In 2025, many Marvel productions are lined up for release. We take a look at the highlights for you.
Marvel is bringing back legendary heroes. Image Source: 20th Century Studios / Marvel Studios.
The year 2024 was a rollercoaster for Marvel at the box office. Deadpool & Wolverine brought together two of the universe's most beloved characters and climbed to become the second-highest-grossing film of the year, raking in $1.3 billion worldwide. Wesley Snipes' surprise appearance as his iconic role, Blade, completed the fairytale.
On the other hand, Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter turned out to be major disappointments. The superhero film starring Dakota Johnson received a mere 4/10 rating on IMDb and managed to earn only $100.5 million globally. But for those who thought Madame Web had hit rock bottom for superhero movies, Kraven the Hunter proved them wrong. Despite a slightly better IMDb rating of 5.4, it only brought in $62 million at the box office.
These examples are symptoms of a trend that has been emerging for years. The oversaturation of the superhero market is taking its toll on multiple fronts, and production studios are being forced to adapt. Marvel and Disney have big plans for this year to counteract the downward spiral.
Marvel's Creative Rethink: What's Coming in 2025
Many fans are hoping for a more careful selection and development of new Marvel adventures – quality over quantity. Disney CEO Bob Iger echoed this sentiment as early as 2023, stating that Marvel’s creative approach needed a fundamental rethink.
"Quality needs attention to deliver quality, it doesn’t happen by accident. And quantity, in our case, diluted quality – and Marvel has suffered greatly from that."
A major factor in this shift is the approach to sequels. Iger emphasized that there should always be an artistic reason for producing a sequel, not just a financial one. Follow-ups must be worth telling. In 2025, Marvel will have to prove that this new mindset has paid off.
For 2025, the following Marvel productions are planned (or have already been released):
January 29th: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Animated Series)
February 14th: Captain America: Brave New World (Movie)
March 4th: Daredevil: Born Again (Series)
May 2nd: Thunderbolts* (Movie)
June 24th: Ironheart (Series)
July 25th: Fantastic Four: First Steps (Movie)
August 6th: Eyes of Wakanda (Animated Miniseries)
October: Marvel Zombies (Animated Miniseries)
December: Wonder Man (Miniseries)
In May, the anti-heroes of Thunderbolts have their big screen premiere. Image Source: Marvel Studios
That means we can expect a total of three new theatrical films, three live-action series, and three animated series. Among them are some prestigious comebacks: Disney+ is continuing Netflix’s 2015 hit series Daredevil with fresh content, and Marvel’s First Family is making a long-awaited return to the big screen with Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The Biggest Marvel Comebacks in 2025
With Daredevil: Born Again, one of the most beloved superhero series of all time is making its return. After Marvel’s Daredevil made a huge impact on Netflix in 2015 – earning an outstanding 99% on Rotten Tomatoes for its first season – the long-awaited continuation is set to arrive on Disney+ in March 2025.
Charlie Cox reprises his role as blind lawyer Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio returns as the formidable Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. The new chapter begins with an uneasy truce between the two rivals. Murdock has given up his vigilante persona as Daredevil, while Fisk is trying his hand at politics, running for mayor of New York. But it’s only a matter of time before things take a turn.
The first reactions to the series premiere are fueling serious excitement. For example, Cinemablend’s Sean O’Connell was thrilled after watching the first two episodes in advance:
“Holy Hell’s Kitchen! DaredevilBornAgain opens with a lengthy, devastating sequence that screams, ‘This is just as brutal as Netflix.’ From there, the 2 episodes lay out a layered story about cops, vigilantes, and guilt. Read DEVIL’S REIGN as a refresh. Off to a GREAT start!”
Screen Rant’s Liam Crowley even sees GOAT potential in the opening:
“Daredevil Born Again has the best pilot of any MCU series thus far, and it’s not close. Edge of seat energy w/ audible gasps throughout. Charlie & Vincent haven’t lost a step, Benson & Moorhead bring the sauce. Above all else, it’s EPISODIC. We *might* be back.”
For fans of the new Daredevil series, the future looks bright. According to Marvel's Head of Streaming, Brad Winderbaum, the first season in 2025 is just the beginning. It has already been confirmed that the series will continue with Season 2 in 2026, but that’s only the start. In an interview with Screen Rant, when asked whether we can expect Daredevil to follow a yearly release schedule, Winderbaum responded:
“That is the plan. Season 2 will come out next year, and then hopefully season 3 and season infinity after that. I think this world is extremely rich, and there are many stories to be told on the streets of New York.”
Let’s hope the new Daredevil can live up to its predecessor’s success and make good on this promise.
Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four’s return to the big screen doesn’t have such a solid foundation. The superhero team made its cinematic debut in 2005 under the 20th Century Fox banner. While it was considered lighthearted and somewhat shallow even back then, its star-studded cast – featuring Chris Evans and Jessica Alba – helped it achieve enough success to warrant a sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, it still failed to become a major hit.
After that, the franchise faded into obscurity until the 2015 reboot dealt another devastating blow. The film was a critical and commercial disaster, even winning three Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Remake/Reboot.
This year, Fantastic Four: First Steps aims to break the curse with a fresh cast and an entirely new setting. Set in an alternate, retro-futuristic 1960s, the film follows Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face a colossal threat: the world-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).
In the comments under the YouTube trailer, fans are expressing their optimism. One user writes, "I'm 50 years old, and I can't wait to take my dad to this movie, as it was the first comic he introduced me to." Another praises the film’s musical score: "Many times we talk about actors who were born to play a character, but can we start talking about composers who were born to play their score? Michael Giacchino with Fantastic Four feels... perfect."
But let’s step away from the future releases for a moment. You’ve probably already noticed – we’re in March 2025, which means that two of this year’s Marvel releases have already premiered.
Marvel's Start to 2025 Is Shaky
Marvel’s year didn’t start off too badly. On January 29, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premiered as a brand-new animated series on Disney+. The show explores Peter Parker’s early years as Spider-Man in high school – but with a twist. Instead of being mentored by Tony Stark, as in the MCU, this version of Peter grows up in an alternate reality where he falls under the guidance of Oscorp CEO Norman Osborn. As a newly minted superhero, he must learn to control his powers while also navigating the challenges of high school life.
On IMDb, the animated series earned a solid 7.3/10, while Rotten Tomatoes shows an impressive 97% on the Tomatometer. However, to be fair, that score reflects only critic reviews. Among general audiences, the Popcorn Meter sits at a more modest 68%.
Despite this, the series brought a fresh and intriguing concept in contrast to the MCU. Screen Rant’s Kevin Erdmann praised its storytelling potential, particularly how its multi-branch approach allows for a dynamic narrative:
“The show definitely scratches the itch for everyone wanting more of a grounded MCU Spider-Man swinging through the New York streets, something that seems to be taking a backseat in the main MCU in favor of the overarching Multiverse Saga…”
Unfortunately, Marvel’s first theatrical release of the year didn’t fare as well. While Captain America: Brave New World had a strong opening weekend, its box office earnings plummeted dramatically in the following weeks.
The movie follows Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, who puts a stop to the ruthless mercenary Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Serpent Society during a mission in Mexico. He wants to accept his laurels at the White House, but instead of celebrating, the hero is confronted with another conflict of global proportions.
While the fourth Captain America film crossed the $100 million mark in earnings within its first few days, lukewarm reviews took their toll. With a low 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film failed to attract many new moviegoers. In its second week, Captain America: Brave New World made only $28.3 million in U.S. theaters – a 68% drop from its opening weekend. While a decline in box office numbers is expected, such a steep drop is unusual. This places the movie among the worst second-weekend performers in the MCU, with only two other films faring worse: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (70% drop in 2023) and The Marvels (78% drop the same year).
You see, critics weren’t exactly blown away. David Fear of Rolling Stone writes:
“While Brave New World is nowhere near as bad as the various MCU low points of the past few years, this attempt at both reestablishing the iconic character and resetting the board is still weak tea.”
If Marvel wants to correct its course and move upward, its upcoming productions need to perform better. However, if the predictions for Daredevil and Fantastic Four hold true, there’s still plenty of potential for a turnaround.
