Marvel Studios Needs to Do a Quality Animated Movie

Bob Iger’s May 2025 comments about Thunderbolts*‘ solid box office numbers indicating a return to form for Marvel Studios solidifies a mandate for Marvel Studios to, in Iger’s own words, not put “quantity over quality.” With these ambitions made public, Marvel Studios is bound to take fewer risks in the years to come thanks to a slimmed-down slate of theatrical films. In 2026, for instance, Disney will currently distribute only one Marvel Studios title (Avengers: Doomsday) theatrically, with 2026’s other MCU feature (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) hailing from Sony/Columbia Pictures. Compare that to the three MCU features Disney released annually from 2021 to 2023.

However, even with Marvel Studios planning to release fewer motion pictures, one of those new big screen productions should totally be a radical new vision of what a theatrical Marvel Cinematic Universe title looks like. It’s time for Marvel Studios to unleash a fully animated movie into theaters.

Animated Cinema and Superheroes Go Together Splendidly

Throughout history, combining animated theatrical movies and superheroes has resulted in truly remarkable pieces of cinema. Just look at how Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and The LEGO Batman Movie are two of the very best Batman movies of all time. 2014’s Big Hero 6, based on a collection of obscure Marvel superheroes, was a total delight, particularly in the bouncy, endearing robot Baymax. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in 2023, meanwhile, breathed new life into that film franchise after more than three decades of existence.

Then there’s the pinnacle of this subgenre, the two Spider-Verse motion pictures. Whether you consider them in terms of screenwriting, lively voice acting, groundbreaking animation, or any other respect, the Spider-Verse films are supreme cinematic accomplishments. These two motion pictures encapsulate how the boundless possibilities of animation as a medium are perfect for the world of superheroes. In the comics, these characters can go anywhere and do anything. Reality is rarely a problem for characters ranging from Batman to Marvel’s Brute Force.

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That’s hard to accomplish in live-action, where you inevitably run into being tethered to gravity and impulses to “ground” everything in “realism.” With animated storytelling, though, these characters can revel in their most grandiose, stylized impulses. So many Phase Four and Five MCU projects like Captain America: Brave New World and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were either sheepish about embracing or messily indulged in comic book goofiness. Delivering a quality animated motion picture for the big screen that deftly leans into silliness could rectify this problem. Plus, countless other superheroes can attest that big-screen animated storytelling is quite liberating.

It’s Time To Correct The Visual Problem of Marvel’s Animated TV Shows

Manifesting a vividly animated production on the big screen could also compensate for another Marvel Cinematic Universe shortcoming. Specifically, so far, the small screen output of Marvel Animation has been dreadful in terms of visuals. The animation styles of What If…? and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are just downright eyesores. Both programs deploy computer animation only faintly emulating hand-drawn animated figures. These characters don’t move in organic fashions and their backdrops and stories rarely dabble into animation’s surrealistic possibilities. There’s visual timidity seeping into every pore of Marvel Animation’s output.

This yawn-worthy approach to animation would be frustrating under any circumstances. Compared to the glorious animation offered up by the Spider-Verse films and Mutant Mayhem, though, it’s downright embarrassing. With a theatrical film budget, Marvel Studios could finally realize some of its characters with truly glorious animation. Even the stronger What If…? outings were weighed down by distractingly subpar bursts of animation. A theatrical film could realize more consistently dazzling visuals. God willing, the outfit could even embrace full-on hand-drawn animation. It’d be a thrill to see distinctive animators represent these characters in a distinctive art style akin to how Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars cartoon overhauled various icons of the prequel trilogy.

Marvel Animation’s Disney+ output has left endless potential on the table that a sublime theatrical Marvel Studios movie could finally rectify. On top of all that, a theatrical animated feature would likely carry a noticeably smaller price tag than a typical live-action MCU movie, which could open the door to letting truly obscure Marvel Comics figures (like Brute Force, the League of Losers, Squirrel Girl, or even Savage Land) step into the spotlight. Animation as a medium offers limitless universes of possibilities. The concept of Marvel Studios delivering a superb animated theatrical movie is similarly rife with the potential for tremendous artistry and excitement. If nothing else, it’d surely be an improvement on What If…?

All What If…? seasons are now streaming on Disney+.