2027 is shaping up to be an all-time year for superhero movies. James Gunn's DC Studios will release the highly anticipated Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, while Marvel Studios brings the Multiverse Saga to an end with Avengers: Secret Wars. Both movies could be fighting an uphill battle, though, because Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has the makings of one of the best comic book projects of all time based on what the trailer has spoiled about its plot.

Earlier this year, CinemaCon attendees were afforded the oppurtunity to watch the first trailer for Beyond the Spider-Verse. Of course, the footage focuses on Miles Morales, the young hero who ended up in way over his head at the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. But he's not the only character in the movie.

Various Spider-People will make their presence felt, including Miguel O'Hara, Gwen Stacy, and Peter B. Parker, Miles' mentor from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. They are going to come together for a knockdown, drag-out fight against The Spot, whose threat looms large in the trailer. And that's not all; the first look at the film also hints at plenty of other developments sure to shake the Spider-Verse to its core.

VisionQuest introduced James Spader's Ultron and Todd Stashwick's Paladin as the show's major antagonists right from Episode 1. However, as the story of the third installment of the WandaVision trilogy progressed, a larger villain was revealed to be lurking in the shadows. Paladin viciously chased after Paul Bettany's Vision from his first appearance on screen, and the mercenary was hired by this mysterious figure. The series' latest episodes have finally given viewers their first look at the villain, sparking a plethora of theories in the Marvel community. 

Marvel released Episodes 5 and 6 of VisionQuest together, as it has done since the series premiered on October 13 with a dual release. The new installments, "Firewall" and "Deadlock," brought the man who hired Paladin out of the shadows. Well, sort of. The figure appeared on screen as a walking silhouette, a man in a suit and a fedora, but unfortunately his face is completely hidden, with Marvel saving the big reveal for later episodes. 

Steve Rogers and Thor are getting plenty of attention ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday. They're both original Avengers, after all, meaning they've saved the universe their fair share of times. But those two aren't Earth's only mighty heroes. The New Avengers have been keeping the public safe in their absence. And Yelena Belova, the leader of the motley crew, is filling in her sister's shoes nicely, even adopting her own Black Widow logo ahead of Doomsday.

The Doomsday marketing machine isn't slowing down. New teasers continue to drop that reveal new moments from the highly anticipated film. However, just as much can be gleaned from merchandise as from footage. A fresh batch of promotional art for Doomsday features great looks at many of the movie's characters, including Doctor Doom, Captain America, and Gambit (via Marvel Updates on X). Each features a graphic that connects to the character, such as a playing card behind Gambit and stars and stripes behind Cap.

LEGO just announced a collaboration with Marvel for a new set coming in 2027 that will make not only Marvel history, but LEGO history as well. LEGO and Marvel have had a lengthy and profitable relationship throughout the years. The two companies often work together to bring LEGO sets to life from MCU films, TV shows, and more.

LEGO and Marvel recently confirmed that a new LEGO Marvel set titled "Marvel What if...? Doctor Strange Supreme" will be released on January 1, 2027. This is not surprising, as Strange Supreme was an extremely popular character in the What If...? Disney+ series. However, it doesn't look as though it is solely based on What If...?, which is a pretty big deal.

A Guardians of the Galaxy actor sparked fresh speculation about a possible MCU return after fans noticed a cryptic tease in one of her social media posts potentially tied to Avengers: Doomsday. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 served as the emotional swan song for the titular team that first hit screens in 2014 under the direction of then-MCU director James Gunn. The 2023 movie gave the Guardians a proper and bittersweet farewell, closing out their main trilogy with high stakes, heartfelt character resolutions, and a clear sense of finality for most of the core group. Chris Pratt's Peter Quill returned to Earth, Drax and Nebula remained on Knowhere to rebuild the community, Gamora stayed with the Ravagers, and Rocket became the new leader of a fresh iteration of the Guardians. 

Among those goodbyes was Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff. After joining the team in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and appearing in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Mantis exited the MCU at the end of Vol. 3 to explore the galaxy on her own. The character's departure left her future in the MCU deliberately open-ended, but a new social media post has sparked speculation about a return. 

In a recent Instagram post, Pom Klementieff shared a photo of a mantis on slide 12 of 18 in a carousel, which alludes to the U.S. release date of Avengers: Doomsday, prompting fans to speculate that she might be teasing a return as Mantis in the MCU's 2026 crossover event. 

Matt Reeves' journey with his The Batman universe began in 2017, when he was brought on board to direct the Caped Crusader film that was originally a Ben Affleck project. His vision came to life in March 2022 after overcoming several hurdles, including COVID-19, which threatened to keep the film from seeing the light of day. Since then, The Batman has been Reeves' brainchild, with the filmmaker overseeing the film and its sequel, which finally began shooting in June of this year. However, an unforeseen change has now interrupted that run in the sequel's final weeks, marking an end of an era.

The Batman Part II hit a major roadblock on October 5, when Warner Bros. announced that Matt Reeves had to step away to attend to a family matter, with filming paused in London. "Production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter," the studio said. "Matt has the full support of DC Studios, and we look forward to continuing the journey soon." A new filmmaker is now taking Reeves' place on set. With production resuming this week, Steven Soderbergh is in the director's chair to finish the shoot. The move marks the first time anyone other than Reeves has directed Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight, closing a defining chapter for the franchise. 

Disney+'s VisionQuest Episode 5 put the spotlight on T'Nia Miller's Jocasta and James Spader's Ultron, unveiling a very different dynamic from the comics. Marvel Studios already rewrote Jocasta's origins in a major way in VisionQuest Episode 4, revealing that she is inspired by the late Dr. Josephine Carrington, a key figure in crafting the MCU's famous AI icons. The change alters both what Avengers: Age of Ultron teased about Jocasta and what fans know about the character in the comics, where she was much more entangled with Ultron.

In Marvel Comics, Ultron created Jocasta as his mate and bride, programming her to be loyal to him, which she later overcame and joined the Avengers. Notably, just as Ultron in the comics is based on his creator Hank Pym's own brainwaves, the Bride of Ultron comes from Pym's wife, Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is standing by a polarizing Avengers: Secret Wars release decision, and his reasoning is a direct result of the past five years. As it stands, the studio's theatrical slate to close out the Multiverse Saga is just two movies: Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Releasing in back-to-back Decembers starting this year, the two crossover blockbusters will tie a bow on the saga that began back in 2021. That said, Feige changed up his game plan from past Avengers films in a big way, and fans will begin to learn if the new strategy worked out when Doomsday hits theaters in two months.

With X-Men, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther III all slated for Phase 7 in 2028, Empire pointed out that there won't be a single MCU movie between Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. 

That makes the December 2027 crossover the MCU's only movie next year. Feige broke down the reasoning behind it when the outlet caught up with him after Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con back in July.

A new leak has LEGO swinging big for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, with a massive 1,068-piece set that works out to a meager $0.08 a brick. The big-swing animated movie closes out Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Verse trilogy in 2027, riding the Spidey high as the next Spider-Man movie after the live-action Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It will most likely go down as the most profitable movie in the animated studio's history, and not just at the box office. Merchandise and toys count too, like LEGO sets that are bound to fly off the shelves.

Instagram user @unibricks recently leaked details on two new Beyond the Spider-Verse LEGO sets, both now expected to release in April 2027, about two months before the movie hits theaters.

The main point of interest here is set 67015, the "Spider-Punk Statue," a buildable figure of Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk (voiced by Daniel Kaluuya in the movies). 

Marvel Studios takes spoilers very seriously. A major part of the Avengers: Endgame marketing campaign was pleading with fans not to ruin the experience for those who couldn't rush out to theaters on opening weekend to see the conclusion of the Infinity Saga. Avengers: Doomsday hasn't followed in its predecessors' footsteps. However, it probably should take the potential for spoilers more seriously because they'll take over the internet well before many die-hard fans get a chance to see the movie.

Disney, Marvel Studios' parent company, confirmed that Doomsday hit theaters in the United Kingdom on December 16, two days before its domestic release. Plenty of American fans probably have tickets for preview night on December 17. But that's still a full day after UK audiences get to witness the epic battle between Doctor Doom and Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

While it might seem like the UK is getting preferential treatment, this situation isn't anything new. Both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame traveled across the pond early. And social media platforms didn't become a spoiler zone any more than they already were. Fans should be far more worried about the Doomsday spoilers already out there, since they threaten to ruin what will surely be an epic event. 

The MCU's Mutant Saga release calendar is finally filling up, as eight movies and shows are already expected to make up Phase 7. Marvel Studios is in the final stages of Phase 6 and the Multiverse Saga, with Avengers: Doomsday coming in December and Secret Wars wrapping up the 7-year-long saga in December 2027. After that, the MCU will launch its next three-phase saga in 2028, as Phase 7 kicks off what is widely rumored and theorized to be the Mutant Saga, finally bringing the X-Men and other X-gene-infused heroes and villains to Earth-616.

From the introduction of the rebooted X-Men to the next step toward the MCU's Midnight Sons, these are the eight projects officially on the Phase 7 calendar...

All 8 Movies & Shows Confirmed to Join Marvel Studios' Phase 7

Avengers: Doomsday will officially give birth to a more unified version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes just in time for the impending arrival of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Marketing for Doomsday has emphasized a looming Multiversal collision among three distinct universes, with Doom unleashing his evil plans across all realities. The Fantastic Four from Earth-828 and the X-Men from another universe are the two teams already confirmed for that equation. On Earth-616, however, the status quo remains unsettled due to the complicated ending of Thunderbolts*, which introduced the New Avengers to the general public.  The movie's post-credits scene established Yelena Belova's team as the New Avengers occupying the Watchtower (formerly the Avengers Tower), directly clashing with Sam Wilson's efforts to rebuild the original Avengers name and roster after Captain America: Brave New World. 

This situation left Earth-616 with competing claims on the title of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, leaving everyone confused about which teams to acknowledge. This is on top of Wakanda's independent power and complicated alliance with Namor and his underwater kingdom of Talokan. 

Marvel Studios confirmed what lies ahead for Earth-616's Avengers by reinforcing the need to merge these three major MCU teams into one. The most recent "3 Teams Will Stand As One" promo revealed that the Avengers will combine all Earth-616 teams into a single team. This means that Sam Wilson's Avengers, Yelena's New Avengers, and Shuri and Namor's Wakandan-Talokan alliance will operate as a single unit. 

Marvel Studios is emphasizing that the stakes in Avengers: Doomsday are higher than ever before. The MCU's heroes are fighting an uphill battle as the multiverse falls apart around them. However, as much as the powers that be would like everyone to believe the end of everything is near, the sun will shine on the franchise again. In fact, another Disney+ series is already on the horizon, though its release date has been pushed back from its original schedule.

Back at New York Comic-Con 2025, Marvel Studios was excited to tease its upcoming slate of animated projects. X-Men '97 led the way, revealing that its highly anticipated second season would release in summer 2026. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 was next, with the series set to follow its mutant colleague in fall 2026.

While X-Men '97's sophomore outing was a show of its word, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which follows the Wall-Crawler in his younger years, didn't hold up its end of the bargain. The show has been delayed until January 2026, a month after Doomsday's release.

Marvel Studios has cast its next major supervillain after Doctor Doom, and the actor comes from the Star Wars franchise. This marks the sixth time the MCU has handed a Star Wars alum a major antagonist. The galaxy far, far away attracted some of the most talented movie stars in Hollywood over the years, so it is no surprise the MCU picks from that talent pool. Many of the Star Wars actors Marvel has cast, including its latest, have played the most compelling villains that franchise has to offer.

Adam Driver was unveiled as Mister Sinister, the villain of Marvel's X-Men reboot at Disney's D23 Expo on August 14. Appearing via a surprise video message, Driver introduced his character as Nathaniel Milbury, the longtime civilian alias of Nathaniel Essex, better known to comic readers as Mister Sinister. He even trolled the rumor mill first, announcing he was "very excited to be playing the role of Maaagneto" before correcting himself. 

A brand-new MCU theory claimed that James Spader's Ultron had a hidden role in Avengers: Infinity War, and it made sense after VisionQuest's revelation about the Phase 2 villain. The 2026 Paul Bettany-led series established that Vision did not fully destroy Ultron at the end of 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron; instead, Vision preserved Ultron's code and trapped it inside his own systems. Episode 1 revealed that Vision kept Ultron's backup locked away, describing it as a kind of mental prison in his internal Mindspace. This same code later carried over into White Vision after Wanda's Hex Vision transferred his memories to SWORD's creation at the end of WandaVision. 

VisionQuest Episode 4, "Malware," featured the much-awaited clash between Vision and Jocasta. The confrontation took place at a charity gala hosted by Katerina Wells, the last surviving member of the Markridge Biotech AI research team. Jocasta (aka the Butcherbird killer) had been collecting biometric keys from her former colleagues as part of a revenge plan that has yet to be explored in the series. Vision, still weakened and recovering, tried to stop Jocasta, but he was clearly outmatched, as Jocasta was faster and stronger than he was (because she had nothing to lose). 

The start of Marvel Studios' Mutant Saga is right around the corner. An X-Men film already in the works shows how serious Kevin Feige and Co. are about making a good impression with the titular team. But the powers that be have to ensure they do things differently from their predecessors at Fox, who glossed over an important part of the X-Men's comic book history. Chris Pratt's Star-Lord could give the MCU's mutant team a leg up if Marvel Studios plays its cards right with his impending return to the big screen.

Of course, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 concluded with the lovable misfits going their separate ways. While his friends stayed in space, where they've lived their whole lives, Peter Quill returned home to Missouri to reunite with his grandfather. However, Vol. 3's credits featured a title card that teased the character's return. All has been quiet on the Star-Lord front since, but Pratt confirms that galactic irons are in the fire.

Paul Rudd's Ant-Man just gave Avengers: Doomsday's three Captain Americas an official team name no one saw coming. The December 18 blockbuster is the first MCU film to feature three characters who have served as Captain America. Addressing them becomes a bit of a hurdle when all three are in the same room, since each instinctively assumes he is the one being referenced when the Captain America title comes up. Scott Lang has come up with a hilarious solution that groups them into one team. 

Marvel Studios released a new Avengers: Doomsday TV spot showing the movie's major teams, the New Avengers, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, in the Watchtower, the former Avengers Tower, as they prepare for battle against Doom and his forces. It wouldn't be an Avengers film without trademark MCU humor, especially with Paul Rudd's Ant-Man in the building. 

Based on new footage released from Avengers: Doomsday, it seems that Chris Evans' Steve Rogers was intentionally removed from one specific shot in the movie's original trailer. Avengers: Doomsday is already tracking to be one of the biggest films ever released. While it will highlight a lot of Marvel superheroes who were introduced more recently, the upcoming team-up flick will also feature legacy heroes and actors, such as Steve Rogers, who was seemingly written out of the MCU in Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel Studios recently released a brand-new look at Avengers: Doomsday (as shared via YouTube) ahead of its December 18 release date. The 30-second special spot provided some reused shots from other trailers and marketing, while also including a couple of new clips, one of which proved that Steve Rogers was edited out of an important shot that was showcased in a previous trailer.

Specifically, at the 16-second mark of the most recent clip, Ant-Man refers to Steve as "Cap." Steve then gives Ant-Man (aka Scott Lang) a bit of a worried look, as he is no longer acting as Captain America. In that particular shot of Steve, it is clear he is standing beside the Fantastic Four's Ben Grimm. Ben's clothed shoulder and part of his upper arm can be seen on the left side of the frame. 

Marvel Studios officially has a plan to clean up the mess Secret Invasion left behind, and it's putting the pressure on a brand-new Disney+ show. The 2023 spy thriller is remembered by many fans as not only the worst MCU Disney+ series, but the worst project the studio has ever touched. With that, of course, a Season 2 will never come, nor will there likely ever be any closure for the overpowered Super Skrull G'iah (Emilia Clarke). Luckily, it appears the espionage genre will get a second chance over at Marvel Television, with a new series just announced at New York Comic-Con (NYCC) 2026.

Marvel Television made things official during its NYCC panel, unveiling the first logo for Zodiac, a live-action global spy thriller coming to Disney+ in 2028. Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum didn't hang out too many details on stage, but he did tease that there's "a lot hidden" in that logo:

"If you're a fan of the comics, there's a lot hidden in that logo."

Avengers: Doomsday's New York Comic-Con booth hinted at Doctor Doom's past encounters with characters like Thanos and Ultron. Back when Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror was introduced in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the MCU made it clear that he had faced Variants of familiar Avengers before, and it seems his villainous replacement may be in the same boat.

Marvel Studios continued the countdown to Doomsday at October's New York Comic-Con with a special interactive Doctor Doom booth that recreates the supervillain's trophy room, filled with artifacts from the Marvel universe. These items' place in Doom's collection points to his history with eight major heroes and villains, who he may have defeated before Avengers 5's events...

Marvel Studios Officially Teases Doctor Doom's History With 8 Supervillains