Marvel Only Released One Movie in 2024, But It Still Had a Big Year

It’s hard to ideate Marvel Studios arsenic an underdog. The multi-billion dollar workplace has done the intolerable implicit the past 2 decades, releasing dozens of movies and TV shows that each stock a universe, culminating successful immoderate of the biggest and astir palmy films of each time. But, implicit the past fewer years, Marvel looked somewhat vulnerable. It looked similar the wheels were successful information of coming off. Then 2024 changed that, and it happened mostly down the scenes.

That’s due to the fact that successful 2024, Marvel lone released 1 film: Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s easy present to deliberation of the movie arsenic a immense hit, but contempt its precise fashionable characters, it was initially viewed arsenic thing of a risk. It’s not each time 1 of Disney’s brands goes against its family-friendly style but Deadpool & Wolverine was Marvel’s archetypal R-rated film. And a hard R astatine that. The hazard paid disconnected though. The violent, irreverent superhero drama went connected to interruption each sorts of container bureau records, yet becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie successful history. Think astir that. Think astir each the R-rated movies you’ve watched implicit your lifetime. Deadpool & Wolverine has outgrossed each of them.

It was a major, large triumph for the workplace aft a fewer years which, for the astir part, fell mode beneath its 2008-2019 expectations. Those years, referred to arsenic the Infinity Saga, saw damn adjacent cosmopolitan praise and container bureau occurrence for Marvel’s work, changing the look of Hollywood arsenic we knew it. But, successful the years that followed, the immense successes person been arsenic galore arsenic the disappointments. For each Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, there’s a Thor: Love and Thunder. For each WandaVision oregon Loki there’s a Secret Invasion oregon Moon Knight. This culminated successful 2023 with less-than-stellar reviews, and returns, for Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. Those were balanced by the deed that was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but arsenic that was raking successful the dough, its filmmaker James Gunn was already down the thoroughfare making movies for the competition. So, not a full win.

Those missteps necessitated a refocus that resulted successful Deadpool & Wolverine being the lone Marvel movie released successful 2024. Which, arsenic we conscionable stated, was a success. Things besides mostly worked connected the TV broadside too. Marvel Animation released the highly anticipated X-Men ’97, which rapidly became a smash, and aboriginal the merchandise of Agatha All Along followed suit, pleasing fans arsenic good arsenic critics.

That’s important due to the fact that precise small of that was portion of the archetypal plan. In 2022, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige showed up successful Hall H astatine San Diego Comic-Con and presented the slate for the adjacent fewer years. Agatha was connected there, arsenic good arsenic a fewer films from the erstwhile years, but the cohesive absorption fans saw successful the years starring up to Avengers: Endgame wasn’t there. What was each of this gathering up to? We didn’t know. And determination was nary notation of its eventual 2024 saviors Deadpool, Wolverine, oregon the X-Men.

Some of that uncertainty continued successful 2024 arsenic creatives similar Michael Waldon and Destin Daniel Cretton near their posts connected immoderate upcoming Avengers movies. Echo didn’t rather hit, and films similar Thunderbolts and Captain America 4 were moved backmost months portion one, Blade, was postponed indefinitely. A batch was riding connected Marvel’s instrumentality to Hall H connected July 27 this twelvemonth and that’s erstwhile it each changed.

By the clip San Diego Comic-Con 2024 came around, Marvel had reloaded and past some. We got to spot footage from 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which had hardly started filming. The Russo Brothers, directors of respective of the biggest and champion Marvel movies ever, were coming backmost to helm 2 much Avengers movies: Doomsday and the large one, Secret Wars. Then, the precise costly cherry connected top, the archetypal prima of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. would beryllium returning, arsenic its adjacent large villain: Dr. Doom. Later successful the year, plans for a 4th Spider-Man with Tom Holland besides added to the goodwill.

Finally, things had a direction. Finally, things we wanted to spot were happening. And though it felt ever truthful somewhat similar going backmost to what worked before, astatine slightest immoderate anticipation was restored. The instrumentality of Downey and the Russos, Spider-Man, the committedness of 1 of Marvel’s biggest untouched properties successful the Fantastic Four, positive the occurrence of Deadpool & Wolverine—which itself acceptable up each sorts of caller imaginable acknowledgment to cameos from the likes of Gambit, Blade, and Elektra—all worked unneurotic to marque 2024 a large twelvemonth for Marvel. After a fewer years of stumbling, the workplace yet regained its footing and happened astatine conscionable the close time. As Marvel readies respective large projects for 2025 and beyond, its aged person James Gunn is opening up his ain DC Universe successful nonstop opposition. Let the games begin.

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