2019 has more superhero movies coming out than any year ever

This year a whopping ten live-action superhero films are set to be released and not a single one of them will be original.

New movies in the Marvel and DC extended universes are set to be released, in addition to two X-Men spinoffs, new Hellboy and Spawn movies and a long-awaited sequel to Unbreakable.

There was six live-action superhero films released in 2018, seven in both 2017 and 2016 and less in the years before.

But Hollywood studios will only be looking to increase their output of comic book adaptations as box office revenues continue to soar - five of the top 10 internationally grossing films of 2018 were live-action superhero films, each pulling in more than US$730 million.

Here's a look at the 11 live-action superhero movies set to be released in 2019:

Joker

Warner Bros is passing the role of Joker from Jared Leto to Joaquin Phoenix for this prequel, with both of them of course following in the footsteps of Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson. This version is set to release in October and will tell the story of how Joker became Joker.

Captain Marvel

This '90s-set entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the first to feature a female lead character and will serve as a bridge between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As well as Brie Larson in the lead role, fans can enjoy seeing a de-aged Samuel L Jackson as a pre-S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury.

Glass

A sequel to M Night Shyamalan's Split and Unbreakable, this will feature the superpowered characters from both films facing off in some sort of showdown. It's the first superhero movie to be released this year and is only a few weeks away.

Avengers: Endgame

Arguably the most anticipated superhero movie ever, this fourth Avengers film moves the MCU juggernaut into phase four. Fans are eager to see how the heroes resolve the devastation Thanos wrought in last year's top-grossing movie, Avengers: Infinity War.

Spawn

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is listed on IMDb with a 2019 release and he reckons it's going to be a "dark, ugly two hours of movie" with "no fun lines in it". He wants to make it an R-rated horror movie, and hopes it doesn't flop as badly as the 1997 movie.

Shazam

Following the huge success of Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) will be hoping to keep steering the franchise in the right direction. It's set to feature a lighter, warm-hearted family tone and will be released in April.

Hellboy

In April comes this new take on the character last brought to screen by Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman. It looks to blend horror with dark comedy and is promised to be darker, grittier and more violent than the previous films.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

An X-Men spin-off following Sophie Turner's Jean Grey, this is said to be a more "grounded" superhero film set for release in June. Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy are also reprising their roles.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

The first MCU movie to come out after Avengers: Endgame will follow Tom Holland's Spider-Man as he teams up with Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio to battle villains called Elementals, including Hydro-Man. He'll be web-slinging his way through Europe, says director Jon Watts. Set to release in July.

New Mutants

This long-delayed superhero horror movie, a spin-off from the X-Men franchise, is finally set to hit cinemas this year. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton and Maisie Williams and might just be the last X-Men movie released before the Fox studio is acquired by Disney.

In 2020, superhero movie fans can look forward to Wonder Woman 2, a Suicide Squad sequel entitled Birds of Prey and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, among others.