2017 Could Be Marvel’s Biggest Year Yet 2017 Could Be Marvel’s Biggest Year Yet
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been steadily releasing two movies a year since 2013, it’s stepping things up next year with a whopping... 2017 Could Be Marvel’s Biggest Year Yet

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been steadily releasing two movies a year since 2013, it’s stepping things up next year with a whopping three releases. Marvel has never dropped three movies in the same year, and these are some of the most anticipated from the company yet. With sequels to both Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy on the way along with the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming, all signs point to 2017 being a banner year for the MCU.

In many ways, this year’s Captain America: Civil War helped to set the stage for the upcoming smorgasbord. The movie introduced audiences to the newer, younger Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) and also planted the seed of what Thor and the Hulk were up to based on their noticeable absence. Civil War and Doctor Strange were both super-successful (particularly the surprise box office showing of Strange) and assisted in whetting the appetites of fans for what else Marvel has in store.

Superheroes continue to be a driving force at the box office and this notion was only reenforced during 2016. Five of the top-10 grossing movies of 2016 were based on comic books, and the popularity of the action-packed genre clearly isn’t going to diminish any time soon. Along with Marvel’s trio of big-screen offerings, the DC universe is expanding further thanks to two upcoming films: Wonder Woman due in the summer of 2017, and Justice League set for a November release.

With the glut of great movies on the horizon, we can only hope that this push will extend to video games. Marvel made it clear earlier this year that its new mandate is to “make epic games” and it’s looking as though 2017 could be as good for Marvel on home consoles as it’s likely to be at the box office. Insomniac Games (developer of the Ratchet & Clank series) is hard at work on a Spider-Man game that’s exclusive to the PS4. It promises to put players in control of the beloved web-slinger while exploring a lovingly crafted, open-world New York City. The early peeks at the game look terrific, and it could very well be the strongest Marvel game we’ve seen in years. Add onto this the announcement that Marvel is teaming up with Telltale Games to create an episodic interactive-adventure series based on Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s looking like a good time
to be a comic book fan with a console.

While there’s certainly no shortage of games based on comic books, the production of big budget titles had definitely been on a downturn in recent years. There are loads of mobile titles, like Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Heroes, in addition to a number of casual titles that have also been developed for browser-based platforms. The publisher went so far as to license its creations to an online gaming platform featuring a number of popular table games, including roulette and Sic Bo. One game incorporates some of the biggest characters from the MCU while adapting the characters to more traditional casino-style gameplay. There’s clearly a demand for more video games starring everyone’s favorite heroes, and we’re glad Marvel is finally going to take advantage of that with the aforementioned console titles.

With three major movies and a couple AAA video games in the works for 2017—that we know of!—it’s a great time to be a nerd. Fans of Marvel in particular will have plenty to be excited about next year, and there’s a lot for DC fans to look forward to as well.

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Jon Dingle Editor

A film journalist, writer and a filmmaker in business for over 20 years. I am passionate about movies, television series, music and online games.