The 2020s have been a pretty good era for superhero films. Whether it be the launch of the DCU, the incredible Spider-Man content, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe finding its footing post-Avengers: Endgame, superhero content has been pretty good lately. With a bright future ahead for superhero cinema, it’s fun to look back on the last few years of this decade and see what awesome content has been provided to audiences thus far.
Oftentimes, a superhero movie can feel like it can be in any genre—crime thriller, space opera, political thriller—and these six movies are proof of that. It’s pretty hard to narrow down the best of the best to have been released since 2020, but there are most certainly some that stand out above the rest of them.
6
‘Superman’ (2025)
After finishing his almost 10-year stint at Marvel Studios with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, director James Gunn hopped back over to DC Comics—post-The Suicide Squad—to helm the new DCU. Because of this, he decided to also helm the first theatrical release for the new universe, as well, Superman. With how important the iconic DC Comics character is, and how important he will be to the DCU moving forward, it only made sense that he’d want to make sure it’s done right.
With this being the first DC cinematic universe after the controversial DC Extended Universe (the DCEU), there was a lot riding on Superman. Thankfully, Gunn ensured it would turn out well, putting all the effort he could muster as a director into turning it into the smash hit it is. This project truly recaptured the feeling that the character had been missing for quite some time—hope, the feeling of a better tomorrow, and pure-hearted goodness. Not to forget, the big blue boy scout’s newest actor, David Corenswet, gave a phenomenal performance and helped give people a lot of hope for what’s to come for the character in the next decade.
5
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ (2023)
Speaking of James Gunn, as stated, he’s most well-known for his work at Marvel Studios with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Despite this series being so iconic and beloved, though, every good thing must come to an end eventually. So, come 2023, the Guardians’ solo franchise would retire with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This trilogy-capper takes everything that’s made this series so lovable over the years and amplifies it to make for the perfect end to an almost-perfect collection of films. Following the origin story of the fan favorite member, Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), this third entry is unforgettable.
Much like the rest of Gunn’s movies, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 perfectly balances humor and lightheartedness with emotional weight and drama. The backstory of Rocket is heartbreaking in every way, and the journey of the Guardians to save modern-day Rocket before he dies is one that is thrilling and comedic. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is everything that it needed to be, and keeps audiences both crying and smiling back to back. Giving everyone a happy ending—as they all deserve—this third film is everything that a finale to this series needed to be.
4
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021)
If one thing is for certain, the character of Spider-Man has had an incredible last few years. With every film released in the current decade for the hero being phenomenal, the character’s reputation hasn’t been this good in quite some time. The first movie in this new decade, Spider-Man: No Way Home, got him kicked off to a great start. This third Tom Holland movie proved that a superhero project can do the multiverse—a trend in superhero cinema that’s become quite popular—without it becoming nostalgia bait and borderline slop. Spider-Man: No Way Home brings almost every villain back from the previous two live-action Spider-Man franchises, as well as the previous two Spider-Men.
However, these characters don’t just get included because it made fans happy and got people to come out to theaters—no, they all have a genuine reason to be included, no matter how small (looking at you, Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans)). Both Spider-Men—Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire—act as a reflection of Holland’s in some way, helping him move past his character arc post Aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) death. Spider-Man: No Way Home also does something that’s not been done in Spidey cinema before by having Peter Parker’s identity revealed to the entire world and spending a great deal of time investigating how much it would truly destroy the young man’s life if that happened.
3
‘The Batman’ (2022)
An aspect of the Batman character that’s not been well-represented in cinema over the years is his detective side. He is called the World’s Greatest Detective after all. However, that changed in 2022 with the release of Matt Reeves‘ The Batman. This project is very cleverly written, focusing on making the viewer really think before anything else. Reeves wants to have audiences figure out the case alongside Batman (Robert Pattinson), which makes the plot incredibly engaging. Not to forget, Bruce Wayne’s own character arc is excellent.
Depicting a Caped Crusader in just his second year as a hero, this Batman still has a lot of work to do before he becomes the one fans know from the comic books, which is why people like him. Also, the plot takes heavy inspiration from iconic Batman stories like Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) and the “Hush” storyline, meaning it has some really great source material that the screenplay built itself off of. Long story short, The Batman is the film that people have been waiting for with this character for quite some time, and boy does it deliver.
2
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)
The second Spider-Man film to be released in the 2020s, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is the sequel to arguably one of the best animated movies of all time, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This 2023 hit finds itself being not just a great movie, but a great sequel, because it takes everything that was great about the first film, enhances it, and goes so far as to add more. The attention to detail is spectacular in every way, and makes this project something that is an absolute marvel to look at—viewers finding new details in the animation with almost every watch.
The plot of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is also one that is emotionally compelling, thanks to it being a straightforward trolley problem. Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is faced with the fact that he can either keep the multiverse safe or save his father, Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry). The young hero wishes he could do both, and that pushes him against the Spider-Society (almost every Spider-Person in the multiverse). It’s an incredible movie, with an incredible story, and even better character arcs within it—Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) being a major highlight.
1
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (2026)
The most recent example of how great Spider-Man content has been as of late is the one and only Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Currently among the highest-grossing films of all time, the numbers are proof enough already that this newest Tom Holland Spidey outing is one of the best superhero projects in recent years.
Giving fans of the Wall-Crawler and general audiences alike the Spider-Man they’ve been asking for since his debut in Captain America: Civil War—a grounded, street-level hero that is all on his own—director Destin Daniel Cretton made the entire world happy with this one. Spider-Man is truly back, and everyone is pleased. The movie has been so successful that it got an extension to its theatrical run, and an extended cut is even coming to theaters soon as well. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the Spider-Man film people have been patiently waiting for, and its success proves that.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 29, 2026
- Runtime
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145 minutes
- Director
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Destin Daniel Cretton
- Writers
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Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
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