Marvel’s 2024 was quieter than usual, with just one movie released in the entire 12 months.
It was a big one, though. Deadpool and Wolverine dominated the summer with a $1.3 billion global box office haul, the most money generated by an R-rated film of all time, and the second-highest gross of any movie released in the year behind Inside Out 2.
Beyond the big screen, the company opted to focus on smaller scale Disney+ offerings like Echo, X-Men ’97, and Agatha All Along. Find out how they rank below.
In the background, however, Marvel and Disney have been quietly building up their roster for 2025. Not only can we look forward to three massive Marvel movies dropping throughout the year, but 2026’s Avenger’s: Doomsday is slowly taking shape after the reveal of Robert Downey Jr as the primary villain at Comic Con.
Marvel 2025 releases
- Captain America: Brave New World – February 14, 2025
- Thunderbolts* – May 2, 2025
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps – July 25, 2025
Marvel 2024 releases
Echo
The first release of the year was also the one few were really asking for. It follows Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), aka Echo, a deaf hero introduced in 2021’s Hawkeye. While far from a must-watch, it’s solid enough, and mercifully better than more anticipated fare like Secret Invasion. It also marks an important moment for Marvel’s representation of minority characters as Echo searches to establish and reclaim her identity.
Echo features the return of two fan-favorite MCU characters. These are Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, who’s back in fearsome form, and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, who gets a few scenes to shine ahead of his highly anticipated reprisal in Daredevil: Born Again, which finds its new home on Disney+ in 2026.
X-Men ’97
Following directly on from an animation that concluded in the ’90s seemed unthinkable prior to the premiere of X-Men ’97. One episode is all it takes to discover the move makes perfect sense. With the X-Men now lacking leader Professor Charles Xavier, his greatest rival Magneto has stepped in to fill the power gap.
Across ten compelling episodes, the show adapts multiple X-Men arcs from the comics, including the popular Trial of Magneto, and Fatal Attractions. Combining nostalgia with fresh storytelling, it’s no wonder X-Men ’97 earned an almost perfect score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a rightfully commissioned second season.
Deadpool and Wolverine
It’s not just Deadpool who exploded into the MCU in his third film, but Wolverine too, and their impact is difficult to overstate. The former Fox heroes get full reign of Marvel’s cinematic universe, using it to throw up a constant stream of self-referential gags (“suck it, Disney!”), subversive cameos (Chris Evans as Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm rather than Captain America), and favors to actors who’ve waited years to get in on the action, including Wesley Snipes as Blade, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and Channing Tatum as Gambit.
Such was the success of the film, the second-biggest box office draw of 2024, stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are guaranteed to return. The only question is when.
Agatha All Along
A darkly comedic spinoff from 2021’s Wandavision starring Kathryn Hahn’s crafty witch Agatha Harkness, who was one of the shining lights of the show. By the time this Disney+ series finally released, though, the hype had all but dissipated, with even the catchy Agatha All Along song faded from memory.
Valiantly, the show manages to make you care again. Three years on from escaping Scarlet Witch’s spell that trapped the town Westview, New Jersey in an alternate dimension resembling an old TV show, Agatha enlists the help of a new coven of witches (including a game Aubrey Plaza) to take on old enemies and regain her powers. Joining her is a mysterious teen who wants to face the trials of the legendary Witches’ Road.
LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition – October 18, 2024
It’s easy to forget about this extended animation, which gave us our final Marvel project of the year. The tenth LEGO Marvel special is another fun, hero-filled adventure for younger viewers – perfect if they’ve had to skip the darker likes of Agatha All Along or Echo.
Like the other LEGO Marvel Specials, LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition clocks in at just 40 minutes, so it doesn’t quite demand the commitment of a movie but it’s longer than a one-off episode. It sees a bunch of firm fan favorites like Hulk and Black Panther fighting back against a villain inadvertently unleashed by a hardcore Avengers fan.
You’ll want to keep watching for the endless stream of appearances from lesser-seen live-action characters like Gambit, The Thing and Spider-Gwen, and the cameos too – especially the end credits, which features another charmingly fourth-wall-breaking appearance by Deadpool.
The post Looking Back on Marvel’s 2024 Movies and TV Shows appeared first on Newsweek.
