Upcoming Marvel Movies and Disney Plus Shows

Kris [email protected] April 12, 2021 | 11:06

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has big plans for the future. Check out our complete movie schedule for Marvel's fans below!

Upcoming Marvel Movies and Disney Plus Shows

Photo: Cinema Blend

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most successful film franchise of all time, having grossed more than $18 billion worldwide -- $4 billion in 2018 alone -- and for a brief moment Endgame owned the title of highest-grossing movie of all time before passing the crown right back to Avatar. With Marvel Studios announcing its incredible Phase 4 plans at Comic-Con 2019 and expanding on them at its D23 fan expo the same year, the franchise has shown no signs of slowing down, reported CNET.

Then the 2020 coronavirus pandemic changed everything. The well-timed launch of the Disney Plus streaming service, landing shortly before lockdown, has now changed the order in which we've seen the planned MCU properties release, but hasn't made them any less enjoyable. WandaVision was an undeniable hit earlier this year and 2021 has more new MCU shows planned for release than Marvel Studios films.

We also know many of the streamer's shows will be integral parts of future MCU canon, feeding characters (and maybe plotlines) into the films, as Marvel's Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige first confirmed at SDCC 2019. These Disney Plus series are overseen by Feige and apparently they have bigger budgets than what's typically allocated for "traditional" television shows.

Upcoming Marvel movies and shows — Phase 4

Loki

(Disney Plus show — June 11, 2021)

The next piece of the MCU puzzle to hit the airwaves is the Loki TV show on Disney Plus, reported Tom's Guide. It's a six-episode arc that brings Loki (well, a variant of Loki) under the jurisdiction of an organization called the Time Variance Authority (aka TVA). They're in charge of keeping reality from getting too chaotic, to undo the work of those who have created rifts in time. This means they've brought in a version of Loki (still played by Tom Hiddleston) to help fix his edits to reality, and he's not doing it alone either. Loki's partner in undoing-his-crimes is Mobius M. Mobius, a detective of sorts (played by Owen Wilson). Gugu Mbatha-Raw co-stars as TVA member Ravonna Lexus Renslayer — who seems less trusting of Loki than Mr. Mobius.

Black Widow – July 9, 2021

Photo: Cinema Blend

Fans spent years calling for Marvel Studios' first female-led superhero movie, and for the longest time it seemed like a Black Widow solo film would be the perfect solution to the request – what with Scarlett Johansson's character's being arguably the most popular heroine in the franchise, as cited by Cinema Blend. That didn't wind up happening, as both Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne and Brie Larson's Carol Danvers broke the glass ceiling with their titular roles in Ant-Man & The Wasp and Captain Marvel, but that doesn't mean a Black Widow movie isn't happening. In fact, it's currently set up to be the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Four.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

(September 3, 2021)

Photo: Cinema Blend

Less is known about the Shang-Chi movie, which has been teased at in previous Iron Man movies. The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy) stars Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina (The Farewell) as Katy, and Tony Leung (Hardboiled) as the real Mandarin. The film's plot is relatively simple: martial artist Shang-Chi is forced to deal with his past, as the Ten Rings organization pulls him in. And when we say "the real Mandarin," we are definitely tugging at the plot threads from Iron Man 3, the last time the name Mandarin was uttered in the MCU.

The Eternals – November 5, 2021

Photo: Cinema Blend

When it comes to the cosmic side of Marvel Comics, the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have only scratched the surface thus far. Sure, we've seen a few Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and Captain Marvel opened some new doors, but there are thousands upon thousands of beings out in the cosmos that have yet to make their live-action debut. The Eternals is a tremendous step in that direction, as there is a whole world of godly characters created by Jack Kirby that should make for tremendous exploration on the big screen, and we will get an excellent dose of all that when the project is released in 2021.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Photo: Cinema Blend

(December 17, 2021)

The big word about the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie is that there will in fact be three Spider-Men in it. In news that feels fitting since Quentin Beck said the word "multiverse" in Spider-Man: Far From Home, rumors have postulated that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire will be reprising their roles as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. And they won't be the only familiar faces: expect Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doc. Ock and even Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin. Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone? Also rumored to be back. Oh, and maybe a second J. Jonah Jameson, so we get both the newspaper magnate and the online media scoundrel. Osborn himself is rumored to be the villain at the moment, so keep your eyes on what happens next — we could be talking Sinister Six at this rate.

Ms. Marvel

(Disney Plus show — 2021)

Kamala Khan, most recently seen in the Avengers video game, will become one of the youngest members of the MCU in her very own Disney Plus series. Khan, Marvel's first Muslim character with their own comic book, will be portrayed by Iman Vellani (in her first on-screen performance, no less). It's a fitting meta-story, with Ms. Marvel being the new kid on the big block in the Marvel world. Khan is a fan of Captain Marvel, and gains shape-shifting superpowers. Ms. Marvel won't just be a one-shot though: she's already been tapped to appear in Captain Marvel 2, which we'll get to below.

What If…?

(Disney Plus show — 2021)

The lowest stakes of them all are found in What If...?. an animated series coming to Disney Plus that adapts the comic of the same name. As its name implies, What If...? takes classic Marvel characters but puts a twist on them to change the stories as we know them, in critical ways. For example, what if Steve Rodgers doesn't take the super serum, and Peggy Carter (voiced again by Hayley Atwell) gets it for herself. Another episode will feature the voice acting of the late Chadwick Boseman in a wild scenario that puts him in the crew of the Guardians of the Galaxy as Star-Lord.

Hawkeye

(Disney Plus show — 2021)

Jeremy Renner appears to be suiting up one last time, and it's all to train his replacement. As announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, the Hawkeye show will see Clint Barton (Renner) train Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to be the new Hawkeye. The series, which will trace the lines first written and drawn by Matt Fraction and David Aja in the character-defining comic book run, will see the two fight with the mafia group known as Tracksuit Draculas (we're not making that name up). Barton's taken some of their territory, and they're not happy. Oh, and expect the adorable Lucky The Pizza Dog to appear.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – March 25, 2022

Photo: Cinema Blend

As they have since pretty much the beginning, Marvel's plans moving forward will include mixing things up between sequels and original projects. After all, while the latter allow things to constantly feel fresh and new, the former lets us see a lot more of the characters we've previously fallen in love with. This most definitely extends to Doctor Strange, as Marvel President Kevin Feige confirmed to CinemaBlend in summer 2018 that a Doctor Strange 2 was in development, and now we know that project is taking form as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.

Thor: Love And Thunder – May 6, 2022

Photo: Cinema Blend

For the longest time it was assumed that Marvel Studios wouldn't expand their solo movie series beyond three features – with Iron Man and Captain America being the perfect examples – but the God of Thunder has struck down that "rule" with a blast of lightning. It's no secret that Chris Hemsworth doesn't really love the first two Thor films, but his experience making Thor: Ragnarok totally changed his perspective on playing the character, and now we will be getting a Thor 4 in 2022 with the brilliant title Thor: Love And Thunder.

Upcoming Marvel movies and shows — Phase 5

She-Hulk

(Disney Plus series — 2022)

In the Marvel comics, there isn't just one Hulk. There's also a She-Hulk, and she's a lawyer, too. And in the Disney Plus series that bears her name, She-Hulk (aka Jennifer Walters) will be portrayed by Tatiana Maslany — who was a true chameleon on Orphan Black. We don't have many details about this series, but the current buzz about the Disney Plus show is that it would be Law & Order: MCU. Could this be a way to bring back the law council of Nelson, Murdock and Page, last seen on Netflix? Odds are slim, but we're not ruling anything out.

Black Panther 2 - July 8, 2022

Photo: Cinema Blend

In August 2020, people around the globe were rocked by the news that Chadwick Boseman had past. The actor had been dealing with a cancer diagnosis for four years, and while he was able to maintain it as a secret while making big blockbusters like Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, he passed away at the age of 43 before having a chance to start working on the developing Black Panther 2.

Where this leaves the upcoming blockbuster is unclear. Ryan Coogler has signed on to take the helm of Black Panther 2, and is also writing the script. There are expectations that the film will see the return of Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, and Martin Freeman, but nothing has been confirmed.

Ant-man And The Wasp: Quantumania

Photo: Cinema Blend

(TBA — possibly October 7, 2022)

This is where release dates stop getting certain, and everything becomes less clear. In Disney's calendar for its next years of releases, "UNTITLED MARVEL" appears five times, and so we're taking the five most far-along movies (based around what we've learned) and positing where they'll appear in these slots. We put Ant-Man 3, aka Ant-man And The Wasp: Quantumania, here because it's already got a production date of May 31 (that's the same production date as the next movie on this list).

Captain Marvel 2 – November 11, 2022

Photo: Cinema Blend

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 2 it doesn't look like the company is rushing things at all. 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, it turns out we'll have to wait until 2022 before the heroine returns in her next solo adventure.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special

(Disney Plus special — holiday season 2022)

How many holiday lights can you hang on Groot before you get a grumpy teenager? We may get that answered in this first for the MCU. Written and directed by James Gunn, the The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is conveniently placed between Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians Vol. 3. Will it explain what happens to the characters between those adventures, or just be a chance for Drax to misunderstand holiday sayings? We only expect that Star-Lord will be a bit moody, as it seems Gamora has separated from the pack, giving Quill nobody to kiss under the mistletoe.

Deadpool 3

(TBA — possibly February 17, 2023)

Yes, Deadpool 3 is a Marvel movie, and it's going to have an R rating. Yes, that same foul-mouthed Deadpool that Ryan Reynolds brought to the screen will exist in the same MCU that gave us plucky lil Steve Rodgers. The only catch? Deadpoool 3 is probably going to take a while. MCU head honcho Kevin Feige has said the movie isn't starting production until 2022, which puts it as a possible 2023 release. That said, it's already got scribes attached: Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Wendy Molyneux, both Bob's Burgers writers. As for what the heck Deadpool will do in the MCU? Probably continue the work that Fake Pietro started in WandaVision, and continue breaking the wall down between Marvel's X-Men properties and the MCU.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBD 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 offensive Tweets he wrote nearly a decade ago. After that whole ordeal the filmmaker decided to make a move over to the DC Extended Universe – agreeing to script and helm the upcoming The Suicide Squad – but now everything appears to be mostly back on track, as Gunn has been reinstated and is once again set to make the conclusion to his Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy.

Blade

Photo: Cinema Blend

(TBA — possibly July 28, 2023)

The reveal of Mahershala Ali as Blade rocked Comic-Con 2019. Yes, the daywalker made famous by Wesley Snipes is coming to the MCU. Unlike Deadpool 3, this will be a PG-13 (and not rated R) affair. Little else is known, other than Stacy Osei-Kuffour (HBO's Watchmen) being signed on to write the movie. Since it doesn't have a real release date, or a production date, this is very much wishful thinking about how soon we will see Blade hack and slash his way through the MCU.

Fantastic Four

(TBA — possibly Nov. 3, 2023)

Now that the Disney-Fox merger is complete, it's 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. Since then, however, we have seen some forward motion.