Disney’s Marvel needed a direction. With a big box office and familiar faces, it may have one

Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Marvel is on the rebound.

After its worst performance of all-time at the box office last November, the studio is back on top with “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The 34th entrant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hauled in $211 million during its domestic debut, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

It’s also the highest-opening MCU film since 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

It’s a promising development for the Disney-owned Marvel Studios, which has struggled to maintain box office momentum in the wake of 2019’s historic “Avengers: Endgame.” A push for quantity of theatrical titles and streaming series led to a decline in quality, and audiences balked.

“Welcome to the MCU,” Reynold’s Deadpool says to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the film, which arrived in theaters over the weekend. “You’re joining at a bit of a low point.”

That low point is 2023’s “The Marvels,” which generated the lowest domestic opening ($46.1 million) and lowest global box office haul (under $200 million) for the MCU ever.

At the same time Marvel Studios was still reeling from pandemic-related production shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes. Then, its heir apparent Jonathan Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment, leading to his firing and questions about the future of the villainous Kang.

However, with the recent success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” and several strategic hires, Marvel looks to be on its way to righting the ship. And that’s good news for a studio that has generated more than $30 billion in box office since 2008. The MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time and one of the most consistent ticket sales drivers in cinematic history.

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, has brought back Joe and Anthony Russo — the writing and directing duo behind “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” — and tapped Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., to take on the role of Doctor Doom.

As part of the studio’s San Diego Comic Con presentation on Saturday, Feige announced that the Russo brothers would helm “Avengers: Doomsday” (previously titled “Avengers: Kang Dynasty) and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” due out in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the only MCU film release of 2024, but 2025 will see “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*,” “The Fantastic 4: First Steps” and “Blade.”

Where Deadpool and Wolverine fit into Marvel’s upcoming slate is unknown — both characters survive the latest installment and remain in Deadpool’s universe, separate from the rest of the MCU. “Deadpool & Wolverine” seemingly hints that Jackman will return as Wolverine in future films.

“Fox killed him. Disney brought him back,” Deadpool tells the audience in his typical, fourth-wall breaking fashion. “They’re gonna make him do this until he’s 90.”

Many speculate the duo will return for “Secret Wars,” a comic book story arc first seen in the 1980s and later revisited in 2015. The storyline involves the collision of alternative universes, their destruction and pieces of those universes being knit back together into something called “Battleworld.” It is also where Marvel could incorporate the X-Men.

How the MCU will handle “Secret Wars” is firmly under wraps, but the Russo brothers teased Downey’s Doctor Doom will play a big part in its events. At the very least, fans of the franchise now have a better sense of the direction for the franchise.

“Like Robert said, ‘New mask, same task,” Anthony Russo said during Saturday’s San Diego Comic Con panel, echoing Downey’s words. “And the task for all of us, including everybody in this room, together, is for us to help create the greatest possible experience that we can all have together in a movie theater.”