The Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom is about to be more spoiled than ever going into 2021. After 2020 became the first year with no MCU content since 2009, next year will change that in monumental fashion with four new movies and six new shows on Disney+ set to premiere from Marvel Studios.
While 2021 will have new content from the MCU nearly every week of the year thanks to weekly releases for the Disney+ shows, the timeline in 2022 is still fairly uncertain. Release dates are set for Thor: Love and Thunder along with sequels for Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvel, but the timeframe for the MCU's new Disney+ shows is still a mystery.
News has just come clearing up some of this timeline, and it could signal a couple of the biggest years in the MCU's history on the way.
NEWS
According to an official programming sheet from Disney Investor Day 2020, an official timeframe is set for the releases of Marvel Studios' upcoming movies in Phase 4 and possibly Phase 5.
While no specific release dates are confirmed, the meeting summary indicates that Blade will release in between Black Panther II and Captain Marvel 2. This will be directly followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 in 2023, and the MCU's Fantastic Four.
The full "chronological" release order is listed by Disney as follows:
Black Widow: May 7, 2021
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: June 9, 2021
Eternals: November 5, 2021
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: March 25, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder: May 6, 2022
Black Panther II: July 8, 2022
Blade: Undated
Captain Marvel 2: November 11, 2022
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: Undated
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: 2023
Fantastic Four: Undated
WHAT THIS MEANS
Although this in no way confirms what the actual timeline of these movies will be within the MCU storyline, it does give some exciting clarity as to what fans should expect over the next three years. This is as good of an indicator as any that Blade will take the unspecified October 7, 2022 slot for Marvel Studios, and depending which month Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania uses for release, there could potentially be as many as six new Marvel movies releasing in 2022 alone.
Kevin Feige confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 would release in 2023, which makes plenty of sense considering it starts filming in late 2021. The third film in the saga is also scheduled to follow the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special releasing on Disney+ at the end of 2022. James Gunn's next MCU movie will likely be one of Marvel Studios' premiere summer releases alongside the newly announced Fantastic Four movie directed by Jon Watts.
No matter what the specifics turn out to be, Marvel fans are over the moon knowing that the next three years will bring twelve new movies and as many as thirteen new projects on Disney+. This enormous slate kicks off with the Disney+ release of WandaVision on January 15, and the theatrical movies will return with Black Widow on May 7.
