One staple of the MCU's run from the last five years will not be a part of the Disney-distributed 2026 Marvel Studios movie and TV slate. Marvel Studios has yet another big year of releases planned, continuing to add new content to the superhero genre as it celebrates the MCU's 18th year on screen. However, a trend the MCU has typically celebrated will end during this time under the Disney umbrella.
Disney & Marvel Studios' finalized 2026 release slate has confirmed that this year will mark the first time in several years in which the studios will not release a female-led MCU movie or TV show. 2020, a year in which zero Marvel Studios projects were released due to the pandemic, was the last calendar year in which this occurred. In the year prior, Disney released Marvel Studios' first-ever female-led project, 2019's Captain Marvel. Set in the 1990s, this film showed Brie Larson's Carol Danvers' early days as a Kree warrior before returning to Earth and learning of her origins as a fighter pilot.
2021 started off strong for female-led projects, as Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff was the central character in WandaVision on Disney+. Scarlett Johansson then played Natasha Romanoff for the final time in the MCU's second female-led movie, Black Widow, which was the first film of Phase 4. Additionally, Marvel released Hawkeye on Disney+ at the end of the year, which featured Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop as a co-lead alongside Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton.
In 2022, Marvel delivered two female-led Disney+ projects in succession on Disney+: Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel and Tatiana Maslany's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The year then concluded in theaters with Letitia Wright taking a leading role as Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Only one female-led project was added to Marvel Studios' broader timeline in 2023, as director Nia DaCosta brought The Marvels to theaters. This movie brought together Brie Larson's Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan to form a trio of female heroes, following up on the MCU's first female-led movie, Captain Marvel.
2024 then started and ended with female-led projects on Disney+. The first of which was Alaqua Cox's Echo, spinning off from Hawkeye and taking Maya Lopez back to her roots before reuniting her with Wilson Fisk. For spooky season, Kathryn Hahn returned to the MCU as Agatha Harkness in Agatha All Along, as she went on a mission along the Witches' Road with multiple other witches.
Finally, in 2025, Marvel Studios released Ironheart on Disney+, which followed up on Black Panther 2's Riri Williams, who developed her Iron-Man-esque technology to close out Phase 5. One could also call Thunderbolts* a female-led MCU movie, as Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova was the story's central character amidst a large team of antiheroes.
Marvel Studios has eight new movies and Disney+ shows set for release in 2026. On Disney+, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Wonder Man was released in January, and Charlie Cox's Daredevil: Born Again is fast approaching its March 24 release date. Also coming later this year are Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 (Hudson Thames), the Punisher Special Presentation (Jon Bernthal), VisionQuest (Paul Bettany), and X-Men '97 Season 2.
In theaters, Tom Holland will lead the efforts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day as Peter Parker when the film is released on July 31. After that, Robert Downey Jr. takes on leading-man duties as Victor von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, leading a massive cast of heroes when the film hits theaters on December 18.
When Will Marvel Deliver More Female-Led Projects?
While many new MCU projects are confirmed for release this year, the only entry on Marvel Studios' 2027 schedule is Avengers: Secret Wars, which is expected to be the biggest superhero movie in history. Downey is once again expected to lead that movie, although it should feature some powerful female characters in its supporting cast.
After that, Marvel is in the early stages of planning a massive slate of projects for Phase 7 and beyond, which will constitute the franchise's third saga after the Infinity Saga and Multiverse Saga. That slate is currently expected to begin with Black Panther 3, which will likely feature Wright in a leading role as Shuri once again (even with rumors of a new T'Challa being cast).
On Disney+, Marvel is rumored to be developing a team-up project for the Young Avengers, finally uniting a group that has been building for the last few years. Vellani and Steinfeld are expected to be that team's leaders, which could make this project another female-led entry in the MCU's streaming slate.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
