For years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been the benchmark by which all other interconnected universes have been judged.
And for good reason, too: the movie giant Marvel couldn't hurt the eyes of many. With each new movie, the MCU cemented its position as the world's biggest franchise, earning plaudits and billions of dollars worldwide along the way.
Recently, however, the wheels of the cart have begun to feel less resistant than before. Reactions to some recent Marvel movies, like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder, have been lackluster. Critical reception to the studio's first batch of Disney Plus shows has also been decidedly mixed. For every great series like WandaVision, there has been an embarrassing or superfluous one like She-Hulk (although we quite enjoyed She-Hulk: Attorney at Law).
Critics and fans alike claimed that Marvel had begun to prioritize quantity over quality, with the studio's upcoming lineup of movies and TV shows saturating the market and causing audiences to sell out. With 17 confirmed projects making it to Marvel's Phase 5, that's a valid argument.
So it's been nice to see Marvel take a step back, re-evaluate their Phase 5 and Phase 6 slates, and start putting quality back at the forefront of their projects. What's particularly surprising about this, though, is that Marvel apparently learned a huge lesson from its biggest rival (in the superhero space, anyway): DC Studios.
You see, the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) is taking a new approach to making announcements about when its movies and TV shows will debut in theaters and on HBO Max. Long story short, new DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have not confirmed when most of the early DCU projects will arrive.
In January, Gunn revealed the movies and TV shows that will make up DCU Chapter One, aka Gods and Monsters. Parmi ce contingent se trouvait un nouveau film de Superman appelé Superman: Legacy, The Batman Part II (although this film will exist in tant qu'histoire de DC Elseworlds, et non en tant qu'entrée DCU principale), a television series Green Lantern , and even more. Of those 11 productions, Gunn only confirmed the release dates of two films, namely Superman: Legacy (July 11, 2025) and The Batman Part II (October 3, 2025).
There are two big reasons why Gunn's refusal to announce confirmed release dates makes sense. The first is pretty obvious: most of these movies and TV shows are in early development, so there's a good chance Gunn, Safran and co don't know when they'll be ready for release.
The second reason is something Gunn likely learned from his time working on Marvel films, such as the Guardians film series (Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Gunn's latest MCU film, is coming in May, by the way): output are a capricious beast. Movie and TV show release dates change all the time as studios change their lineups.
Maintaining more flexibility on when each DCU project will arrive, by not announcing their release dates, is therefore a sensible decision Gunn and Safran have made.
Now, after years of catching up with Marvel, it looks like DC Studios has taught its old foe a much-needed lesson about release date announcements.
At Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con 2022 panel, the studio announced a series of release dates and release windows for its Phase 5 and Early Phase 6 projects. At D23 Expo 2022, it revealed more details about its booming slate.
However, in the months that followed, Marvel had to back out of many of these reveals. As Disney Plus loses subscribers for the first time in its history, the need for cost-cutting measures and a change in Disney's management team (former CEO Bob Iger recently replaced Bob Chapek in the same role), Marvel has significantly changed their blueprint release schedule. These changes include a new release date for The Marvels and delays to its upcoming Disney Plus content pack, like Loki season 2.
Instead of announcing new release dates for many of their upcoming TV shows, Marvel seems to have taken a leaf from the DCU book and kept quiet about when these new Disney Plus projects will release.
Last Thursday (March 16), industry insiders noted that Marvel had quietly changed the release windows for its Spring/Summer 2023 TV shows to a broader "coming soon" window on the Disney Plus Originals website (opens in a new tab). Affected series include the second season of Loki, Secret Invasion, Echo, Ironheart and X-Men 97. The shows were also conspicuous by their absence in a recently released Disney Plus "Coming This Spring" video.
So Marvel seems to have realized that he had to walk before he could run. Yes, the studio wants to capitalize on the unprecedented success it's had with the MCU, so it makes sense that it would continue to create more content for the big and small screens. With a seemingly endless supply of superheroes and villains to draw from in-house comics, Marvel will never run out of source material to adapt.
However, Marvel's biggest problem of late has been getting MCU projects out sooner than necessary. Though they require more development time, movies like Doctor Strange 2 have been all over history as they rushed to meet their fixed release dates. The studio's foray into the television space has also been hit or miss in terms of quality.
Fortunately, it looks like Marvel is changing course before it's too late. Decisions like this have usually taken months, but I can't help but note the coincidental nature of the arrival of DC's new release date and Marvel's sudden turn on their own upcoming slate. The DCU may be the new kid on the block, but it looks like it's already taught the old guard a new trick.
For more Marvel and DC coverage, read How to Watch Marvel Movies in Order and How to Watch DC Movies in Order. Otherwise, find out everything you need to know about The Marvels and The Flash.
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