If there’s something that comic book fans and movie studios can agree on, it’s that we’d all like to put 2023 in our rearview mirror. With the exceptions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, almost every comic book movie failed or severely underperformed this year. Even DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opened to dismal numbers last weekend, which is why it’s probably a good thing that 2024 only has two major comic book movies on the horizon.
To get you ready for the year ahead, we’re sharing our picks for the seven most anticipated comic book movies and shows of 2024. If superhero cinema and streaming shows are going to make a comeback, then it starts here.
7. Superman & Lois
Considering that The CW was once wall-to-wall superheroes, it’s amazing to see that only a single superhero show has survived since Nexstar took over ownership of the network. Superman & Lois is slated to wrap up its run in 2024 after a fourth and final season, which will definitively end an era that began with Arrow in 2012.
Unfortunately, to get a fourth season, Superman & Lois jettisoned most of its supporting cast and writers. But the core of the story is still about Clark Kent/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), his wife, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), and their sons, Jonathan (Michael Bishop) and Jordan Kent (Alex Garfin). The fourth season will finally bring Superman’s nemesis, Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz), back to the forefront as he attempts to get his revenge on the Kents and the Man of Steel.
Superman & Lois season 4 will premiere on The CW in 2024.
6. Invincible
Invincible Season 2 has already premiered, but Prime Video held back the second half of the season for next year. Prime Video also left audiences with one hell of a cliffhanger at Invincible‘s midseason break as both Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) and his estranged father, Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man (J. K. Simmons), were soundly beaten by their fellow Viltrumites. To make matters worse for Mark, the Viltrumite Empire took away his father for execution and ordered Mark to get Earth ready for their invasion or else someone even more dangerous will be sent to replace him.
For context, the Viltrumites have Superman-like powers on every planet in the universe, and not even Mark has been able to defeat another Viltrumite in battle. If the Viltrumite invaders are coming to Earth soon, then Invincible is really in over his head. And that’s just the start of Mark’s problems as season 2 heads towards its conclusion.
Invincible Season 2 Part 2 will premiere on Prime Video in 2024.
5. The Boys
The Boys took 2023 off, but Prime Video’s flagship anti-superhero show will return next year with its fourth season. When the series resumes, William “Billy” Butcher (Karl Urban) will pay the price for temporarily having superpowers. Butcher only has a year left to live. Will that be enough time for him to take down Homelander (Antony Starr) once and for all?
Butcher’s more immediate problem is that he’s lost the trust of his team: Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), Marvin T. Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko Miyashiro (Karen Fukuhara). If the Boys can’t come together, their enemy, Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), may become the U.S. President. As a secret metahuman, Victoria already has enough power to kill her enemies at will. The Boys are really going to have their hands full this season, and it should lead to some epic showdowns.
The Boys season 4 will premiere on Prime Video in 2024.
4. The Penguin
The Penguin is a holdover from the pre-Warner Bros. Discovery era when the streamer formerly known as HBO Max was intended to have spinoffs for all of its major franchises. But since this is a spinoff from The Batman with Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, it should do a lot better than Gotham Knights, the other non-Batman Batman series that recently appeared in our list of the worst shows of 2023.
This series actually takes place after The Batman as Penguin realizes that he has a chance to take over the Falcone crime family. Standing in his way is Carmine Falcone’s estranged daughter, Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). The great Clancy Brown also co-stars in this series as a rival mob boss, Salvatore Maroni. It sounds like this show could be The Godfather of The Batman universe, which would be a great change of pace from the usual Gotham City stories.
The Penguin will premiere on Max in 2024.
3. X-Men ’97
X-Men: The Animated Series helped pave the way for the X-Men live-action films before ending in 1997. However, Disney+ is reviving that world with a sequel series, X-Men ’97, which will pick up almost immediately from where the original series left off. To save the life of their mentor, Professor X, the X-Men had to let the Shi’ar aliens take him to space, possibly forever. In his place, the X-Men have a new mentor: Magneto, the man who used to be their greatest enemy.
Most of the surviving original cast members are reprising their roles for this show, and it’s got a lot more excitement behind it than either of Marvel’s live-action Disney+ series for 2024: Echo, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and Ironheart. Those MCU series could surprise us, but X-Men ’97 is the Marvel show to watch in 2024.
X-Men ’97 will premiere on Disney+ in early 2024.
2. Joker: Folie à Deux
True love is so hard to find, especially for a guy like Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). After succumbing to madness in Joker, Arthur may get a second chance at love in Joker: Folie à Deux. Deadpool 2‘s Zazie Beetz is returning as Sophie Dumond, the woman whom Arthur hallucinated a relationship with in the first film as his mental illness took hold.
However, Sophie was never the true love of the Joker. That honor belongs to Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), Arthur’s new psychiatrist, who may be a few Xanax short of a refill herself. As Harleen falls for Arthur’s charms, their mutual obsession with each other will transform her into the Harley Quinn of this world. And then the madness will truly begin.
Joker: Folie à Deux will hit theaters on October 4, 2024.
1. Deadpool 3
How fast do you think the “superhero fatigue” narrative will change if Deadpool 3 opens to big numbers? This is Marvel Studios’ only live-action film in 2024, and if anything is going to break through, it’s this movie. The two key reasons why are Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, the fan-favorite actors who are reprising their respective roles as Deadpool and Wolverine from the 20th Century Fox X-Men universe.
This is also slated to be Marvel Studios’ first-ever R-rated movie, which should help it recapture some of the tone of the first two Deadpool films, both of which were monster hits. Deadpool 3 has a lot going for it, including rumored cameos from other pre-Marvel Studios superhero films. If this movie isn’t a blockbuster, then the era of superhero movies really will be in deep trouble. But we’re pretty convinced that Deadpool 3 will rule in 2024. Beyond that, the future still looks a little shaky for both Marvel and DC.
Deadpool 3 will hit theaters on July 26, 2024.
