2020 may have been a little lackluster when it came to live-action comic book movies and
shows, but fear not — next year looks more than ready to make up for it.
From the best of Marvel, DC, and beyond, here's every live-action superhero movie and series
coming in 2021.
On January 15th, WandaVision is set to kick off Marvel Studios' new era in television
— and, judging from the trailers, it may just be the weirdest Marvel project yet.
Naturally, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany return as Wanda Maximoff and Vision.
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, the two lovebirds
are finally living a peaceful, happy existence in a perfect suburban town.
Obviously, There's just one problem: Vision's supposed to be dead — and the cracks soon
begin to appear in his new, perfect life with Wanda.
The miniseries looks to be a loose adaptation of both Tom King's 2016 Vision series and
the "House of M" storyline, which could open up a world of possibilities for both the movies
and TV shows moving forward.
The Arrowverse's own Superman has made a handful of cameos and appearances over the years.
And despite never being a main character, Tyler Hoechlin's portrayal of Clark Superman
became an instant fan favorite — so now The CW has finally decided to give him his
own spinoff series: Superman & Lois.
During this series, Lois and Clark return to Smallville to take care of some Kent family
business, deal with the trials and tribulations of superpowered parenting, and face a new
threat from a mysterious villain.
In short: it's classic Superman with a thrilling twist.
Marvel fans have been clamoring for a proper team-up between Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson
ever since Captain America: Civil War first hit theaters.
It looks like Marvel agreed, too, since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is due to hit
Disney+ on March 19th.
.
The series will revolve around Bucky and Sam teaming up together in the wake of Avengers:
Endgame.
Sam is struggling to feel worthy of Captain America's shield, while Bucky is just hoping
his brainwashed head is back on straight.
Together, the two try to be everything to the world that Captain America was — but
their lives are soon upended by the emergence of an old enemy: Civil War's villain Helmut
Zemo.
And yes, don't worry — there'll be plenty of bickering along the way, too.
"Oh yeah, I can see it working.
Gears turning — oh, they're malfunctioning.
They're on fire!"
"God, I hate you."
Morbius is the second Sony movie to be based on a Spider-Man villain, after 2018's surprise
hit Venom.
Jared Leto stars as Michael Morbius, a brilliant but frail biochemist with a rare blood disorder.
In a desperate attempt to cure himself, he accidentally infects himself a form of vampirism,
turning him into Morbius, the Living Vampire.
The trailer for Morbius makes it appear as though Sony will be taking a more sympathetic
approach to telling Morbius' story, just like they did with Venom.
There's also something here for MCU fans, since Morbius is set to feature Michael Keaton's
Vulture, who was last seen in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Morbius is set for release on March 19th.
Ever since the release of the much-maligned Justice League back in 2017, a small but vocal
group of online fans have been petitioning for the release of Zack Snyder's cut of the
movie.
And in March 2021, it's finally happening.
Normally, Snyder would never have been given tens of millions to recut a movie that already
underwhelmed fans and critics, but with the COVID-19 pandemic killing the theater business
and Warner Bros. struggling to get HBO Max off the ground, desperation has led them to
giving Snyder the green light.
The new cut will reportedly be four hours long, with alternate storylines and brand-new
footage being shot, including the appearance of the iconic DC villain Darkseid.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not Warner Bros' gamble will pay off — but
either way, it'll be fascinating to see how it all plays out.
Natasha Romanoff has long been the glue that has held the Avengers together.
Fans have been hoping for a Black Widow movie for quite some time, and despite the character
meeting her maker during the events of Endgame, they're finally getting one.
Black Widow is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity
War, and finds Natasha travelling back to her homeland of Russia to explore the mysteries
of the Red Room, in which she was trained and brainwashed.
Along the way, she reconnects with her first found family, who come together to take down
a mysterious foe from the past: the Red Room's new head honcho, Taskmaster.
Originally due for release last May, Black Widow promises a high-stakes spy thriller
with a golden heart.
Although things may change, the movie is currently set for a theatrical release on May 7th, 2021.
Just when you thought you'd seen the last of him, Loki is back.
"Surprise."
Debuting on Disney+ in May, Loki will follow a pre-redemption, 2012 version of the character,
who steals the Tesseract following the events of the Battle of New York.
Unfortunately for everyone's favorite trickster god, he soon lands in the custody of the Time
Variance Authority — a secret governing body charged with policing the Marvel universe's
alternate timelines and realities.
Obviously, the TVA aren't exactly keen on the idea of an alternate timeline version
of the God of Mischief bouncing around with a Tesseract, so it looks as though they strike
a deal with him, in a loose adaptation of the Agent of Asgard comic book series.
Loki has the ability to reset the MCU timeline in an enormous way — or even forge a number
of brand-new ones.
Created by Rick and Morty writer Michael Waldron, you can safely expect plenty of time-travelling
nonsense, a bunch of alternate Lokis, and a whole lot of chaotic fun.
In 2018, Venom became an unexpected hit for Sony, raking in a staggering $856 million
at the box office.
Part of the reason the movie succeeded was that it didn't take itself at all seriously,
instead leaning into that irresistible comic book campness.
Of course, Tom Hardy putting on a genuinely manic performance didn't hurt, either.
So naturally, on June 25th, Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock in Venom: Let There
Be Carnage.
As dangerous as Venom can be, the sequel promises to introduce another favorite Marvel character
that's even more deadly: Cletus Kasady, a serial killer who becomes the horrific entity
known as Carnage.
With Woody H arrelson joining the cast as Kasady, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is sure
to be, if nothing else, a wild ride indeed.
The first Phase 4 Marvel movie led by a brand-new MCU hero, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the
Ten Rings promises to blend tons of martial arts action with the zany mysticism of 2016's
Doctor Strange.
Starring Simu Liu, Legend of the Ten Rings finds Shang-Chi taking part in an epic tournament,
where the winner will be granted the legendary Ten Rings, earning them immense amounts of
power.
Early reports have indicated that the fight sequences in the movie will be incredibly
dynamic, with everything from gritty, hand-to-hand fighting to more mystical wuxia sequences
— that may even feature Shang-Chi's comic book ability to create clones of himself.
Liu has already won fans over with his hilarious social media presence, so it'll be great to
see that natural charisma translate to Marvel's latest hero.
Throw in the legendary Hong Kong actor Tony Leung as the Mandarin — and maybe a cameo
appearance or two — and you might just have the recipe for 2021's biggest Marvel movie.
We'll find out for sure on July 9th.
The 2016 version of Suicide Squad was poorly received, to say the least, despite introducing
a number of fan-favorite characters — including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.
Luckily, it seems the Warner Bros. are up for giving the Squad another chance with James
Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which is set to be release on August 6th.
The sequel will bring back Harley and a number of OG members of the first movie's squad.
However, in true James Gunn fashion, the movie will also introduce well over a dozen new
superheroes, each weirder than the last.
Gunn has promised that this is the craziest and biggest movie he's ever done, and, well,
who are we to argue?
Eternals is the second Marvel movie of 2021 to usher in a host of new characters to the
MCU.
This time, however, it's a brand-new superhero team.
The Eternals are an ancient race of superhumans who have been living in the shadows for thousands
of years.
However, following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected event forces the Eternals
back into the spotlight to take on their most ancient enemies, the hideous Deviants.
The cast of Eternals is absolutely stacked to say the least, with Richard Madden playing
Ikaris Angelina Jolie as Thena , Gemma Chan as Sersi, Salma Hayek as Ajak , Kumail Nanjiani
as Kingo, Barry Keoghan as Druig , Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos , Lauren Ridloff as Makkari
, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, also known
as the Black Knight.
Not much is known about the movie's plot beyond the premise and the cast, but it'll be fascinating
to see how critically-acclaimed director Chloe Zhao guides this new team of heroes into the
MCU.
Eternals is due for release on November 5th.
After years developing the project, Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam is finally hitting theaters
on December 22nd.
Johnson has always been keen to bring the story of Black Adam to life, as he'll be unlike
most characters yet seen in the DCEU.
This is because Adam isn't so much a hero as he is an antihero — at best — and the
looks to be leaning into the character's questionable morals.
Adam is a former slave who still carries with him a zeal for justice.
His powers are similar to Shazam's, but Adam's ruthless streak gives him a much darker edge.
For now, the movie is still on track, but thanks to a number of pandemic delays, there's
a chance this one could be bumped to 2022.
After spending literally three decades in development hell, a live-action adaptation
of Neil Gaiman's beloved and critically acclaimed graphic novel series The Sandman will finally
see the light of day on Netflix, sometime in 2021.
The Sandman revolves around its main character, Dream, who is also the eponymous "Sandman."
Dream is one of the seven Endless, ancient beings who embody powerful concepts, including
Death, Despair, Delirium, Destruction, Destiny, and Desire.
They've existed since the dawn of time and spend most of their time fulfilling the functions
of their name — but, as you might guess, their sibling relationships are a little dysfunctional.
Much of The Sandman deals with Dream learning that he can't control everything, and that
all things, even him, must deal with the sins of his past.
During its celebrated run, The Sandman was the first graphic novel to win the World Fantasy
Award for Short Fiction and has won more than two dozen Eisner Awards, the Bram Stoker Award,
and the Hugo Award.
Kamala Khan first made her Marvel comics debut in 2013, and fans have been dying to see a
live-action adaptation ever since.
Newcomer Iman Vellani has been cast as Kamala for the Disney+ series; the character is a
Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who lives in New Jersey and is obsessed with superheroes
— including her favorite of all, Captain Marvel.
When Kamala is accidentally exposed to the chemical Terrigen Mist, however, it activates
her dormant Inhuman cells, turning her into a superhero with shapeshifting powers.
Since 2013, Kamala has led the youth movement in Marvel Comics, becoming one of the new
wave of teenage superheroes who are now coming to the fore in Marvel's Disney+ shows.
Ms. Marvel is set to debut sometime in late 2021, and it's already been confirmed that
Kamala will be making an appearance in future movies, too.
The last of 2021's Disney+ series, Hawkeye will find Jeremy Renner reprising his role
of Clint Barton.
This time, however, the master archer will be joined by a young apprentice, Kate Bishop,
who, in the comics, takes over as the new Hawkeye when Clint retires.
"What I get to do in the show ultimately is shepherd an amazing character to be ultimately
probably a better version of me."
Although there's bound to be plenty of action, Hawkeye will likely be more of a character
study than fans might have expected.
In particular, it seems that the series will be borrowing heavily from Matt Fraction's
Hawkeye: My Life As a Weapon, which leaned heavily into its absurdist, dark humor, as
well as the struggles of being a non-powered, normal guy trying to keep up in a world of
superheroes.
The MCU version of Hawkeye has always been at his best when borrowing from the humor
of Fraction's run, so a whole series based off it is nothing to be sniffed at — especially
when it features one of the most popular members of the Young Avengers.
But that's not all — here are some of the other superhero shows and movies due for release
in 2021:
The King's Man
Sylvester Stallone's Samaritan
Spider-Man 3
Batwoman season 2
Black Lightning season 4
The Flash season 7
Stargirl season 2
The Umbrella Academy season 3
The Boys season 3
Lucifer season 5 part 2
Supergirl season 6
Legends of Tomorrow season 6
Titans season 3
and
Doom Patrol season 3
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