After last year’s Super Bowl being light on movie trailers, they came roaring back for 2022’s Super Bowl LVI. With the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Eminem headlining the Pepsi Halftime Show, and ads that brought back Jim Carrey’s Cable Guy and the crew of Dr. Evil’s headquarters from the Austin Powers movies, Super Bowl LVI was a veritable celebration of the ’90s. But not everything was old school. The Big Game also brought with it an explosion of new movie trailers and TV spots, as well as promo videos for different streaming services. Technically, some of these trailers were already released online before the game, but the Super Bowl was their TV debut, so we’re counting them. With so many commercial breaks and trailers to keep track of, don’t worry if you missed a few. We’ve collected them all here for you.
Movies
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
By far the most talked-about ad of the game was the much-anticipated first trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The sequel takes up where Spider-Man: No Way Home left off, with Doctor Strange now having to face the consequences of ripping open the multiverse. So much is happening in this trailer, gang. Strange Supreme from Marvel’s What If…?! Scarlet Witch is a villain! America Chavez first look! Rintrah! Gargantos! The Illuminati! And freaking PATRICK STEWART BACK AS PROFESSOR X! Just like most other Marvel trailers, though, don’t be surprised if this one was cut to purposely be misleading.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters on May 6, 2022.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 TV spot centers on the classic rivalry from the games between Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and the echidna, Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba. It also features the return of Sonic’s friend Tails, who was first introduced at the end of the first movie. Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who has voiced Tails in the Sonic franchise since 2014, returns to voice the two-tailed fox for the movie sequel.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is in theaters on April 8, 2022.
Ambulance
Michael Bay is back and this time he’s taking it to Los Angeles with Ambulance, a typically Baysian high-octane action-thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play two brothers from another mother who rob a bank in an act of desperation. When the robbery goes awry, they steal an ambulance and it begins a high-speed chase through LA as they’re pursued by cops and media on all sides. All they want to do is get home, but surviving won’t be that easy.
Ambulance is in theaters on April 8, 2022.
Nope
The first trailer for Jordan Peele’s Nope dropped late last night/early this morning, setting social media abuzz. A rural frontier ranch town outside of Los Angeles is suddenly preyed upon by something sinister coming from the sky. The title is a play on words: You watch the trailer and immediately go, “NOPE!” but it also teases the acronym Not Of Planet Earth–a clear reference to aliens, which almost certainly is the thing stalking the people the ranch, judging from the trailer. Leave it to Peele to scare the pants off us with his third horror movie.
Nope is in theaters July 22, 2022.
Jurassic World Dominion
After the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom finding dinosaurs loose among humans by the end of the movie, the first trailer for Jurassic World Dominion shows the aftermath of it. Humans and dinosaurs are now coexisting, but it doesn’t appear to be peaceful. As the apex predators and giants, no matter how gentle, dinos are now wreaking havoc on the planet’s ecosystems while also picking off humans who get too close. Sam Neill and Laura Dern return as the iconic Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler from the first Jurassic Park, but even with their help and that of Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm, it’s not looking good for Team Humanity–especially now that they have to square off against a Giganotosaurus.
Jurassic World Dominion will be in theaters on June 10, 2022.
Lightyear
The second trailer for Pixar’s Lightyear arrived during the Big Game, giving us another glimpse at Buzz Lightyear, the daring astronaut who would later go on to inspire the toy of the same name from the Toy Story movies. Chris Evans lends his distinctive voice to the explorer, and this time, we also get our first look at his robot cat, Sox, voiced by Peter Sohn. It looks to be one of Pixar’s most action-packed movies ever and is sure to deliver the heartwarming quality that we’ve come to expect from the studio.
Lightyear is in theaters on June 17, 2022.
The Lost City
God, it’s good to see Sandra Bullock back in a rom-com again. This time, she’s joined by Channing Tatum in The Lost City. Bullock stars as an uptight romance novelist who is brilliant with love on the page, but not so much in real life. When she’s kidnapped by Daniel Radcliffe’s unhinged billionaire, her dimwitted but loyal book cover model decides it’s up to him to save her. It…doesn’t go well. If the jungle or henchmen don’t kill them, they’ll kill each other.
The Lost City is in theaters on March 25, 2022.
DC 2022 Movies Reel
DC also dropped a promo reel for its upcoming movie slate, focusing on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam. His character is set to shake up the DCEU as an antihero who is far more ruthless than any superhero yet. The promo reel also gave some great first looks of the Justice Society of America’s live-action debut: Noah Centineo as Atom-Smasher, Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone. There were also some bits of footage from The Batman, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Black Adam is in theaters on July 29, 2022.
TV Shows
Moon Knight
Marvel already released its full-length trailer for Disney+’s Moon Knight, the next show up for the MCU, but that didn’t stop the studio from dropping a new TV spot for the game. Most of the footage has already been seen, but there were a few tantalizing new snippets of Oscar Isaac as the titular character. Among the most intriguing things was a clearer shot of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon, behind Isaac’s Steven Grant/Marc Spector, another clearer shot of Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow wielding a powerful staff, and a money shot of Moon Knight leaping toward a group of henchmen with his cape unfurling in a symbolic crescent moon. His costume? Absolutely flawless.
Moon Knight premieres March 30, 2022 on Disney+.
Joe vs. Carole
Unfortunately, the exact Super Bowl spot for Joe vs. Carole isn’t available online yet, so here’s the full trailer that was released last week. Kate McKinnon stars as Carole Baskin, the controversial founder of Big Cat Rescue whose feud with the self-proclaimed “Tiger King” Joe Exotic (John Cameron Mitchell) led to one crazy murder-for-hire plot and the docuseries The Tiger King. Joe vs. Carole looks to finally tell things from Carole’s perspective, something the docuseries failed to do. Also starring in the show is Kyle MacLachlan as Howard Baskin, William Fichtner as Rick Kirkham, Nat Wolff as Travis Maldonato, and more.
Joe vs. Carole premieres March 3, 2022 on Peacock.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Amazon made waves when it was revealed it had bought the rights to Lord of the Rings for $250 million and then invested even more money in its first show set in the world, bringing the total to almost $1 billion. Still, the teaser trailer released during the Super Bowl for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power revealed it’s money well spent. A prequel to the Lord of the Rings movies, the show is set in a Middle Earth long before Aragorn, Frodo, and Legolas ever showed up. It looks just as beautiful as the movies, and fantasy and Tolkien fans should be counting down the days until its release.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 2, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.
Stranger Things Season 4
Netflix has already released a few trailers for Stranger Things season 4, but with it being the streamer’s flagship show, another TV spot can’t hurt. This season it appears to be Eleven vs. a bunch of kids who also have powers, but whether they’ll be friends or foes remains to be seen. Also, what’s up with that clock? Creeeeepy.
Stranger Things season 4 will premiere mid-2022.
Young Rock Season 2
Everyone knows Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson from his time in the NFL, but what many don’t know is that he was a college football star at the University of Miami. Well…”star” is maybe a stretch. More like…backup. Season 2 of Young Rock, based on Johnson’s life, follows The Rock after he gets signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. As the voiceover says, “it didn’t go well.” Expect shenanigans as the younger version of The Rock, played by Uli Latukefu, struggles to adapt to playing pro football.
Young Rock season 2 premieres March 15 on NBC.
Bel-Air
When a short fan film trailer for an imaginary, gritty and dark reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air went viral in 2019, it captured Will Smith’s attention. Soon, the star of the original series was behind the idea, turning it into an actual show, and before long, Bel-Air was born. Two brief clip spots were released during the game, and the trailer was released just a few days ago. But the highlight was Will Smith introducing an ad during the Super Bowl that saw different people singing the iconic theme song of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before it turned into the brass section of a college marching band. The reboot might be gritty but that ad is nothing but fun.
Bel-Air premiered February 13 on Peacock.
The Thing About Pam
Renée Zellweger is almost unrecognizable as Pam Hupp in the Super Bowl spot for The Thing About Pam. In 2011, Betsy Faria was murdered and her husband Russ was charged with the crime and convicted, though he insisted he was innocent. But when his conviction was overturned, it led to a bizarre chain of events and a trail of evidence that led back to a diabolical plot by Pam Hupp, whose testimony who had helped unjustly put Russ Faria away in the first place. Oh, and as it turned out, there was also another murder no one knew about.
The Thing About Pam premieres March 8 on NBC.
Streaming Sizzle Reels
Netflix 2022 Movie Preview & The Adam Project
Apparently, putting together preview reels is all the rage right now. Along with the Stranger Things season 4 promo, Netflix trotted out a Super Bowl ad for its 2022 movies, with the spotlight going to the upcoming The Adam Project. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds as a pilot who just team up with his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his late father (Mark Ruffalo) and make peace with his past in order to save the future. Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, and Catherine Keener also star, and it’s directed by Free Guy director and Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy, so this one should be a solid action-adventure sci-fi flick.
The Adam Project premieres March 11, 2022 on Netflix.
Disney+ GOATS
Disney+ also got in on the mashup preview trailer game at the Super Bowl this year, unveiling a cute ad featuring Awkwafina and a bunch of goats dressed up as some of the most iconic characters in Disney’s library. What’s not to love about a little goat dressed up as Captain America? Absolutely nothing, that’s what.
There you have it! Which one was your favorite? Are there any movie trailers you wish would have been aired? Let us know!
