It’s an exciting time to be a comic book movie fan.
Frankly, most of these upcoming releases excite us in a big way, but which ones are we looking forward to the most? Well, there are no less than 25 movies based on Marvel and DC properties alone scheduled for the next five years and we’re going to rank them based on how excited they are making us.
So, without further ado, here are all 25 upcoming comic book movies ranked by how excited we are for them.
N.B. This list will only include movies that have been given a release date. So, for example, in spite of the fact that we know it’s happening at some point (and that we are indeed excited for it), the solo Batman movie starring Ben Affleck will not be in the list.
Cyborg (2020)
Cyborg AKA Victor Stone simply isn’t an A-list character, so the fact is that his movie isn’t really generating much excitement at the moment.
That being said, the 2020 offering – starring Ray Fisher in the titular role – could turn out to be DC’s Iron Man.
We really hope the Cyborg movie turns out to be great – and we’re sure we’ll be more excited about it if the character proves to be popular in the movies leading up to it, but at the moment we’re not all that bothered about it.
Aquaman (2018)
Aquaman is a much more potent and powerful hero than he’s often given credit for (especially by non-comic fans who make assumptions based on his portrayal in popular culture) and, as a result, his upcoming solo movie isn’t exactly generating a lot of excitement.
Game of Thrones’ Jason Momoa will take on the role of the character in the DC Extended Universe and will get his own movie in 2018.
Excitement might increase when he first portrays the character in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and shows that he’s not a joke but, until then, not too many people are overly concerned about it.
Shazam (2019)
Shazam is another character who, having not yet been depicted in a live action movie, isn’t generating a lot of excitement when it comes to his live action movie – because very few non-comic book fans have really heard of him and that limits his potential audience at this stage.
That being said, we’re getting to the point in the list now where all of the movies are welcome additions to their respective franchises, so it’s not as if nobody wants the Shazam movie to happen – the magically-powered character will certainly bring something different to the DC Extended Universe.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will play opposite Shazam as the ambiguous Black Adam – and that’s enough to guarantee the movie’s success in itself – but, as things stand, there’s not enough hype to put it any further up this list.
Gambit (2016)
Gambit first appeared in a live action movie when Taylor Kitsch portrayed him briefly in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine – but fans of the character will finally get the depiction they’ve been hoping for in 2016 when Channing Tatum takes on the role in the character’s first solo movie.
That being said, in comparison to the likes of the aforementioned Wolverine, Gambit just doesn’t have many fans (that’s not to say he has none – he most certainly has some) so his movie isn’t generating as much excitement as most others on this list.
It may well turn out to be great – we certainly hope that’s the case – and it’s certainly a welcome addition to the X-Men franchise, but the fact is it’s not as a big a deal as the true blockbusters that are heading our way.
The Untitled Third Wolverine Movie (2017)
A Wolverine movie is always welcome – Hugh Jackman has made the character incredibly popular since he first appeared as him in the year 2000 in the first X-Men movie – but he’s undoubtedly being overused and that’s why enthusiasm is starting to wane and his next movie isn’t higher on this list.
Of course, it doesn’t help that we don’t even know what the movie will be called or what it will entail yet – it hasn’t been given a title – but the fact is other movies are exciting us more at the moment.
There are strong rumours that it might be an Old Man Logan movie – and that would definitely be cool – but, for now, this 2017 offering isn’t exactly leaving us chomping at the bit for its release.
Captain Marvel (2018)
Although she’s hardly the most popular female character in comic books, the arrival of Captain Marvel AKA Carol Danvers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is indeed an exciting one.
Whether or not she appears before her 2018 solo outing remains to be seen, but Captain Marvel will be the first female character to headline an MCU movie to date and will represent only the second truly super-powered heroine to be seen on screen (with Scarlet Witch being the other one).
Should her movie prove to be a success, it will pave the way for more female characters to get their own movies – and that’s an even more exciting prospect. Should it fail, however, and it could ruin the chances of other female characters getting their own movies – and that means there is some apprehension about it.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
2017’s Thor: Ragnarok will be a huge event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it will see the return of Loki, the aftermath of his usurping of Odin to become the ruler of Asgard and the arrival of characters like Surtur – and for those reasons you’d think it would be higher on this list.
However, due to the relative mediocrity of 2011’s Thor and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, fans of the MCU aren’t as excited about it as perhaps they should be.
That being said, the events that unfold in the movie will change the face of the entire franchise and the scale of it could make it absolutely epic, so it may well end up being a huge success – maybe even on the same level as the Avengers movies. Either way, we are still looking forward to it a lot.
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther AKA T’Challa is an incredibly popular comic book character who has been a prominent member of the Avengers since the 1960s, so it’s fairly unfathomable that he hasn’t already had a movie of his own – but, now that he is, it’s a very exciting prospect.
The character was first hinted at in an Easter egg in Iron Man 2 (when his fictional home nation of Wakanda was highlighted on a map of key locations held by S.H.I.E.L.D.), but he has since been confirmed for a solo movie and Wakanda has been explicitly mentioned on screen (in Avengers: Age of Ultron).
Chadwick Boseman will take on the role of the Wakandan royal – the first black superhero to get a solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and will first appear in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, prior to getting his own movie in 2018.
Doctor Strange (2016)
Doctor Strange hits cinemas in 2016 as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the most exciting thing about it will be the introduction of magic and the supernatural to the franchise (what Loki and the Asgardians have exhibited so far has simply been described as advanced science).
Benedict Cumberbatch will bring the necessary otherworldly feel to the character as he offers something completely different to the MCU, with a movie that has been described as “psychedellic” before it even begins production.
Strange will become and incredibly important hero in the franchise – he has already been name-dropped in Captain America: The Winter Soldier – as his powers could prove vital in the ultimate battle against the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War movies (he may even become the new leader of the live action version of the iconic superhero team).
The Flash (2018)
Flash is getting his own movie in 2018. He will be portrayed by Ezra Miller and will appear in other movies – such as 2017’s Justice League: Part One – before he goes solo.
Flash is certainly among the heroes considered to be just behind the most popular examples (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman etc) in DC comic books, so his movie will certainly be a welcome addition to the DC Expanded Universe.
Moreover, the character’s television series has proven to be very popular, so he has garnered new fans on that basis – and, hopefully, there will be a number of brilliant scenes akin to the modern classic of a scene that Quicksilver starred in during the X-Men: Days of Future Past movie from 2014.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Behind just Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman is undoubtedly the most popular and well-known heroic character in DC comic books – so it really is something of a surprise that she hasn’t already been given a movie of her own.
Of course, Lynda Carter successfully portrayed a live action version of the character on television in the mid-late 1970s, but Gal Gadot’s version of the character will be the first to appear in a movie.
Her first on-screen appearance as the Amazonian warrior princess will be in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, prior to her first solo outing in 2017. It will be a refreshing change to see a female lead in a DC movie, as only 1984’s Supergirl and 2004’s Catwoman (both of which we’d rather forget) can boast such a star in terms of DC movies to date.
Inhumans (2019)
The Inhumans will change the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they will essentially be to the franchise what mutants are to the X-Men franchise – an entire sub-race of humans.
Of course, they’ve already been introduced on television and season three of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. looks set to make them a prominent feature on MCU Earth, but having the major characters – such as Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak and Gorgon – in a big-budget movie will undoubtedly be pretty epic and it’s definitely something to look forward to.
Marvel Studios obviously believe in the Inhumans, because they’re trusting them to see out Phase Three in 2019 after the undoubtedly epic Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 is released two months before it – and anything less than a great movie would be a major anti-climax after that.
Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad initially made a lot of people wonder what DC and Warner Brothers were thinking when it was announced as the third movie in the DC Extended Universe – but it’s fair to say that excitement levels for it are quite high now that people know the ins and outs of the movie and have seen footage from it.
The Suicide Squad are exactly that – a team of expendable bad guys put together by the government to perform the risky missions that will probably end up killing some of them. It’s an interesting concept, but they’re quite an obscure set of characters, which makes the movie a risk.
That being said, the 2016 offering has attracted a number of star actors – including Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and, most interestingly, Jared Leto as the Joker. Succeeding the late Heath Ledger will be no easy task, but fans are chomping at the bit to see how Leto does and what this movie will be like (frankly, it looks great).
Green Lantern Corps (2020)
For a while, it was unknown which Green Lantern the DC Extended Universe movie of the same name would be based on – and things got a lot more exciting when it was revealed that it would focus on the entire Green Lantern Corps.
The 2020 offering will hope to extinguish the memory of the awful 2011 Green Lantern movie – which starred one of the worst superhero miscasts with Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan – and trigger a series of future movies that could well introduce other Lantern Corps to the franchise.
You can bet your bottom dollar that a single Earth-based Green Lantern (probably John Stewart, who could be played by Tyrese Gibson, if rumours are to be believed) will appear in other DCEU movies prior to this movie but, in the meantime, we’re definitely looking forward to this one.
Deadpool (2016)
After a truly terrible depiction of the character in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Ryan Reynolds played a decent Wade Wilson before Scott Adkins took over for the terrible Frankenstein’s monster-esque version of Weapon XI).
In 2016, Deadpool finally gets his own movie – again as part of Fox’s X-Men franchise – and Ryan Reynolds will again play him – but this time Reynolds gets unleashed on a version of the character that he was born to play.
It will be a wacky movie in which the lead character will break the fourth wall, come out with some hilarious one-liners and star alongside the likes of Colossus, Ajax and Negasonic Teenage Warhead and, while it won’t suit everybody, comic book movie fans around the world are undoubtedly looking forward to it.
The Untitled Spider-Man Reboot Movie (2017)
Finally, Spider-Man is where he belongs – in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In February of 2015, the big news was announced that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures had come to an agreement that would see the Webbed Wonder joining the likes of Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk on screen.
Tom Holland will portray the new version of the character – following in the footsteps of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield before him – and will make his first appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, before this as-yet-untitled solo outing in 2017.
It’s exciting to think about what Marvel Studios will do with the character and how a live action version of the character will get on in a world full of other heroes – something he has never had the chance to do in his previous titular franchises.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
The X-Men movie franchise has been successful – of that there is no doubt. It’s been going for no less than fifteen years and is still going strong, but there’s on thing it’s been absolutely screaming out for – a truly monstrous villain (someone akin to Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Finally, that appears to be happening, as 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse will bring the first mutant – En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse – into the fold.
The hulking blue villain with powers that include superhuman physical attributes, telepathy and telekinesis will pose a massive threat to every character we’ve grown to love in the franchise and for that reason we can’t wait to see this potentially epic Fox offering.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy was undoubtedly one of the surprise cinematic successes of 2014. The heroic group were barely known beyond comic book fans, but the likes of Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Zoe Saldana (Gamora) and Dave Batista (Drax the Destroyer) turned them into popular mainstream characters.
The success of the first movie has ensured that they will not only return during the Avengers: Infinity War movies to aid the titular Earth-based team in the fight against Thanos, but they will also get their own sequel movie in 2017.
The characters, the humour and the soundtrack were just three of the things that made the first movie so special and fans will be hoping to see more of the same – as well as further character and story development.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The next instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: Civil War will see a divide in the ranks of the Avengers team that has taken several years to officially come together on the big screen.
The Accords – the movie version of the Superhuman Registration Act from the Civil War comic book arc – will see some of the Avengers comply with the government’s request to have them working for them, while the rebels will oppose the idea and the two factions – one led by Captain America, the other by Iron Man – will come to blows as a result.
It will be a comic book movie unlike any seen before it (although Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released two months prior to it, a hero versus hero movie on this scale will still be unprecedented) and it will rock the MCU to its core. We simply can’t wait for this one!
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Marvel may have the likes of Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man amongst their vast array of characters, but the two most popular characters in all of comic books are undoubtedly DC’s Batman and Superman.
Both characters have had their fair share of solo movies over the years, with the likes of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale having portrayed the Dark Knight and Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh having played Supes.
Now, Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill have stepped into their shoes – with Cavill having already played the Kryptonian hero in 2013’s Man of Steel – and they’re about to pit their two respective heroes against each other in live action for the first time.
2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will serve as a sequel to Man of Steel and, as the title would suggest, a precursor to the coming together of a live action Justice League. In spite of the negative reaction to Affleck’s casting and the lukewarm reception to Man of Steel, this movie should smash it at the box office and we can’t wait to see the two heroes go head to head.
Justice League: Part One (2017)
Not an awful lot is actually known about the first Justice League movie, other than the fact that it is happening in 2017, is simply called Justice League: Part One, and will see the official coming together of the titular DC superhero team, after the idea is first suggested in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Like Marvel’ Avengers in 2012, this will be the first time DC’s flagship super-group have ever appeared together in a live action movie – and it will undoubtedly be epic.
The team is expected to consist of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg and Aquaman and they will come together to face a threat that is currently unconfirmed.
Excitement for this isn’t quite at Avengers-levels of excitement – after all, most of these characters aren’t established in the mainstream yet – but it will undoubtedly be awesome and fans really are very excited about it.
Justice League: Part Two (2019)
If we don’t know much about 2017’s Justice League: Part One, then it goes without saying that we don’t know anything about 2019’s Justice League: Part Two – but we can certainly assume it’s going to be an epic finale to what took place in the first movie.
By this time, the superhero team’s villain will have been revealed – we’re betting it will be Brainiac, Darkseid or even both of them – and there will be an epic battle that might see some heroic casualties prior to the bad guy(s) being defeated.
The likelihood is that the finishing blow will come from one of the truly iconic heroes like Batman or Superman, but you can expect an awesome battle to take place before that happens.
This is the DC movie we’re looking forward to the most – and we’re very, very excited for it – but, at this moment in time, there’s no doubt which movies we’re looking forward to more.
Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 (2018)
2018’s Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 will be the start of the biggest comic book movie event in the history of cinema – it really is that simple.
By the time this movie is released, the Avengers will have a number of new members – including the likes of Black Panther, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange – as they come together to face off with the Mad Titan known as Thanos as he wields the powerful Infinity Gauntlet against them and the universe itself.
Assuming they don’t perish in Captain America: Civil War (and we’re assuming they won’t), the movie will see the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Vision and Hawkeye reuniting to combat their common foe.
It will be an utterly epic movie (we are so excited for this!) that could only possibly be surpassed by one other movie – and that movie is pretty obvious really.
Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 (2019)
Without any shadow of a doubt, the movie that comic book fans around the world are itching to see the most is Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2.
It will be the culmination of everything that has come before it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date – the battle that the heroes have been preparing for since their first appearances, whether they know it or not – and will see them defeating Thanos as he wields the Infinity Gauntlet, whatever the cost (there will certainly be some heroic deaths in this movie).
Most excitingly, this movie will surely see the coming together of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy (as well, perhaps, as some other heroes – Hulk’s return, Captain Marvel, the Defenders, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars etc) as they attempt to combat the threat of the godly-powered Mad Titan.
What could possibly top this movie after its release remains to be seen, but this could well be the pinnacle of comic book movies and we’re so excited for it that we could burst!
What do you think? Which of these movies are you the most excited about seeing? Have we got the order right? Have your say below!
