Warning! This post contains SPOILERS forEcho, X-Men ‘97, Deadpool & Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and What If…? season 3
Marvel’s 2024 movie and TV productions offer a glimpse into theMCU’s future. Various MCU movies and shows were originally set to release in 2024 before getting delayed, includingCaptain America: Brave New World,Thunderbolts,Blade,Daredevil: Born Again, andIronheart, all of which have now been confirmed to make upthe MCU’s 2025 slate. Some of these delays were due toMarvel Studios’ output decrease at the beginning of 2024, while others needed a little more work than expected. Regardless, while the MCU’s pace slowed down dramatically, 2024 was a generally successful year for the franchise in comparison to previous years.
The MCU’s 2024 slate opened with the Marvel Spotlight showEchoand the animated seriesX-Men ‘97, which gathered a dedicated fanbase and raised expectations for similar long-form stories in the future.Deadpool & Wolverinecertainly was the main event of 2024, and its box office results prove it, with over $1.338 billion earned worldwide. Even thoughDeadpool & Wolverine’s huge scale went unmatched for the rest of the year,Agatha All AlongandWhat If…?season 3 didn’t let up either, featuring ambitious action scenes and several new MCU characters.
The MCU’s Disney+ Shows Could Be Just As Successful As The Movies
Marvel Studios’ MCU Shows Continue To Be A Major Franchise Strength
The MCU’s first Disney+ shows left the bar extremely high in 2021. Not only areWandaVisionandLokikey parts of the Multiverse Saga’s overarching storyline, but they have also maintained their position as two of the most popular Marvel series ever made.Hawkeye,Moon Knight, andMs. Marvelalso left a mark shortly afterward, butShe-Hulk: Attorney At LawandSecret Invasionwere much more divisive. Fortunately,2024 cemented Marvel’s small-screen format as one of Marvel’s specialties, asX-Men ‘97andAgatha All Alongfeatured some of the biggest moments for the franchise in 2024.
Wonder Man
June 08, 2025
In April,X-Men ‘97episode 5’s shocking endingcaused an audience reaction comparable to that ofAvengers: Infinity War’s cliffhanger. The 2024 X-Men animated show also kept up fans’ interest for the rest of the season, andX-Men ‘97episode 10 concluded it with a high-octane final battle that featured cameos by multiple Marvel heroes such as Spider-Man and the Avengers.Agatha All Along’s packed cast competed for the spotlight in a consistent show from beginning to end, and it also delivered game-changing surprises such as Wiccan and Death’s introduction, Agatha Harkness’ death, and Tommy Maximoff’s reincarnation.
The X-Men Are One Of Marvel’s Most Valuable Properties Going Forward
Mutants Don’t Have To Wait Until The Multiverse Saga Ends To Become Marvel’s Main Attraction
Marvel Studios has slowly incorporated mutants into the MCU throughout the Multiverse Saga with subtle nods to the X-Gene andmultiple mutant cameos in MCU movies and shows, mostly justified by the concept of the multiverse. However,2024 upped the ante with the MCU’s first official mutant-centered movie,Deadpool & Wolverine, which not only turned Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into key MCU characters but also brought other mutants such as X-23, Gambit, Colossus, Yukio, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead into the franchise.Even after Fox’sX-Menfranchise came to an end, its characters continue to be a box-office goldmine.
As live-action mutants gain more relevance in the MCU, so can 2D-animated mutants on the small screen
X-Men ‘97exceeded all expectations and set the stage for an entire MCU sub-franchise if Marvel so desired. Not only didX-Men ‘97reviveX-Men: The Animated Seriesfaithfully over two decades later, but it also proved that animated projects can be just as popular as live-action movies and shows without the need to tie them to the MCU’s main continuity.X-Men ‘97also unearthed long-dormant fan interest in similar revivals of 1990s animated shows such asSpider-Man: The Animated SeriesandThe Incredible Hulk. As live-action mutants gain more relevance in the MCU, so can 2D-animated mutants on the small screen.
Different MCU Projects Need Different Types Of Scale And Scope
Not Every MCU Project Needs To Be An Avengers-Level Event
The “budget vs box office” ratio for superhero movies and shows isn’t always proportional, as evidenced by poor performances likeThe Marvels’ $206 million gross against a $270 million budgetandJoker: Folie à Deux’s $206 million gross against a $200 million budget.Deadpool & Wolverinehad a $200 million budget — similar toThe MarvelsandJoker: Folie à Deux— but it justified it with a multiversal-level plot and a star-studded cast that brought back several Marvel actors after decades-long periods of absence. Naturally,Deadpool & Wolverinewas quick to profit, with a total worldwide gross of $1.338 billion.
Captain Marvelgrossed $1.131 billion on a $152 million budget andJokergrossed $1.078 billion against a $55 million budget.
Meanwhile,Echodistanced itself fromDeadpool & Wolverine’s large-scale and interconnectivity. As a Marvel Spotlight project,Echoexplored a more self-contained corner of the MCU while still having ties to other characters and projects, like Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk andthe upcomingDaredevil: Born Again.Agatha All Alongcertainly required a higher budget, but it didn’t go overboard with visual effects or an unnecessarily huge final battle. With a strong enough script and solid performances,EchoandAgatha All Alongfulfilled their respective goals, proportionate to their scale.
Big MCU Events Benefit From More Production Time And Anticipation
Marvel’s Decision To Delay Multiple 2024 Projects Paid Off For The Franchise’s Main Tentpole Event
Theatrical releases definitely took a heavy blow from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now blockbuster movies don’t reach the same landmarks at the same pace as before. Whereas Marvel got four movies into the $1 billion club in 2018 and 2019, only two movies have earned themselves a spot since 2019.Spider-Man: No Way HomeandDeadpool & Wolverine’s nostalgia factor was a key element in both movies’ success, butthe fact thatDeadpool & Wolverinehad no in-franchise competition in 2024 certainly helped it trail behindSpider-Man: No Way Home, which inevitably received a headstart from being the biggestSpider-Manmovie ever.
I’ve Got Seriously Bad News For Anyone Who’s Sick Of The MCU’s Multiverse
The Multiverse Saga has been hit or miss, but there is some bad news for any MCU fans who may feel that the multiverse concept has run its course.
WhereasDeadpool & Wolverinedominated the discussion in 2024,Captain America: Brave New WorldandThunderbolts*could be overshadowed byThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. On the other hand, all 2024 and 2025 movies have benefited from a longer production than usual. Marvel’s output decrease has given every remaining Phase 5 and Phase 6 project additional time for reshoots and for polishing scripts and visual effects. While this doesn’t necessarily guarantee an extended positive streak, it helps the franchise avoid previous Phase 4 and 5 problems like rushed plots and wonky visuals.
Not All Marvel Projects Need To Connect To The MCU’s Main Storyline
The MCU’s 2024 Movies Took Their Time To Tell A Story Without Setting Up Upcoming Events
Little is known aboutAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsby the end of 2024, but it’s safe to say that they will recontextualize many details from all previous installments of the Multiverse Saga. Still, 2024’s movies and shows didn’t focus on setting up the nextAvengersmovies directly.Echolimited its scope to Maya Lopez and Wilson Fisk,X-Men ‘97’s story took place entirely in its own universe, andAgatha All Along’s took place almost exclusively on the Witches’ Road. Although multiversal by nature,Deadpool & Wolverinebarely visited Earth-616 and barely referenced anything multiversal not involving Cassandra Nova.
The MCU’s main timeline only appeared once inDeadpool & Wolverine, when Wade Wilson applied for a vacancy in the Avengers in a flashback scene.
The MCU’s next two movies and all six of its 2026 series seem to have very little to do with the multiverse. If they continue the same trend as their 2024 predecessors, they’re probably going to stand on their own merits without the need for multiversal connections. This is a big difference from Phase 2 installments likeThor: The Dark WorldandAvengers: Age of Ultron, which dedicated a significant portion of their runtime to setting up the Infinity Stones’ role inAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame. Despite the usual highs and lows, Marvel’s 2024 releases suggest theMCUis heading in the right direction.
