The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have suffered a major setback due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the entire slate of Phase Four movies and TV shows being delayed, but once the ball starts rolling, the franchise’s quest for world domination shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, with the MCU set to expand onto Disney Plus thanks to an eclectic roster of small screen exclusives, fans are going to have more superhero content than ever.
If that wasn’t enough, Sony are also launching a shared universe, with the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters recently announcing two major blockbusters that certainly make it look as though leasing out the rights to Spider-Man isn’t going to stop them from building an interconnected comic book mythology of their own.
In fact, between the MCU and the SPUoMC, there are no less than 24 movies and TV shows in various stages of development, but at this point, less than half of them even have official release dates. First out of the gate will be Black Widow in November and WandaVision the month after, which ends the longest wait between new installments in a decade, and from there the blockbusters just keep on coming.
2021 sees Marvel release The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man 3 into theaters, while Loki and What If…? head straight to streaming, and Sony finally gets around to unveiling Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius.
The following year the MCU launches Thor: Love and Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Captain Marvel 2 and Black Panther II in what is shaping up to be a banner year for the franchise, especially with Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk all expected to hit Disney Plus by the end of December.
Sony don’t have any comic book adaptations penciled in for 2022 just yet, but J.C. Chandor recently entered talks to direct Kraven the Hunter and Olivia Wilde has reportedly signed on for Spider-Woman, so one or both of those projects could potentially be locked and ready to go before the year is out.
Finally, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is still to have a new release date announced, while Ant-Man 3, Blade, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool 3 are all in the works, too. Based on the sheer volume of content heading our way in the next couple of years, Marvel‘s boom period looks set to continue for a while longer.
