What to Expect From Marvel and DC in 2026

Marvel and DC person a batch riding connected 2026. After a twelvemonth that ranged from decent to disastrous, it’s pugnacious to reason that “fatigue” isn’t a factor, but existent believers are holding steadfast that adjacent twelvemonth volition alteration everything. Spider-Man is going backmost to the streets, Supergirl is poised to physique connected Superman’s momentum, and each eyes are connected Avengers: Doomsday – the eventual trial of Marvel’s remaining muscle.

The signifier is acceptable for container bureau redemption and a caller way guardant for superhero cinema. It’s the extremity of the post-post-pandemic era, a once-in-a-generation accidental for a caller start. If they messiness this up, the genre mightiness beryllium genuinely cooked; adjacent twelvemonth could beryllium the past accidental to prevention comic publication movies and shows from their flop era. That’s wherefore we’re looking guardant to 2026, the make-or-break twelvemonth for superhero media.

One caveat earlier we begin: All dates are taxable to change. Schedules tin and apt volition slip, but arsenic acold arsenic we know, this is what’s connected platform for 2026. So, let’s commencement with the main event…

Marvel Movies

2025 was not precisely the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s finest hour. None of the 3 theatrical films released nether the Marvel Studios banner were the breakout successes Disney hoped for, and 2 of them were borderline catastrophes. Captain America: Brave New World was plagued by strike-related delays and extended reshoots, culminating successful a box-office stumble that nary 1 could rotation arsenic a win. Thunderbolts* was adjacent worse: The movie was good, critics and fans loved it… and astir cipher other went to spot it. That’s a problem, considering that Thunderbolts* was designed to found the New Avengers lineup that would pb america into Phase 6. Then there’s the Fantastic Four, Marvel’s flagship “first family” meant to footwear disconnected the caller signifier and pave the way to Doomsday.

It did not.

Fantastic Four’s container bureau wasn’t rather truthful dire, but it hardly cracked fractional a cardinal and near fans mildly pleased and mostly indifferent. Now Doomsday has doubly the enactment to bash to triumph them back, which is an uphill ascent heading into 2026. Marvel and Disney request to get their enactment together, and adjacent twelvemonth is their champion accidental to bash it. There are lone 2 movies connected the docket for the year, some of which could beryllium bangers. First up...

Tom Holland connected acceptable of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Image Credit: MEGA/GC Images

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Release date: July 31, 2026

Face it tiger, Spidey is astir to deed the jackpot! No 1 ever mislaid their garment betting connected the webhead astatine the container office, and the Tom Holland incarnation has lone climbed higher with each solo outing; the past installment, No Way Home, scored the 3rd highest gross of the full MCU. Nostalgic blasts from the past were a cardinal portion of the film’s success, a origin Disney decidedly took enactment of for the future.

The Spider-Man marque is monolithic close now. The past clip Spidey was this popular, helium turned the Pop Tarts purple. He’s got 2 progressive critically-acclaimed movie franchises, an animated amusement for older kids, and an implicit behemoth of a preschool improvement rearing a immense caller procreation that volition lone cognize of Miles Morales arsenic “Spin.” The radical request much pictures of Spider-Man, and their standards are refreshingly high.

Sony’s long, embarrassing effort to rotation disconnected their ain universe, implicit with the sickening acronym “SSU,” hasn’t truly wounded Spidey’s image. Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven each became net punchlines, but audiences expect much from the wall-crawler himself. There’s a crushed Holland isn’t overmuch progressive successful the streaming broadside of things; Marvel wouldn’t situation Disney+-ify Spider-Man.

Brand New Day has already banked a lot of goodwill successful the run-up to release. The accumulation has been reasonably unfastened for a big-budget blockbuster, deftly flooding societal media with acceptable photos from the streets of Scotland arsenic Holland bounces connected a applicable rig successful beforehand of thousands of adoring Glaswegians. There’s a batch to beryllium pumped about, including: Peter’s exciting, depressing caller presumption quo; Tombstone, Mr. Negative, and different street-level surprises; and an unthinkable caller costume that has upended the tier lists of Spidey suit sickos everywhere. The Hulk is besides involved, which seems benignant of strange, but the MCU has earned the payment of the uncertainty truthful far.

Fans are genuinely rooting for this movie to succeed, though Brand New Day’s show won’t needfully accidental overmuch astir the larger wellness of the MCU. Spider-Man has ever been a happening unto himself – a container bureau gully careless of his shared beingness status. He’s successful his ain Batman-esque bubble, and mostly immune to franchise fatigue. The real trial of the MCU’s durability volition travel aboriginal successful the year, with…

Avengers: Doomsday

Release date: December 18, 2026

Amid the immense sermon surrounding the stagnation of Marvel films, 1 refrain has remained changeless among the franchise’s defenders: “Just hold until Doomsday, bro.” The adjacent Avengers movie volition hole everything, they say, returning the MCU to its ascendant spot successful popular civilization and bringing backmost the days of dependable billion-dollar hauls. The acheronian days of Quantumania and The Marvels volition beryllium a distant representation arsenic the comic publication movie grows ascendant erstwhile more.

Some telephone it prophecy; others telephone it ‘cope.’ Either way, we’ll cognize soon enough. Doomsday is nigh, and it has to deliver. Much has changed successful the 7 years since Avengers: Endgame, and the taste scenery looks thing similar the 1 Marvel erstwhile ruled. Tragedy, controversy, and mediocrity has shredded Disney’s Kang-focused multiversal vision. Doomsday is simply a cardinal dollar audible, and it’s coming successful hot.

Actors from crossed the Marvel multiverse person remarked connected the strange, disconnected process of filming green-screened cameos successful isolation, moving with unfinished scripts that near them unsure with whom they were adjacent sharing scenes. Everyone seems to beryllium having a large time, but there’s an undercurrent of chaos successful the inheritance that has been mostly ignored. The publication was written connected the fly, and accumulation lone conscionable wrapped successful September 2025. Reshoots are already looming and VFX enactment volition undoubtedly beryllium a goliath undertaking. There conscionable isn’t that overmuch runway earlier the extremity of 2026… but if anyone tin onshore this beast, it’s RDJ.

Robert Downey Jr. and the Russos are backmost connected board, caller disconnected an Oscar triumph and The Electric State, respectively. Going backmost to the good is simply a sensible if somewhat sweaty determination connected the portion of Marvel, and the off-the-wall thought to recast Downey arsenic Doom is astatine the precise slightest intriguing. What are they cooking?

For the archetypal clip successful a portion there’s a genuine consciousness of rumor and enigma astir a Marvel movie; it truly feels similar anyone mightiness amusement up, and dissimilar No Way Home, the workplace has kept a decent lid connected things. While determination would surely beryllium much hype if Fantastic Four had successfully primed the pump, Doomsday has a precise existent buzz down it.

Most Marvel movies unfastened immense arsenic die-hard fans heap into midnight showings, but what they’ve lacked lately are legs – that zeitgeist momentum that gets your co-workers into the theater. Since the caller harvest of heroes haven’t go household names, Disney is pivoting to the past to unafraid its future. Deadpool and Wolverine proved there’s inactive an appetite for an successful memoriam-montage send-off of the Fox-era X-Men cast, though Marvel Studios would beryllium omniscient not to linger successful nostalgia for long.

The Rise of Skywalker is simply a cautionary communicative here; it was a bloated finale built connected people corrections and callbacks that pathetically begged audiences to clap. Doomsday has each the ingredients to go a monolithic hit, but there’s besides tons of ways it could spell wrong. The bully quality is, adjacent if they utterly fail, Disney inactive has the atomic enactment to commencement caller with a cosmopolitan shakeup successful Secret Wars. That’s much of a 2027 problem, however; we’ve inactive got much to research successful 2026, including a pivotal infinitesimal for the Distinguished Competition.

DC Movies

James Gunn’s Superman was, by each metrics, a success. It sparked conversation, made astir fans beauteous happy, and sold a batch of Milk-Bones. The summons income weren’t thing to constitute location and archer the folks about, but its comparative trouncing of Fantastic Four near much than a fewer container bureau analysts with ovum connected their face. Corenswet and institution had a immense task connected their plate, but they pulled it disconnected and delivered connected the committedness of a delightful caller DC Universe with plentifulness of country to grow.

2026 is simply a gathering twelvemonth for the DCU. While Marvel unleashes its heaviest imaginable hitters, DC is adding to their coagulated instauration with 2 much films – including 1 that whitethorn beryllium a spot retired of near tract – that some person the imaginable to surprise. First up...

Supergirl

Release date: June 26, 2026

Millie Alcock’s 30-second cameo arsenic a thoroughly sloshed Kara Zor-El was 1 of the astir viral, crowd-pleasing moments successful a movie already packed with them. It was conscionable capable surface clip to pique our involvement successful the drunken Kryptonian’s cosmic odyssey.

Based connected the “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” deed comic publication constricted bid from 2021-2022,Supergirl is shaping up to beryllium an energetic abstraction occidental successful the vein of True Grit… which isn’t truly what you’d expect for the sophomore effort of a start-up superhero franchise. Supergirl feels fresh, new, and genuinely exciting, and it has each accidental of becoming a Barbie-style four-quadrant deed that breaks done the mainstream. If Superman could crook a Noah and the Whale ditty into the opus of the summer, and marque Lex Luthor shouting warring crippled moves a meme, ideate what an service of obsessed fans could bash for Supergirl!

The benignant of cosmopolitan entreaty we’re talking astir doesn’t travel from conscionable recycling tropes, but the aforesaid genuine sincerity and sparkle that distinguished her cousin’s film. If Supergirl tin seizure those vibes – and a quality with her ’tude looks acceptable to bash just that – past the DCU mightiness person different deed connected their hands.

DC besides has a cinematic plaything coming successful the globby bedewed signifier of a fearfulness movie called…

Clayface

Release date: September 11, 2026

One of the astir communal ways to marketplace a caller comic publication movie is to assertion it’s a antithetic genre: “It’s really a heist flick!” “This one’s similar a Shaw Bros. martial arts movie!” “It’s not conscionable a superhero film, it’s a ’70s paranoid conspiracy thriller!” Spoilers: They all upwind up with radical successful costumes dodging colorful vigor blasts. “Clayface” could really beryllium different.

Journeyman fearfulness maestro Mike Flanagan archetypal pitched a Clayface movie backmost successful the DCEU days, inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series occurrence astir a Hollywood histrion who melts into a muddy monstrosity. The conception was shortlisted arsenic a Matt Reeves’ Batman spinoff until Gunn gave Clayface the greenish airy arsenic a canonical introduction successful the caller DCU. Flanagan was nary longer attached astatine this point, truthful manager James Watkins of Eden Lake and Speak No Evil fame stepped successful to bring the task to life, promising to thin hard into goopy, intelligence assemblage horror.

Horror movies are much oregon little the lone definite happening near astatine the container office, and the film’s svelte $40 cardinal fund gives it a morganatic changeable astatine success. Watkins is simply a coagulated hand, but 1 wonders however overmuch much enthusiasm determination would beryllium for Clayface if it was made by a much punk rock, buzzy fearfulness manager similar Zach Cregger oregon Osgood Perkins.

Before we determination connected to smaller screens, it’s worthy noting what’s not connected the DCU’s platter: The Batman: Part II was erstwhile scheduled for 2026 earlier another delay pushed it guardant an other year. Matt Reeves’s standalone movie is acceptable to yet commencement filming adjacent outpouring up of an extremely tentative 2027 merchandise date, astatine which constituent the “young and inexperienced Batman” Robert Pattinson volition beryllium 41 years old.

Slow-burn accumulation oregon not, it’s astir fortunate that “Battinson” has softly sidestepped a brutally crowded year. With Doomsday and Spidey sucking up each the container bureau oxygen, different DCU projects similar Supergirl and Clayface person the country to respire and win connected their ain without falling into the sizeable shadiness of the Dark Knight.

Movie theaters aren’t the lone battlefield wherever the aboriginal of superhero media volition beryllium determined; connected the homefront, respective comic book-based streaming shows are connected platform for 2026. Let’s instrumentality a look!

Marvel TV

The deluge of disastrous Disney+ bid has done superior harm to the MCU’s estimation connected the tiny screen. A parade of mediocre, forgettable shows trained audiences that Marvel’s streaming output was neither peculiar nor worthy of their time, adjacent arsenic they grew much indispensable to the movie storyline. Why ticker erstwhile you could get caught up with a speedy travel to your favourite amusement quality website… which, by the way, turns 30 successful 2026.

To their credit, Marvel and Disney person realized the mistake of their ways, and pivoted to a “quality implicit quantity” approach, but that’s not happening successful 2026. So far, it’s shaping up to beryllium different twelvemonth with mode excessively overmuch to watch. Several of these projects person been gestating for years, delayed by strikes, rewrites, and firm chaos arsenic they yet limp toward merchandise – a signifier par for the people for modern Hollywood, which is the taxable of 1 specified cursed production…

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II arsenic Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man

Wonder Man (Disney+)

Release date: January 27, 2026

Marvel’s emotion missive to the movie manufacture began improvement nether Shang-Chi manager Destin Daniel Cretton, envisioning Simon Williams arsenic an histrion gunning for the pb relation successful a superhero reboot lone to find himself with powers of his own. This satire astir the perils of modern filmmaking was itself swallowed by them: Wonder Man really wrapped filming successful April 2024, and has been sitting connected the support ever since. It’s been a accumulation plagued by accidents and behind-the-scenes jockeying that near it connected the verge of outright cancellation.

The meta-premise is loaded with potential, particularly if it’s consenting to poke amusive astatine the Hollywood instrumentality that Marvel helped create, but it besides mightiness beryllium a small excessively soon for navel-gazing irony. It’s hard to satirize an empire erstwhile you’re inactive surviving wrong it and incapable to truly descend your teeth into its dilatory decline, acold removed from the glory days of mainstream hits similar WandaVision.

Speaking of which…

VisionQuest (Disney+)

Release date: Fall 2026

WandaVision was lightning successful a vessel that became assignment viewing. Five years and respective streaming flops later, its followup, VisionQuest, faces a precise antithetic world.

Starring Paul Bettany arsenic the reborn White Vision, the bid volition travel his hunt for individuality successful what’s definite to beryllium a pleasingly trippy travel done his messed-up clanker brain. Original WandaVision writer Jac Schaeffer departed the task during its drawn-out improvement and was replaced by Terry Matalas, the antheral down the 12 Monkeys TV bid and the fan-favorite 3rd play of Picard.

WandaVision thrived connected its precise caller premise and attack – the benignant of creativity Marvel hasn’t had successful ample proviso these days. Instead, overmuch similar Picard, VisionQuest appears to beryllium focused connected yesterday’s enterprise, exploring the assorted AI assistants introduced passim the MCU, including a returning James Spader arsenic Ultron. And it’s not the lone amusement that’s bringing backmost aged favorites successful a bid to recapture its erstwhile glory. There’s also:

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (Disney+)

Release date: March 4, 2026

The archetypal play of Daredevil: Born Again was torn betwixt a caller commencement successful the MCU and a beloved aged continuity that fans refused to fto go. For Season 2, Marvel has wisely decided to afloat clasp its roots successful their beloved 2015 Netflix venture, implicit with the instrumentality of Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones, a standout quality from an earlier clip erstwhile Marvel streaming bid really mattered.

Another relic of the highest Defenders epoch inactive going beardown is Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, who’s getting his ain Punisher Special Presentation, presumably to bolster his quality successful Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

That’s astir it for the canonical MCU acquisition successful 2026, and we’re not going to lie: It’s benignant of a lot! And we’re not adjacent finished going done Marvel’s larger TV output. Did you retrieve that they made a amusement astir Spider-Man: Noir?

Spider-Noir (MGM+)

Release date: 2026

Somehow, Sony managed to person Nicolas Cage to reprise his Spider-Verse voiceover relation successful a live-action twist connected the monochromatic vigilante. Divorced from the MCU and acceptable successful a unsocial Depression-era universe, Cage’s instrumentality connected the wall-crawler arsenic washed-up backstage oculus Ben Reilly could upwind up arsenic the weirdest comic publication experimentation of the year.

Nicolas Cage plays yet different Marvel hero... Spider-Noir!

Developed for MGM+ and Amazon Prime, Spider-Noir hasn’t precisely received the reddish carpet selling rollout of a Disney+ tentpole, which whitethorn not beryllium the worst happening successful the world. Giving Cage escaped reign to mug and chew the scenery successful a standalone broadside task could springiness Spider-Noir the foodstuff it needs to go a cult classic… oregon it’ll beryllium different Sonyverse embarrassment that fades into streaming obscurity faster than you tin accidental “he was successful the Amazon with my ma erstwhile she was researching spiders close earlier she died.”

There’s 1 much Marvel bid worthy talking astir for 2026, and it’s astir apt going to beryllium the champion of them all:

X-Men '97 Season 2 (Disney+)

Release date: Summer 2026

X-Men ’97 returns for its 2nd play successful 2026 with the aforesaid formed and unit that made the archetypal truthful special, minus arguable creator Beau DeMayo, who was dismissed by Disney earlier the amusement adjacent premiered.

Animated shows seldom predominate headlines oregon thrust watercooler chatter the mode prestigious live-action bid do, but X-Men ’97 has proven to beryllium an fantabulous exception. The all-growed-up revival of the classical Saturday greeting bid is simply a agleam spot successful a beauteous bleak scenery of Marvel TV shows – smart, emotional, and mature successful ways that slop similar Secret Invasion could lone imagination of.

It’s the smartest imaginable mode to capitalize connected nostalgia: Instead of de-aging aged actors and green-screening them successful from their location offices, X-Men ’97 brings the aboriginal to the past, and it mightiness beryllium the champion happening Marvel has going close now.

Despite the stigma, Marvel’s animated efforts consciousness much breathtaking than thing successful the live-action pipeline, and prime worldly similar X-Men ’97 and 2027’s Beyond the Spider-Verse mightiness beryllium the cardinal to cementing superhero staying power. It’s the closest happening Marvel has to the breakout occurrence of Invincible, which brings america to…

DC TV

DC lone has 1 amusement successful the works for adjacent year, but it’s gonna beryllium a large one.

Lanterns (HBO)

Release date: 2026

Lanterns is the archetypal live-action bid developed from the crushed up arsenic a DCU joint, starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre arsenic 2 abstraction cops who find themselves shining airy connected a execution successful Nebraska. It’s a grounded, gritty, “prestige TV” instrumentality connected an inherently goofy abstraction opera conception with immoderate superior endowment down it, including Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof, comic writer Tom King, and Ozark shaper Chris Mundy.

DC has commendably stepped up their streaming crippled successful caller years with high-quality fare similar The Penguin and Peacemaker. They’re besides making shows your parents mightiness watch, and thing says “falling dormant successful the recliner” similar a agrarian constabulary procedural; it’s a astute move. With Lanterns, the workplace hopes to proceed their palmy streak and found a code for the adjacent fewer years of serialized DCU storytelling.

There’s a batch of unit to bent connected Lanterns, but that’s astir apt preferable to the alternate arsenic Marvel floods the portion with a half-dozen overlapping projects that scope from “intriguing” to “oh yeah, that’s inactive happening?”

Invincible, The Boys, and More

Invincible continues to punch supra its value people with the awesome animated bid connected Amazon Prime. With its 4th play acceptable for 2026, we’re lone astir halfway done Robert Kirkman’s 144-issue epic, and the amusement continues to amended twelvemonth aft year, though it’s precocious clip they got a bigger animation budget. Like a large reddish alien who returns from each decision stronger than before, by the clip Invincible reaches its ain endgame, it mightiness beryllium the past superhero bid standing.

While Invincible ascends, Amazon’s other long-running superhero deconstruction gears up for its swan song. The Boys will bow retired aft its last play successful 2026, closing the publication connected a landmark bid that provided a much-needed merchandise of unit and cynicism successful the look of sterile superhero cinema’s all-encompassing rise.

Other than those outliers, each eyes are connected Marvel and DC, arsenic usual, and each institution is taking a precise antithetic attack to their strategy successful 2026. Marvel is betting immense connected seemingly surefire hits, busting retired the large guns similar Spider-Man and the Avengers portion flooding streaming platforms with sequels and spinoffs. DC, connected the different hand, is playing the agelong crippled with fewer, smaller projects with humble budgets and risky ideas designed to physique thing sustainable.

Even their 2026 video crippled plans bespeak the dueling philosophies of the large 2 superhero studios. Marvel is going afloat blockbuster with Marvel 1943: The Rise of Hydra and Wolverine, 2 triple-A enactment escapade games that person been successful the works for ages. Meanwhile, DC is softly pressing reset aft the precocious illustration disasters of Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad by going backmost to the charming, accessible, low-poly satellite of Lego Batman.

One workplace is chasing the glory of a bygone age, and the different is moving hard to rebuild religion aft their past beingness imploded; some of them are warring to beryllium that superhero movies aren’t dead. Fatigue is indisputably existent by this point, and the lone cures disposable are extinction oregon evolution. 2026 volition beryllium the twelvemonth that decides the way guardant – the make-or-break infinitesimal that could either revitalize comic publication media oregon flush it down the drain.