Movie Sequels in the Superhero Genre Shift Away from Focus on Heroes' Backstories
In the realm of superhero movies, a new era is upon us. Gone are the days of lengthy origin story narratives, as both Marvel and DC Universe (DCU) are now prioritizing character development and universe-building over retelling classic origin tales.
For DC, the upcoming film Superman: Legacy, directed by James Gunn, presents a younger Clark Kent balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. This approach sets a hopeful, inspirational tone for the new interconnected DCU, known as "Gods and Monsters". This move indicates DC's plan to launch its new era without retreading classic origin narratives, instead moving directly to more complex storytelling.
Marvel, too, is following suit. The 2025's Fantastic Four: First Steps and other upcoming MCU projects are skipping over traditional origin story beats and focusing on the characters' roles and futures within a larger interconnected narrative leading toward major events like Avengers: Doomsday.
This shift away from origin stories allows for a deeper exploration of legacy, challenges, and team dynamics, assuming that audiences are familiar with the basics of these iconic characters. However, ignoring origin stories entirely isn't a viable option, as seen with the critiques of "Superman" (2025) and "Fantastic Four" for jumping in fully without proper context.
The approach to origin stories in the 2020s has seen interesting experiments, particularly in team movies. In the 2010s, some of the most intriguing origin story explorations came from team movies, such as the Avengers and the Justice League.
Looking back, Marvel's Tom Holland's Spider-Man did not have an onscreen origin, leading to fans feeling that something was missing. This lack initially worked against him, but his trilogy has since become an origin story to make him more "faithful" to the original character.
In DC's approach, supporting characters like Catwoman, the Penguin, and Superman's Justice Gang have also been established for some time. The 2026 Spider-Man movie, "Brand New Day", is expected to continue this origin story trend.
Examples of Marvel movies employing this approach include "Brave New World", "The Marvels", and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". DC's movies aim to show an actual world outside the frame and give the characters a chance to explore their cities for a few days, as seen in "The Batman" and "Superman" (2023).
This new phase in superhero cinema is marked by a focus on character development and universe-building, with origin stories taking a backseat. Audiences can look forward to more complex, ongoing stories featuring younger or established heroes, as well as a more expansive and interconnected cinematic universe.
[1] Gods and Monsters - https://www.dcuniverseinfinite.com/gods-and-monsters [2] Avengers: Doomsday - https://www.marvel.com/movies/avengers-doomsday [3] Superman: Legacy - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10736600/ [4] Fantastic Four: First Steps - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11074874/
- In the DC Universe (DCU), the upcoming movie Superman: Legacy will carve a new path for the interconnected DCU, referred to as "Gods and Monsters", by presenting a fresh, inspiring narrative of a young Clark Kent balancing his Kryptonian heritage and human upbringing.
- Marvel, too, is adopting a similar strategy, with the 2025's Fantastic Four: First Steps and other upcoming MCU projects foregoing traditional origin storylines to focus on characters' roles and future within a larger, interconnected narrative leading toward significant events like Avengers: Doomsday.
- Moving forward, movies like Superman: Legacy, Fantastic Four: First Steps, "Brave New World", "The Marvels", "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", "The Batman", "Superman" (2023), and the 2026's "Brand New Day" will epitomize this new phase in superhero cinema, featuring complex, ongoing narratives with a focus on character development, universe-building, and the interconnected cinematic universe.
