Marvel's Disney+ Shows: New 2021 Release Dates & MCU Plot Details Announced

Over the past few years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to reinvent the movie industry in exciting ways, ultimately leading to the dominant and successful performance of Avengers: Endgame last year at the box-office. As the monumental franchise enters a new chapter, Marvel Studios will look to redefine the MCU like never before by telling more stories on the small screen through Disney+. 

Originally, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to be the first-ever MCU series to debut on Disney+, but the pandemic derailed that plan. On top of that, the entire Phase 4 slate was also affected by the health crisis, forcing Marvel Studios to take a step back and reassess the whole release situation. 

As a result, for the first time since 2009, no new MCU projects will be released this year. This development means that 2021 will be a big year for the MCU, and WandaVision will kick off things on the Disney+ side of things on January 15, 2021. However, after that, not much is known about the release dates of other MCU shows on Disney+. 

And now, a piece of good news has arrived during the much-anticipated Disney Investor Day. 

CONFIRMATION

Marvel Studios officially revealed the updated release schedule of several MCU shows on Disney+.

As was previously announced, WandaVision was confirmed to release on January 15, 2021. A new trailer for the series debuted.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will now be released on March 19, 2021.

Loki will be released this May 2021. 

What If will premiere in the Summer of 2021. 

Ms. Marvel will arrive on Disney+ in late 2021.

The Jeremy Renner-led Hawkeye series will premiere on Disney+ in late 2021. 

Marvel Studios CCO confirmed that Tatiana Maslany will star as Jennifer Walters in She-Hulk, and the show will also feature the return of Tim Roth's Abomination and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. The series has no official release window.

On top of that, Moon Knight was also confirmed to explore Marc Spector's mental health issues, but no release date was announced. 

After 2019's Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn will reunite in Secret Invasion. No release window is set yet.

Dominique Thorn will officially star in her own undated MCU spinoff show entitled Ironheart. 

Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes for Armor Wars, and it will be exclusively released on Disney+ on an unspecified future date. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy is back, but with a twist. The team will reunite in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special directed by James Gunn. The original special will be released on Disney+ in Holiday 2022. 

Last but not least, the fan-favorite Baby Groot will star in a series of short films on Disney+ "featuring several new and unusual characters." It's unclear when the series will release.

WHAT THIS MEANS

As evidenced by this reveal, fans will no doubt be spoiled by MCU content in the coming years. It looks like the Disney+ shows have already outnumbered the MCU films, seemingly confirming that the long-form approach of storytelling will be pushed to the forefront in Phase 4. 

Based on the list of the confirmed Disney+ shows, it essentially expands the MCU even further, since more stories will be told from various perspectives unlike the central approach of the films set within the Infinity Saga. This provides an opportunity for other characters to shine and be fleshed out even more, ultimately adding more hype to their eventual big-screen debut down the road.  

All in all, Phase 4 is shaping up to be a promising new chapter for the MCU, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds in the next few years.