It’s hard to imagine Marvel Studios being an underdog. The multi-billion dollar studio has done the impossible in the last two decades, releasing dozens of movies and TV shows that all share one universe, concluded some of the biggest and most successful films of all time. However, in the last few years, Marvel has been pretty weak. Looks like the wheels are at risk of coming off. THEN 2024 changes thatand it happens mostly behind the scenes.

That’s because in 2024, Marvel only released one film: Deadpool and Wolverine. it it’s easy now to think of the film as a big hitbut despite its very popular characters, it was initially viewed as something dangerous. It’s not every day that one of Disney’s brands goes against the grain its family-friendly style BUT Deadpool and Wolverine is Marvel’s first R-rated film. And a hard R at that. The risk paid off however. The violent, irreverent superhero comedy went on to break all kinds of box office records, eventually becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film in history. Think about that. Think of all the R-rated movies you’ve watched in your lifetime. Deadpool and Wolverine they have all excelled.

This is a major, major win for the studio after a few years that, for the most part, fell short of expectations in 2008-2019. Those years, called the Infinity Saga, saw near-universal acclaim and box office success for Marvel’s work, changing the face of Hollywood as we know it. However, in the years that followed, there were as many great successes as there were disappointments. For each Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madnessthere is a Thor: Love and Thunder. For each WandaVision or Loki there is a Secret Invasion or Moon Knight. It ends in 2023 with less-than-stellar reviews, and returns, for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Wonders. Those who are balanced on the hit that is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3but while that was going on, its filmmaker James Gunn was on the streets making movies for the competition. So, not a total victory.

Those missteps require a refocusing that results Deadpool and Wolverine which is the only Marvel film released in 2024. Which, as we said, is an achievement. Things generally work on the TV side as well. Marvel Animation released the highly anticipated X-Men ’97which quickly became a smash, and later the release of Agatha All followed, pleasing fans as well as critics.

That’s important because it’s a small part of the original plan. In 2022, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige appeared in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con and presented the slate for the next few years. Agatha there, as well as some films from previous years, but the unified direction that fans have seen in the years leading up to Avengers: Endgame not there. What has all this construction done? We don’t know. And there is no mention of 2024 saviors Deadpool, Wolverine, or X-Men.

Some of that uncertainty continues in 2024 as creatives like Michael Waldon and Destin Daniel Cretton leave their posts for some time to come. Avengers movies. Echo less hit, and films like Thunderstorms and Captain America 4 moved back months while one, Bladepostponed indefinitely. A lot is riding on Marvel’s return to Hall H on July 27 this year and that’s when everything changed.

With San Diego Comic-Con 2024 coming up, Marvel is reloading and then some. We see footage from 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Stepswhich is about to start filming. The Russo Brothers, directors of several of the biggest and best Marvel movies ever, are back to helm two more Avengers movies: Doomsday and the big one, Secret Wars. Then, the precious cherry on top, the first star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. returns, as its next big villain: Dr. Doom. Later in the year, plans for a fourth Spider-Man with Tom Holland were also added to the goodwill.

Finally, things have a direction. Finally, the things we wanted to see happened. And even if it feels a little like going back to what worked before, at least some hope has been restored. The return of Downey and the Russos, Spider-Man, the promise of one of Marvel’s greatest untouched properties in the Fantastic Four, in addition to the success of Deadpool and Wolverine—which itself holds up all kinds of new potential thanks to cameos from the likes of Gambit, Blade, and Elektra—all working together to make 2024 a great year for Marvel. After several years of stumbling, the studio finally found its footing and happened at the right time. As Marvel prepares several big projects for 2025 and beyond, old friend James Gunn opens his own DC Universe in direct opposition. Let the games begin.

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