Marvel Cinematic Universe's Future: Everything Announced So Far (Dec 2020)

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Last week Disney streamed their entire four-hour Investor Day presentation. There was a lot of huge news for their properties, especially for what’s coming to Disney+. This included Raya and the Last Dragon having a “premier access fee” when it comes to the streaming service, just like Mulan did earlier this year. There is also going to be ten new Star Wars projects, and a fifth Indiana Jones, as well as countless other sequels and series currently in the works.

There was so much to be excited about, but right here we’re going to focus in on one particular element of the news: all of the announcements about what is coming for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This will compile just about everything we currently know for every upcoming MCU project, looking at both the movies and Disney+ series. Keep in mind, especially with the pandemic still having an affect on the world, every release date here could be subject to change. To put this in perspective, original release dates when some of these were first announced, we have already hit a point where at least three of them were meant to already be out.

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WandaVision

January 15, 2021 || Disney+ series

Head Writer: Jac Schaeffer

Director: Matt Shakman

Key roles:

  • Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff: Elizabeth Olsen, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Vision: Paul Bettany, returning from Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

  • Darcy Lewis: Kat Dennings, returning from Thor: The Dark World (2013)

  • Jimmy Woo: Randall Park, returning from Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

  • Monica Rambeau: Teyonah Parris, grown up version of character from Captain Marvel (2019)

  • Agnes: Kathryn Hahn

 

A new trailer was dropped for WandaVision at the event. This is a six-episode series described by Jac Schaeffer as “a love letter to the golden age of television”. It looks to have Wanda and Vision living in different styles of sitcoms, starting in a black and white Bewitched style world and slowly moving through the eras as they unravel what is happening to them. But, making this even more mysterious, the last time we saw Vision… he was dead. Scarlet Witch has been shown in the comics to have reality bending powers so strong that she has changed the entire world, more than once. Many believe this will act as the MCU’s adaptation of the House of M storyline.

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

March 19, 2021 || Disney+ series

Head Writer: Malcom Spellman

Director: Kari Skogland


Key Roles:

  • Falcon / Sam Wilson: Anthony Mackie, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Winter Soldier / Bucky Barnes: Sebastian Stan, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Sharon Carter: Emily VanCamp, returning from Captain America: Civil War (2016)

  • Zemo: Daniel Brühl, returning from Captain America: Civil War (2016)

  • US Agent / John Walker: Wyatt Russell

 

The first trailer was shown, which opens on the line, “The legacy of the shield is complicated”. Between Sam and Bucky’s fun antagonizing of each other, and a particular action scene, this is looking incredibly exciting. It will be another six-episode series and takes place after Steve Rogers has given Sam Wilson his shield. Sam and Bucky team up for a global adventure, presumably with US Agent vying to take the shield for himself. After Zemo’s last scheme managed to break up the Avengers, it seems most likely that he is pulling the strings to some extent here as well.

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Black Widow

May 7, 2021 || Feature film

Screenplay by: Eric Pearson

Director: Cate Shortland


Key Roles:

  • Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff: Scarlett Johansson, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Thaddeus Ross: William Hurt, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Yelena Belova: Florence Pugh

  • Melina Vostokoff: Rachel Weisz

  • Red Guardian / Alexei Shostakov: David Harbour

  • Taskmaster: ???

 

This movie will cover what Black Widow had gotten up to between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. She looks to be facing her past in Russia, where we’ll learn more about the Red Room that was originally shown to us in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The identity of who is playing the villainous Taskmaster is still unknown (which probably means it will be a big reveal in the movie). In the comics Yelena Belova is the identity of a second Black Widow, so given that Natasha died in Avengers: Endgame, this is believed to be a kind of passing of the torch movie.

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Loki

May 2021 || Disney+ series

Head Writer: Michael Waldron

Director: Kate Herron


Key Roles:

  • Loki: Tom Hiddleston, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • ???: Owen Wilson

  • ???: Gugu Mbatha-Raw

  • ???: Sophia Di Martino

  • ???: Richard E. Grant

 

Follows the Loki from Avengers, who escaped from being captured using the Tesseract when the Avengers travelled back in time in Avengers: Endgame. This means that all the development Loki had gone through from Thor: The Dark World and on, never happened to this version of Loki. Not only is he at the peak of his evil, but he is fresh from his biggest defeat. Not a lot is known about this series, but it seems that he is on the run and traveling between different times and realities. Given the creatives running the show, it is safe to say it will be a fun ride.

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

July 9, 2021 || Feature film

Writer: Dave Callaham

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Key Roles:

  • Shang-Chi: Simu Liu

  • Wenwu: Tony Leung

  • Katy: Awkwafina

  • Jiang Nan: Michelle Yeoh

  • Razor Fist: Florian Munteanu

 

Production has wrapped on this movie. Shang-Chi is a master of Kung Fu who uses his chi to help him fight. The official synopsis says, “Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.” The Ten Rings may sound familiar, as they were the organization who kidnapped Tony Stark in the beginning of Iron Man. In the comics, Mandarin wields ten mystical power rings and is a hugely powerful villain because of this. The character was sort of played by Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3, though in Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King it is revealed that the real Mandarin is upset to have his named used in such a way. This movie could be where the real Mandarin pops up. Personally, I’m hoping this means we see the dragon-like alien Fin Fang Foom.

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What If…?

Summer 2021 || Disney+ animated series

Lead Writer: A.C. Bradley

Director: Bryan Andrews

Key Roles:

  • The Watcher: Jeffrey Wright

 

An animated anthology where each episode deals with a different “what if” events for the MCU. We know for sure there are episodes that will deal with questions like what if Peggy Carter was given the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, what if T’Challa was abducted instead of Star Lord, or what if zombies took over the MCU? Cast members from their respective movies will be lending their voices to the roles for the show, the list for which is far too long to put here.

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Eternals

November 5, 2021 || Feature films

Writer: Kaz Firpo

Director: Chloé Zhao


Key Roles:

  • Sersi: Gemma Chan

  • Thena: Angelina Jolie

  • Ikaris: Richard Madden

  • Ajak: Selma Hayek

  • Black Knight / Dane Whitman: Kit Harington

  • Kingo: Kumail Nanjiani

  • Druig: Barry Keoghan

  • Phastos: Brian Tyree Henry

  • Makkari: Lauren Ridloff

  • Gilgamesh: Dong-seok Ma

  • Sprite: Lia Mchugh

 

An ensemble film described as an epic story stretching over thousands of years. The Eternals have seen multiple iterations in the comics beginning with their creation by Jack Kirby back in 1976. One of more modern and well-known versions comes from Neil Gaiman’s run of the series. The Eternals are immortal beings, but in Gaiman’s run, they believe themselves to be completely mortal after an event caused them all to forget their real history. The seven-issue series is about them getting them memories back and stopping the one responsible. With our biggest hint of what The Eternals movie will cover just being that is spans thousands of years, it is hard to say if they will go with this route and play with time as their memories return, or if it will be something more linear about their long lives on Earth.

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Untitled Spider-Man 3

December 17, 2021 || Feature film

Writer: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers

Director: Jon Watts


Key Roles:

  • Spider-Man / Peter Parker: Tom Holland, returning from Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

  • MJ: Zendaya, returning from Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

  • May Parker: Marisa Tomei, returning from Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

  • Doctor Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Electro / Max Dillon: Jamie Foxx

  • Doctor Octopus / Otto Octavius: Alfred Molina

 

There were no announcements for this movie during the Disney Investor Day stream, aside from it having a connection to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, most likely because it is more of a Sony production than a Disney one. And even still, this is probably the movie with the most going on. Much of what is being said about this movie still exists mainly as rumors, even if some are looking fairly definite. Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina reprising roles they played in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 2 respectively seem to imply a connection to those series, which adds credence the rumors of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both returning as their versions of Peter Parker. And this movie’s placement between WandaVision and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness could be a solid explanation for an MCU take on the Spider-Verse storyline. But there is also the fact that both of these villains appeared to die in their original movies, so it creates a question about how they could be the exact characters and not new versions of them here. Keep in mind that Spider-Man: Far From Home brought back J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, which appeared to just be a new version of his character and not a continuation of his original Spider-Man role. With the release date for this movie being just over a year away, it shouldn’t be long before we get some real confirmation and even a trailer.

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Ms. Marvel

Late 2021 || Disney+ series

Lead Writer: Bisha K. Ali

Directors: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Key Roles:

  • Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan: Iman Vellani

 

Ms. Marvel is Pakistani American teen superhero with an elastic power similar to Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. This is a character who first appeared in comics in 2014 and is the newest Marvel character to be headlining their own series up to this point (on Disney+ or in movies). She idolizes Captain Marvel, and so when she gains powers after her inhuman genes are unlocked, she models herself after her hero. This show is still incredibly early on in development, so not much is known yet. 

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Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness

March 25, 2022 || Feature film

Writer: Michael Waldron

Director: Sam Raimi


Key Roles:

  • Doctor Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Wong: Benedict Wong, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Christine Palmer: Rachel McAdams, returning from Doctor Strange (2016)

  • Mordo: Chiwetel Ejiofor, returning from Doctor Strange (2016)

  • Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff: Elizabeth Olsen, returning from WandaVision (2021)

  • America Chavez: Xochitl Gomez

 

Kevin Feige describes it as a “thrilling, scary, mind bending adventure”, and will connect to the events of WandaVision and the new Spider-Man. This is another one without much known about it yet, but given its placement, and Doctor Strange’s mystical powers, it looks like this could work almost like the end of a trilogy. If WandaVision is about Wanda messing with reality (on purpose or not), and Spider-Man is some version of the Spider-Verse story (brought on by the events of WandaVision), then this could be about Doctor Strange fixing reality. Of course, this is based off assumptions and rumours, so take it with a grain of salt.

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Thor: Love and Thunder

May 6, 2022 || Feature film

Writer: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Director: Taika Waititi


Key Roles:

  • Thor: Chris Hemsworth, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Jane Foster: Natalie Portman, returning from Thor: The Dark World (2013)

  • Valkyrie: Tessa Thompson, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Gorr the God Butcher: Christian Bale

 

To start shooting in January 2021. When this movie was first announced, Natalie Portman walked out onto the stage holding Mjolnir, showing off that this movie should be covering the story from the comics in which Jane Foster becomes Thor herself. With Christian Bale’s character now being formally revealed to be Gorr the God Butcher, this seems to reinforce that idea, as he was a major villain in that storyline in the comics. But, after the events of Thor: Ragnorok Mjolnir was destroyed, and even the version of it brought back from the past in Avengers: Endgame has been returned to where it came from, meaning there is a big question as to how Jane will get its power.

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Black Panther 2

July 8, 2022 || Feature film

Writer: Ryan Coogler

Director: Ryan Coogler

 

After the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman earlier this year, Black Panther 2 seemed to become a bit of a question mark for the MCU. During the Disney Investor Day, this was not only officially confirmed as definitely still happening, but to honor Chadwick, it has been stated that they will not recast T’Challa. Almost nothing is known about this movie, but it was stated that it will explore characters established in the first one. This means we can probably expect to see characters like Shuri and Okoye return, but until announcements are made, nothing is official.  

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Captain Marvel 2

November 11, 2022 || Feature film

Writer: Megan McDonnell

Director: Nia DaCosta


Key Roles:

  • Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers: Brie Larson, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan: Iman Vellani, returning from Ms. Marvel (2021)

  • Monica Rambeau: Teyonah Parris, returning from WandaVision (2021)


While this movie had been sort of talked about before now, this was the official announcement, and the reveal that Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau will be characters. This means it is safe to say that it takes place in the present rather than another story of what she got up to in the past, but that is about all that can be gleaned so far.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

2022 || Disney+ Special

Writer: James Gunn

Director: James Gunn

 

This will be a one-off holiday special put up on Disney+. While it was said that James Gunn will write and direct, the only other thing announced was that it will shoot during the production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. It can probably be assumed that all the main Guardians cast members will appear in this, but no cast was officially announced.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

2023 || Feature film

Writer: James Gunn

Director: James Gunn

 

The closest thing we got to news on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is that Dave Baustista (who plays Drax) has recently stated that storylines have changed to some extent because of the release schedule for the MCU being rearranged. This is another case where it is assumed that all the Guardians will appear, but no word on who might join them or what the story could entail.

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Hawkeye

TBD || Disney+ series

Lead Writer: Jonathan Igla

Directors: Rhys Thomas, Bert & Bertie

Key Roles:

  • Hawkeye / Clint Barton: Jeremy Renner, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Hawkeye / Kate Bishop: Hailee Steinfeld

  • Echo / Maya Lopez: Alaque Cox

 

No trailer yet, but we are beginning to see some production photos now that the show has begun filming. Hawkeye seems to be most influenced by Matt Fraction’s run of the Hawkeye comics, in which Clint spends his off time from being an Avenger dealing with more street level crime, all while training Kate, and having to deal with having gone partially deaf after an accident.

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She-Hulk

TBD || Disney+ series

Lead Writer: Jessica Gao

Director: Kat Coiro, Anu Vali

Key Roles:

  • She-Hulk / Jennifer Walters: Tatiana Maslany

  • Hulk / Bruce Banner: Mark Ruffalo, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Abomination: Tim Roth, returning from The Incredible Hulk (2008)

 

Jennifer Walters is a lawyer specializing with superheroes, and Kevin Feige has described the show as very funny. He also teased that because of her specialization, there is no telling what other characters from the MCU might pop up. In the comics, Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin, and becomes She-Hulk after receiving a blood transfusion from Bruce to save her life.

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Moon Knight

TBD || Disney+ series

Lead Writer: Jeremy Slater

Director: Mohamed Diab

 

“An action adventure, Indiana Jones type story.” Kevin Feige’s description of the series brings up Moon Knight’s dissociative identity disorder, telling us that these identities will be distinct characters for the series, and that the backdrop of the story will be Egyptian iconography. Marc Spector, aka Moon Knight, has taken many forms (especially in the past few years), with his origin being linked to a mercenary job in Egypt, where he is killed in the tomb of the god Konshu. Oscar Isaac is rumored for the lead role but is not yet confirmed.

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Blade

TBD || Disney+ series

Key Roles:

  • Blade: Mahershala Ali

 

While this show has its lead actor cast, nothing else is known quite yet. According to Kevin Feige. announcements are “coming very soon”. Blade is a vampire hunter, and half-vampire himself. There is a trilogy of movies where Wesley Snipes played the character, which began a decade before the first MCU movie.

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

TBD || Feature film

Writer: Jeff Loveness

Director: Peyton Reed


Key Roles:

  • Ant-Man / Scott Lang: Paul Rudd, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Wasp / Hope Van Dyne: Evangeline Lilly, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

  • Hank Pym: Michael Douglas, returning from Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

  • Janet Van Dyne: Michelle Pfeiffer, returning from Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

  • Cassie Lang: Kathryn Newton

  • Kang the Conqueror: Jonathan Majors

 

Announcements have been coming out about this movie for a while, but this event was the first time we have heard the official title. Kang the Conqueror is a major villain in the comics who comes from the future. Ant-Man’s journey to the Quantum Realm was how they explained time travel in Avengers: Endgame, and so it looks like they will be returning to a similar idea for this movie.

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I Am Groot

TBD || Disney+ animated series

 

Baby Groot stars in a series of shorts, with several “new and unusual characters”. This will probably be a fun little anthology series for fans of Baby Groot. There is no telling if this will be part of the MCU canon, or if it will be in a similar vein to What If…? which plays with the MCU characters but in its own world.

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Secret Invasion

TBD || Disney+ series

Key Roles:

  • Nick Fury: Samuel L. Jackson, returning from Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

  • Talos: Ben Mendelsohn, returning from Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

“About a sect of Skrulls who have infiltrated every level of life on Earth.” There is no description as to how, but this is stated as tying directly into the feature films. In the comics, this is one of the biggest events to in Marvel’s recent history and had a huge affect on the entire Marvel Universe for years. It had thriller elements where no one knew who they could trust because so many heroes had been swapped for Skrulls years, even decades, prior. Some of them were even sleeper agents who didn’t know they were Skrulls themselves until they were activated. With how big this story could be, this series could potentially be a jumping off point that kicks off a few movies, just like what WandaVision seems to be doing.

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Ironheart

TBD || Disney+ series

Key Roles:

  • Ironheart / Riri Williams: Domique Thorne

 

Riri Williams is a genius inventor in possession of the most advanced suit since Iron Man’s. Just like Secret Invasion, this is stated as tying directly into feature films, but without any hints as to how. With Iron Man dead after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Riri Williams could be popping up to take his place as the armored avenger. This is the one character who is newer to the comics than Ms. Marvel, first appearing only four years ago in 2016.

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Armor Wars

TBD || Disney+ series

Key Roles:

  • War Machine / Rhodey: Don Cheadle, returning from Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Kevin Feige announced this as: “a series about Tony’s worst fear coming true. It’s what happens when his tech falls into the wrong hands”. The announcement came just after IronHeart’s, and while neither has an official release date, if they come out in this same order it could make sense for Riri Williams to potentially have some kind of role in this show as well, helping Rhodey stop whoever may have gotten hold of the many Iron Man suits.

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Fantastic Four

TBD || Feature film

Director: Jon Watts

This is possibly the biggest announcement for Marvel at the Disney Investor Day. So far, all we know is that Jon Watts will direct. This will introduce “Marvel’s first family” to the MCU. They have had three movies that are disconnected from the MCU so far, split between two separate iterations. No casting or date announced at all.