If Avengers: Endgame‘s conclusion left the Marvel fan in you feeling lost and empty, then fear not – because the studio has promised to release eight new movies by the end of 2022.
The latest epic Avengers film was a culmination of the past 22 instalments of the franchise, and this summer Spider-Man: Far From Home is set to round off phase three of the MCU.
Although many fans have done their best to speculate about what exactly might be in store for phase four, in true Marvel fashion we have little to go off in terms of plot points.
But while the details are slim, Disney released a press release yesterday revealing their upcoming schedule, and they’ve clearly got a lot in store when it comes to the world of superheroes.
In among a whole host of other productions, eight slots on the schedule are taken up by movies currently listed as ‘Untitled Marvel films’.
The release dates are May 1, 2020, November 6, 2020, February 12, 2021, May 7, 2021, November 5, 2021, February 18, 2022, May 6, 2022, July 29, 2022.
With a maximum of six months between releases, Marvel fans are certainly going to be kept busy! Plus, it’s important to note that this is a Disney schedule, so any upcoming Sony work, for example any Spider-Man movies following Far From Home, are not in the mix.
According to GameSpot, there are a number of movies currently confirmed for phase four, including a solo Black Widow film, which will likely come in early 2020, as well as Black Panther 2, which will potentially take up one of the February dates if they follow in the footsteps of the first film and release during Black History Month.
Benedict Cumberbatch is set to be back in Doctor Strange 2, and everyone’s favourite hotchpotch team, the Guardians of the Galaxy, will also make a result with Vol. 3.
The recently announced Shang-Chi, the first Asian-led Marvel film, will likely hold one of the later dates, while The Eternals, a feature adaptation of the 1976 creations of Jack Kirby, could take up one of the earlier dates.
Of course, you might have noticed this only adds up to a total of six films, so clearly Marvel still have a couple of productions up their sleeves which are yet to be announced.
In addition to the Marvel news, the schedule also included the release dates of the Avatar sequels, and like buses, it seems you wait ages for Cameron to release a sequel and suddenly four come at once, as not only is Avatar 2 coming in 2021, but we’ll also see Avatar 3 in 2023, Avatar 4 in 2025, and Avatar 5 in 2027.
I think I can speak on behalf of all film fans when I say there’s going to be a good few years ahead!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.