2015 was once again a very profitable year for comic book movies. The locomotive that are superhero-themed movies does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
However, despite the commercial success of the three comic book movie releases this year-Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man and Fantastic Four, with the exception of the surprisingly good Ant-Man, none of the films served as a transcendent movie experience for filmgoers who have been spoiled by seminal blockbusters like The Dark Knight, Marvel’s the Avengers, and Iron Man.
Age of Ultron was a solid, yet unspectacular, sequel to its universally-lauded/high-grossing predecessor. And we all know how Fantastic Four did (or didn’t do). Why they are planning a sequel is beyond me!
It was a matter of time. The unprecedented run of comic book movie success, really driven by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the X-Men films, had to slow down a little.
This slight speed bump wasn’t a disaster by any stretch, with the three aforementioned movies combining to gross just shy of $2 billion worldwide!
That being said, comic book movie expectations are extremely high in 2016!
The movie calendar is “chock-full-of superheroes,” including some of the most popular names in comic book lore. Yeah, you know, the human-looking alien named Jor-El (Superman), the world’s most famous Amazonian heroine (Wonder Woman), and the world’s most famous vigilante who doesn’t believe in killing (Batman).
But what has many geeks even more excited are the darker, less mainstream, characters like Deadpool and the Suicide Squad team-up dropping in the new year.
The lineup includes:
- Deadpool, February 15, 2016
- Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, March 26, 2016
-
Captain America: Civil War, May 6, 2016
- X-Men: Apocalypse, May 29, 2016
- Suicide Squad, August 7, 2016
- Gambit, October 8, 2016
- Doctor Strange, November 6, 2016
It’s a formidable list but the comic book movie that I am most looking forward to in 2016 is Captain America: Civil War because:
- It’s the sequel to my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entry of all-time, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Its chronological predecessor, Ant-Man, teased the film in its provocative end-credits scene, and got me pretty hyped.
- I’m beyond interested in seeing how they integrate T’Challa/Black Panther and Spider-Man into the film.
I still have Star Wars: The Force Awakens to look forward to on my way to 2016, but “get ya’ popcorn ready,” because next year is going to be insane!
