Now that Marvel has announced its Phase 3 movie slate, we now have a better idea of what superhero movies will be coming our way for the next six years.
2015 (Three)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 01, 2015 (Marvel)
- Fantastic Four – June 19, 2015 (FOX)
- Ant-Man – July 17, 2015 (Marvel)
2016 (Six)
- Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25, 2016 (WB)
- Captain America: Civll War – May 06, 2016 (Marvel)
- X-Men: Apocalypse – May 27, 2016 (FOX)
- Suicide Squad – August 05, 2016 (WB)
- Doctor Strange: Serpent Society – November 04, 2016 (Marvel)
- The Sinister Six – November 11, 2016 (Sony)
2017 (Seven)
- The Wolverine 2 – March 03, 2017 (FOX)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 05, 2017 (Marvel)
- Wonder Woman – June 23, 2017 (WB)
- Fantastic Four 2 – July 14, 2017 (FOX)
- Thor: Ragnarock – July 28, 2017 (Marvel)
- Black Panther – November 03, 2017 (Marvel)
- Justice League – Part 1 – November 17, 2017 (WB)
2018 (Six)
- The Flash – March 23, 2018 (WB)
- Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May (Marvel)
- Captain Marvel – July 06, 2018 (Marvel)
- Aquaman – July 27, 2018 (WB)
- Inhumans – November 02, 2018 (Marvel)
- The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (Sony)
2019 (Three)
- Shazam – April 05, 2019 (WB)
- Avengers: Infinity War Par 2 – May (Marvel)
- Justice League Part 2 – June 14, 2019 (WB)
2020 (Two)
- Cyborg – April 03, 2020 (WB)
- Green Lantern – June 19, 2020 (WB)
What’s really interesting in this list is that the two studios, Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios don’t have any competing movies in the same month (with the exception of July 2018). Looking closely, one might presume the two sat down to divvy up the movie release pie so that they weren’t competing with one another at any one time. Of course fans have already pitted the two studios against one another in an all out battle for box office supremacy, but looking at the list in release order, it looks as though the two have realized there is plenty of (money, audiences, characters, franchises) to go around, providing they aren’t stepping on one another’s feet throughout the process. Where it becomes really interesting is when Fox and Sony get involved with the release schedule, as Sony has Sinister Six scheduled to release just a week after Doctor Strange, while FOX has X-Men Apocalypse coming out at the end of May, three weeks after Captain America 3.
For those that want an easy tally of how this breaks down:
Warner Bros. – 10 DC movies over 5 years
Marvel Studios – 11 movies over 5 years
FOX – 4 Marvel movies over 3 years
Sony – 2 Marvel movies over 4 years
Keep in mind this does not include a possible announcement about Sandman from Warner Bros. as indicated by Neil Gaiman, who said on his Tumblr page, “It’s not a DC Comics film. It’s a Vertigo film. That’s a different slate of films, and a different announcement.”
9 Comments
Wow, about 20 movies and dozen tv shows in next 5 years. You think thats enough?
“The Flash – March 23, 2018Captain Marvel – July 06, 2018 (WB)”
Your 2018 has 2 movies on one line, would make 6 movies instead of 5.
Thanks for catching that. Stats and listing updated.
I just feel like the greater population is going to get burned out on these projects as the market is inevitable filled with more and more super hero media of decreasing quality. Everyone is going to want to cash in on that meal ticket and put out anything they can, bringing the whole form down in the eyes of the average viewer. This is not unique to super heroes. It happens with music, books, pretty much any form of entertainment. I’m not viewing this from a negative at all though. I feel like these cycles are healthy and keep things from getting too formulaic and boring.
Yeah, I’m a bit concerned about the general public getting burned out on superhero movies, but I’m not sure if that’s as much of an issue these days as it used to be. The younger generation (30 and under) I think, are less inclined to dismiss the genre than their parent’s generation.
All I know is that between DC, Marvel and Star Wars movies, I will be entertained for at least the next decade. :D
Superhero movies definitely have a limited life span as a genre.
This will not last, but in these discussions I always like to pull out the most comparable genre in terms of tropes, cultural penetration etc, and that is Westerns. In 1958 there were 44 Western theatrical releases, and in 1959 there were 34…along with 26 Westerns on TV (in a 3 network television landscape). Superhero fatigue will eventually set in for the broader audience and there will be diminishing returns on these movies for the people making them. After that happens? Who knows? Westerns still get produced on occasion, but as a dominant genre, with multiple films annually that ship has sailed. Superheroes will eventually befall the same fate. There will be odd, and occasional revivals, and some will be good and some won’t.
I say enjoy this ride while it last, because we won’t likely see it again.
Hey, whatever happened to “superhero fatigue?”
Oh, I see Bruce talked some about it! WTG, Bruce!
As long as there are no Elektras, Howard the Ducks, STEEL etc. I might enjoy this glut.