Both Marvel and DC are preparing to enter new eras in their respective universes, and even though they have been competing against each other for years, the real battle will come in 2021. Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga culminated with Spider-Man: Far From Home after reaching its highest point with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, this last one marking the end of the arcs of most of the original Avengers.
On the other hand, DC’s Extended Universe is going through a much needed change after its first wave of movies didn’t perform as expected. The upcoming DC releases include characters from previous adventures (such as Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman), new versions of beloved superheroes (The Batman), and long-awaited titles (Black Adam). Marvel has been ahead of the game for a long time, with its cinematic universe beginning in 2008 with Iron Man, while DC waited a bit longer and officially joined the battle in 2013 with Man of Steel.
Naturally, there have been years that saw releases from both studios, but nothing compared to what’s coming in 2021. Marvel and DC have some interesting movies scheduled for that year, and that’s when the real battle between these two will be.
Marvel Studios 2021 Releases
Marvel Studios is used to releasing two or three movies per year, and if everything goes according to plan, 2021 will be its busiest year. Marvel’s upcoming phase 4 will begin in 2020 with Black Widow and The Eternals, and the titles saved for 2021 include both new faces and heroes that are coming back for one more adventure. First in line is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, followed by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a third Spider-Man movie, and Thor: Love and Thunder. While Doctor Strange and Thor are fan favorites, the biggest 2021 release from Marvel is Spider-Man, especially after all the trouble the character went through in the summer.
DCEU 2021 Releases
DC has aimed for a maximum of two films per year, starting in 2016 with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. But times are changing, and 2021 will also be DC’s busiest year with three releases: The Batman, The Suicide Squad, and Black Adam. Their biggest title is definitely The Batman, which will introduce Robert Pattinson as the title character as well as more characters from Batman’s universe that haven’t been introduced to the DCEU yet, such as Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) and The Riddler (Paul Dano). The Suicide Squad is being billed as a standalone sequel to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, and will bring back some characters from the first movie and introduce new ones as well. As for Black Adam, the project now has a release date, meaning that it will finally move forward after being trapped in development hell from years.
Both studios are bringing solo movies of their biggest superheroes (Spider-Man and Batman), but also other lesser known characters (Shang-Chi and Black Adam), which can either be a big hit or leave the audience unimpressed. Each one has its advantages, and even though Marvel has been more successful than DC, 2021 will be the real movie battle between these two, where the actual winners are viewers as they’ll get to enjoy a bunch of titles from the two biggest names in the world of superheroes.
