We come bearing good news, comic book fans! After a couple of slow years, cinematically speaking, the roster of upcoming superhero movies releasing in 2025 has some pretty exciting names for fans of both DC and Marvel franchises.
Although 2024 has been quieter than other years in terms of the superhero genre, several big banner titles from both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe made their way to the theatres after the SAG AFTRA strikes of 2023.
Madame Web (2024), the latest in Sony’s Spider-Man universe, featured Dakota Johnson in an atypical rendition of Cassandra Web. However, it failed to make box-office waves. Then there was Deadpool & Wolverine, the only MCU film to hit the theatres in 2024. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, this superhero movie became the highest-grossing title since Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Sony’s much-delayed third instalment of the Venom franchise,Venom: The Last Dance, was also among the superhero movies released in 2024 to mixed reception.
Similarly, DCU made its presence felt with Joker: Folie à Deux in October 2024, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Batman villain and Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel. While it was a sequel to Joker (2019), the first R-rated film to make over USD 1 billion, the new film received poor reviews and became one of the worst-rated comic book movies.
However, things look promising as some interesting upcoming superhero movies await us in 2025. From a brand new Captain America character picking up the mantle to a promising ensemble film reminiscent of the Avengers, 2025 could bring about a revival of sorts for blockbuster superhero movies with Brave New World and Thunderbolts*.
Other highlights include the first film in James Gunn’s new DC timeline — a brand-new slate of 10 movies and TV shows to relaunch the universe — and the beginning of Marvel Phase 6. A new Fantastic Four movie set in an alternate timeline will mark a fresh way forward.
Reinventing things is the most sensible option right now as it’s practically impossible to keep track of all the superhero universes and canons these days, which can be overwhelming for both fans and the storylines. While Gunn’s Superman will be introducing a new Kal-El, Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four will feature a brand-new version of Marevl’s First Family who live in a retro-futuristic reality, away from the main Earth-616.
Upcoming superhero movies of 2025 to set a reminder for
Captain America: Brave New World
Release date: 14 February
Directed by: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Harrison Ford
Sam Wilson (Mackie) has officially assumed the role of Captain America. He meets with newly elected US President Thaddeus Ross (Ford) and finds himself amid an international crisis. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
This new Captain America movie is slated to begin a busy year for Marvel Studios after the 2024 lull. It is also the first solo title where a different character has picked up the baton of the titular character. While Chris Evans previously played Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, Captain America: Brave New World introduces Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new superhero after Steve retired in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Thunderbolts*
Release date: 2 May
Directed by: Jake Schreier
Cast: Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
While Marvel Studios hasn’t released an official synopsis of the film yet, the trailer shows characters from previous MCU movies who haven’t always been on the right side of history. They serve as a government-sponsored team of antiheroes who deal with nefarious villains the other superheroes of the MCU won’t get their hands dirty with. It is also likely to deal with Louis-Dreyfus’ Val and her cunning ways to get the superhumans and villains to work for her.
Thunderbolts* is the first of two team-focused MCU films to be released in 2025.
Superman
Release date: 11 July
Directed by: James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Isabela Merced
According to IMDb, the movie will follow the titular superhero as he reconciles his heritage with his human upbringing. He is the personification of truth and justice in a world that views these as old-fashioned.
James Gunn’s Superman is a step towards a new realm of DC films on screen which the director and Peter Safran are calling DCU, where movies and series will follow a common continuity. DC and Warner Bros dropped the trailer on 19 December.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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Release date: 25 July
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the first MCU movie to bring Marvel’s First Family and the Avengers in the same live-action universe. The film features MCU versions of Reed Richards (Pascal), aka Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm (Kirby), aka The Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm (Bachrach), aka The Thing and Johnny Storm (Quinn), aka The Human Torch. The film shall begin MCU’s Phase 6 and comes ahead of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (slated to release in 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (slated to release in 2027).
Marvel President Kevin Feige has also confirmed that it will be a period piece with a 1960s setting. The film seems to begin a new universe in the grand MCU multiverse with superheroes who haven’t been mentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before.
Other upcoming superhero movies
While these are some of the highly anticipated projects that have been announced for 2025, some other exciting titles are also in the pipeline but delayed: Spider-Woman from Sony Pictures Animation, Sony’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, and Disney’s Blade.
Blade was initially announced to be released on 7 November 2025. However, Disney has removed the troubled Marvel movie from its 2025 release schedule and will instead release 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands on that date.
But fans need not be worried. With time, more release dates would be announced. In fact, a few titles like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Avengers: Doomsday are being announced as part of the 2026 superhero movies roster. Unfortunately, Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, starring Robert Pattinson, has been pushed from 2 October 2026 to 1 October 2027 for release.
(Hero and featured images: Courtesy of IMDb)
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
