2023 has ended up being a disastrous year for superhero movies. DC has produced flop after flop, and not even Marvel Studios was immune from releasing some critical and commercial disappointments. Now, the internet is rife with "superhero fatigue" talk.
Can 2024 turn it all around? Honestly, we're not sure. There are some very exciting Marvel and DC movies on the way and some which we can almost guarantee will bomb at the box office and with comic book fans.
Still, it's a unique lineup and one we've now ranked from least to most anticipated. Sony Pictures will release more Marvel movies than even Marvel Studios in 2024, while it won't just be in theaters that this genre makes its mark.
Find out what we think will be the winners and losers of next year for Marvel and DC by clicking the "Next" button below.
NOTE: Spider-Man: Freshman Year, Marvel Zombies, Superman & Lois season 4, and Creature Commandos are not listed here because, post-strikes, they are only rumoured for release in 2024, not confirmed.
9. Kraven the Hunter
Spider-Man has a great many villains and, of all of them, Kraven the Hunter arguably stands the best chance of holding his own in a movie which explores his origin.
Unfortunately, Sony's R-Rated approach to the villain looks utterly dismal. Now an animal-loving do-gooder who hunts down poachers, Kraven seems to have lost much of his personality from the comic books and, when he's not biting ears off, he'll be battling a crummy-looking CG Rhino.
This has all the makings of a bad movie and, while we're expecting some decent action scenes, there will likely be too many liberties taken with the source material to make Kraven the Hunter any better than Venom and Morbius.
8. Madame Web
Like Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web looks like an unreleased superhero movie from the mid-2000s that's somehow found its way to the present day.
On the one hand, it's hard not to be intrigued by what appears to be a Multiversal adventure which could have wider ramifications for Sony's Spider-Verse. However, it feels like the trailer is trolling fans to some extent, with those comic-accurate costumes bound to only appear in flash-forwards to a possible future.
"Generic" may be the best word to describe this one and we're not expecting much. If anything, it's likely to do something catastrophically dumb like making the MCU's Peter Parker this world's Spidey before he was sent to an alternate reality! Best case scenario, The Vulture gets sent home.
7. Agatha: Darkhold Diaries
We're sorry not to rank this one any higher, but Marvel Studios has yet to get us excited about what's to come in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.
If recent rumours are to be believed, the Disney+ series will free Agatha Harkness from the mental prison the Scarlet Witch trapped her in during the events of WandaVision. However, her old coven will then come looking for revenge and we anticipate a teenage Billy Maximoff, a.k.a. Wiccan, stepping into the spotlight.
That suggests the events of Agatha: Darkhold Diaries will be key to the MCU's future to some extent, but did the story require a six-episode TV series? We'd bet on this being another show that feels like a Marvel Special Presentation that's been stretched out into an episodic format.
6. Venom 3
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was a significant improvement over its predecessor, though it still made more than its fair share of mistakes. For example, killing Carnage is up there as one of the dumbest creative decisions Sony has ever made.
Now, franchise screenwriter Kelly Marcel is making her directing debut with this untitled third instalment. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple joining the cast has piqued our interest, but money talks, and plenty of great actors have already been wasted by the Venom movies.
The scripts have always been the weakest part of these movies, so nothing about Marcel helming the action has us particularly excited. There's a chance it will surprise us, so we'll see.
5. X-Men '97
We've now reached a point in this list where the titles listed are both far more exciting and likely to be a lot better than the other movies and TV shows mentioned above. In the case of X-Men '97, the long-awaited X-Men: The Animated Series follow-up can't get here quickly enough.
It's too soon to say whether it will be able to live up to its predecessor, but the prospect of those original voice actors reprising their respective roles for a legitimate sequel is thrilling.
Little has been revealed about X-Men '97. However, Professor X will have gone missing, prompting Magneto to put his evil-doing ways behind him as a bona fide member of the X-Men. Oh, and with Mister Sinister set to serve as the big bad, we're keeping everything crossed this one doesn't disappoint.
4. The Penguin
In a strange way, it feels like The Batman came and went before largely being forgotten. Perhaps that's because there were so many other superhero movies and TV shows which dominated headlines in 2022; either way, Matt Reeves' reboot remains a masterpiece.
Do we need The Penguin, a series detailing Oz's rise from flunky to Gotham City's criminal boss, any more than Agatha: Darkhold Diaries? We can't deny that it's up for debate, but with the villain expected to be a key player in The Batman II, the show should make for essential viewing (Batman is also rumoured to appear).
With the same adult tone as the movie it follows, we're confident The Penguin will be a hard-hitting crime show which further expands this Elseworlds DC Universe.
3. Echo
It's beginning to feel like we could ask "What's the point?" for all of the 2024 TV shows listed here. Alaqua Cox was phenomenal in Hawkeye, but her role in the 2021 series didn't exactly leave us thinking Maya Lopez was in desperate need of a spin-off.
However, with a TV-MA rating and an unprecedented five-episode debut for a Marvel Studios TV series, Echo has the potential to be 2024's biggest surprise. Gritty, violent, and featuring appearances from Daredevil and The Kingpin, this feels like the show fans of Marvel Television's Netflix offerings have spent years demanding.
We've seen the first three episodes of Echo and while that's all we can tell you right now, the trailer alone left us confident enough to place the series this high.
2. Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker was an incredible movie and it's fair to say none of us expected a sequel. There were suggestions a follow-up could pit Arthur Fleck against a traumatised Bruce Wayne (who dresses up as a bat), but instead, filmmaker Todd Phillips is shifting the spotlight to The Joker's relationship with Harley Quinn.
It will be key for this movie to avoid retreading any familiar ground from the past but, because the first instalment barely adhered to what we've seen on the page, Joker: Folie à Deux will likely be another outing simply inspired by the source material.
That's not necessarily a negative, of course, and we cannot wait to see what 2024's only DC movie does with the Clown Prince of Crime before DC Studios launches the new DCU in 2025.
1. Deadpool 3
Just like Joker: Folie à Deux is DC's only 2024 movie, so too is Deadpool 3 all we're getting from Marvel Studios. That's probably a necessity as Kevin Feige looks to get the MCU back on the right track, but all signs point to this threequel being a much-needed return to form for Marvel Studios and the Multiverse Saga.
We're expecting cameos galore, the X-Men in their comic-accirate costumes, and the stage being set for the net Avengers movies...along with the expected R-Rated humour and action the Deadpool franchise is known for.
If this movie doesn't work, then perhaps that "superhero fatigue" talk is warranted. As things stand, though, we expect Deadpool 3 to live up to expectations and deliver a win for Marvel Studios which will remind the haters why they're the best there is at what they do...bub!