Superhero movies have grown from a niche subgenre of action movies into a cornerstone of modern Hollywood. Since Marvel began “Phase One” of its “Cinematic Universe” in 2008, it has released 29 movies with at least 11 more slated for release in the next four years alone. They have also grown to dominate at the box office. “Avengers: Endgame” dethroned “Avatar” as the highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office, bringing in more than $850 million. (These are the best Marvel movies of all time)

Needless to say, superhero movies are likely to keep on coming for as long as they show a profit. To identify the 18 major superhero movies currently in post-production, production, or the planning stages,, 24/7 Tempo reviewed press coverage and announcements by Warner Bros, Marvel Entertainment, and other major studios. Directorial and (when available) cast information comes from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon.

No other company has dominated the superhero sphere like Marvel Studios, but several others have created acclaimed hits as well. DC Comics’ “The Dark Knight,” for instance, remains the highest-rated superhero movie on IMDb, and is the third highest-rated movie across all genres.  

Marvel and two other companies – DC Comics and Sony – virtually own the cinematic superhero world, and all the films on this list are from one of the three. The Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is still the largest aggregation of superhero films, and has the most new ones on this list. DC Comics has begun to build its own repertoire of movies with its DC Extended Universe, and Sony, thanks to some intricate licensing deals, now has its own Spider-Man Universe, involving not just Spider-Man but also other characters from Spider-Man comics. (Here are all the actors who have played Spider-Man, ranked.)

Obviously, none of these companies are hitting the brakes anytime soon and will continue to pump out superhero flicks at breakneck speed. For now, these are the ones that are headed our way in the foreseeable future.

Click here to see 18 upcoming superhero movies