What’s on the way from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe perpetually has big plans for the future. Practically every year we learn about new projects that they have in the worksTo keep all of the upcoming Marvel movies straight, we’ve laid out the next few years’ worth of Marvel Studios films in this feature, which will take you through all of the official titles announced for Phases 5 and 6 – as well as the unscheduled superhero movies that are currently in development.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 – MAY 5, 2023
The road to making Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 has been an odd one so far. Initially it looked like the film was going to be one of the earliest titles released as part of Marvel Phase 4, but then all hell broke loose when James Gunn lost the directing gig thanks to controversy regarding offensive Tweets he wrote nearly a decade ago. Cut to five years later, Gunn has been reinstated and is now making the conclusion to his Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy – presumably as his final Marvel movie given his job as the co-CEO of DC Studios.
James Gunn has always said that the next sequel in the Guardians series will bring an end to the story of this version of the titular team – which includes Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff). It’s not entirely clear how the trilogy will be concluded, but to say that our excitement is at maximum would be an understatement. The emotional first trailer for the movie was released in December 2022, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be in theaters on May 5, 2023 (exactly six years to the day after the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2).
THE MARVELS – NOVEMBER 10, 2023
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Given that Captain Marvel was Marvel Studios’ first billion dollar hit in 2019, Captain Marvel 2 has long been predictable as a future project for the franchise. But similar to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the company didn’t rush its development. While it probably wouldn’t have surprised anybody to see Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers showing up again as the star of one of the first Phase 4 movies, she’ll be back in Phase 5 for an awesome team-up story.
Following some shuffling in the schedule, it has been confirmed that The Marvels will be the third Marvel Cinematic Universe release of 2023, and it will be hitting theaters in November. At the helm of the project is Nia DaCosta, fresh off her excellent Candyman sequel. Teyonah Parris is returning as Monica Rambeau following her introduction on the Disney+ series WandaVision, and she will be joined in the cast by Iman Vellani, the star of Disney+’s Ms. Marvel series.
The first trailer for The Marvels launched online in April 2023, revealing that the plot will involve a mystery that sees Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica mysteriously swapping locations around the universe when they activate their powers.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: NEW WORLD ORDER – MAY 3, 2024
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a new Captain America, and soon he will be at the center of his very own movie. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) first bequeathed his star-spangled shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but it was only through the course of events that play out in the Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier that Sam has finally come to terms with taking on the mantle. Wearing a whole new Vibranium costume that still allows him to fly, his next adventure will see him soaring into theaters in Captain America: New World Order.
Malcolm Spellman, who was the Head Writer on The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, is penning the script for Captain America: New World Order, and Anthony Mackie finalized his deal to star in August 2021. Unfortunately, we have no idea what the movie will actually be about (plot-wise or theme-wise), but we do know that it will be directed by Julius Onah and hit theaters in May 2024. The film is putting together an excellent ensemble, with Mackie being joined in the blockbuster by Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Shira Haas, and Harrison Ford (who is playing now-President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross following the passing of William Hurt).
THUNDERBOLTS – JULY 26, 2024
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Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have spent more than a decade focusing on heroes as protagonists, but the franchise will be mixing things up in that department in the near future with the development of a Thunderbolts movie. It was reported in June 2022 that the project is in the works, and the production has already made two key hires: Eric Pearson, screenwriter behind Black Widow and Thor: Ragnarok is penning the script, and Robot & Frank‘s Jake Schreier is in the director’s chair.
The roster for Thunderbolts was confirmed at D23 Expo 2022, and it will include Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be back as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Harrison Ford will reprise the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross after Captain America: New World Order.
MARVEL PHASE 6
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BLADE – SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Marvel Studios has held the rights to Blade for a number of years now, but it was only during San Diego Comic-Con 2019 that they announced that they are finally doing something with it. At that time, the studio didn’t officially say when the movie was going to be released, but three years later at the same event it was revealed that the film will be the fourth MCU feature to hit theaters in 2023.
Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is playing Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having just made his first appearance in the franchise during the end credits of Eternals (where we only hear him; we don’t actually see him). Hardcore MCU fans will remember that Ali notably played Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes in the first season of the Netflix series Luke Cage, but we’ll all just have to put that in the back of our minds while watching him hunting vampires. Basam Tariq was hired to direct the film in July 2021, but he parted ways with the production shortly before the start of filming. He was replaced by Yann Demange in November 2022, and screenwriter Michael Starrbury has been hired to rewrite the script.
DEADPOOL 3 – NOVEMBER 8, 2024
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While nothing has been confirmed, there is a lot of expectation that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will eventually recast the vast majority of mutant characters who have appeared in the existing X-Men movies. If that does happen, however, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool will be an exception. The higher-ups at Marvel and Disney have acknowledged the incredible popularity of the Merc With The Mouth, and have assured fans not only that Reynolds will be brought back, but that Deadpool 3 is a project in active development.
There are a lot of lingering questions about how exactly Deadpool 3 will fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including ones about the R-rating and whether or not it will maintain established canon, but answers are on the way. Shawn Levy is set to direct the blockbuster sequel, and it has been announced that the film will be released on November 8, 2024 release date. It’s also been announced by Ryan Reynolds that the film will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan a.k.a. Wolverine.
FANTASTIC FOUR – FEBRUARY 14, 2025
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With the Disney-Fox merger complete, it was only a matter of time before we finally get to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Fantastic Four – though those hoping that a new version of the team would fittingly debut as part of the franchise’s Phase 4 plans were left disappointed by the slate news that was dropped at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. While Marvel’s First Family was name-dropped by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, no concrete details about their developing next feature were offered. But now we know that the film will be a part of the franchise’s Phase 6 plans with a release date in February 2025.
During the Disney Investor Day in December 2020 it was revealed that Jon Watts, director of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, had come aboard to direct the reboot of Fantastic Four, but he stepped away from the film in April 2022. Since then it has been announced that WandaVision director Matt Shakman is going to take the helm. We are still waiting for casting updates regarding Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and The Thing.
AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY – MAY 2, 2025
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Many Marvel fans were left scratching their chins in 2019 when it was revealed that the Phase 4 plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t include any Avengers movies. At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it was revealed that Phase 5 won’t have any either, but Phase 6 will be making up for the drought with the release of two – starting with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in spring 2025.
As Marvel fans know, Kang was one of the earliest Avengers villains, and this will be the event film that centers on his villainy following the events in Loki and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania. Shang-Chi‘s Destin Daniel Cretton is attached to direct, and it will arrive in theaters almost exactly 13 years after the first Avengers movie.
AVENGERS: SECRET WARS – MAY 1, 2026
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Following the theatrical release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in the spring of 2025, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be bringing Phase 6 to a close with the release of Avengers: Secret Wars in May of 2026.
Fans have been anticipating a big screen adaptation of Secret Wars for years, as that was the name of the first massive Marvel Comics crossover, and in 2015 it was the name of another extremely popular event. We know next to nothing about the project other than its release date, but obviously excitement is already at extreme levels.
X-MEN
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The X-Men franchise that existed for nearly two decades has ended, and fans worldwide are over-the-top excited for their chance to finally see the legendary mutant characters make their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The hitch is that introducing mutants to the expansive franchise is no small undertaking… so Marvel Studios is playing things smart by not rushing things.
Like with the Fantastic Four, Kevin Feige name-dropped “the mutants” during the Marvel Studios Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, but he didn’t offer any actual information regarding when we’ll get to see them. There’s a good chance it won’t happen before 2025.
SHANG-CHI 2
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At the very end of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, there is a message that announces that the titular criminal organization would be making a return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – but there was no such affirmative declaration regarding the hero played by Simu Liu. The lack of news about a sequel continued for weeks after the film turned out to be a big box office hit, becoming one of the biggest success stories of the year, but finally things changed in December 2021. Now it’s been officially announced that Shang-Chi 2 is in the works, and Daniel Cretton will once again be back at the helm (obviously we don’t know at this point how he is juggling the project along with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty).
What we don’t know right now is a) when the sequel will actually be made, or b) what it will be about. It seems fair to assume that Shang-Chi 2 will not only see the return of Simu Liu as the eponymous master of kung-fu, but also Awkwafina as his number one pal, Katy. Hopefully more information about the upcoming movie will be announced soon.
SPIDER-MAN 4
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)
In the wake of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is in real trouble. Having made mistakes while messing with the multiverse, he now lives in a reality where everyone he has ever known and cared about has wholly forgotten about him – and it seems that he plans to keep it that way for a while as a means of protecting them from his life as Spider-Man. Exactly what the future holds for the character is unclear, but at the very least what we do know is that his adventures will continue on the big screen.
We know extremely little about Spider-Man 4 at present (we don’t even know if Jon Watts will be back to direct after making the last three webslinger movies), but it has been confirmed that Tom Holland’s contract has been extended, and that the collaboration between Marvel Studios and Sony will continue. Will we soon get to see an MCU version of Venom? Maybe a showdown with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin? How about live-action debuts for Scorpion (having already been introduced to Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan) and/or Felicia Hardy a.k.a. Black Cat? Only time will tell.
ARMOR WARS
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In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced a plethora of shows that were being made as Disney+ exclusives, and among the titles revealed was Armor Wars: a limited series that would feature Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes a.k.a. War Machine trying to stop the proliferation of Tony Stark’s proprietary Iron Man technology. The studio hired Yassir Lester as head writer on the project in August 2021, and its continued development was confirmed at D23 Expo 2022… but then everything changed in September 2022. Instead of being a show, Armor Wars is now being made as a movie.
Yassir Lester is still attached to the project, but will obviously now be writing a screenplay instead of orchestrating teleplays for a six-episode series. There is presently no director attached, and, as you can tell by the fact that it is in this section of this feature, it doesn’t have a release date.
And that covers all of the upcoming Marvel movies lined up for the future. Now let’s take a look back at the previous phases of the MCU…
