When I set out to write this, it was with the understanding that 2025 has given us a ton of superhero films. 3 MCU films plus arguably the most recognizable superhero in the world, all within the span of 6 months? That’s a lot of tights, right? 2025’s tights per capita has to be near the top of any such list.
Wrong.
Did you know—probably you don’t, because I’m clearly the dork in this relationship—that DC alone released 4 movies in 2023? Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beatle, and Aquaman: I Can’t Believe They Made a Sequel were all given the big screen treatment.
Look at that list of movies again. What’s the opposite of a murderer’s row? (A bunch of DC movies.) Almost certainly unrelated, those were the last 4 movies DC released before handing James Gunn a bag of money to fix it please.
Marvel was also busy in 2023, gifting us such notable classics as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (which I have a soft spot for because it led to an incredible penis joke), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Marvels. It’s probably early wherever you’re reading this, so let me add them up for you—that’s 7 superhero movies. In a single year.
This was all news to me, btw, and I am on Main Street for this stuff. Cinema talking heads prattle on about superhero fatigue, but it’s actually shitty movie fatigue. Guardians 3 is the only worthwhile film of the bunch, but it never approaches the heights regularly reached during Marvel’s heyday.
The 2025 films come at a critical juncture, with both studios restaging their action figures in familiar but hopefully novel ways in an attempt to win back audiences.
Marvel wants to recapture its 2019 era magic and extend the longest-running franchise in cinema history. Did you realize the MCU is up to 37 films? That boggles the mind. Not just the sheer number of movies, but the fact that I watched them all. I need to go home and rethink my life.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but DC is resetting their cinematic universe. Yes, again! I actually have high hopes this time, even though DC is doing DC things right out the gate. Regular people are not going to understand why Batman in the DC universe is not played by Robert Pattinson, aka Batman in Matt Reeves’ entirely separate storyline dubbed The Batman Epic Crime Saga, which includes The Batman and the HBO spin-off The Penguin. I get it—emo Batman doesn’t fit Gunn’s vision for the character. However, the Batman Saga is easily the best thing DC has done since The Dark Knight. The decision to keep it at arm’s length shows that deep down, DC is still DC.
Alright. Enough looking back. Let’s talk about these new films and where the genre seems to be headed.