The MCU Is Heating Up Again At The Perfect Time

The Marvel Cinematic Universe built up a reputation over the Infinity Saga for rarely missing the mark with a project. Marvel Studios built an empire on well-received movies that were big hits with audiences, who more or less loved each new blockbuster. The cracks in the MCU’s armor started to show more frequently after Avengers: Endgame, with an expanded production slate on the big and small screens a primary culprit.

The up-and-down nature of the MCU’s releases has been especially felt in recent years. For every Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and X-Men ’97 season 1 that got rave responses, there were releases like Secret Invasion, Captain America: Brave New World, and Marvel Zombies that received more mixed results.

This is especially evident in how the MCU’s projects are scored on Rotten Tomatoes. The aggregator is not the end-all, be-all when it comes to determining the reception to a movie or show, but it is a strong data point. And after a few turbulent years, the MCU is now heating up and restoring hype.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 & Wonder Man Are Marvel’s First Back-To-Back Hits In 4 Years

2026 has gotten off to the best start imaginable for Marvel. After sparking lots of discussions with Avengers: Doomsday‘s four trailers, the MCU has carried forward that momentum with two of its biggest hits in years: Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again season 2.

Wonder Man really captured the attention of viewers with its meta story and mostly standalone MCU adventure. Add in the strength of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley’s performances, and its no surprise that it received a lot of praise from critics and fans. Wonder Man sits at 91% with critics and 87% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Meanwhile, Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is off to a very strong start. General audiences have only seen the first episode, but most critics have seen all eight episodes. In both cases, viewers have praised the strength of its characters and how it builds on the strengths of the original series. As of this writing, Daredevil: Born Again season 2 has 95% and 93% scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

That makes Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 the first time the MCU has had consecutive releases with 85% or better RT scores with critics and the public since the start of 2022; Spider-Man: No Way Home (93%, 97%) and Moon Knight (86%, 88%) were the last back-to-back hits.

In fact, since Moon Knight, only four of 26 MCU projects (Werewolf by Night, X-Men ’97, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps) have achieved 85% or better RT scores before Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 did it consecutively.

While the general reception to most of these projects has been positive, the scores reflect a lack of overwhelming adoration that accompanied most releases during this time. But that has not been the case to start 2026.

Wonder Man was so successful that Marvel has confirmed season 2 is happening. Born Again season 2 reactions suggest the remaining episodes are even better, so its RT score could go higher. This puts Marvel in the midst of its best stretch in at least four years.

The MCU’s Heater Is Strongly Positioned To Continue Throughout 2026

To make matters even better for Marvel Studios, the wave of positivity might not end anytime soon. The MCU’s upcoming slate is jam-packed with exciting projects for 2026: The Punisher: One Last Kill, X-Men ’97 season 2, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, VisionQuest, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2, and Avengers: Doomsday.

Jon Bernthal’s Punisher special will look to extend the MCU’s hot streak to three projects. Given the affection for his anti-hero and the history of these Special Presentations, faith in it is high. VisionQuest will look to have a similar reception as WandaVision (92%, 88%), with showrunner Terry Matalas inspiring further confidence; his season of Star Trek: Picard topped the 85% RT benchmarks.

Second seasons of X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are slated to come later this year. The former already hit this benchmark in season 1, so a similarly fantastic reception is expected. Meanwhile, the animated Spider-Man show could be in line for a greater audience response now that the series’ alternate Peter Parker story is established.

And as for the movies, the two major blockbusters look to fully solidify the MCU’s return to glory. It’s worth noting Marvel is on a hot streak here, too, as Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are the studio’s first back-to-back films with over 85% RT scores since 2019, Avengers: Endgame (94%, 90%) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (91%, 95%).

Confidence in Brand New Day stems from the strength of Holland’s previous three movies (which never had scores lower than 87%). Destin Daniel Cretton’s direction is also key here, as his prior MCU projects, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man, were widely praised.

Doomsday has history on its side, too. Three of four previous Avengers movies hit this threshold. All four of the Russo brothers’ prior MCU movies did as well. Assuming the movie can overcome some concerns about being overly reliant on nostalgia and deliver the right amount of expected spectacle, Doomsday could make the directing duo five for five.

While there’s reason to believe that each of these projects could receive the same level of reception as Daredevil: Born Again season 2 and Wonder Man season 1, it’s unlikely that all eight of the MCU’s releases in 2026 are this well-received. There’s bound to be at least one that has a less enthusiastic response.

The MCU has never had more than five consecutive releases of this magnitude, with Captain America: Civil War through Thor: Ragnarok marking the longest stretch. Whether 2026 can get close to that record could really depend on how Marvel rolls out its remaining TV shows.

Even if the record doesn’t fall, 2026 could go down as one of the MCU’s best years ever. And with Avengers: Secret Wars coming in 2027, the quality of each project remaining high as audiences rediscover a love for the franchise could not come at a better time. It’ll provide the MCU with incredible momentum heading into the culminating event of nearly 20 years of Marvel movies.

Cast

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors