2025 is a make-or-break year for the MCU

In 2019, the MCU seemed as strong as Captain America’s shield, but just a few years later, the biggest franchise in the world has more than a few dents in its vibranium facade.

Indeed, a string of critically middling Marvel movies, growing antipathy toward the Multiverse Saga story, and Jonathan Majors‘ legal issues have all contributed to waning box office receipts and broader audience interest. 

This all came to a crescendo in 2023 when Disney’s biggest of big cheeses, Bob Iger, told shareholders that the House of Mouse had been putting quantity over quality and that things needed to change. 

True to their word, the bigwigs at Marvel allowed the franchise to rest in 2024, only releasing four projects: Echo, Agatha, Deadpool & Wolverine, and What If. The plan seemed to work on paper as all these projects were well received by critics, and the Merc’ With a Mouth’s Disney debut earned the studio a cool $1.3 billion.

Happy New Year

Disney/Marvel

Yet the truth is that these projects’ success was never really in doubt. Agatha was a follow-up to arguably the best Marvel show ever made, while Deadpool had Hugh Jackman’s adamantium claws to back him up.

Echo may not have been a huge hit but it benefited from being disconnected from the wider MCU, while What If…? is a show that’s never really captured the attention of those outside the most devoted Marvel zombies and mostly coasts by unnoticed. 

2025, then, might prove more perilous than a trip to the jewelry store with Thanos. Three new Marvel movies are set for release this year alone, and there are plenty of reasons to be nervous. The first, Captain America: Brave New World, is a follow-up to the worst Marvel show not called Secret Invasion, and rumors are that disastrous preview screenings have seen it undergo significant reshoots.

Thunderbolts, meanwhile, lacks the brand recognition you might expect from a Marvel project. The cast is mainly made up of B-list supervillains, and while some fans might be interested in what Red Guardian and Yelena Belova have been up to, I doubt (perhaps unfairly) there’s mainstream interest in finding out what Ghost has been up to since Ant-Man and Wasp.

Not so Fantastic Four

Marvel Studios

Then, most worryingly of all, we’ve got The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While the film has avoided the troubled production of Cap’s next outing and has name recognition with viewers, you have to imagine that there are those at Marvel who are worried that the Four’s reputation may precede them slightly. There have been three wholehearted attempts to make a decent Fantastic Four movie, and none have lived up to the Richards family’s soubriquet. 

Indeed, the last film, Josh Trank’s lamentable Fant4stic, has regularly been ranked on lists of the worst movies ever made. Those who love the Four might be willing to forgive and forget, but will that wash with those who don’t know their MCU from the Fox universe? Only time will tell. 

There are, of course, a scattering of TV projects dotted throughout the year, but the one we’ll be keeping a beady eye on is Daredevil: Born Again. The Netflix show, with its scenes of brutal violence and a darker tone, is widely beloved, and if Marvel can’t replicate that tone, I worry audiences will turn off. 

If this mix of movies and TV shows isn’t well received by the fans, I think it might be time to start worrying about the future of the MCU. Now, I’m not saying that Disney will pull the plug on Phase 6 entirely, but I’d expect to see budgets reviewed, films cut, and the promise of a proper Secret Wars adaptation dashed on the rocks of realistic expectations. 

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. What we’ve seen of these upcoming films and shows looks good. Brave New World looks like it’s close in tone to the beloved Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts* has the potential to be a new Guardians of the Galaxy, and Marvel clearly knows it has to get First Steps right and has assembled a really impressive creative team. Let’s just hope Marvel can stick the superhero landing… 

As interested in the future of the MCU as us? Then check out our ranking of all the MCU movies so far. We’ve also got guides on further flung Marvel films, including Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man 4, and Secret Wars.