With repetitively monotonous plots, ageing actors, and a blurring line between heroes and villains on screen, did superhero films become a problem of plenty?
In a year when the world needed saving, Bollywood dusted off its most famous caped crusader. With actor Hrithik Roshan announcing his directorial debut with Krrish 4 this March—the long-delayed return of one of India’s few homegrown superheroes—the question wasn’t about excitement. It was about whether anybody still cared. Does that mean superheroes are back on the big screen? Delayed productions, shrinking budgets, and superhero fatigue, however, tell a starkly different story.
How Superhero Fatigue Started With the End of Iconic Casts
Marvel knows how to play the long game. Thanos’ arc stretched more than a decade after Iron Man first launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)in 2008, a masterclass in patience and planning. In contrast, DC Comics’ Justice League (2017) and Universal Studios’ Monsterverse, which launched with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy (2017), both failed, largely because they lacked that vision.
“People associate characters with actors. That’s why every generation has their own Batman: Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson,” explains film critic Abhimanyu Mathur, who grew up reading the Phantom and Batman comics, and was introduced to Marvel with X Men and Fantastic Four movies.
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Marvel knows how to play the long game. Thanos’ arc stretched more than a decade after Iron Man first launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)in 2008, a masterclass in patience and planning. Image: IMDB
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Superhero films just don’t feel as fresh anymore. Makers also can’t change too much because the characters are already set in a certain way, such as Superman or Batman. Image: IMDB
“When you see an actor play a character for over 15 years, they become pop culture icons, like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Henry Cavill will always be Superman, not Witcher. Which is why getting Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine together for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) worked despite being an average film,” says Mathur.
Besides Marvel’s superheroes having big shoes to fill, it’s also just plain math that’s led to the doom of classic superhero stories: the number of spin-off shows has exploded, and reboots are happening faster than ever. Christian Bale’s Batman came a decade after George Clooney’s; the past decade alone has seen four different take on the role.
Superhero Movie Fatigue: Why Repetitive Plots Are Driving Fans Away
Watching the world almost end—and being saved by a hero with unimaginable powers—in every film gets tiring. Even if you love them 3000.
“Superhero films just don’t feel as fresh anymore. Makers also can’t change too much because the characters are already set in a certain way, such as Superman or Batman. So it becomes hard to surprise the audience. And with so much new, different content out there today, people might feel less excited about watching the same character arc repeatedly,” says Shree Narayan Singh, director of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.
“IT’S MUCH EASIER FOR INDIANS TO BELIEVE THAT GODS WILL COME AND SAVE THEM, VERSUS A SUPERHERO”
Abhimanyu Dassani
A viewer who simply wants to enjoy a movie—without having to watch another film and two spin-off series to understand all the references—can hardly be blamed for not making the time.
Which is exactly what happened with Captain America: Brave New World (2025)released in February. “It’s too much for a fan who isn’t hardcore. But, if you don’t get the references, it defeats the purpose of making a standalone movie. The spin-off show, Wanda Vision, was the only one that worked as a standalone,” says Mathur.
It’s a problem superhero filmmakers know all too well. Earlier, Marvel wouldn’t announce the cast or launch the trailer of the next film until the previous one had been released. “They were secretive because they were confident that people would watch it. Versus in 2025, when Marvel has revealed a cast of 30 people two years before its release,” points out Mathur. Marvel's earlier secretive rollouts built a lot of hype. Now, casts are announced years in advance, dampening excitement among fans.
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As shows like Loki (2021-), Gotham (2014-), The Boys (2019-2024), and The Penguin (2024) humanised villains, the once-clear line between hero and villain began to blur. This, along with showing the flaws of the hero, brought the hero and villain close, which doesn’t make for a good fight between good and evil—a superhero essential that viewers want. Image: IMDB
Perhaps patience is the missing superpower. It took years for audiences to warm up to characters like Hulk and Green Lantern, for instance. “Any new chapter takes time to build, and so does tapping into new characters and stories. Like with Marvel’s Shang-Chi (2021),” says Srishti Khera, a Delhi-based entrepreneur. The film succeeded because it had time to build its own world. Khera adds that she enjoyed the new Captain America only because she had kept up with all the spin-off shows and movies since 2019.
How Anti-Heroes and Villains Sparked Superhero Movie Fatigue
As shows like Loki (2021-), Gotham (2014-), The Boys (2019-2024), and The Penguin (2024) humanised villains, the once-clear line between hero and villain began to blur. “This, along with showing the flaws of the hero, brought the hero and villain close, which doesn’t make for a good fight between good and evil—a superhero essential that viewers want,” says Mathur.
“No one likes villains who are plain evil. People prefer anti-heroes like in Suicide Squad (2016),because they’ve spotted the goodness in them. That’s the emotional aspect of these movies which asks people to do and be better, and connects with them,” argues Khera.
"REAL HEROES DON’T WEAR CAPES—THEY JUST DON’T GIVE UP”
Shree Narayan Singh
This explains why the anti-hero also became more popular among makers. “It’s a creative liberty makers have had to take because all other possible points of view have been covered earlier. But, we need to take a break and come back with superhero films only when they start looking fresh again,” says Vasan Bala, director of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2018), a vigilante/superhero film.
Add to this an overload of VFX spectacle—which, Bala believes, ruins the experience—and it’s easy to see why the superhero formula feels exhausting. The dopamine hit is so constant that it becomes difficult to make a normal film without an explosion or battle every five minutes.
Ra.One (2011) was India’s first attempt at a VFX-heavy superhero film, but failed to connect with audiences—even with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. Meanwhile, Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) boasted its VFX, but bombed due to lack of a compelling plot.
Why Indian Superhero Films Still Struggle to Find Their Moment
India lacks homegrown superheroes with the global appeal of Marvel or DC. Budget constraints and a box office that still considers ageing stars bankable make building a super hero universe a logistical challenge. There’s Raj Comics (1984-) with characters Doga and Nagraj, but their popularity barely extended beyond millennials who grew up with them during the 1990s. A film based on Doga—a masked, vigilante-style superhero from Raj Comics—was once greenlit with Anurag Kashyap set to direct it, but the project never materialised.
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Ra.One (2011) was India’s first attempt at a VFX-heavy superhero film, but failed to connect with audiences. Image: IMDB
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota was more a vigilante tribute to martial arts legends like Bruce Lee than a superhero origin story. Image: IMDB
“Hindi cinema also doesn’t have anyone in their 30s who will be able to pull off being a superhero. You can’t cast an older person because movies come with sequels. It’s similar in the West, which doesn’t have a superstar who was as famous as Tom Cruise when he was 30,” points out Mathur, adding logistical challenges, such as how the Avengers cast avoided signing major projects while locked into the Marvel franchise.
Hindi cinema also doesn’t have the budget to produce a truly stunning superhero film. “You need ₹1,500 crores for it, which is equivalent to the cost that goes into [making] 10 films in India. So, expecting that quality from something operating at one-tenth the cost isn’t practical,” explains Bala.
There’s also the problem of casting itself. “The whole notion of casting actors who go to the gym and fit into latex, spells the end of cinema, and did more damage than good once these movies became a money-making venture,” says Bala, whose Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota was more a tribute to martial arts legends like Bruce Lee than a superhero origin story.
Dassani, the actor who played the lead, Surya, in the film, drew inspiration from Po in Kung Fu Panda—particularly the character’s enthusiasm and isolation from the world—along with Jackie Chan’s martial arts moves. But Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota was ultimately a vigilante film, not a superhero story, closer in spirit to DC’s Daredevil (2015- ). “It had a Lincoln Lawyer vibe—and Daredevil was a vigilante, not a superhero. Which is true for Batman too. Even the Teenage Ninja Turtles are vigilantes—but mutants,” the actor says.
From Hanuman to Krrish: How Indian Culture Defines Its Heroes
Most Indians have grown up watching Hanuman flying across oceans and lifting mountains on screen. “What do Superman or Krrish have against that?”asks Dassani. Vigilante movies are way more conceivable to Indians. “Because it’s much easier for Indians to believe that God will come and save them, versus a superhero. Most of India has grown up on tales of gods who can sit on a mouse and cover the entire universe in the blink of an eye,” he adds. Case in point: Singh calls Hanuman his favourite superhero, despite growing up watching Batman and Superman. “I’ve always seen him as the real superhero. He’s strong, fearless, and always helps others,” the filmmaker explains.
Relying on mythology also has deep roots in Indian culture and history.
“In the US, the superhero plot is mostly about someone being exposed to radiation to get powers like the Hulk. In Japan, radiation creates monsters, such as in Godzilla. Two takes on the same thing but completely different experiences given that Japan is the location of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombing. Similarly, India would want superpowers via shastras and mythology,” explains Mathur.
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The number of spin-off shows has exploded, leaving out viewers who want to watch something without having to watch spin-offs to understand the references. Wanda Vision was the only spin-off that worked as a standalone show. Image: IMDB
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Indian cinema has increasingly focused on real stories—ordinary Indians who became true heroes by standing up for what’s right or pushing for progress, with films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Padman (2018). Image: IMDB
Bollywood, meanwhile, isn’t sitting idle. Studios like Yash Raj Films are busy building a Spy Universe with fictional agents—starting with Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and expanding through War (2019) and Pathaan (2023). Maddock Films is doing the same with its Horror Comedy Universe, comprising films like Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), and Munjya (2024), all rooted in Indian folklore.
The film industry in South India, however, seems to be getting the superhero formula right. Minnal Murali (2021), a Malayalam film where a man gains superpowers after getting struck by lightning, resonated precisely because it stayed grounded in small-town Southern India and local mythology. “There was a mythological connect that involved the culture we’ve grown up on, ” says Dassani.
There’s also Malayalam film HanuMan (2024), where the protagonist inherits powers of Hanuman. “Hindi cinema needs to take cues from cinema from South India. If you just take the budget for Jawan (2024), make Shah Rukh Khan a superhero, and have him do the exact same thing he already is, there’s no reason the movie won’t work. Vijay from Tamil films or Shahid Kapoor as Deva (2025) is no different than a superhero when he is beating 50 people up at once,” says Mathur.
How Real-Life Stories Are Ending the Era of Superhero Films
Instead of heroes with powers defeating evil, Bollywood and OTT platforms have increasingly focused on real stories—ordinary Indians who became true heroes by standing up for what’s right or pushing for progress. Films like Pad Man (2018), based on the life of social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented a low-cost sanitary napkin machine for rural India, and 12th Fail (2023), based on the struggles of Manoj Kumar Sharma’s journey to becoming an Indian Police Service officer, are prime examples.
“CASTING ACTORS WHO GO TO THE GYM AND FIT INTO LATEX, SPELLS THE END OF CINEMA AND DID MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD ONCE SUPERHERO MOVIES BECAME A MONEY-MAKING VENTURE”
Vasan Bala
“Real-life stories in films tap into the curiosity people have in other people’s lives thanks to social media, but dwell deeper. They show real struggles, emotions, and victories, which makes it easier for the audience to connect and relate to,” says Singh.
The underdog story not only evokes emotions but also offers hope. “Watching someone overcome real challenges or fight for a good cause feels like a reminder that there’s still good in the world. Not everyone can fly or shoot lasers, but standing up for change or helping others? These stories remind us that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. Real heroes don’t wear capes—they just don’t give up,” adds Singh.
In an age where wars are raging and the environment is highly endangered, not giving up—and striving for a better world—feels far more heroic than fighting aliens. Maybe that’s why superheroes feel irrelevant now. Not because we stopped believing in heroes—but because we know they’re not coming to save the world.
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