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Best Upcoming Fantasy & Sci-Fi Series In 2022 (Still To Come)
From Middle-earth to a galaxy far, far away, here is a look at some of the most anticipated sci-fi and fantasy TV series still to come out this year.

Best Upcoming Fantasy & Sci-Fi Series In 2022 (Still To Come)

While the year has started off slow, 2022 will see the release of some of the most anticipated sci-fi and fantasy TV series in the coming months. So far, great shows like DC’s Peacemaker and Marvel’s Moon Knight have already been released in 2022, but this summer is going to be jam-packed with both new and returning sci-fi and fantasy shows. 

As far as familiar properties go, audiences will soon be transported back to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, to watch the continued fight against the Upside Down while fans of Game of Thrones will reenter the world of Westeros during the Age of Dragons.

Disney+ has been strong with the genres in recent months, giving audiences an avalanche of Star Wars and MCU series to consume since their launch in 2019, and they will continue to shine. However, they are not the only streaming service to master the realms of speculative fiction. Here is a look at the best upcoming sci-fi and fantasy series across all platforms in 2022.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+ — May 27

Reprising his Star Wars role, Ewan McGregor returns as the titular iconic Jedi Master of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The six-episode limited series takes place 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in which his Jedi apprentice, Anakin, fell to the dark side and led the Sith in taking down the Jedi Order. Hayden Christensen will also be reprising his role as Anakin —  now known as Darth Vader. Following Order 66, Obi-Wan Kenobi now lives in exile on the planet Tatooine, watching over a young Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master has lost all hope and is being actively hunted by Darth Vader’s Inquisitors.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is directed by Deborah Chow, with Jacoby Harold as showrunner. Chow also directed several memorable episodes of the hit show The Mandalorian, including “Chapter 7: The Reckoning.” Alongside McGregor and Christensen, the series cast includes Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Rupert Friend (Anatomy of a Scandal), and Sung Kang (F9: The Fast Saga). The series is also bringing back the actors who played Luke’s uncle and aunt in the prequels: Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse. Star Wars film composer John Williams wrote the main theme, while Natalie Holt composed the rest of the score, making her the first woman to score a live-action Star Wars project. The first two episodes will premiere on May 27, and a new episode will release weekly every Wednesday through June 22.

Stranger Things (Season 4), Netflix — May 27

Stranger Things season 4 teases the show’s darkest and scariest installment yet. The story takes place six months after the events of season 3, in which Eleven and company took on a reanimated Mind Flayer, which victimized and mind-controlled dozens of Hawkin locals, including Max’s brother, Billy. In Stranger Things season 4, Hopper is a prisoner far from home in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, Russia, where he will face dangers both human and monstrous. Max struggles with the aftermath of her brother’s death, and the rest of the group struggle with the complexities of high school and their separation from one another.  Meanwhile, there is a new and horrifying supernatural threat that presents a gruesome mystery that, if defeated, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.

Stranger Things season 4 is produced by the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Iain Paterson. By runtime, the season is the longest (and most challenging) one yet. The show’s main cast will reprise their roles, including Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Joe Keery as Steve, Natalia Dyer as Nancy, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Noah Schnapp as Will, Sadie Sink as Max, and Maya Hawke as Robin. Netflix has already greenlighted a final fifth season. Stranger Things season 4 will consist of nine episodes split into two volumes. Volume 1 will release on May 27th, and volume 2 will release on July 1.

The Boys (Season 3), Prime Video — June 3

The Boys holds the title for the most-watched global launch of any Amazon Original series. The R-rated superhero satire from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke primarily focuses on two groups: the Seven, which is Vought’s premier superhero team, and the infamous Boys, vigilantes looking to bring down Vought and its corrupt superheroes. The Boys season 3 will consist of eight episodes and see several new characters join the scene, including Homelander’s nemesis, Soldier Boy (Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles) and Crimson Countess (The Walking Dead‘s Laurie Holden), who are parodies of Marvel’s Captain America and Scarlet Witch, respectively. The main cast will all return, including Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell, Antony Starr as Homelander, and Erin Moriarty as Starlight. The first three episodes will release on June 3 with the remaining five episodes releasing weekly every Friday through July 8.

Ms. Marvel, Disney+ — June 8

The six-episode limited series Ms. Marvel introduces the character Khamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani American growing up in the world of superheroes, to the MCU. Khamala is, relatably, a die-hard fan of the heroes of Earth. She struggles to fit in at school and home and dreams of being like her idol, Captain Marvel. However, when she is endowed with superpowers of her own, she quickly discovers that being a superhero isn’t the blessing she imagined and comes with its own challenges and consequences.

Iman Vellani stars as Khamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. The young actor is Canadian, but both her parents are Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, and now their daughter will become the MCU’s first Muslim superhero. Ms. Marvel debuted in Marvel comics in 2013 and has been incredibly popular. So much so that she became the main playable character in the Square Enix video game Marvel’s Avengers and now is getting her own Disney+ show. The series will serve as a prequel to the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, which is set to premiere July 28, 2023, with Vellani reprising her role as Ms. Marvel, joining Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau, played by Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, respectively. The first episode will be available to stream on June 8,  and a new episode will release weekly every Wednesday through July 13.

Westworld (Season 4), HBO — June 26

Westworld finally returns for its fourth season this summer after a two-year hiatus. Season 3 explored the real world outside of the Wild West-themed amusement park, in which people’s lives are heavily influenced by a powerful AI named Rehoboam in the mid-21st century. Even though the third season ended with Dolores sacrificing herself in order to defeat Serac, actress Evan Rachel Wood will return in Westworld season 4 as a new Dolores. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy serve as executive producers, along with J. J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk. In addition to Wood, the returning cast from Westworld season 3 includes Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Aaron Paul, and Angela Sarafyan. Westworld season 4 will consist of eight hour-long episodes and will be released weekly on Sundays starting June 26.

House of the Dragon (Season 1), HBO Max — August 21

House of the Dragon is the first Game of Thrones spinoff series. It’s based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which takes place 200 years before the events of the previous show and explores the history of House Targaryen. House of the Dragon focuses on a civil war over the Iron Throne, historically known as the “Dance of the Dragons,” between half-siblings Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) after the death of their father.

King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) had brought up his daughter at a young age to inherit the throne, but after his untimely death, his second wife, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), believes their firstborn son should be the one to inherit the throne. Meanwhile, Viserys’s younger brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), also makes a claim. Dragon will fight dragon until Westeros is covered in fire and blood.

Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal will serve as showrunners for the series. Sapochnik directed multiple Emmy nominated episodes of Game of Thrones, including “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Long Night.” Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi will also score House of the Dragon season 1. The series will consist of 10 episodes and release weekly on Sundays starting August 21.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1), Prime Video — September 1

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be the first television series of the Lord of the Rings franchise. The epic drama takes place thousands of years before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, during the emergence of Sauron. The series will explore the dramatic events during the Second Age of Middle-earth, the forging of the Rings of Power, and the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron. Given the massive size of the cast, the series will likely explore multiple points of view among the several races of Middle-earth. The series is said to have a five-season commitment contract worth up to $1 billion, making it the most expensive television series ever made. The first season, which consists of eight episodes, one hour in length each, will premiere in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide and in multiple languages.

The Rings of Power is developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay and features a large, diverse cast from around the world, including Robert Aramayo as a younger Elrond. He goes from being optimistic and eager to world-weary and closed-off throughout the series. Morfydd Clark plays a younger Galadriel. Tolkien had described her in youth as being a strong fighter of “Amazon disposition,” and the series shows her journey from that point to becoming the “elder stateswoman” that the character is more commonly known as.

The series will also explore the story of Isildur, played by Maxim Baldry. He was the human who slew Sauron but whose refusal to destroy the Ring led to the events of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies. The writers wanted to explore Isildur’s story more than the source material does so the audience would feel that Isildur ends in tragedy rather than foolishness. New episodes will release weekly on Fridays.

She-Hulk, Disney+ — TBD

She-Hulk is another Marvel Studios series set to release this year, following Ms. Marvel. Tatiana Maslany, who won an Emmy for her starring role in the science fiction thriller Orphan Black. plays Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk. Jennifer is a lawyer who specializes in superhuman-related legal cases. She’s also the cousin of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and she somehow acquires his ability to turn mean and green. It’s unclear how the MCU will integrate this, but in the comics, Bruce must give his cousin a blood transfusion in order to save her life.

Related: The MCU Failed Hulk Long Before Infinity War (But Phase 4 Can Fix It)

The 10-episode She-Hulk series is produced and written by Jessica Gao while Kat Coiro and Anu Valia will both direct episodes of the show, which will also see the returns of Smart Hulk and Abomination (Tim Roth). The cast list also includes Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) while another “really good lawyer” who lives in New York City has been rumored to make an appearance. However, Charlie Cox has not been confirmed to be in the series. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has described the series as a legal comedy, and Jennifer will break the fourth wall, similar to how she does in the comics.

The Witcher: Blood Origin, Netflix — TBD

The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six-episode limited series serving as a prequel to The Witcher, set 1,200 years before the events of the original Netflix series. Blood Origin will explore the origins of the first Witcher and the events leading up to the Conjunction of the Spheres. The series is an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher book series and will also examine the ancient Elven civilization before its demise. The Witcher: Blood Origin was created by Declan de Barra, who wrote The Originals and a couple of episodes of The Witcher. Sarah O’Gorman and Vicky Jewson (Close) will lead as directors of the series, which will star Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, Michelle Yeoh, and Lenny Henry.

The Sandman (Season 1), Netflix — TBD

The Sandman is a fantasy series adapted from the DC comic book of the same name by Neil Gaiman. Seven brothers and sisters who have existed since the beginning of time are known as the Endless. They are Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction. Their names describe their function and the realms they are in charge of. Several years prior, a coven of wizards attempted to take Death captive but captured Dream instead. After being held for over 100 years, Dream, or Morpheus, escapes and sets out to restore order to his kingdom of the Dreaming.

The Sandman‘s characters are brought to life by Tom Sturridge as Dream, with Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who), Boyd Holbrook (Logan), David Thewlis (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), and Game of Thrones stars Charles Dance and Gwendoline Christie in supporting roles. The 11-episode series was developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg.

Related: The Sandman’s Lucifer Explained: How Accurate Gwendoline Christie’s Is

Andor (Season 1), Disney+ — TBD

Andor is a prequel to the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and will follow the Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) during the formative years of the rebellion. Compared to the rest of the Star Wars Disney+ lineup, Andor has flown under the radar but is shaping up to be an intriguing series. The rousing spy thriller is set five years before Rogue One and will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of the ruthless Empire. Forest Whitaker will reprise his role as extremist Saw Gerrera, a veteran of the Clone Wars and a leader of a militant extremist group.

The show was created by Tony Gilroy, and Toby Hayes is the lead director. Andor season 2 has already been greenlit by Disney and is currently in development. Other actors appearing in season 1, which consists of 12 episodes, include Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Adria Arjona (True Detective), and Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven).

Secret Invasion, Disney+ — TBD

Secret Invasion is the last Marvel Studios project slated for 2022 and the one that the public knows the least about. Its plot is being kept a secret, but the comic the show is based on saw the revelation that many familiar Marvel characters were shape-shifting Skrulls who had been infiltrating Earth’s positions of power for years. The series will star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos.

Secret Invasion is a six-episode limited series produced and written by Kyle Bradstreet (Mr. Robot) and directed by Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim. Other returning MCU actors include Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross and Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine. The series will also add several new exceptional actors to the franchise, such as Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Olivia Colman (The Crown).

The Mandalorian (Season 3), Disney+ — TBD

The Mandalorian season 3 will continue the epic story of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). The Book of Boba Fett acted as a prequel to The Mandalorian season 3, which saw Din stripped of his Mandalorian identity for his sacrilege of Mandalorian laws and quested to return to Mandalore to seek atonement. The finale also saw him reunite with his surrogate son, Grogu, who chose to return to Din Djarin rather than train as a Jedi with Luke Skywalker.

The Mandalorian season 3 was written by Jon Favreau, with Carl Weathers as lead director. Bryce Dallas Howard, who has directed some of the best episodes of both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, will also be returning to direct one episode.  The confirmed returning cast also includes Weathers as Greef Carga and Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon. The Mandalorian season 3 does not currently have a release date but has been called a “safe bet” for a Christmas release to keep with the tradition of its first two seasons. It will most likely have eight episodes, like seasons 1 and 2. However, that has not been confirmed. Either way, the epic Star Wars series is the perfect anchor to the sci-fi and fantasy projects of 2022.