For the longest time, we’ve come to expect at least two films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) per year. But in 2017, the studio delighted casual moviegoers and devout True Believers everywhere by upping the count to three. At first, I admittedly feared this may contribute to superhero fatigue, but it seems like the momentum has done nothing but increase.
Unless something changes though, we’re going back down to two for at least one calendar year, as 2020 is supposedly home to only Black Widow and The Eternals. But believe it or not, Kevin Feige and company may make it up to us, as four Marvel flicks could drop in 2021.
As of the time of this writing, Disney has the following three dates set aside for 2021:
- February 12
- May 7
- November 5
Right now, it’s not as easy to pinpoint which movie will be assigned to which date as some may think. In the midst of expected sequels such as Black Panther 2, Doctor Strange 2 and Captain Marvel 2, a new franchise in the form of Shang-Chi is expected to be launched. In my view, Shang-Chi is tailor-made for February or November, as a proven billion dollar baby like Black Panther or Captain Marvel is better suited for the coveted May slot.
Doctor Strange 2, meanwhile, was respectably successful in its own right but would be more at home in November where it’s already made a name for itself. Just don’t expect Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 so soon because James Gunn must first deal with The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. – and that drops on August 6th, 2021.
By now, you’re probably wondering about the fourth possible variable in the equation, and that’s where the Spider-Man wildcard comes into play. Reports have already circulated saying that a threequel could storm cinemas as soon as 2021, which is entirely believable. But since the Peter Parker ball is technically in Sony’s court, it’s up to them to set the date. And if history were to yet again repeat itself, they’ll probably settle on a weekend in July.
In any case, with Marvel Studios set to return to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con next month, we should be able to put most MCU speculation to bed before long. If not, there’s always the D23 Expo in August.