New Marvel movie releases: What’s coming out in 2021 and beyond

The Marvel Cinematic Universe did not end with Avengers: Endgame, but it did take a big break.

Marvel’s grand plans extend far into the future, and the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced Disney to shift its plans. While some release dates are locked, loaded, and ready to go, others are but whispers in the wind, and others have shifted significantly due to global disasters. Notably, the current phase of the MCU will be the first to integrate its television properties fully into greater scheme of things — or rather, the first to cross over into Disney Plus’ exclusive TV shows.

From a long, long, long-awaited Black Widow solo film to Kamala Khan’s first MCU appearance on Disney Plus, here’s every planned future Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and Disney Plus show.

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A mix of 1950s sitcom and epic MCU adventure reunites Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) — oh, and also Darcy (Kat Dennings), Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), grown-up Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kathryn Hahn as a nosy neighbor. Likely drawing from limited comics series House of M and Vision, it seems like WandaVision might feature some sort of reality warping, and it will lay groundwork for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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Natasha Romanoff returns one more time with a stand-alone film. Black Widow takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and finds Natasha tying up loose ends in Budapest. There, she encounters Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), another recruit from the Black Widow program and a sister-figure, and Red Guardian (David Harbour), basically the Russian equivalent of Captain America. Rachel Weisz co-stars as Melina, another spy in the Black Widow program. The movie was recently removed from Disney’s release schedule due to coronavirus concerns, given a new fall release date, causing a shuffling of releases all down Marvel’s movie line, and then delayed again until 2021, causing another game of musical chairs. At the moment it is set for a theatrical release.

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A Disney Plus original focusing on Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. The biggest question of the series is how it will address the legacy of Captain America: Since Steve Rogers left his shield and title to Sam, does Sam still go by Falcon? Will the series address a transition? The show is setting up a trio of antagonists well set to interrogate that idea, with Flag-Smasher, U.S. Agent, and the return of Captain America: Civil War’s Zemo.

On top of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, Captain America: The Winter Soldier actress Emily VanCamp returns for Falcon and the Winter Soldier as SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter, with Daniel Bruhl reprising his role as Zemo. Wyatt Russell makes his MCU debut as U.S. Agent.

Loki: May 2021

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Everyone’s favorite MCU bad boy is back in a Disney Plus original. But it won’t be the reformed Loki who tragically perished in the first moments of Avengers: Infinity War. Instead, it’s the version of Loki from the alternate 2012, who escaped with the tesseract, and has come under the thumb of the Time Variance Authority, the extra-dimensional timeline-protecting bureaucracy.

Tom Hiddleston returns to the role, where it looks like he’ll be visiting different eras of real history, Marvel movie history, and Marvel comics history.

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Marvel’s first Asian-American lead will be played by Simu Liu, who basically tweeted this role into existence. And they say Twitter is bad! Opposite Shang-Chi will be the Mandarin (like, the actual Marvel Mandarin and not the Iron Man 3 fake-out), played by legendary Chinese actor Tony Leung. The film will be written by Chinese-American screenwriter Dave Callaham (The Expendables), and directed by Asian-American filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (The Glass Castle).

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Angelina Jolie leads the star-studded cast of The Eternals as Thena, a warrior recruited by Eternal Ikaris (Richard Madden). The cosmic adventure also stars Kumail Nanjiani; Lauren Ridloff as Makkari; Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos; Salma Hayek as Ajak, the leader of the Eternals; Lia McHugh as Flanx Bright; Gemma Chan as Sersi; and Don Lee as Gilgamesh. Kit Harington joins as human character Dane Whitman, since every mystical bunch of godlike aliens needs a human pal — but Dane Whitman is also the name of the Marvel superhero known as the Black Knight.

Photo: Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures

Now that nice boy Tom Holland saved Spider-Man’s status in the MCU, a third Spider-Man movie is on its way. There is no title, but we can probably guess that it will be some play on the word “home.” Spider-Man: Homeland? Spider-Man: Home Is Where the Heart Is? The film is likely to deal with the repercussions of J. Jonah Jameson revealing Peter Parker’s identity to the world — but it’s also widely expected to go hopping through dimensions, with several actors from Sony’s previous Spider-Man franchises set to reprise their roles, including Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, and Jamie Foxx as Electro.

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

The Matt Fraction and David Aja-inspired series about Clint Barton and his successor Kate Bishop is currently in production and slated for “late 2021.” Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee) will play Kate, with Florence Pugh reprising her role as Black Widow’s Yelena Belova. The series lineup also includes Fra Fee as the villainous mafia assassin Kazimierz Kazimierczak, and Alaqua Cox as the deaf superhero Echo.

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Kamala Khan’s Disney Plus show has seemingly been fast tracked — and star Iman Vellani will join the cast of Captain Marvel 2.

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At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Kevin Feige announced that the events of WandaVision would directly tie into the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Details on this movie are scant, though Feige did say, “Just because Quentin Beck makes up lies about the multiverse, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.” WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen will join Benedict Cumberbatch, and newcomer Xochitl Gomez will play the dimension-hopping superteen America Chavez.

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Taika Waititi returns to direct Thor 4. This time, Jane Foster takes up the mantle of the God of Thunder, with Natalie Portman returning to the MCU for the first time since Thor: Dark World. Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie is also set to play a big role. Chris Hemsworth — the superior Marvel Chris — will return as Thor.

Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios

Director Ryan Coogler first announced the date of the Black Panther follow-up at D23 2019, well before star Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing. Disney has confirmed that it has no intentions to recast the role of T’Challa. Instead the sequel will focus on the expanded cast of characters introduced in the first film, involving at least Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, and Martin Freeman as as Shuri, Okoye, and Everett K. Ross, respectively.

Captain Marvel 2: Nov 11

Photo: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

The sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel doesn’t have a title yet, but it does have a release date. Also more cast: With Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau — the superhero known as Photon, who’ll be introduced in WandaVision — it’ll practically be an all-female team movie.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Late 2022

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Move over, The Star Wars Holiday Special — there’s a new galaxy in town. And it’ll be filmed on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 exclusively for Disney Plus.

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Moon Knight, yes, Moon Knight, is getting a six-episode Disney Plus series starring Oscar Isaac.

Undated in 2022: She-Hulk

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Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters is set to get her own Disney Plus series. Will it be a procedural law show? A sci-fi romp? Both? Either way, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) will star as the big, green lawyer, with Mark Ruffalo reprising his role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk, and even Tim Roth as the Abomination. Remember him? From The Incredible Hulk? From 2008?

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James Gunn will return to write and direct a third Guardians movie — but only after he’s done with DC’s The Suicide Squad, which will arrive in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021. The end of Endgame saw Thor buddy up with the Guardians, who were in pursuit of alternate timeline Gamora. Will Vol. 3 continue that? Or will the events of Thor: Love and Thunder rewrite Thor’s role?

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Marvel Studios/Disney

Scott Lang’s wacky adventures will continue sometime in the future, with a battle against the time traveling villain Kang the Conqueror, played by Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors. But he’ll have some help, in the form of his now (thanks to the Snap) all grown up daughter Cassie Lang, played by Big Little Lies’ Kathryn Newton.

The Fantastic Four

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The fourth time is hopefully the charm for Marvel’s First Family, who have long suffered from lackluster cinematic adaptations. Marvel has announced that an MCU Fantastic Four movie is on the way from director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming).

Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Cory Smith/Marvel Comics

At the very end of Marvel’s SDCC 2019 presentation, Kevin Feige revealed that Mahershala Ali would take on the role of Blade. This movie will be a reboot of the past Blade films, and will also come way after Phase 4.

Secret Invasion

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A rumored Disney Plus series starring Samuel L. Jackson is now confirmed to be a show based on Marvel Comics’ Secret Invasion event, starring Nick fury and the Skrull agent Talos as they deal with a, well, secret Skrull invasion on earth.

Ironheart

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Marvel is developing a Disney Plus series for the teenage hero Ironheart, with Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a young Black girl from inner city Chicago who reverse engineers Tony Stark’s armor to become the protector of her neighborhood.

Armor Wars

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For the darker side of what happens when Iron Man tech falls into the wrong hands, Don Cheadle will return as War Machine in a Disney Plus series based on Marvel Comics’ Armor Wars.

I Am Groot

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I Am Groot will be a series of Disney Plus shorts featuring new characters from around the Marvel Universe.