This year, Disney will kick off the summer movie season with a titanic clash of good and evil. On one side stands a maiden, oft-dismissed and misunderstood, who overcame her humble origins to become a formidable new force. On the other, stands the devil.
Such a description could apply to any of the Marvel movies that have signaled the start of the summer blockbuster season for nearly two decades: Iron Man (May 8, 2008), The Avengers (May 4, 2012), Avengers: Infinity War (May 24, 2018), Avengers: Endgame (April 26, 2019). Even recently, Marvel has staked its claim at the end of spring, releasing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5, 2023, and Thunderbolts* on May 2, 2025. And this year, Marvel has two heavy-hitters upcoming with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday.
Yet, the Disney blockbuster described above may have goodies and baddies, and may even feature a few capes and cowls. But it won’t have a single superpower or Marvel hero, because it’s not a Marvel movie at all. It’s The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Disney’s placement of The Devil Wears Prada 2 might be the clearest sign yet that superhero fatigue is real. The term has been thrown around a lot lately, especially since the release of Avengers: Endgame now six years ago.
To those who use it, the term perfectly encapsulates the feeling of exhaustion that comes with ever-expanding mythologies, a glut of new in-continuity television shows, and even the stalling out of the DCEU and launch of the James Gunn DCU. For them, the third wave of superhero movies launched by The Dark Knight and Iron Man was fun, but it came to a close with Endgame. Now, audiences are moving onto video game films and legacy sequels.
To those who hate the term “superhero fatigue,” superhero movies still clearly do well in theaters. Guardians 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were top ten grossers in 2023, as was Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024, and Superman in 2025. And even if The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Black Adam failed to be box office juggernauts, they were both financially successful.
The placement of The Devil Wears Prada 2 may prove that both are correct. Obviously, neither Disney nor Warner Bros. plan to abandon superheroes, as both have high-profile MCU and DCU movies and television shows in active production. However, both have stepped back from the rapid development that marked the height of the third wave of superhero movies. Both Kevin Feige and James Gunn have talked openly about the need to put quality over quantity, hinting that previous attempts to flood the market with projects have diluted their popularity.
Furthermore, while The Devil Wears Prada 2 may not be a proper legacy sequel, as it does not seem to be introducing some new awkward fashion journalist hoping to follow in the footsteps of Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), it does build on the genre’s chief appeal. The Devil Wears Prada 2 returns to a beloved movie from twenty years ago, promising to check in on characters we know well and offering viewers the safety of familiarity. All of the first film’s principals return, including Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton, and Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling (and, in an example of addition by subtraction, Adrian Grenier does not return as whiny boyfriend Nate).
The Devil Wears Prada 2 will not break new ground, nor does it want to, nor—even more importantly—does Disney expect it to. And that might be the most damning fact of all for superhero movies. The studio has so little faith in costumed spectacle that it would rather bet on a rehash of a twenty-year-old comedy than hope that anyone in the Avengers can save the summer.
Turns out, the end of the Marvel Universe wasn’t brought about by Doctor Doom, Galactus, or any of its god-like evildoers. All it took was the return of a girl in a cerulean sweater.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in theaters on May1,2026.
