Both Marvel and DC are gearing up for some offbeat comic-to-screen adaptations in 2024, gearing toward an unconventional audience demographic.

Superhero fatigue is very much a real phenomenon and even the comic book movie titans Marvel and DC seem to have understood this reality, as is evident from their 2024 release calendar. Following the disastrous Madame Web, Marvel releases in 2024 are limited to a Deadpool movie, a Sony villain origin, and Tom Hardy’s final outing as Venom. The MCU multiverse is also keeping releases light this year, with the franchise seemingly just focusing on introducing the X-Men into its fold. Meanwhile, the DCEU movie timeline is now over, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom serving as the universe’s last project.

The DC Universe is now going through a drastic makeover, courtesy of James Gunn, who is busy filming the DCU Superman movie. As of now, none of Gunn’s DC movies are slated for a 2024 release with this year accommodating only one highly-anticipated Elseworlds spinoff. In this context, it’s interesting to note how the comic book genre is changing with diverse audience tastes. As a rule, a majority of greenlit superhero movies were almost always summer blockbusters catering to teenagers and family audiences. But 2024 marks a new trend, with major genre offerings that go beyond the genre’s familiar PG-13 rating.

Marvel And DC Will Release Three R-Rated Movies In A Row In 2024

These Include Deadpool And Wolverine, Kraven The Hunter, And Joker Folie A Deux

Adult-oriented superhero movies have sporadically graced the genre, but 2024 will mark the first time when three R-rated Marvel and DC movies will be released back-to-back. The first offering in this regard will be Deadpool & Wolverine, the third Deadpool movie that eyes a July release date. While the merc-with-a-mouth has been an edgy favorite from the start, this crossover movie will mark a sophomore R-rated adventure with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine after 2016’s Logan. A month later in August, Marvel’s Sony Spider-Man universe will launch its newest chapter: a hyperviolent origin story about Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s lion-skin-wearing antagonist in Kraven the Hunter.

As for the upcoming DC releases in 2024, the only entry for this year also happens to be an R-rated one. Succeeding the psychologically intense Joker, 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux marks the sophomore collaboration between director Todd Phillips and actor Joaquin Phoenix, with Lady Gaga joining in to offer her take on Harley Quinn. A psychological thriller sequel doubling as a musical, Joker: Folie à Deux is slated to grace theaters by October, much like its trendsetting predecessor in 2019.

No Year Has Had This Many R-rated Marvel And DC Movies

What Does This Say About The Superhero Movie Industry?

Both Marvel and DC have toyed around with the idea of an R-rated superhero movie before, albeit with mixed results. Notable examples include the Blade trilogy, Zack Snyder’s polarizing take on Watchmen, and Hugh Jackman’s then-final appearance as Wolverine in Logan. But now, with three back-to-back R-rated releases, 2024 will prove to be a crucial year for mature comic book movies. The previous Deadpool movies and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad proved how even R-rated superhero movies have thriving commercial prospects, with the 2024 release calendar proving how studios are now eager to release adult-oriented projects more than ever before.

The first-ever R-rated comic book movie was The Punisher (1989), an unofficial film starring Dolph Lundgren as the titular Marvel vigilante.

A year with abundant mature content seems apt, considering how 2023 bore witness to critical and commercial PG-13 disappointments by Marvel (The Marvels) and DC (The Flash). Flipping the script with grittier storylines can serve as a breath of fresh air for a genre that is nearing a saturation point. So, the only way to fight superhero fatigue is to throw in morally opposite protagonists like antiheroic mercenaries or actual supervillains, leads who don’t shy away from explicit content. If successful, these major Marvel and DC releases could revamp the future consumption trends within both cinematic pantheons in the future.