This year—just like every year—superhero films took my money, but I can’t complain; I really enjoyed my time in the theaters. This year, DC superheroes seemed to steal the spotlight Marvel had in 2016 with the sensational Wonder Woman followed by the much-anticipated Justice League only five months later.  While MCU had more films this year: Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok and all seemed to pleased the majority of their audiences, I didn’t particularly love any of them.  I knew DC superheroes, in general, were going to take the forefront when Lego Batman surprised the hell out of us in February with its smart humor and spot-on characterizations. Even with it not being in the DCEU, it got us all further excited to see our heroes together in live-action later on in the year.
We all know The Incredibles 2 is going to take the cake when it comes to superhero films next year, so let’s just stick to live action, shall we? In chronological order, here are the six live-action superhero films to prepare yourself (and your wallet) for!

1. Black Panther (February 16):

Honestly, as we soon as we saw T’Challa tear it up in Captain America: Civil War (2016), we were too ready to see our Wakandan king tear it up in his own movie. And we’re getting it. The trailer showcases his agility, nobility, and his vast futuristic technology. Coming out in February in honor of Black History Month, the film is bound to thrill audiences and leave them eager to see more of the character in Infinity War, which I’ll hype you up for next.

2. Avengers: Infinity War (May 4):

This film is ten years in the making with the creation of the MCU with Iron Man (2008). It’s no coincidence that the film is coming out May 4; The Avengers came out on the exact same date in 2012 and like the proud and supportive auntie I am to the MCU, I still have the ticket stub to memorialize the historic date. The teaser trailer that debuted just three weeks ago made the whole internet screech with unbridled excitement. It shows all of our favorite heroes the studio has developed over the years shook, for lack of a better word, by the chaos and cosmic power Thanos compasses and we even see the big purple meanie steal Vision’s mind stone and add to his gauntlet, which seemingly already has the power stone. I don’t know about you, but I’m planning the logistics of my funeral service because I already know this movie is going to kill me.

 

 

3. Deadpool 2 (June 1):

After, assumingly, two very serious MCU films, audiences would need a comedic break and Deadpool will do just that: deviate from the canon and make us laugh our asses off. So far, we’ve gotten a total of three teaser trailers—most recently a hilarious Bob Ross one—for the summer blockbuster and honestly, they’re all great. They show Ryan Reynold’s embracing the humor and really becoming the beloved merc with a mouth. We don’t have that much of an idea of a story, but it is confirmed that Domino and Cable will be in the film, played by Zazie Beetz and Josh Brolin, respectively. If this sequel is any good as the first one, it’ll be phenomenal.

4. Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6):

Honestly, I completely forgot about this movie. There’s no teaser trailer or a real poster on it and MCU has been understandably focusing on Black Panther and The Avengers: Infinity War. The only thing we have is a title-card. Nevertheless, Ant-Man was a pretty solid film that surprised audiences with its humor and sincerity and if all goes well in execution and the portrayal of Wasp, this sequel shouldn’t let us down either.

 

 

5. Venom (October 5):

As of now, all we have on this film are some pictures from the set—which I don’t even think we’re allowed to see—and apparently Tom Hardy does a great job at bringing the symbiote character to life. Because of this, I completely forgot about this movie as well. Also, it isn’t a sequel or anything and is in a stand-alone universe, so there’s not much I can talk about here except for the fact that I am very much excited to have a superhero/horror film to look forward to.

6. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (November 2):

Apparent from the title, this 13th adaptation of the X-Men franchise focuses on Jean Grey aka Phoenix played by Sophie Turner. According to a general synopsis provided by Collider, the team is set on a space mission when an accident occurs. Asides from that, all we have are these dope concept art. I wasn’t particularly a fan of X-Men: Apocalypse, but I’m so psyched for this sequel; it looks visually stunning and the plot seems promising thus far.

 

 

7. Aquaman (December 21):

Surprisingly enough, we actually know a lot about this upcoming film, we have the cast, poster, and even a general synopsis. According to Digital Trends, it “follows Arthur Curry (Momoa) as he is forced to reconcile his loyalties to the surface world with his role in the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, which has become increasingly hostile to the humans polluting the oceans.” Thanks to director James Wan on Twitter, we also have pictures of our Atlantean king and queen, played by Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, respectively. We didn’t see that much of Aquaman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he was a main character in this year’s Justice League and after getting a better picture of this version of the character, we’re all very excited to see him on the big-screen again next December.

Judging from this roster, it looks like Marvel is going to own 2018, at least in terms of live-action superhero films, but I don’t want to make this a Marvel vs DC thing. Besides, I have a feeling the DCEU is going to pleasantly surprise us again with Aquaman. That being said, I am looking forward to Avengers: Infinity War the most, if you couldn’t tell.

What are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below!

Nothing but love.