Predicting Marvel's Phase 4 Movie Release Schedule
Everything we know about Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and more.
We’re living in a post-Avengers: Endgame world and Spider-Man: Far From Home will officially mark the end of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That leaves us to look forward to the future and what lies beyond the Infinity Saga in Phase 4. While Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige hasn’t revealed any official details yet -- though that will certainly change during Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019! -- we actually have a fairly clear idea of what the upcoming movie slate will look like thanks to various film industry reports regarding shooting, casting and such.
Here’s everything we’re going to cover about Marvel Phase 4.
- Marvel Phase 4 Movie Release Dates
- Black Widow Prequel
- The Eternals
- Shang-Chi
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
- Doctor Strange 2
- Black Panther 2
- Spider-Man 3
- Captain Marvel 2
- X-Men and Fantastic Four
Marvel Phase 4 Movie Release Dates
As is typical for big studios, Marvel has already claimed several release dates on the calendar for upcoming movies. But Marvel prefers to keep things secret, so there are no titles attached to these dates. Eight dates have been revealed in total, with two Marvel movies hitting in 2020 and then three in both 2021 and 2022.Here are all of the known dates:
- May 1, 2020
- November 6, 2020
- February 12, 2021
- May 7, 2021
- November 5, 2021
- February 18, 2022
- May 6, 2022
- July 29, 2022
Black Widow Prequel
The movie slated for May 1, 2020 could be a Black Widow solo movie because it has already begun shooting in Norway.Natasha Romanoff died in Avengers Endgame, so it won’t surprise you to hear Black Widow's movie is reportedly a prequel set in the early 2000s before the character’s debut in Iron Man 2.
The Black Widow movie is being directed by Cate Shortland.
The cast is shrouded in mystery but we know a few details.
The film may feature Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, or Dar Zuzovsky as the co-lead, playing a spy on the same level as Black Widow who is her moral opposite.
The villain is unknown but Moonlight’s Andre Holland reportedly auditioned for the role.
Stranger Things actor David Harbour has reportedly been cast but his role has yet to be revealed.
The Eternals
Given that several actors have been recently cast for The Eternals, it’s possible that the ensemble flick will take the November 6, 2020 release date.In the comics created by Jack Kirby, the Eternals are super-powered beings who have lived in secret on Earth for thousands of years and were thought to be gods by many cultures throughout time.
Reports of several cast members include Angelina Jolie as Sersi, and Keanu Reeves, Kumail Nanjiani and Richard Madden in undisclosed roles, although speculation points to Madden playing lead Eternal Ikaris.
Though we’ve heard no word on the villain, it’ll presumably be Kro and his fellow Deviants, who are a race of monstrous devil-like creatures who oppose the Eternals.
Shang-Chi
From here, it gets a little tougher to pin certain movies to certain dates, but Marvel’s Shang-Chi movie, featuring the superhero martial arts master, may claim one of the 2021 dates.A recent Shang-Chi casting report said both Power Rangers’ Ludi Lin and 13 Reasons Why’s Ross Butler have made Feige’s short-list to compete for the lead role. Martial arts legend Donnie Yen, who many know from the IP Man film series and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is reportedly being courted by Marvel for an undisclosed role.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
The plans for the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie went off the rails when James Gunn was fired by Marvel for a series of offensive tweets he made years prior. Gunn was eventually rehired by Marvel after the controversy cooled down, but in the meantime he signed on to make DC’s The Suicide Squad reboot, so he needs to finish that before starting work on Guardians 3. The Suicide Squad is scheduled to hit theaters August 6, 2021, so we imagine Guardians 3 wouldn’t come out until 2022 or even 2023.The cast will presumably return with the same familiar faces, although the events of Infinity War and Endgame obviously left us with Peter Quill wondering what happened to the time-displaced Gamora and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor joining the team.
We don’t know the villain of Guardians 3, but given how the stinger to Guardians 2 teased Adam Warlock’s cocoon, the going theory is that he will show his golden face as the antagonist.
Doctor Strange 2
Feige has already said that a Doctor Strange sequel is happening, so now the question is when? After making a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok and playing a key role in Avengers: Infinity War his popularity has been leveled up quite a bit since his solo outing, so getting out a Doctor Strange sequel may be a priority for Marvel. One of the 2021 slots may very well belong to the good doctor.While no casting has been officially revealed, we assume Benedict Cumberbatch will return in the title role as Doctor Stephen Strange and for Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor to return as Wong and Mordo, respectively. There was also a Doctor Strange sequel rumor that it would take place at least partially in the 1980s and would see the return of Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One in addition to the MCU debuts of Doctor Strange love interest/fellow sorcerer Clea and Jericho Drumm aka the supernatural hero Doctor Voodoo.
Director Scott Derrickson, who is reportedly going to return for the sequel, told IGN he was interested in featuring the Doctor Strange villain Nightmare and exploring the Nightmare Realm.
Black Panther 2
Precious little is known about Black Panther 2 except that director Ryan Coogler is returning to write and direct the sequel. This film could claim one of the 2021 release dates but seeing it on the schedule for 2022 wouldn’t be a surprise.Spider-Man 3
Tom Holland is contracted for six appearances as Spider-Man -- three solo movies and three roles in other films -- so after having appeared in two solo movies, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame, that means he still has the third solo movie in the new Spidey trilogy on his plate. Two years will have passed between the release of 2017’s Homecoming and 2019’s Far From Home, and both released in the summer, so if Marvel and Sony keep up that pace, we can expect Spider-Man 3 to take one of the 2021 release dates, perhaps the one closest to summer on May 7.There are no plot or villain details as of yet, but given that several Spidey villains have been introduced -- Vulture, Scorpion, Shocker, and the upcoming Mysterio -- they may be setting up the big-screen formation of the Sinister Six.
Captain Marvel 2
There have been no reports about Marvel starting to work on Captain Marvel 2, but given how, leading up to Captain Marvel’s release, Feige said Carol Davners would lead the MCU, and the movie made $1.128 billion at the global box office, it’s safe to say a sequel will eventually happen.The going fan theory on the Captain Marvel 2 villain is Veranke. Though the little Skrull daughter of Talos was never named, Marvel comic readers believe she will grow up to be Queen Veranke, the Skrull ruler who secretly leads an invades Earth in an attempt to conquer the planet, as seen in the comic Secret Invasion.
What About X-Men and Fantastic Four?
Even though the Fox/Disney deal means that Marvel can now introduce the X-Men and the Fantastic Four to the MCU, Feige has said it’ll be years before we start seeing those movies. Feige has obviously been planning Phase 4 for a while now, so it may be difficult for Marvel to shift gears to incorporate these two superhero properties. That said, Feige did find a way to put Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War at the last second after making a deal with Sony to share the character, so who’s to say he wouldn’t change his plans again to make room for the Children of the Atom and Marvel’s First Family?What's your dream Phase 4 release lineup? Let us know in the comments.
Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
