With so many upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe projects there are almost as many TV shows and movies in development as have already been released. The MCU is one of the most successful film franchises of all time, with movies regularly breaking box office records around the world. But with so many different characters, teams, and now timelines to follow it can be hard to keep track of what is coming up next.
Before 2021, fans could reliably just keep an eye on the upcoming Marvel movies to stay in the loop. While there were occasional references to the events of the Marvel TV shows, they were rare and non-essential for following the MCU. However, with the introduction of WandaVision as its first Disney+ exclusive TV show, Marvel changed the game. As they de-canonized all previous Marvel TV shows from the MCU, cemented Sam Wilson as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and birthed the multiverse in Loki, Disney made it abundantly clear that any upcoming Marvel TV shows would be required viewing.
As if following every MCU release wasn’t already complicated enough, there is still a question mark hanging over whether certain movies might be considered canon. Upcoming Marvel movies can be thought to include movies that are being produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment such as Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and Kraven the Hunter. While these aren’t currently part of the MCU and won’t be included in the list below, some evidence shows that there will be a certain degree of crossover between the franchises. With that said, here is a comprehensive list of every upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and TV show.
With so many films delayed from 2020 and early 2021 by the Covid-19 pandemic, the latter part of 2021 has become a busy release period for Marvel. The Eternals follows on from Avengers: Endgame and deals with the fallout of the sudden return of half of the planet’s population. The Eternals have lived in secret on Earth for 7,000 years vowing not to interfere in human affairs but are now reuniting to protect humanity from The Eternals’ rivals, the Deviants.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, who won awards for her work on Nomadland, The Eternals features a star-studded cast including Kumail Nanjiani, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. Brian Tyree Henry will play Phastos, giving the MCU its first openly gay superhero after more than a decade of productions. The Eternals will introduce a whole new team of superheroes in a single movie, something that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has not attempted since Guardians of the Galaxy, as they usually introduce heroes one or two at a time.
In 2021 Natasha Romanoff finally got her own standalone film in Black Widow. Late 2021 is giving a similar treatment to long-standing hero Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) in his upcoming Marvel TV series Hawkeye. As well as providing a focus on Barton, the Disney Plus show will introduce the MCU’s next sharpshooter, Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Concept art from the series has given some hints as to what adventures Bishop and Barton will explore together, however, the bigger clue came in Black Widow’s post-credits scene. As she mourns Romanoff’s death, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova is approached by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who had previously been introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While twisting the truth about Natasha’s death, Valentina gives Yelena a new target: Clint Barton.
Tom Holland returns as the web-slinging superhero in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The second of Tom Holland’s standalone movies, Spider-Man: Far From Home, closed out Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and saw the character dealing with the loss of his pseudo-father figure, Tony Stark, after the events of Avengers: Endgame. This third outing for the New York hero follows on directly from that movie, in which the mid-credits scene showed Mysterio via J. Jonah Jameson revealing Peter Parker’s true identity to the world.
As well as being a sequel to the previous Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to pull together multiverse plotlines that have been established in the Disney Plus TV shows. After the creation of the multiverse in Loki, Benedict Cumberbatch appears as Doctor Strange in this movie as the MCU continues to set up Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. The multiverse aspects don’t stop there as it has been confirmed that several villains from earlier Spider-Man franchises will be appearing portrayed by their original actors: Green Goblin (Willem Defoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Electro (Jamie Foxx). Unconfirmed rumors suggest that there may also be appearances from Rhys Ifan’s Lizard, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, and other Peter Parkers played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
While the previous Disney+ shows all focused on fleshing out previously established characters, Ms. Marvel will be the first upcoming Marvel TV show to introduce an entirely new character in the starring role. In the comics, Kamala Kahn is a Pakistani-American teenager who gains superpowers after being exposed to Terrigen Mist and first appeared in 2013. While her character is tied to the Inhumans and viewers might anticipate a crossover with Marvel’s short-lived Inhumans TV show, it seems that the show is no longer part of the MCU canon, so such a crossover seems unlikely.
In the upcoming MCU adaptation of Kamala Khan, the character will be played by Iman Vellani and see her as a 16-year-old student in Jersey City. She’s a huge fan of superheroes, writing fan-fics about them, with a particular passion for Captain Marvel. Her life changes and the show gets going when she gains superpowers and can strive to be like her idols. Kamala Kahn is expected to return in the sequel to Captain Marvel, The Marvels.
Drawing on the events of the first Doctor Strange, the WandaVision TV show, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange returns for his second standalone MCU movie. Benedict Cumberbatch will naturally appear in the title role, while Benedict Wong will once again reprise his role as Wong. Elizabeth Olsen has been confirmed to be appearing as Wanda Maximoff, paying off set-ups teased in WandaVision. Finally, Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to return to the MCU as an antagonist to Strange as his character Karl Mordo who felt betrayed by the Ancient One and turned his back on the order of the Masters of The Mystic Arts.
As with Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight will introduce a brand-new character to the MCU. This upcoming Marvel TV show will be fronted by Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector, a superhero who believes that his superpowers are granted to him by Khonshu, the moon god of Egypt. Spector is a delicate character to depict as he suffers from dissociative identity disorder and outside the MCU past depictions of DID have ranged from accurate and thoughtful to down-right offensive. Gaspard Ulliel will appear in the Disney Plus show as Midnight Man. The cast is also set to include May Calamawy, Ethan Hawke, Loic Mabanza, Jean-Paul DuChamp, Marlene Alraune, Eddie Silver, and Willow Silver all in unannounced roles.
Taika Waititi will be returning to direct Thor: Love and Thunder, which will see Chris Hemsworth’s Thor be the first hero to receive a fourth standalone movie, although he’ll be joined by a full ensemble. The full Guardians of the Galaxy team will join the cast, with Christian Bale joining the MCU as the antagonist Gorr the God Butcher. Russell Crowe is set to appear as Zeus, and Jeff Goldblum is expected to return as the Grandmaster. The story will reportedly focus on Natalie Portman’s returning character, Jane Foster, who has been absent from the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe and will adapt the Mighty Thor comic story which sees Foster take on the mantle of Thor. Tessa Thompson has also revealed that her character, Valkyrie, will fully come out as bisexual in Thor: Love and Thunder and as the new king of Asgard she will be searching for her queen.
With Edward Norton’s origination of Bruce Banner in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, a movie that can often feel disconnected from the Marvel Cinematic Universe because of the character’s recasting, it’s been a while since the MCU has had a Hulk-focused story. That is set to be corrected in the upcoming Marvel TV show She-Hulk. Mark Ruffalo will return as Bruce Banner and the show will see his cousin, lawyer Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), gain hulk powers after receiving a transfusion of Banner’s blood. Much like the Smart Hulk who was introduced in Avengers: Endgame, when Walters hulks out, she maintains her personality and intelligence. Having reprised the role for Shang-Chi, Tim Roth will also be returning for the series as Emil Blonsky (Abomination) once again. Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) is set to appear as Mary MacPherran (Titania) and Megan Thee Stallion will appear in an unannounced role.
While the success of Black Panther meant that a sequel was expected, its production was complicated when Chadwick Boseman tragically died of cancer in 2020. The production team has confirmed that his character, T’Challa, will not be recast nor will CGI be used to portray him in the movie, meaning that his last appearance as the character was in Marvel’s What If…? Disney+ show, which was recorded before his death.
While some theorize that T’Challa’s sister Shuri might take on the mantle of Black Panther, the name of the movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and comments from Kevin Feige suggest that the focus will be on Wakanda and its people rather than purely focusing on the Black Panther title. The rest of the main cast is expected to return, and Michael B. Jordan has said that he would be interested in reprising his role as Killmonger, despite the character’s death in the original movie. On-set photos have indicated that the film will introduce Dominique Thorne’s portrayal of Riri Williams ahead of her upcoming Marvel TV show, Ironheart.
The upcoming Marvel TV show Secret Invasion has been being teased since the 2019 release of Captain Marvel introduced the Skrulls to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Disney+ show will see Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn reprising their roles as Nick Fury and Talos, fulfilling the tease from the post-credits scene for Spider-Man: Far From Home. The six episodes of Secret Invasion will also introduce a cast of unannounced characters played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Killian Scott, Christopher McDonald, and Noel Fisher.
As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s utilization of their upcoming TV shows, The Marvels will be a culmination of the plots of Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel. While little is known of the plot, Brie Larson is set to return as Captain Marvel with Teyonah Parris reprising her WandaVision role as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani reprising her Kamal Khan role from Ms. Marvel. Set on Earth in the present day, the team is set to face off against a villain portrayed by Zawe Ashton. In addition, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobbie Smulders), and Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) are all expected to return.
James Gunn has said that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last time he works on Guardians. However, he’s sneaking in one last story before the third part of the trilogy lands in 2023. The MCU is branching out into the realms of TV specials. Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff are all expected to appear in the special. Hopefully, it will avoid living in infamy in the way that the Star Wars Holiday Special did.
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will be returning to their roles as Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne in this follow-up to Ant-Man and The Wasp. Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer will also return as Hope’s parents, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. However, Scott’s daughter, Cassie Lang is being recast. She was recast for an older appearance in Avengers: Endgame to be portrayed by Emma Fuhrmann. In Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Fuhrmann will be replaced by the older Kathryn Newton. The choice to use an older actress could indicate that the film will explore Cassie’s comic book transformation into the hero Stature, who was a prominent member of the Young Avengers. Having made his debut in Loki, Jonathan Majors is set to return as Kang the Conqueror in this movie, posing the team’s biggest challenge yet.
The hero Ironheart will be returning for her own Disney+ show after making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Domonique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) will return as Riri Williams, a genius engineer who creates a suit similar to Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit and becomes a superhero. While little is known about the upcoming show’s story and no release date has been announced, based on the Marvel release calendar, it seems probable that it will release at some time in 2023.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 releasing in 2017, audiences still have a long wait for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. The film has already had a rough production with director James Gunn being fired by Marvel over offensive jokes he had made some years before that then resurfaced. He was rehired after public outcry, but in the meantime had already signed on with DC to direct The Suicide Squad and its John Cena-centered spin-off Peacemaker. Therefore, it won’t be until mid-2023 that the crew get back together for a full feature-length outing under Gunn’s direction. The full cast, including Zoe Saldana as Gamora, are expected to return. In the meantime, they’ll be appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
After the events of Iron Man, Tony Stark was always worried that his technology could fall into the wrong hands. Iron Man 2 seemed to justify those fears with the introduction of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. However, there was one man who Stark trusted with his tech: James Rhodes (War Machine). After his brief cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Don Cheadle’s character will get a lead role in the upcoming Marvel TV show Armor Wars as he tries to protect Stark’s armor and legacy after his Avengers: Endgame death.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The Fantastic Four have been around in comics since 1961, and there have been several efforts to adapt them for film with limited success. Most notably, in the early 2000s a movie and a sequel based on the characters were produced with Chris Evans as Johnny Storm before the actor entered the MCU as Captain America. In 2015 a reboot was attempted outside of the MCU (the rights were still owned by 21st Century Fox) with Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm before he entered the MCU as Killmonger. Despite the particularly negative response from audiences to the 2015 adaptation, with Disney having acquired 21st Century Fox, Marvel is set to try once again. Jon Watts, who directed all the MCU Spider-Man films will direct the new Fantastic Four adaptation, but no cast or release date has been announced yet.
Returning to animation, Disney Plus’ I Am Groot will be a series of shorts that follow Groot and Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy alongside a collection of new characters. Unlike the cartoon style of animation that the MCU used in What If…?, this upcoming Marvel TV series will use photo-realistic animation. There is, so far, no news on what the shorts will be about or when this show might release.
Wesley Snipes’ portrayal in Blade might feel definitive to many, but Marvel is set to introduce the daywalker to the MCU with a new movie. The script will be written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, and Mahershala Ali, who won Oscars for his roles in Moonlight and Green Book, will play the eponymous character. There’s no release date set for this upcoming Marvel movie, but many think that the MCU already dropped hints to the impending appearance of Blade with a scene in the TVA from Loki.
While the upcoming Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever might already be planning to take a wider look at Wakanda itself, the MCU plans to give viewers an even deeper look. While the upcoming Marvel TV show does not yet have an official title, let alone a release date, Kevin Feige has confirmed that a Wakanda-based show will be coming to Disney+. With their break from isolationism in Black Panther, their part in tracking down Zemo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and a What If…? indication that they have mastered space travel, the Wakandans can be sure to see new threats in their future.
Expected to be a direct narrative follow-on from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson has been confirmed to appear in the next standalone Captain America movie, having officially picked up the shield at the end of the Disney+ series. No other characters have been confirmed for the upcoming Marvel movie yet, but it seems likely that Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes will make another appearance. One man we know won’t make an appearance is Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. While rumors abound that he might make a return to the MCU in some form in the future, it won’t be in Captain America 4 where his presence would risk overshadowing Anthony Mackie’s new Cap.
Although the Hawkeye TV series hasn’t been released yet, one of its characters is already confirmed for a spin-off. Alaqua Cox will play Maya Lopez in the series, a superhero named Echo, who will receive her own Disney+ series with filming scheduled for February 2022. Echo is able to mimic the body movements of others and, like the Marvel Comics version of Hawkeye, is deaf.
Like the Fantastic Four, the rights to Deadpool had been sold to 21st Century Fox. The first iteration of the character was played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, before the character was rebooted for a solo project in 2016, still being portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. Fox produced a sequel, but the future of the franchise was in question after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox. Marvel has since announced that they will be making a Deadpool 3 and that it will be part of the canonical MCU while still being R-rated like its predecessors.
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision were one-season event series, Loki was the first Disney+ Marvel TV show to air that will receive a second season. Loki season 1 set in motion many of the events that will be tackled in Phase 4 movies and shows. Without a release date it is hard to predict what the plot for the second season may be, but it might see Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius return to fix the mess they created in the first season.
What If…? season 2 was announced in December of 2019, well before the first season had released a single episode. The premise will remain the same as Jeffrey Wright returns to voice The Watcher as he views the events of different multiverses since the departure from the sacred timeline in Loki. Producers have already confirmed that Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter will return in season 2 and that they plan to return to the character multiple times within the series.
There are a lot of upcoming Marvel TV shows and movies as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand. There’s no sign that Disney will be slowing down the production of the franchise anytime soon with every project seeming to spawn several more. The biggest question for the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point has become how it will handle movie releases to theaters and streaming in the world that has resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic.
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September 19, 2021 at 02:30AM
