Next Eight Confirmed MCU Movies Expected Release Dates
After a substantial amount of release date shuffling, we now know when the next batch of confirmed MCU movies will arrive in theaters. We’re still assuming a lot here. For example, we’re assuming that theaters will still be a thing.
Once normalcy returns, Disney intends to remind everyone of our passion for the movies. Here are the eight confirmed Marvel Cinematic Universe with titles and official release dates plus the storyline for each of them.
Black Widow – November 6, 2020
The next Marvel movie won’t arrive as early as we had hoped. The Coronavirus pandemic delayed Black Widow from May until November. So, we’re all in a holding pattern right now.
However, just before Thanksgiving, we’ll finally learn the origin story of Natasha Romanoff. First introduced in Iron Man 2 in 2019, Black Widow’s troubled history has driven several movies, most notably 2012’s The Avengers.
Well, the day will finally come when we know why Romanoff left the motherland. Apparently, her biggest fight didn’t involve Ultron or Thanos. It happened with her family, including Red Guardian and a previous Black Widow, both of whom acted like pseudo-parental figures to her.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Black Widow is the introduction of Yelena Belova. As Marvel fans know, she becomes Black Widow at various points in the comics. So, it seems likely that she’ll take over the title previously held by Romanoff.
Photo: TVOvermind.com
The Eternals – February 12, 2021
With Guardians of the Galaxy and Thanos, the MCU expanded into the cosmos. Now, it’ll extend across millennia thanks to the introduction of The Eternals.
These mythical characters are the product of genetic engineering by a group of beings known as the Celestials. They created Eternals as a long-lived race that would eventually protect humanity.
Alas, the genetic experimentations didn’t go great. The Celestials accidentally made a monstrous race known as the Deviants, who hate their counterparts, presumably because they’re not hideous looking.
The battle between Eternals and Deviants often involves people as collateral damage. And some Eternals would rather enslave humanity than fight for its survival.
The Eternals. Image: Marvel.com
So, The Eternals is a cosmic battle that takes place across several centuries. And it’s apparently a love story, too, as an Eternal falls for a human. Nobody ever falls for a Deviant. Go figure.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – May 7, 2021
While Iron Man 2 built intrigue over Black Widow’s history, Iron Man teased the presence of someone else. The kidnappers in that film took Tony Stark and threw him in an abandoned cave.
These nefarious individuals worked for an underground organization known as the Ten Rings. Its leader, The Mandarin, theoretically appeared in Iron Man 3, only he turned out to be an actor pretending to be a criminal overlord.
When Shang-Chi debuts in theaters, we’ll finally learn about the real Mandarin and the criminals who work for him (?). In the comics, the Ten Rings refer to a series of alien rings that The Mandarin discovered. Each one gives him a different superpower.
In the movie, Shang-Chi is a master martial artist who will get manipulated into fighting in a tournament. There, he’ll learn more about the threat of The Mandarin and the Ten Rings.
Think of the story as John Wick with less shooting, more kicking, and a strong Eastern influence. It’s gonna be awesome.
Spider-Man 3 – November 5, 2021
Okay, let me clear up something confusing. The Spider-Man villain movies like Venom and Morbius aren’t part of the MCU. However, the Spider-Man movies are. It’s part of the unprecedented agreement between Disney and Sony over Spider-Man’s licensing rights.
The currently untitled Spider-Man movie certainly won’t be named Spider-Man 3, as we’ve already had one of those. It was the one with Spidey Jazz Hands, remember? If you don’t, consider yourself lucky.
Anyway, this film will continue the story of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, and it promises to up the ante. J. Jonah Jameson will return as Spidey’s nemesis at The Daily Bugle.
Even better, J.K. Simmons will once again play the character, just as he did during Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.
We don’t know the identity of the villain yet. Still, Sony is eventually building toward a movie that pits Spidey against the Sinister Six, the primary members of his rogue’s gallery.
Thor: Love and Thunder – February 11, 2022
The other four confirmed MCU releases are all sequels. Marvel will introduce its new post-Endgame lineup with Shang-Chi and The Eternals. After that, comic book movies will return to known and loved characters, starting with Thor: Love and Thunder.
This film isn’t a direct sequel to Thor: Ragnarok since several of those characters played a significant role in Endgame. However, Taika Waititi will return to direct, and he’ll also write the movie.
Of course, the title hints at the plotline here. Thor’s ex, Jane Foster, returns to take the mantle of God of Thunder. This storyline already proved popular in the comics and looks like a surefire blockbuster hit.
Recently, Disney has followed my suggestion by moving the sequel up to the weekend before Valentine’s Day. So, it’ll work as a date movie, too.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – March 25, 2022
The behind-the-scenes intrigue on the Doctor Strange sequel has garnered a lot of headlines. Scott Derrickson, the director of Doctor Strange, has dropped out of the follow-up.
Marvel has replaced Derrickson with Sam Raimi, which is enough to make me want to high-five random strangers whenever I think about it. Alas, human contact is a no-no right now, so I haven’t done that.
Anyway, Doctor Strange has leveled up in the MCU thanks to his prominence in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He’ll finally get another standalone film in 2022, and it promises to be a doozy.
Strange will square off against a human enemy, his former friend, Karl Mordo. And it sounds like Dormammu returns in some capacity. The evil entity attains revenge by pulling the Sorcerer Supreme into other, darker timelines.
This movie sounds like it’s gonna be super-weird, and I’m here for it.
Doctor Strange. Image: Marvel Studios
Black Panther 2 – May 6, 2022
The only surprise here is that a Black Panther sequel will take four years to produce. The first movie became the crown jewel in the MCU, at least among non-sequels.
The character of Black Panther immediately entered the pop culture zeitgeist, as did his homeland, Wakanda. The seminal importance of T’Challa in African American culture does add a bit more pressure to the sequel.
If you have any doubt about this statement, please watch this video:
Chadwick Boseman literally reduces fans to tears. The prominence of this character guarantees that the next movie will perform well. And I have complete confidence that Marvel can recapture the magic of the first film. Wakanda forever!
Captain Marvel 2 – July 8, 2022
The quickest sequel production on this list is Captain Marvel 2. Disney released the first film in February of 2019, and it became one of the studio’s seven billion-dollar earners for the year.
The character of Carol Danvers appeared again less than two months later in Avengers: Endgame. So, she’s already a known commodity and a destroyer of the highest order. MCU producers agree that she’s easily the most powerful member of the Avengers.
In the sequel, Danvers will fill in the blanks about what happened from the mid-1990s until her heroic, timely Endgame arrival.
Captain Marvel 2 will also detail at least some of the ongoing battles between the Skrulls and the Kree, an intergalactic struggle that could drive some of the narratives for Phase Four and Phase Five of the MCU.
So, there you have it. These are the next eight MCU movies. Each of them is a likely blockbuster, although the current state of the movie theater industry calls into question whether normalcy will ever return.
Assuming that people are willing to go back to movies, these MCU titles will be the ones persuading them to do so.
Marvel does have several other projects in the pipeline right now. However, none of them has a confirmed release date yet.
2 Responses
[…] from a 2021 debut and moved into 2020. And this show stars two well-established characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Here’s everything you need to know about […]
[…] Black Panther 2 is currently set to release May 6, 2022, but filming hadn’t begun yet, so we don’t know what the studio will do just yet The family also asks for love, prayers, and respect for their privacy. […]