Avengers, released by Disney-owned Marvel Studios, is at the forefront of the drive. Joss Whedon’s film is expected eventually to better its predecessor’s worldwide take of $1.5bn and is likely to take $200m on its US opening weekend alone. The movie is the latest in Marvel’s “Phase Two”, which refers to the second round of interconnected superhero films that also included last year’s hit Guardians of the Galaxy, which made more than $770m worldwide.
The final film in this phase will be Ant-Man, released 17 July, which stars Paul Rudd as a character who can shrink in size. Marvel has also unveiled dates for “Phase Three”, another nine forthcoming releases, including further outings for Captain America and Thor, taking the company up to 2019.
“It shows the direction in which Hollywood is going,” Matt Mueller, editor of Screen International, said. “They are all talking about ways of expanding their current franchises, rather than looking for more original ways to attract an audience. Studios are so reliant on franchises, and their shareholders are obviously happy they are doing all this. But you wonder if audience fatigue is going to come into play, and whether this is a dangerous game to play in the long term.”
 |
| Ben Affleck stars as Batman in DC Comics’ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, due in 2016. Photograph: Zack Snyder |
DC aims to unite its characters in a team film, Justice League, the company’s equivalent of the Avengers.
Both firms are aiming at films that will put women in lead parts. Angelina Jolie has been in negotiations to direct Captain Marvel, a film that hopes to buck the trend of unsuccessful female superhero films that includes Supergirl, Catwoman and Elektra. DC has just hired Monster director Patty Jenkins to take on Wonder Woman.
 |
But both Marvel and DC are also making content for TV and streaming services to bring their characters to life. Marvel has worked with Disney-owned network ABC on Avengers-linked shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter, which stars British actress Hayley Atwell. A deal with Netflix has also meant an interconnected new set of hero shows, which kicked off last month with Daredevil, a reinvention of the blind crime-fighting character, last played by Ben Affleck in 2003.
 |
| Netflix unveiled Daredevil last month. Netflix Photograph: Netflix |
The competition between DC and Marvel has ramped up in recent years and, with Marvel in the box-office lead, Hughes believes a lighter tone has won them more fans. “It’s the fun factor,” he said. “What other outfit would take an unheard-of comic book like Guardians of the Galaxy and turn it into a huge box-office draw? The Marvel movies are fun, they don’t make you feel bad, they are worth seeing on the big screen – which is a great thing for cinema in general. The fun was was sorely missing from Man of Steel.”