Across the history of comic book movies in theMCU, theDCU, and beyond, there have been many sequels that have turned out to be disasters. Though many of themovies of the MCUhave been massive successes, this isn’t the case for all comic book movies. While many films based on comic book source material go on to be successful with critics or at the box office, there are occasions that have seen such movies fare disastrously.
Throughout the history of DC movies and theMCU’s movie timeline, there are many occurrences of the sequel to a successful or respectable cinematic effort not living up to their predecessors. Some comic book movie follow-ups simply aren’t able to live up to their own hype, ending in box office failure or critical panning. With that in mind, here are 10 comic book movie sequel disasters.
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10Joker: Folie A Deux (2024)
Sequel to: Joker (2019)
After the massive success of 2019’sJoker, the announcement that thecharacters ofJoker: Folie à Deuxwould continue its story was met with widespread anticipation. Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning turn as Arthur Fleck made announcements about the sequel all the more exciting, with cryptic teases about the film’s musical inspirations and the casting of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn earning particular interest. Sadly, the sequel proved to be an instant disaster upon release.
With mixed to negative reviews across the board,Joker: Folie à Deuxwas immediately in trouble.The underwhelming box office of its opening weekend saw it earn considerably less than was projected, swiftly marking it as an utter disaster.Considering the overwhelmingly positive reception of its 2019 predecessor,Folie à Deux’s critical and box office failures seem all the more dismaying by comparison.
9Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Sequel to: Man of Steel (2013)
2013’sMan of Steelmarked the beginning of theDCEU’s movie timeline, and despite a relatively mixed reception, it was ultimately considered an interesting new direction for the titular hero. Zack Snyder’s unique vision continued in 2016’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, albeit with even less encouraging results. The sequel was considered divisive at best, marking it as a low point in a franchise that was barely in its infancy.
Batman v Supermanwas a disaster for a handful of reasons.Its bloated runtime, poor representations of beloved elements of the source material, and questionable narrative choices all marred the movie’s reputationwith critics and audiences alike. Considering that the DCEU had only just started, the poor reception to its second ever entry was far from ideal, and was generally disastrous for the franchise as a whole.
8Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Sequel to: Thor (2011)
The release of 2011’sThormarked it is one of the more surprising movies in Phase 1 of the MCU, as it combined fantasy and sci-fi while adapting a lesser-known Marvel hero. However, it paid off massively, enthralling audiences and introducing one of the franchise’s most interesting figures. The film’s sequel, 2013’sThor: The Dark World, was seen as an opportunity to expand upon the original’s success, also following on from the MCU’s major hit in 2012’sThe Avengers.
Thor: The Dark Worlddisappointed on almost all fronts. It was considered the dullest entry into the MCU at the time, and for a considerable period was labeled the franchise’s worst film.Poor handling of the film’s villain and its general narrative ultimately made for an uninteresting entry into the MCU, earning it a disastrously poor reputation with fans of the franchise.
7Batman & Robin (1997)
Sequel to: Batman Forever (1995)
The tepid critical reception to 1995’sBatman Forevermight not have made it hugely successful, but it was able to capitalize on the reputation ofTim Burton’s Batman moviesthat came before it. However, its own sequel, 1997’sBatman & Robin, had no goodwill to draw upon on release. As a result, the movie stood purely on its own merit, and was, therefore, a total disaster.
Batman & Robin’s needlessly cheesy and wacky approach to the Dark Knight was not well-received, and earned instant ridicule from both audiences and critics. Poor critical reception and moderate box office disappointment spelled disaster for Joel Schumacher’s Batman sequel, even in comparison to its underwhelming predecessor.The movie was considered bad enough to keep Batman out of cinemas for the better part of a decade, meaning that it was also disastrous for the character’s cinematic legacy.
6The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Sequel to: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The release ofThe Amazing Spider-Manin 2012 saw the titular hero rebooted after Sam Raimi’s groundbreaking trilogy. The first movie wasn’t as resounding a success as its predecessors, but it earned considerable attention to warrant the making of a sequel. 2014’sThe Amazing Spider-Man 2continued its story, exploring some of its loose plot threads and introducing several other aspects to the franchise’s story. Unfortunately, the sequel also turned out to be something of a disaster.
The general reception received byThe Amazing Spider-Man 2was not positive. Criticisms were leveled at the film, particularly where its narrative and script were concerned.Despite the film ambitiously teasing a sequel and potential spin-offs, the underwhelming reactions to its release saw the franchise scrapped, with Sony soon after striking a deal with Marvel to introduce Spider-Man into the MCU. ThoughThe Amazing Spider-Man 2has since been more favorably reappraised, it was once considered disastrous enough to warrant scrapping all future plans.
5Superman Returns (2006)
Sequel to: Superman II (1980)
After the way that Richard Donner’s first twoSupermanmovies shaped modern superhero cinema, it would seem that a more modern attempt to pick up their narrative would be hugely successful.Superman Returnspicked up whereSuperman IIleft off, with Brandon Routh taking over the role of the titular hero thanks to his uncanny resemblance to young Christopher Reeve. Sadly, the sequel did not live up to the high expectations placed upon it.
One of the major obstacles to success was the fact thatSuperman IIhad already received two sequels, both of which were disastrous in their own right. Skimming over part of the hero’s cinematic legacy only distancedSuperman Returnsfrom its predecessors, and an uninspired script only further weakened the 2006 movie’s appeal. Despite being a reasonably entertaining film in its own right,Superman Returnswas unable to achieve the success that was expected of it, and Routh’s iteration of the hero was short-lived.
4Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Sequel to: Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Following on from the narrative developments ofAnt-Man and the Wasp,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s charactersventured into the Quantum Realm. The MCU sequel had teased major MCU plot points, particularly the full debut of Kang the Conqueror, who had only previously been introduced via Multiversal variants. The character once set to be the franchise’s next major antagonist helped to hype the sequel’s release, withQuantumaniatipped to be one of the most important MCU movies post-Endgame.
However,the thirdAnt-Manmovie turned out to be a disaster on both critical and financial levels, and spelled huge trouble for the MCU in general.Quantumaniafailed to break even at the box office, thanks in part to widespread negative reviews that marked it as one of the franchise’s worst ever movies. In spite of Ant-Man once being considered an MCU fan-favorite,Quantumaniaproved one of the franchise’s worst sequel disasters.
3Superman III & IV (1983, 1987)
Long before superhero movies consistently dominated the box office, Richard Donner’sSupermanmovies ushered the genre into the modern age of cinema, utilizing groundbreaking effects to bring comic book stories to life on the big screen. After two widely celebrated and critically acclaimedSupermanmovies, Christopher Reeve’s Man of Tomorrow was brought back for two further movies. Sadly,each of the two sequels proved to be more disastrous than the last.
Superman IIIwas critically panned for its campy tone and the inability to live up to the success of its predecessors. However,Superman IVturned out to be disastrous even when judged against its less-than-impressed forebear. The fourth movie’s production values, script, and acting continued the considerable decline in quality started bySuperman III, making Christopher Reeve’s final two Superman sequels utterly disastrous from a financial and critical standpoint.
2The Marvels (2023)
Sequel to: Captain Marvel (2019)
Considering the alarming trend of MCU movies and TV shows receiving increasing poor reviews at the time ofThe Marvels’ release, expectations for the movie were relatively low. However, its predecessor, 2019’sCaptain Marvel, was one of the most critically successful movies of the Infinity Saga, making the character’s solo follow-up an important affair. The film also followed on from the MCU TV showsMs. MarvelandWandaVision, both of which earned relative success.
The Marvelsdid not perform at all as expected, underachieving in almost every conceivable metric.It failed to break even at the box office, grossing just $206 million worldwide against a production budget of $274.8 million.Mixed reviews from critics praised some elements of the film, but as the lowest grossing movie in the MCU, it’s safe to say thatThe Marvelswas an utter disaster of a sequel.
1Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom (2023)
Sequel to: Aquaman (2018)
As the lastmovie of the DCEU, there was considerable interest inAquaman and the Lost Kingdomahead of its release. Its predecessor, 2018’sAquaman, had proven to be one of the DCEU’s best movies from a critical and financial standpoint, and considering the DCU reboot, many were keen to see how the franchise would come to its conclusion. Unfortunately,Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomwas a disastrous sequel, particularly in comparison to its predecessor.
The DCEU ending withAquaman and the Lost Kingdomdid not help to bolster the movie’s performance, but rather worked against the sequel. With there being no real stakes at play due to the impending reboot,Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomdid not perform particularly well at the box office, and even worse with critics. As a result, it stands out as another example from the comic book movies of theMCU, theDCU, and beyond of a sequel that turned out to be a complete disaster.
