The Marvel Cinematic Universe perpetually has big plans for the future. We learn about new projects that they have in the works practically every year. To 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.
If you're all caught up after watching the Marvel movies in order (either by release date or chronologically), here's what you can expect from the MCU in the coming months and years. And if you want to learn about everything that is in the works on the small screen (specifically all of the big shows that are being developed as exclusives for Disney+ subscribers), don't forget to check out our Upcoming Marvel TV guide.
Marvel Phase 5
Deadpool & Wolverine - July 26, 2024
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 appeared in the X-Men movies produced by 20th Century Fox. If that does happen, however, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool will be an exception. Deadpool & Wolverine is on the way, and it's set to be the one big Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster released in 2024.
Following his work with Reynolds on both Free Guy and The Adam Project, Shawn Levy is directing Deadpool & Wolverine, and it has been announced that the film will be released on July 26, 2024. In September 2022, it was confirmed that the movie will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan a.k.a. Wolverine, and many of the actors from Deadpool and Deadpool 2 are returning. The Crown star Emma Corrin will be playing a key role (despite not being a "Marvel person"), and Succession star Matthew Macfadyen is also part of the ensemble.
Confirmed Cast Members: Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio, Rob Delaney as Peter, Aaron Stanford as Pyro, Emma Corin as Cassandra Nova, and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Paradox
Captain America: Brave New World - February 14, 2025
Through the course of events that play out in the Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson has finally come to terms with taking on the mantle of Captain America. Wearing a whole new Vibranium costume that still allows him to fly, his next adventure will see him soaring into theaters in Captain America: Brave New World. Malcolm Spellman, who was the Head Writer on the Disney+ show, is penning the script, and it is being directed by Julius Onah. Having been delayed by the writer and actor strikes in 2023, the film is scheduled to hit theaters in February 2025.
Captain America: Brave New World has put together an excellent ensemble, including many established MCU stars. Production on the movie took place in the summer of 2023, but 2024 is being used for post-production work and reshoots prior to the set 2025 release date.
Confirmed Cast Members: Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Shira Haas as Sabra, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/The Leader, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, Xosha Roquemore as ?, Seth Rollins as ? and Rosa Salazar as ?
Marvel Phase 6
Thunderbolts* - May 5, 2025
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 Lee Sung Jin (the creator of the acclaimed Netflix series Beef) is penning the script – doing re-writes following work by Black Widow's Eric Pearson. Robot & Frank's Jake Schreier, who helmed six episodes of Beef) is in the director's chair.
The roster for Thunderbolts was confirmed at D23 Expo 2022, and it will include an all-star ensemble of Marvel veterans. Steven Yeun was attached to the project for a while (said to be playing the role of Sentry), but he had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. At CinemaCon 2024, Kevin Feige confirmed that the movie is officially titled Thunderbolts* – with the asterisk as a new addition.
Confirmed Cast Members: Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
Fantastic Four - July 25, 2025
When the Disney-Fox merger was finalized, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans started champing at the bit to see a new version of Marvel's First Family. It's taken a while for the ball to get rolling, but it has been confirmed that the Fantastic Four will be making their MCU debut in July 2025.
During the Disney Investor Day in December 2020, it was announced that Jon Watts, director of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, had come aboard to direct the developing blockbuser, 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.
Confirmed Cast Members: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing
Blade - November 7, 2025
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 it was revealed three years later at the same event that the film will be the fourth MCU feature to hit theaters in 2023. It's now scheduled to arrive in late 2025 following behind-the-scenes delays.
Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is playing Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he made his first appearance as the character in 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. It's been confirmed that it will be the second R-rated MCU film after Deadpool 3.
Confirmed Cast Members: Mahershala Ali as Blade, Mia Goth as ?, Delroy Lindo as ?, and Aaron Pierre as ?
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty - May 1, 2026
Many Marvel fans were left scratching their temples 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 – presumably starting with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in spring 2026.
The status of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is up in the air in many respects, primarily due to legal issues faced by Jonathan Majors (who played Kang The Conqueror in Loki and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania prior to Marvel Studios firing him in December 2023). Marvel has not recast the role, and while Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was at one point set to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, he left the project in November 2023. Jeff Loveness wrote the original draft of the script for the blockbuster, but Michael Waldron (Loki Season 1, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness) has now been hired for screenplay duties.
Avengers: Secret Wars - May 7, 2027
Following the theatrical release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in the spring of 2026, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be bringing Phase 6 to a close with the release of Avengers: Secret Wars in May 2027.
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 back in 1984 (the name was also reused for another extremely popular event in 2015). We know next to nothing about the project other than its release date and the fact that it, like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, is being written by Michael Waldron. But obviously excitement is already at extreme levels.
Unscheduled Marvel Projects
X-Men
The X-Men franchise that existed for two decades has ended (2000-2021), 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 first 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. We have seen developments involving mutants in key blockbusters and TV shows, but the X-Men do not yet exist in the MCU. Deadpool 3 features a number of mutant characters, Kelsey Grammar's Beast appeared in The Marvels, and Patrick Stewart reprised his role as Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, but the status of all the other major characters is unknown.
Shang-Chi 2
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, but finally things changed in December 2021. It was officially announced that Shang-Chi 2 is in the works, and Daniel Cretton will once again be back at the helm.
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
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 know if Jon Watts will be back to direct after making the last three webslinger movies), but 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
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...
Past Marvel Releases
Marvel Phase 1
Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Thor (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Avengers (2012)
Marvel Phase 2
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Marvel Phase 3
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Marvel Phase 4
Black Widow (2021)
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Eternals (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Marvel Phase 5
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
The Marvels (2023)
Read our definitive ranking of every Marvel movies in the MCU as you prepare for your next rewatch.
