Currently 17 movies and 10 years into its existence, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown no signs of slowing down.
With three movies slated for 2018 -- Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp -- Marvel Studios will have released a total of 20 (twenty!) movies over the last decade by the time 2018 comes to a close.
While some stubborn critics try to speculate that the age of superhero movies is coming to a close, the box office numbers tell a different story entirely, as each movie is seemingly more profitable than the last (Avengers: Infinity War will CERTAINLY become their highest grossing movie to date). And given Disney's recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, characters such as the X-Men and Deadpool will be available to Marvel Studios in the near future, opening the door to a multitude of new cinematic possibilities.
Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, said in late 2017 that the studio will have 15 projects in production in the next two years. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Feige said that he would "like to take all of the comics and start to build the Marvel universe.”
So, with that in mind, we decided to compile a list of ALL of the Marvel Studios projects being released, produced, rumored to be in development or otherwise.
Here are the 9 Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Currently In Development (And 6 That Are Rumored).
In Development: Black Widow
Despite being one of the longest-running characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Natasha Romanoff made her debut in Iron Man 2), Black Widow has yet to be awarded her own feature film.
Scarlett Johansson, the actress who plays the mysterious Natasha Romanoff, has since established herself as one of the world's leading female action stars, compounding her role as Black Widow with other kick-ass roles in movies such as Lucy and Ghost In The Shell. While nothing official has been announced, Stan Lee, the godfather of Marvel, said while speaking on a panel in Brisbane that"one day there will be a Black Widow movie."
Given the wild success of DC's & Warner Bros. Wonder Woman, it wouldn't surprise anyone if Marvel Studios fast-tracked a Black Widow solo movie. A character as secretive as Natasha Romanoff is just asking for an origin story flick.
In Development: Avengers: Infinity War
This is it: the big one, the granddaddy of them all. After ten years -- and when Avengers: Infinity War is released, 19 films -- this is what Kevin Feige and Marvel Studio have been building towards.
With a rumored budget of $1 billion (including marketing), Avengers: Infinity War needs to be the biggest superhero movie experience of all time -- anything short of that would be a failure. But luckily, Marvel Studios knows this, and based on their track record thus far, is going to smash it out of the park.
Following a decade of teases and buildup, Thanos is finally going to make his long-awaited debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if we were bettors, we'd wager his arrival won't be too kind on the Avengers.
Rumored: Wolverine
Following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, fans quickly imagined the possibility of the X-Men joining the Avengers, which would finally unite Marvel's greatest characters. And with reports that Disney execs are "relishing" recasting the role of Wolverine, it seems as though it's only a matter of time.
But fans who long to see Logan crack wise with Captain America may not be true fans at all, as Disney's fingerprints on the character would undoubtedly leave him as a shell of his true self. The only remedy for this would be to have his solo outing be are R-rated features and including a toned down version in the team up films.
However, given that we're talking about Mickey Mouse, expect the character to be as kid-friendly as possible. Sure, the Star Wars movies have made over $7 billion, but do you know what the toys have made? Twice that.
In Development: Ant-Man & The Wasp
Ant-Man and the Wasp, the third Marvel film slated for 2018 and the twentieth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is a sequel to Ant-Man, arguably the smallest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.
The eighth installment in Phase 3 of the MCU, the sequel will introduce Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne's superhero alter-ego, the Wasp. According to Marvel Studios, the plot will be as follows: "As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past."
Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man and the Wasp looks to continue the relatively lighter tone established by the original Ant-Man movie.
In Development: Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is one of the most highly anticipated of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and that's all thanks to Academy Award winner Brie Larson. While the role of Captain Marvel, AKA Carol Danvers, is an intriguing one -- the movie receives a serious boost thanks to the star power and acting quality of Larson.
Other than the release date -- March 8th, 2019 -- not much is known about this project other than the fact that Larson is set to star and Anna Boden (Mississippi Grind) is set to direct.
Including Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson is set to reprise his role as Nick Fury, Jude Law is currently set to star as Walter Lawson / Mar-Vell, while Ben Mendelsohn has signed up for a still-unannounced role (presumably, given that its Ben Mendelsohn, he'll be the villain).
Rumored: Iron Man 4
One of the longest-running rumors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the development of a fourth and final Iron Man solo movie.
The character and movie who got it all started for the MCU way back in 2008, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark / Iron Man is still Marvel Studio's biggest and most bankable character (he has appeared in the most MCU movies of any character: Iron Man 1, 2, 3, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War).
Given that Iron Man's two sequels failed to live up to the quality of the first, many fans have clamored for Marvel Studios to give Downey Jr's beloved genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist a proper send-off. However, given that Iron Man needs to first survive both parts of Avengers: Infinity War, we wouldn't hold our breath for this one.
In Development: Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2
Shot back-to-back down in Atlanta, Marvel Studios decided to film both parts of Avengers: Infinity War consecutively.
While the first part is due out in just a few months (May 4th, 2018), the still-untitled sequel is due out a year later on May 3, 2019. Originally intended to be titled Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2, Marvel Studios decided to shorten the title to Avengers: Infinity War in July of 2016. The culmination of the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Infinity War will finally introduce Thanos to the Avengers.
Taking place four years after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Avengers have been torn apart following the events of Captain America: Civil War. When Thanos arrives on Earth to collect the Infinity Stones, the Avengers must join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop him.
Sounds pretty epic, we know.
In Development: Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel
Back in 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony came to an agreement that would allow Spider-Man -- arguably the most popular Marvel character -- to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The following June, Tom Holland was cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Jon Watts was hired to direct.
After being released during the summer of 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming was a massive success, as it was easily the best Spider-Man movie since 2004's Spider-Man 2. Focusing on Peter Parker's high school life, Spider-Man: Homecoming saw Spidey face off against Adrian Toomes' Vulture for the first time on the big screen.
While not much is known yet about the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, the character is set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War.
The still-untitled sequel is scheduled to be released on July 5th, 2019.
Rumored: Blade
No, not the Wesley Snipe's version. Despite how unlikely it seems, there is a slight chance the Marvel Studios will one day be in the vampire business.
Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios has ushered in this past decade of unprecedented cinematic success, has openly discussed the possibility Blade making an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
“We think it would be cool. Someday. My tenure at Marvel started 17 years ago, and there were two things that sort of launched the modern era. One was X-Men, which was the first thing that people said, ‘Oh, there’s life here.’ But a few years before that, there was Blade. A character nobody had heard of at all, had only appeared in a few issues of Tomb of Dracula or something, turned into a big franchise. I think Blade is a legacy character now. I think it would be fun to do something with him one day.”
In Development: Guardians of Galaxy 3
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. was an excellent movie in its own right, it failed to live up to the standards set by the original movie.
The original Guardians of the Galaxy, possibly benefiting from the element of surprise and low expectations, is arguably the best movie that Marvel has ever made. Essentially a Marvel-version of Star Wars for a new generation, GotG is one of Marvel Studio's most beloved properties right now.
Starring the always-charismatic Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Guardians of the Galaxy expands the MCU is ways that characters like Captain America or Iron Man never could. While the film was originally considered a risk, the series has turned out to be such a success that a third film in the series is currently scheduled for 2019 or 2020.
Rumored: Moon Knight
Long-considered Marvel's response to DC's Batman, a Moon Knight movie would bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe something that it's lacked since it's inception: edge & darkness.
While both of those qualities can be found in Marvel Studio's Netflix television properties (Daredevil, The Punisher), Marvel has largely decided to keep their cinematic outings bright, funny, and family friendly. That said, if 21st Century Fox taught the world anything with the likes of Logan and Deadpool, there is a serious market for adult comic book films.
Although there is nothing substantial in the pipeline in terms of a full-blown Moon Knight movie, there are people attached to Marvel Studio's who are interested, namely, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who says he has pitched the idea to Marvel.
Given the success of the Guardians series under Gunn's watch, we have a feeling he'd hit another home run if he ever got a chance to make a Moon Night movie.
In Development: Doctor Strange 2
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, the Doctor Strange property represented somewhat of a risk for Marvel Studios.
Far more obscure than other established Marvel characters such as Spider-Man or Iron Man, Doctor Strange *could* have been a disaster had it come earlier in the MCU. But because Marvel Studios had turned into a well-oiled machine by the time Doctor Strange rolled around, the movie was just as successful as the rest of them ($677 million box office on a $165 million budget), all but paving way for a sequel.
In Doctor Strange, a post-credits scene, directed by Scott Derrickson, teases Karl Mordo's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) role as the antagonist to Strange in the sequel. With Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, whatever happens in that movie will obviously shape the plot of the eventual Doctor Strange sequel.
Rumored: Captain America 4
While not as popular as Iron Man or recognizable as Spider-Man, Captain America is the heart and soul of the Avengers, and therefore the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.
The de-facto leader of the Avengers, Captain America's Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances trail only Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark/Iron Man. Furthermore, it can be argued that the Captain America series in the strongest of the Marvel Properties, as Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War are two of the universe's best movies.
However, it's our opinion (and many others) that Steve Rogers is one of the more likely characters to pay the ultimate price in Avengers: Infinity War (Chris Evans' Marvel contract has expired), so if there was a fourth Captain America movie, it would likely star someone else as the titular captain.
In Development: Black Panther
The next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and the eighteenth MCU film overall) is Black Panther, which is set to be released on February 16th, 2018.
Black Panther, aka T'Challa, who made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War, looks to be a game changer for Marvel Studios, as it is the first superhero movie to start a predominantly African-American cast.
Taking place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther sees King T’Challa returns home to Wakanda. With a loaded cast that includes Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis, we have a feeling that Black Panther is going to rocket up near the top of fan's favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
Rumored: Inhumans
The place of the Inhumans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a complicated one.
Originally slated as a feature film (with Vin Diesel attached to star), Inhumans eventually came to fruition as an ABC television show. While Inhumans hoped to follow in the footsteps of Marvel's Agents of Shield, the series was universally panned by critics, receiving only a 10% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And not only was it panned by critics, some even thought the show represented a new creative low for the MCU. Yikes.
So where will they go from here? It's unclear. As of this time, there is no word on whether Marvel plans to move forward with the second season of Inhumans. As for the previously planned film, the last we've heard was a 2016 report that Kevin Feige said an Inhumans film would come in phase 4.
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What adored Marvel property do you think Marvel Studios should develop next? Let us know in the comments!