Let’s Talk about the MCU’s 2024 Releases

As the calendar turns to 2024, Marvel executives can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The studio just experienced its worst year in its history, and I’m talking about a company that once worked with Ed Norton.

For many Marvel executives, at least the ones who weren’t laid off, 2023 felt like every moment was like a month on set with Ed Norton. It was that bad.

Now, everyone is preparing for 2024, and Marvel just helpfully provided a guide to all the titles debuting this year.

Here are the six MCU titles you can watch in 2024.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries – Fall 2024

As an FYI, I’m discussing these alphabetically rather than chronologically.

In doing so, I get to talk about the fun stuff first. Don’t get me wrong. Most of what we’re discussing here should excite Marvel fans.

Still, two projects tower above the rest. The first of them is Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, the de facto sequel to WandaVision.

In fact, several members of the cast return for this series, including the delightful Kathryn Hahn and the inspiring Emma Caulfield, who worked on this project after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

This year’s cast adds a former Marvel standout, Aubrey Plaza of Legion, as the presumed antagonist.

I’m saying presumed because much of the storyline remains shrouded in secrecy, which is understandable.

During the pandemic, WandaVision captivated Marvel fans, and the same storytellers are working on this project.

The studio has also brought in Broadway legend Patti LuPone and Joe Locke of Heartstoppers.

The belief is that Darkhold Diaries will pick up almost immediately after WandaVision ended.

Since Wanda effectively stripped Agatha of her powers, that’s an intriguing entry point for a new series.

Frankly, I’m more excited about this project than any other Marvel title, even…

Deadpool 3 – July 26^th, 2024

Here’s a What If…? episode waiting to happen. What if Deadpool made a movie wherein he co-starred with every MCU actor ever.

That’s a theory that’s bordering on our reality here. In Deadpool 3, the character of Wade Wilson will reunite with his old buddy, Logan.

You may recall that they hung out together in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a subpar movie with a phenomenal cast.

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have remained buddies, and it seems as if the latter gentleman spends all his free time at Casa Reynolds.

Jackman is currently undergoing a divorce, and I guess Reynolds is his rebound BFF.

The conceit of Deadpool 3 is both in-your-face and shockingly duplicitous.

This film will bring back many recognizable faces from former Marvel movies, and I don’t mean the MCU ones.

I’m talking about Fox titles as obscure as Elektra! Everything is apparently on the table here, as suggested during the mid-credits scene of The Marvels.

Basically, Marvel has expanded the one sequence from Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness into an entire film.

You’ll watch plenty of familiar faces gaze in horror as Deadpool says shocking, inappropriate, and some simultaneously hysterical things.

Just as importantly, this film should work as a Trojan horse to bring some familiar faces into the MCU…the real one!

Echo – January 9^th, 2024

As I type this, we’re amidst a nine-day binge of What If…? episodes, and you can expect some recaps soon.

The interesting part of this decision is that Disney+ is effectively burning off lots of content by the second week of January.

I say this because all five – not six – episodes of Echo debut on January 9^th.

So, from December 22^nd through January 9^th, 14 MCU episodes debut on Disney+.

Why isn’t Disney stretching them out? I have no idea.

Echo has proven challenging throughout its production, which has been a recurring theme for Marvel since the pandemic.

Studio executives weren’t happy with the content, which caused the editors to trim so much that we lost a full episode.

The original order was a six-episode Echo series instead of the five we’re getting.

That’s a terrible sign in Hollywood like 99.2 percent of the time.

However, the reviews of the first two/three Echo episodes were unexpectedly positive. So, I don’t know what to think here.

Really, what matters most is that Kingpin will portray the mentor/adversary to Echo, which is all that fans want anyway.

Eyes of Wakanda – Late 2024

The other three Disney+ titles this year will be animated releases.

I think that’s a smart play for Disney, as less can go wrong during an animated production.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s an arduous process filled with countless setbacks, but you can control the quality gradually over time.

Marvel sorely needs high-quality releases in the short term. So, this seems like a safe bet.

Eyes of Wakanda will tell the origin story of Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje.

Presumably, we’ll learn how Okoye became a warrior and earned her way to the top of this fearsome group.

While Marvel hasn’t said anything specific, I’d be surprised if all of it occurred in the past.

This series strikes me as an excellent opportunity to fill in some blanks in the aftermath of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

X-Men ’97  — Early 2024

Do you believe in miracles? YES!

The final episode of X-Men: The Animated Series aired on Fox on September 20^th, 1997. I watched it in the 1990s and several times since then.

Like many X-Men fans, I wondered about the climactic moments of Graduation Day wherein Charles Xavier joined Liliandra.

The two of them headed to the Shi’ar home world, leaving Logan and Magneto to lead the next generation of Mutants.

Now, roughly 27 years later, X-Men ’97 will detail everything that happens next in this brilliant story that was a generation or two ahead of its time.

When X-Men aired as presumed children’s programming, it didn’t just tell adult stories but did so using a serial television format.

In a way, X-Men paved the path for The X-Files and all the knockoffs that came afterward. It deserves an opportunity to return in this format.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – Late 2024

Marvel just renamed this one, and I’m a little salty about it.

The original title, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, did a much better job of explaining the concept.

This story follows the earliest days of high school student Peter Parker as he gets bitten by a spider and, well, you know.

While we still don’t know much by way of plot about this one, if it’s anything like the comic, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, it’ll be terrific.

Overall, we’re eating well as Marvel fans in 2024.

While we’ll only get the one theatrical release, there will be new television episodes available throughout most of the year.

 

 

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