Marvel has announced that Joss Whedon‘s The Avengers 2 (aka Untitled Marvel’s Avengers Sequel) will open on May 1, 2015.  The Avengers 2 will be the culmination of “Phase Two“.  Here’s how the Phase Two release dates shake out: Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013; Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013; Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014; and Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014.  There are rumors that Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man might shoot in 2014, so it’s possible Marvel might squeeze the tiny superhero into a January or February release date.  However, Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to be the lead-in for The Avengers 2‘s villain, Thanos.  While I would love to see Ant-Man sooner rather than later, it might take the wind out of The Avengers 2‘s sails to take a brief detour unless Thanos plans on showing up in Ant-Man, which would be surprising to say the least.

The 2015 release date doesn’t come as too much of a shock.  Whedon recently signed on to stay with Marvel until 2015, and he’ll also be overseeing their other projects.  The Avengers 2 will come out 1092 days after The Avengers, so mark your calendars and start counting down.  Hit the jump for the brief press release from Marvel and Disney.