Prepare To Max Out Your Credit Cards

Once upon a time, comic book fans were lucky to get a super powered movie a couple of times a decade. Now, with there being super properties on eight television networks (as of now), and in theaters monthly, those long gone days seem innocent and sweet now. What doesn’t seem so innocent are some of the plot lines. Comic book fans have gotten older and want stories that appeal to them. One example is Archie and the gang are now in a sexy thriller called Riverdale. That said, comic book companies are increasing the number of titles aimed at kids to keep the fandom moving from generation to generation. DC has multiple iterations of every superhero so anyone, from the youngest toddler to the oldest geriatric can relate to a version. In an alternate multiverse, I can attest that there are people who have bought my entirely NSFW characters as images on onesies for infants. Why do they do this? I haven’t got a clue. The point is, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hero related properties and people are buying them.

A couple years ago I attempted to list all the movies coming out over a span of half a decade. That would be impossible to even consider now as things are changing too fast to get nailed down until the cameras start shooting and, even then – as you’ll see below, it can be a moving target.

Anyway, this list seems to be pretty set, so let’s start with what we know. When I found official, and approved, footage to share I’ve linked the title to it.

Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) – February 7, 2020

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) is currently winning the race for most convoluted superhero title of 2020, but it also has a strong cast and premise to boot. There is, of course, Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn, while the other part of the movie’s title – the actual Birds of Prey – will be filled by Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress. Rosie Perez, meanwhile, will play Gotham City detective Renee Montoya, with Ella Jay Basco taking on the role of Cassandra Cain.

Cathy Yan is directing from a script by Christina Hodson, and Birds of Prey is expected to see Gotham’s (anti-)heroines teaming up against Black Mask, who’ll be portrayed by Ewan McGregor. This will be rated “R” and Margot Robbie is a big reason for this. God knows why, but everyone behind the scenes appears to have signed off on that from day one. Since Margot is not known for her body modesty, and Black Mask is one of the most violent characters in the DC universe, something tells me this is going to be a fun flick.

The New Mutants – April 3, 2020

The New Mutants shot in 2017 for a planned April 13, 2018. However, after the first trailer had hit, the movie was pushed back, first to February 22, 2019, then August 2 of the same year. The reasons were unclear, but reports suggest reshoots to alter the horror tone of the film. With the purchase of Fox by Disney, the film got one final release date move to April 3, 2020.

The last Fox X-Men movie to be released, The New Mutants is a horror offshoot that was intended to be the start of a new trilogy, but now will be a smaller scale standalone. People with powers in a horror universe,

Black Widow – May 1, 2020

A decade after Scarlett Johansson first appeared in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff is finally getting her own movie. Johansson will be reprising her role as Black Widow, and she’ll be getting a significant boost in salary thanks to reworking her contract. Berlin Syndrome’s Cate Shortland is set to direct, with Jac Schaeffer writing the script. The story is reportedly going to explore Black Widow’s origins, exploring the Red Room, Budapest, and the red in her ledger. Other MCU characters could appear as well, with a suggestion of a cameo from Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes.

Wonder Woman 1984 – June 5, 2020

The sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman was supposed to arrive on November 1, 2019, before being pushed back to June 5, 2020. That puts Wonder Woman 1984’s release date on the same weekend that the first movie released on in 2017. Given just how well Wonder Woman performed at the box-office, it’s a smart strategic move from Warner Bros.

Wonder Woman will once again be directed by Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot as Diana Prince. The story will take a giant leap forward to the 1980s, but Wonder Woman will still be involved in warfare – this time swapping World War I for the Cold War. Intriguingly, Chris Pine is also going to return, although exactly how Steve Trevor is going to come back remains to be seen. However, there are some rumors suggesting Diana will make a deal with a deity to resurrect Steve. Pedro Pascal, meanwhile, has been cast in an unknown role, with Kristen Wiig appearing as Cheetah, the classic Wonder Woman villain from DC Comics.

Morbius – July 31, 2020

The first 2020 entry into Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe is Morbius, based around Marvel Comics character Morbius the Living Vampire. In the comics, Morbius was a biochemist who was imbued with vampiric abilities and physical traits after an experiment went wrong. Initially a villain, he’s since become more of a tragic anti-hero.

Jared Leto, no stranger to comic book villains after his performance as the Joker in Suicide Squad, has been cast in the lead role of Morbius. The villain will be Loxias Crown, one of Morbius’ friends who is a new creation but may be based on the comics villain Crown. Safe House’s Daniel Espinosa will direct.

Venom 2 – October 2, 2020

Venom was an unexpectedly massive hit for Sony Pictures, grossing over $800 million worldwide and passing every X-Men movie at the box office, which has been a massive boost for their burgeoning Spider-Villains universe. Considering how much money it has made already, it stands to reason that Sony’s spinoff universe is only going to get bigger from here.

And that means Venom 2 is understandably central to those plans, with a release date of October 2, 2020. Tom Hardy is expected to return considering his interest in the continuing as the anti-hero on the big screen and not to mention the fact that he’s contracted for multiple sequels. Plus, Venom has already teased what Venom 2’s story will be: Venom’s post-credits scene revealed Woody Harrelson as symbiote Carnage, thus setting him up as the antagonist.

The Eternals – November 6, 2020

By all accounts, The Eternals should follow a large group of titular immortals and span vast swaths of human history. One leak lists Babylon 800 B.C. as a setting and time period. Other leaks indicate that Game of Thrones star Kit Harington plays archaeologist Dane Whitman, perhaps in the present day, who discovers evidence that the Eternals exist. This may or may not happen in a place called the Tomb of the Gods.

Gemma Chan is said to play the Eternal Sersi, who might fall in love with Whitman. This forbidden love could serve as the central conflict in the story, or at the very least play a major part. The whole thing is said to have ancient aliens vibes, according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

The Eternals movie is being written by Matthew and Ryan Firpo, and will be directed by Chloé Zhao.

Of them all, The Eternals may be the most brain bending. While they don’t time travel, they’ve seen every human era and occasionally get mistaken for gods. Anyway, the characters are kind of generic in the comics and could easily be portrayed by anyone. That alone should piss off an entire corner of the internet that resides under bridges.