Marvel Upcoming Movies

With six feature films and seven television series released since 2021, Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seemingly nearing its end — or at least, statements from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige suggest as much. And though some may question just what the phase is leading toward, it is also a time of introductions to characters like Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani).

And the introductions do not stop. In the near future, Phase Four will introduce Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams. Also, on the more distant horizon is the eventual arrival of Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four. As we have for the last few years, we’re keeping track of it all in this comprehensive guide of every upcoming Marvel Studios film (and television show) with a handy calendar of Marvel films into 2024.

Premiere Date: August 10, 2022 (yes… this is already out! But we couldn’t leave baby Groot out)

What We Know: As Feige announced at the December 2020 Disney Investor Day presentation, this series will be a collection of animated shorts featuring Baby Groot as he attempts to return to Planet X, his homeworld. It is unclear if the other Guardians will appear in some capacity, but “several new and unusual characters” will be introduced. Kirsten Lepore directed scripts written by Ryan Little. Production began in August of 2021 and it is said the animation is photorealisitic.

How It Fits in the MCU: It is unclear how these animated shorts will continue to overarching Marvel story. If they can’t forward big plot developments, maybe they can deepen the characters or sneak in something of cosmic significance, like The Living Tribunal or the Beyonder.

Premiere Date: October 2022

What We Know: Doctor Strange composer Michael Giacchino turns his hand to directing once again with a Marvel Halloween special due out in October 2022. It will focus on Werewolf by Night and star Gael García Bernal, presumably as the Jake Gomez iteration of the character. The Nevers‘ Laura Donnelly also stars with filming occurring in April. Said to be an hour in length, other details are still as obscure as a moonless night … in fact, we’re not even sure who wrote it!

How It Fits in the MCU: Moon Knight famously debuted in the pages of Werewolf by Night and with Marvel Studios investing in the horror aspects of the Marvel library, we expect Bernal’s Werewolf to join forced with Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) — now a supernatural character in the MCU — and Blade (Mahershala Ali) at some point in the next decade.

Release Date: November 11, 2022

What We Know: Despite the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman on August 28, 2020, plans for the Black Panther sequel pressed on. The sudden and awful loss only delayed production by a couple of months. Filming began in June of 2021 with Shuri (Letitia Wright) taking on a larger role and actor Tenoch Huerta reportedly playing primary antagonist — although his role is still unconfirmed. Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, and Angella Bassett all returned with Michaela Coel taking on an as-yet undisclosed role. Presumably, the film will detail the succession of Shuri to the throne and her attempts to become the next Black Panther. M’Baku (Winston Duke) may challenge her claim and Huerta’s character will likely try to upset the balance of power in Wakanda. Of course, speculation rides high on just who he is playing. Rumours stretching back years indicate Huerta will play Namor the Submariner (an idea now seemingly backed up by early photos of ancillary products like t-shirts and mugs). The character, long in the control of Universal, is reportedly back in Marvel’s hands and could prove a worthy adversary to Shuri. Shooting resumed in late January and wrapped in March.

How It Fits in the MCU: The change in Wakandan leadership could have far-reaching effects, particularly as the embassies T’Challa envisioned were presumably built in his absence after Infinity War. Additionally, if Namor is the antagonist, his retroactive status as Marvel’s first mutant may open the path to the X-Men’s MCU introduction. Also, with Riri making her debut in the film, we have to wonder if she benefited from one of those embassy programs. It would be a nice way to keep T’Challa’s legacy alive in the wider MCU.

Premiere Date: Holiday 2022

What We Know: The special was filmed concurrently with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and is set to stream the holiday season prior to the feature’s release. James Gunn wrote and directed the special, which we imagine will nod as much to The Star Wars Holiday Special as it will the Guardians’ own situation. We hope this means someone will do a big song-and-dance. According to Gunn, the special will be set between Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In August of 2021, he also revealed that the special is in-canon and will feature details leading into Vol. 3.

How It Fits in the MCU: Although the special will be canon, we hope it makes some canonically dubious choices like Star Wars’s infamous foray into holiday entertainment. In any event, we expect to see Groot dressed with Christmas lights and Nebula enacting her own weird version of The Gift of the Magi.

Release Date: May 5, 2023

What We Know: Set after Thor: Love and Thunder, Vol. 3 will presumably see Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) searching for Gamora (Zoe Saldana) while Rocket continues to get over the absent Odinson. There is also the often-delayed debut of Adam Warlock to consider. The character very nearly appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, but fell away as both movies were stuffed to the air ducts with characters. But with Will Poulter cast in the role in October 2021, it is possible Warlock will finally do something in the MCU besides sit in an egg. Also, before Gunn’s temporary departure from the project, he referred to the film as a conclusion to the story he began telling in the first instalment, so it is possible the film will have an Endgame-like resolution. Is Star-Lord long for this universe? At the 2020 Disney Investor Day presentation, Feige confirmed the film will be released in 2023, with the subsequent 2021 Investor Day sizzle reel finally confirming the May 5, 2023 release date. Production began in November of 2021 with Gunn releasing a photo of the cast, which included the surprise reveal of Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji in an unknown role. Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, and Sylvester Stallone return as their various Guardians characters. In late January 2022, Gunn reaffirmed that the film will be last with this lineup and likely his last Guardians film. Production was completed in May of that year with Bautista noting it was emotional to say goodbye to Drax and the experience. In June, word surfaced indicating Nico Santos is also among the cast.

How It Fits in the MCU: With Gunn confirming the film will take place after Love and Thunder, the story options are limitless. That said, the Guardians may stumble onto the reason Fury is building a space fleet without understanding what they’ve discovered.

Release Date: July 28, 2023 (our guess)

What We Know: With the news that former Bob’s Burgers writers Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Wendy Molyneux are scripting the third film in the funny X-related franchise, any number of things could happen. But we think the film will serve as the introduction of the X-Men in a roundabout way. Consider Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) fourth-wall–breaking abilities and how they could be used to make him the only person cognizant that a fundamental change occurred around him. His quest to understand what happened and why his life is different could form an interesting story – particularly if it is built around finding the formerly dead Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) or discovering she never existed in his new reality. Although concrete plot details are unknown, Feige admitted in early 2021 that the film was in development and will be R-rated, but production would not begin until 2022. In September of that year, Disney announced a number of release slots held in reserve for Marvel films throughout 2024 and in March 2022, Free Guy and The Adam Project director Shawn Levy agreed to direct the picture. Deadpool and Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick also returned at that time to furthered develop the script. But with those pieces in place, we expect it will take the July 2023 release date Disney is currently holding for an untitled Marvel production.

How It Fits in the MCU: As it will be the first R-rated MCU film, it sort of doesn’t. At the same time, the character is the perfect way to irreverently introduce mutants into the MCU… provided Black Panther: Wakanda Forever doesn’t get there first. Also, we can’t help but think the incursion Clea (Charlize Theron) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) are headed off to fight might be centred around Wade and his sudden appearance in the MCU.