Last week we took a look at all the upcoming TV shows Marvel has planned for it’s cinematic universe. Not a word of a lie, a new TV show has been announced since that article went live: New Warriors, starring fan favorite Squirrel Girl. This week we will take a look at the films that are coming to a theater near you. We already have 13 fantastic movies under our belt (and a few cancelled ones – R.I.P. Nick Fury and The Runaways), but we have so much more on the horizon.
UPCOMING MOVIES
Doctor Strange (November 4th, 2016)
Source: Marvel Studios // Doctor Strange
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! Benedict Cumberbatch plays the newest Marvel hero: Doctor Strange, the Sorceror Supreme. First name-dropped in Captain America: Winter Soldier, Dr. Stephen Strange is one of the world’s finest neurosurgeons. Or he was, until he was involved in a terrible car accident. Multiple surgeries were not enough to repair the damage to his hands, so Strange went on a journey across the world to find someone who could help him perform surgery again – but he uncovered so much more: magic is real. After years of training under the mystical Ancient One, Strange has dropped his cruel, arrogant attitude and is now one of the worlds finest sorcerers. Even aside from the cast including Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is one you won’t want to miss; horror director Scott Derrickson’s visuals promise Ditko-era psychadelic trippiness, and Doctor Strange will return for the fight against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War (and, rumor has it, Thor: Ragnarok!).
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May 5, 2017)
Source: Marvel Studios // Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
New movie, new mixtape. Set only months after the first Guardians of the Galaxy, this intergalactic space romp sees the Guardians (Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and a slowly regenerating baby Groot) set out to find Star-Lord’s true father with former antagonists Nebula and Yondu. Finally encountering his father, lonely sentient planet Ego and his half-sister Mantis, Peter Quill starts to learn who he really is and what it means to have a family. This movie brings back the cast and director James Gunn, and also stars Sylvester Stallone, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki and Kurt Russell as Ego the Living Planet, with a whole new bunch of Ravagers and outer-space fun. The Guardians will also return in Avengers: Infinity War.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7, 2017)
Source: Marvel Studios // Spider-man Homecoming
Welcome back, Spidey! A homecoming, indeed. If you didn’t love Tom Holland as the picture-perfect Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, I’m afraid your opinion is objectively wrong. Penned by the guys who did “Horrible Bosses”, the newest reboot of Spider-Man is billed as a “John Hughes superhero movie”. Squaring off against villains like (Bokeem Woodbine’s) Shocker, (Michael Chernus’) Tinkerer and of course (Michael Keaton’s) Vulture, Peter will try to balance his personal school life with fighting crime. With an all-star cast including Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Donald Glover, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, Hannibal Burress, Michael Mando, Abraham Attah and more, this movie will also feature the on-screen return of Tony Stark and his head of security, Happy Hogan. No word on when the friendly neighborhood web-slinger will show up next, but one can guess the movie may have the initials A:IW.
Thor: Ragnarok (November 3, 2017)
Source: Marvel Studios // Thor Ragnarok
Tasked with a trilogy closer to what is arguably the least consistent of their franchises, Marvel threw what they knew out the window and hired Taiki Waititi, indie comedy director known for awkward New Zealandian comedy such as “Flight of the Conchords” and “Eagle vs. Shark”. Despite his resume and his hilarious “Team Thor” Civil War short, Thor: Ragnarok is expected to be more serious and epic in tone, called the “Captain America: Winter Soldier” of Phase Three. Set shortly after Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor will be joined by The Hulk for his third solo outing. Despite having characters such as Fenris, Surtur, Hela, Skurge and The Grandmaster shown, and with a great cast including Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban and Jeff Goldblum, we don’t know much about this movie – except that there will be fights in the gladiator pits, and Ragnarok is indeed coming. Thor and Hulk are expected to return for the third installment in the Avengers franchise.
Black Panther (February 16, 2018)
Source: Marvel Studios // Black Panther
A huge step forward, Black Panther will be world’s first superhero movie set in Africa, with an almost exclusively African-American cast. Bringing back Chadwick Boseman as the stoic King T’Challa of Wakanda, this movie is helmed by “Creed” director Ryan Coogler and will also feature Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o, with Michael B. Jordan as the antagonist, Killmonger. Though production has been kept silent, we know the movie will feature T’Challa needing to team up with the CIA to eliminate threats that challenge his leadership. The film is said to set up for the upcoming Avengers movie, so Black Panther is expected to return.
Avengers: Infinity War (May 4, 2018)
Source: Marvel Studios // Avengers Infinity War
The third and fourth Avengers movies are being kept tightly under wraps, but are said to be culminations of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. Will we see the big-screen debut of the Secret Warriors from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Defenders from Netflix? Cloak & Dagger? The Runaways? The New Warriors? We have no idea. But we do know the entire new and old Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy rosters are expected to be joined by Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Ant-Man and Wasp in an epic battle against Thanos, wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet.
Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018)
Source: Marvel Studios // Ant-Man and the Wasp
What have Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang been up to? We will find out in this sequel to the beloved Ant-Man. Hank Pym and Luis are set to return, and the film is believed by many to explore the disappearance of Janet van Dyne; the original Wasp.
Captain Marvel (March 8, 2019)
Brie Larson is Carol Danvers. Originally suspected to be introduced in Avengers: Infinity War as an air-force pilot, Carol has acquired powers in her fight against Thanos and is now a superhero in her own right. One can only dream at this point of possibilities, as little is known as a director is yet to be announced.
Avengers 4 (May 3, 2019)
A currently untitled unofficial part two to Avengers: Infinity War, this film is expected to wrap up the entire 22 movie, 12 year franchise up to this point. As with the prior film, Joss Whedon’s Avenger writing/director duties will be taken over by Stephen Markus/Christopher McFeely and Anthony Russo/Joe Russo respectively. These four brought us the most recent two Captain America movies; can they knock it out of the park again with the next two Avengers?
Untitled (May 1, 2020)
Marvel has announced the date, but what is coming out May 1, 2020? We have no idea. A sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy? A new Spider-Man? A Black Panther sequel? Captain Marvel 2?
Untitled (July 10, 2020)
A second currently untitled movie slated for 2020, only two months after the previous. Again, we can only speculate. Could be finally be getting the much-teased Black Widow movie?
Untitled (November 6, 2020)
Number three! We know nothing about these projects, which makes me almost as excited as the fantastic ones coming up. I hope the final movie of 2020 is about Vision, so we can make a “20/20 Vision” joke for the rest of time.
Inhumans (????)
Originally set to close off Phase Three, Inhumans was pushed off the slate to make room for the new Indiana Jones. We have been repeatedly assured that the movie is still to be made, and appears to be focusing on the Inhuman royal family rather than the assorted Inhumans we have met on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Vin Diesel has long teased his involvement with the project, expected to play the silent king Black Bolt – fitting, since he is merely the voice of Groot.
