The Big Picture

  • Marvel Studios announced a new group of phases called The Multiverse Saga at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, indicating the direction of future Marvel movies.
  • Due to ongoing strikes, the production of upcoming MCU movies, such as Thunderbolts and Deadpool 3, has been halted, leaving the schedule uncertain.
  • The upcoming films, The Marvels and Captain America: Brave New World have already entered post-production or filming phases with confirmed directors and casts, building anticipation for their release.

After a momentous finale with Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios capped off a 22-film series titled The Infinity Saga, but the question on everyone's mind, even before there were any signs of an oncoming pandemic, was, "Can Marvel capture lightning in a bottle?" At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, after undergoing massive shifts during the pandemic, Kevin Feige announced that this new group of phases would be called The Multiverse Saga.

Feige also announced when Phase 4 would end and the entire slate for Phase 5 and a glimpse at Phase 6. However, it's important to remember that the schedule, such as it is, is currently on shaky ground as a result of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the films being covered here wouldn't exist, making this an all-too-important moment for the industry as a whole. With production halted on all future MCU movies that were yet to be filmed, we'll have to wait and see what changes may come. But for now, here's a complete list of all the upcoming Marvel movies that we know are in the works, along with the cast and filming details that are currently confirmed.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on November 9.

Deadpool 3

deadpool-3-hugh-jackman-wolverine

Release Date: July 26, 2024

Status: Filming Halted

Director: Shawn Levy

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni, Rob Delaney, Emma Corrin, and Matthew Macfadyen

What We Know So Far: Deadpool will be officially coming to the MCU, and the franchise will be able to maintain its R-rating according to Kevin Feige. In November 2020, it was announced that Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin would be writing the screenplay alongside Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote the first two Deadpool movies. In March 2022, Shawn Levy was announced as the director for the sequel, having worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project. The biggest surprise of this project so far might be that Hugh Jackman has signed on to return as Wolverine, after dying in Logan. While both Jackman and Reynolds have promised that this will be handled delicately, who knows with these two? Also joining the cast is The Crown's Emma Corrin, who will be playing an unknown villain, and Matthew Macfadyen in an undisclosed role.

Captain America: Brave New World

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson in Avengers: Endgame

Release Date: February 14, 2025

Status: In Post-Production

Director: Julius Onah

Cast: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Shira Haas, Tim Blake Nelson, and Liv Tyler

What We Know So Far: Officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, this continuation of the Captain America storyline now places Anthony Mackie as the lead, having assumed the title after his storyline in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is co-writing the script with fellow Falcon and the Winter Soldier writer Dalan Musson. Captain America also brings Harrison Ford to the MCU, as he will take over the role of Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross after the passing of William Hurt. In July 2022, Julius Onah was hired as the director. His previous work includes The Cloverfield Paradox and Luce. Captain America: Brave New World wrapped filming on June 30 and is now in the post-production phase.

Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Cast

Release Date: July 25, 2025

Status: Production Halted

Director: Jake Schreier

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Olga Kurylenko, and Harrison Ford

A group of villain types and anti-heroes band together and go on missions for the government. It's got a bit of a Suicide Squad vibe. In June 2022, the movie entered into development, with Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) attached as a director and Eric Pearson penning the script. Pearson notably also wrote screenplays for Thor: Ragnarok and Black Widow. The cast includes a who's who of previous characters from the MCU, including Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Sebastian Stan returning as The Winter Soldier. Marvel has currently paused work on Thunderbolts as a result of the ongoing strikes.

Blade

Release Date: November 7, 2025

Status: Production Halted

Director: Yann Demange

Cast: Mahershala Ali

What We Know So Far: Oscar-winning Moonlight and Green Book actor Mahershala Ali was the surprise guest at Marvel's Comic-Con 2019 panel, announced as the new Blade with no further details revealed. Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq signed on to direct in July 2021, with Stacy Osei-Kuffour writing the script, but since, both have left the product, with Yann Demange now signed on to direct, with Michael Starrbury writing. While this hasn't been explicitly announced, the film has presumably run into another hurdle as a result of the ongoing strikes and likely won't film anytime soon.

Fantastic Four

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Release Date: May 2, 2025

Status: Production Halted

Director: Matt Shakman

Cast: TBA

What We Know So Far: In December 2020, Marvel announced that Jon Watts — who directed Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and the upcoming third Spider-Man movie, will be directing a brand-new reboot of Fantastic Four to introduce the characters into the MCU. While we did get a look at John Krasinski as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's still up in the air on who could play the 616 Reed Richards. In April 2022, Watts stepped down as director and as of August 2022, Matt Shakman of WandaVision will be directing the highly-anticipated film. At this point, we only know that the movie will be a part of Phase Six, which is leaving a huge gap of time between when it was first announced back in 2019 to its expected release date.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

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Image via Marvel

Release Date: May 1, 2026

Status: Production Halted

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: TBA

What We Know So Far: Basically nothing. The title was announced during Comic-Con 2022 by Kevin Feige during the Marvel Studios Hall H panel. Other than a release date set for May 1, 2026, the only other information we know is that Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton would be returning to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Avengers: Secret Wars

SDCC_AvengersSecretWars

Release Date: May 7, 2027

Status: Production Halted

Director: TBA

Cast: TBA

What We Know So Far: Even less than what we know about The Kang Dynasty. From what we know from the comics run of Secret Wars, the film will likely involve Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four along with the lead-up from the Phase Five movies that set the stage for the Incursions that are central to Secret Wars. Other potential characters involved in this include Doctor Strange, Peter Parker, Carol Danvers, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord, Cyclops with the Phoenix Force, Black Panther, and Reed Richards, along with Ultimate Universe Marvel characters like Miles Morales. Given how far away this movie is, the possibilities are endless and there is even ample time between The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars for many more big reveals.

Armor Wars

The original logo for Armor Wars
Image via Disney+

Release Date: TBA

Status: TBA

Director: TBA

Cast: Don Cheadle and Walton Goggins

What We Know So Far: Originally intended as a Disney+ series, it was revealed almost two years after its announcement that Armor Wars was going to be reworked into a feature. Armor Wars will see the return of Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, as he has to deal with Tony Stark's technology getting into the wrong hands. Yassir Lester (Girls, Black Monday) was hired as the head writer of the series, and remains with the project after this shift to a feature. Walton Goggins will also be a part of the cast, returning to his role as Sonny Burch from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Filming is expected to start in 2023, but it's still unclear when we'll see the return of Rhodey.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 2

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Release Date: TBA

Phase Unknown

Status: In development

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Simu Liu

What We Know So Far: The sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was announced in December 2021, bringing back director Destin Daniel Cretton as the director and writer of the sequel. Not much is known about the story or where Shang-Chi will be going, though it's implied from the post-credits that it might involve the origin of his father's Ten Rings. Simu Liu is, of course, returning as the titular character. Although not confirmed, it's likely we will see Meng'er Zhang return as Xu Xialing as well, now that she is the new leader of the Ten Rings organization.

Untitled Mutant-Centered Film

House of M
Avengers and X-Men.

Release Date: TBA

Phase Unknown

Status: ???

Director: TBA

Cast: TBA

What We Know So Far: Kevin Feige announced back in 2019 that there would be a mutant-centered film with the X-Men, one that would be different from what we've seen from 20th Century Fox, but after the pandemic, Marvel remained largely silent on that front. However, the conclusion of Ms. Marvel revealed that Kamala Khan is likely a mutant, which differs from her comic's origin as an Inhuman, and The Marvels certainly leads to this film becoming a very real possibility, so perhaps one of the movies of Phase Six will include a mutant-centered film.

Ross Bonaime, Therese Lacson, and Adam Chitwood contributed to this article.