fi, from “Dredd” to “Ex-Machina,” he always thinks outside the box. “Men” stars Jessie Buckley as a woman moving to the quiet countryside to heal from her big city wounds only to feel like she’s being stalked by an indescribable entity. Early test-screening reactions have been mixed, but don’t discount Garland in delivering something unique.

4) “The Northman” (04.22.22)

Robert Eggers is back with a Viking epic loosely based on “Hamlet.” The April date might be concerning, so is the fact that they’ve decided to completely bypass a Cannes premiere with this one. There have been rumours of a potential date switch, but it seems like it’s too late for that to happen now. It stars Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Skarsgård, and Willem Dafoe.

5) “Bullet Train” (07.29.22)

There is absolutely no way to ignore David Leitch’s “Bullet Train,” an action movie starring Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Michael Shannon, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, andAaron Taylor-Johnson. The film is an adaptation of Kotaro Isaka‘s novel of the same name, the book is a darkly satirical thriller dealing with a suitcase full of money and the assassins on the hunt for it. 

6) “BROS” (08.12.22)

Test-screenings for “BROS” have been playing like gangbusters these past few months. The upcoming comedy is coming to us with the kind of buzz that could make it this year’s “The Hangover.” The film follows two men with commitment problems attempting a relationship. It’s directed by Nicolas Stoller who has more-than-decent track record in comedy, having helmed “Neighbours,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Get Him to the Greek,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

7) “The Black Phone” (06.24.22)

Universal decided to push Scott Derickson’s “Black Phone” from its initial February 4th release date to a June 24th theatrical launch. It garnered rave reviews at its world premiere at Fantastic Fest last September. I was lucky enough to catch it not too long after and it is an excellent genre affair from Derrickson and actor Ethan Hawke. Don’t miss it.

8) “Thor: Love and Thunder” (07.08.22)

Here is director Taika Waititi returning to “Thor” after his entertaining “Thor: Ragnarok.” Even more intriguing is the casting of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. This is Bale’s Marvel debut. Meanwhile, Waititi, coming off his Oscar-nominated “Jojo Rabbit,” has always had a knack for infusing comedy and action to his films. This could be really good?

9) “The Bubble” (04.28.22)

Shot during the early stages of the pandemic, Judd Apatow’s “The Bubble” follows a group of actors and actresses attempting to complete a film while stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel . The film stars Karen Gillian, Keegan-Michael Key, Leslie Mann and Pedro Pascal. Apatow has a keen ear for comedic dialogue, I’m already sold on this one.

10) “Hustle” (06.10.22)

Coming in under the radar is “We Are the Animals” director Jeremiah Zagar’s take on the sports movie. Zagar showed great potential in his Sundance-acclaimed feature-length debut, here he teams up with Adam Sandler for a Netflix basketball drama that looks fairly gritty in the trailer. Sandler plays a washed-up basketball scout who discovers a phenomenal streetball player in Spain and sees the prospect as his opportunity to get back into the NBA.

11) “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (04.22.22)

Nicolas Cage earned rave reviews at SXSW for playing himself in this meta-infused account of the actor in an existential crisis. The Cage-aissance we have witnessed these past few years is real, from 2018’s “Mandy” to last year’s “Pig.” Keep an eye out for this one.

12) “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (05.06.22)

I was hesitating including this latest Marvel blockbuster. However, this sequel to “Doctor Strange” is directed by Sam Raimi, who helmed 2004’s “Spider-Man 2” one of the best comic book movies of all-time. Raimi hasn’t directed a film since 2013. If that’s not reason enough to anticipate this sequel then I don’t know what is.

13) “Top Gun: Maverick” (05.27.22)

I’m not a fan of the original “Top Gun.” And yet, I’ve decided to include this sequel into the mix. Why? Because it’s Tom Cruise and he’s a madman of stunts. Here’s hoping this one doesn’t bank too heavily on nostalgia and flies on its own original wings. Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux had been chasing this one around for a few years now. Joseph Kosinski (“Oblivion”) directs.

14) “Pixar’s Lightyear” (06.17.22)

Another summer. Another Pixar. Then again, this is a prequel to “Toy Story” concentrating on ambitious astronaut Buzz Lightyear. An origin story that is only on my list because it is created by the toon wizards over at Pixar. They haven’t released a masterpiece in over a decade, but here’s hoping it’s good enough, like “Coco” or “Soul.”