All the sci-fi streaming in December 2022: ‘Willow’, ‘Glass Onion’, 'Top Gun', ’Doom Patrol’ & more

It must be Christmastime, because sci-fi series premieres and new seasons of familiar favorites are bundling up like a pile of yet-to-be-opened presents as the month of December gets started.

Lucasfilm stands front and center of this month’s big debuts with the hugely anticipated series premiere of Willow at Disney+, while the Mouse House also stakes out December for the start of National Treasure series spinoff National Treasure: Edge of History. HBO Max is breaking out new seasons of both Doom Patrol and His Dark Materials, Prime Video drops a fresh season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (while wrapping up the first season of futuristic sci-fi thriller The Peripheral), and Apple TV+ kicks off Season 2 of spy thriller series Slow Horses.

Along the way, there are tons of sweet big-screen treats bound for streaming platforms in December, topped, of course, by a pair of biggies: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery at Netflix and Top Gun: Maverick at Paramount+. While Daniel Craig polishes up on his southern accent, Peacock gets a trove of familiar classics including The Goonies, True Lies, and the original Space Jam; Hulu fires up the Bat-signal with Christopher Nolan’s complete Batman trilogy; and Amazon snags Cloverfield, Escape from L.A., and Hotel Transylvania.

HIGHLIGHTS

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix): Craig’s endearing drawl aside, who can resist a conniving cast that includes Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline? The sophomore old-fashioned murder whodunnit from writer and director Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery finds Craig’s genial detective Benoit Blanc giving every suspect the side-eye when it debuts on Netflix on Dec. 23.

Willow: Season 1 (Disney+): No new series arrives with more hype than Willow, the small-screen revival of a beloved fantasy lore-verse that stands among Lucasfilm’s biggest imaginative leaps not named Star Wars. Warwick Davis returns as the titular Willow Ufgood, flanked by a cast of fresh faces who team together as they embark on an epic far-flung quest. Nov. 30 marked the series premiere, with new episodes landing each week all through December and beyond.

National Treasure: Edge of History: Season 1 (Disney+): While they’re at it, Disney+ might as well tap another sweet big-screen franchise for a late-year series spinoff. National Treasure: Edge of History unfolds a new story set within the adventuresome movieverse first introduced by Nic Cage, only this time with a new cast that includes Catherine Zeta-Jones and Harvey Keitel. Season 1 consists of 10 episodes, with the first arriving on Dec. 14.

His Dark Materials: Season 3 (HBO Max): It’s been a while since our two young protagonists (helped by Lin Manuel Miranda as adventurer Lee Scoresby) juggled interweaving crises that connect our world with a parallel dimension. That’s set to change on Dec. 5, when His Dark Materials at last returns to HBO Max for its third and final season.

Doom Patrol: Season 4 (HBO Max): How much of the Immortus Initiative (lightly rebranded for TV as “Project Immortus”) will carry over from the DC comics into the new season of Doom Patrol? Let’s face it, no one in this crew of superhero rejects is asking questions that require that much detail — though that all could change at HBO Max in Season 4, as the gang must face their former selves with a dash back to the past to resolve a seriously twisted dilemma.

The Peripheral: Season 1 finale (Prime Video): If you’ve been playing along as Chloë Grace Moretz and Jack Reynor navigate a VR-enabled vision of the future, the Season 1 finale of The Peripheral at Prime Video can’t come soon enough. Thankfully, some of the season’s biggest mysteries (we hope) will find an answer when the Dec. 9 finale boots up for the trippy, William Gibson-inspired, Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan-created series.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season 3 (Prime Video): Now we’re getting into the heart of the holidays, with the Season 3 premiere of Prime Video’s Jack Ryan set to launch star John Krasinski on a whole new espionage endeavor beginning Dec. 21. There’s a lot for the series to catch up on: New episodes of Jack Ryan have been MIA from the platform for an almost-excruciating three years.

Sonic Prime: Season 1 (Netflix): Sonic’s gotten good enough at the whole CGI / live-action thing now to at last feel comfortable returning to the animated format that more closely comports with his SEGA video game roots. Season 1 of the animated hedgehog series Sonic Prime laces up on Netflix on Dec. 15, taking off on a marathon debut season that consists of a whopping 24 episodes.

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount+): Not to be outdone as Yuletide draws near, Tom Cruise is setting up for a Christmas-week flyover for Paramount+ subscribers. Top Gun: Maverick leaves the vapors of the movie’s high-flying box office in its wake for a cozy home video landing at the streamer starting on Dec. 22.

Peacock

Items marked with * indicate programming exclusive to Peacock.

Dec. 1

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, 2009  
The Day After Tomorrow, 2004 
Deja Vu, 2006 
First Cow, 2019* 4K UHD  
The Goonies, 1985 
Green Lantern, 2011 
Kill Bill: Volume 1, 2003* 
Kill Bill: Volume 2, 2004* 
Moonrise Kingdom, 2012 
Night at the Museum, 2006 
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000 
Out of Sight, 1998 
The Peanuts Movie, 2015 
The Pirates! Band of the Misfits, 2012 
Puss in Boots, 2011 
Safe House, 2012 
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 2014 4K UHD 
The Smurfs, 2011 
The Smurfs 2, 2013 
Space Jam, 1996 
Speed, 1994* 
Spy Game, 2001 
True Lies, 1994* 
Unbreakable, 2000 
XXX, 2002* 
XXX: The State of the Union, 2005* 

RELATED: Everything coming to Peacock in December 2022

Disney+

Dec. 2
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules

Dec. 7
Alice’s Wonderland Bakery Season 1
Beyond Magic With DMC Season 1
The Mysterious Benedict Society — Season finale
Willow Ep. 3

Dec. 9
Area 51: The CIA’s Secret
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again

Dec. 14
Willow Ep. 4
National Treasure: Edge of History (2-episode series premiere)

Dec. 16
Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration
Muppets Most Wanted (Sing-Along Version)

Dec. 21
National Treasure: Edge of History Episode 3
Willow Ep. 5

Dec. 28
National Treasure: Edge of History Episode 4
Willow Ep. 6
Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl

Netflix

Dec. 1
21 Jump Street (2012)
Dead End (Season 1)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Season 1 – Episodes 25-38)
Peppermint (2018)
Solace (2015)
The Happytime Murders (2018)
Troll (2022)
Troy (2004)

Dec. 2
Hot Skull (Season 1)
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
The Magic Roundabout / Doogal (2005)
Warriors of Future (2022)

Dec. 3
Bullet Train (2022)

Dec. 6
Storks (2016)
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus

Dec. 9
Dragon Age: Absolution (Season 1)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Dec. 10
Alchemy of Souls (Season 1 – Part 2)
Prisoners (2013)

Dec. 15
Sonic Prime (Season 1)
Violet Evergarden: Recollections (2022)
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (2022)

Dec. 20
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 1 (2022)

Dec. 23
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Dec. 25
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (2022)
The Witcher: Blood Origin (Limited Series)
Time Hustler (Season 1)

Dec. 28
7 Women and a Murder (2022)

Dec. 30
They Cloned Tyrone (2022)

Hulu

Dec. 1
Christine (1983)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)
Final Destination (2000)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Final Destination 3 (2006)
The Final Destination (2009)
Final Destination 5 (2011)
The Good Witch of Christmas (2022)
Hancock (2008)
I, Frankenstein (2014)
Rio (2011)
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)

Dec. 2
American Carnage (2021)
Gone in the Night (2022)
Darby and the Dead (2022)

Dec. 8
The Night House (2020)
Proximity (2020)

Dec. 9
It’s a Wonderful Binge

Dec. 12
The Batman Trilogy: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises
Inception (2010)

Dec. 13
Kindred

Dec. 19
Paranoia (2013)

Dec. 20
Fear the Walking Dead: Complete Season 7

Dec. 23
Mack + Rita (2022) 

Dec. 25
Mfkz (2018) 

Dec. 26
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Dec. 30
Into the Deep (2022)
The Last Journey of Paul W.R. (2020)

HBO Max

Dec. 1
10,000 B.C., 2008
Burn After Reading, 2008
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, 2008 (HBO)
Gone Girl, 2014 (HBO)
Green Room, 2015 (HBO)
Hellraiser III Hell on Earth, 1992 (HBO)
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline, 1996 (HBO)
Hellraiser V: Inferno, 2000 (HBO)
Hellraiser VII: Deader, 2005 (HBO)
Hellraiser: Hellseeker, 2002 (HBO)
Hellraiser: Hellworld, 2005 (HBO)
Hook, 1991
Into the Forest, 2015 (HBO)
The Maze Runner, 2014 (HBO)
The Purge: Anarchy, 2014
Redemption, 2013 (HBO)
Reindeer Games, 2000 (Director’s Cut)
The Sea of Trees, 2015 (HBO)
Sesame Street's The Nutcracker
The Tomorrow Man, 2019 (HBO)

Dec. 5
His Dark Materials Season 3 (premiere)

Dec. 8
Doom Patrol Season 4 (premiere)

Dec. 9
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, 2018 (HBO)

Dec. 12
Adult Swim Yule Log

Dec. 22
The Head Season 2 (premiere)

Paramount Plus

Dec. 16
Snow Day

Dec. 21
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 3 (2012)

Dec. 22
Top Gun: Maverick

Prime Video

Dec. 1
Cloverfield
Escape from L.A.
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
Muppets From Space (1999)
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Pet Sematary (1989)
Superbad (2007)
The Cave (2005)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
The Ring (2002)
The Smurfs (2011)
The Smurfs 2 (2013)
Walking Tall (2004)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Dec. 13
The Black Phone (2022)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Dec. 16
Nanny (2022)

Dec. 21
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Season 3 (premiere)

Dec. 30
Justice League Action Season 1 (2018)
Teen Titans Seasons 1-5 (2003)

Apple TV+

Dec. 2
Mythic Quest Season 3 Ep. 5
Slow Horses Season 2 

Dec. 9
Mythic Quest Season 3 Ep. 6

Dec. 16
Mythic Quest Season 3 Ep. 7

Dec. 23
Mythic Quest Season 3 Ep. 8

Dec. 30
Mythic Quest Season 3 Ep. 9