2024 is a curious year for the superhero world as Marvel and DC are practically on pause this year, with the real fallout for major changes to come not being felt until 2025.
For example, as James Gunn prepares to shoot next year’s Superman: Legacy evidence indicates he could be swiping the brains behind Marvel’s Loki for his own. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts cast may finally be locked in as the future of the MCU on Disney Plus looks to have been thrown for a loop by Echo.
Things may seem quiet on the MCU/DCU front now, but just you wait, next year is going to be crazy…
Is James Gunn just the start of Marvel’s directors jumping ship to DC?
In the wake of House of the Dragon‘s Milly Alcock being confirmed as the DCU’s Supergirl, some curious social media activity has eagle-eyed fans wondering if Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow could see another Marvel director pulling a Gunn out of their pocket and hopping over to DC. Specifically, Kate Herron — known for helming Loki season 1 — interacted with Alcock’s post about her casting. As far as we know, Alcock and Herron have no professional connection, so it’s possible the Sex Education alum is in talks to direct the Superman: Legacy spinoff. Could this be just the beginning of the mass Marvel director exodus? Who could Gunn poach next? The Russo brothers?! We can but dream…
Chart-topper Echo cost a mere fraction as much as She-Hulk and Secret Invasion
Something had to be done. The budgets for Marvel’s streaming shows have been increasing virtually with each new project, until we got to the point where She-Hulk and Secret Invasion cost as much as Avengers movies for a diet slice of the success. Enter Echo, which premiered on both Disney Plus and Hulu earlier this month and instantly topped the charts for both platforms. How much did that cost? As it turns out, just $40 million — that’s about 17% of She-Hulk‘s exorbitant $225 million pricetag. In other words, expect many more Marvel Spotlight series on the horizon and far fewer about green CGI characters. Bad news for anyone still dreaming about a “Shrek and Mike Wazowski Meet The Hulk” show.
Thunderbolts losing another cast-member as it gains two more means it’s time to install a revolving door
You know how DC’s Suicide Squad franchise kills off its characters over the course of the movie so you don’t know who’s going to make it to the end? Well, Marvel seems to be pulling off an elaborate marketing tactic along the same lines for its own answer to Task Force X. The anti-hero team-up movie has been faced with so many casting changes this January that we can’t be sure who’ll actually be in it by the time the film releases in July 2025. As it happens, Lewis Pullman is officially replacing Steven Yeun as Sentry while The Bear favorite Ayo Edebiri is likewise out, leaving Geraldine Viswanathan (Bad Education) to fill her shoes. Just don’t take away Sebastian Stan or Florence Pugh, Marvel, and we’re golden.