Right now, Marvel has Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the docket for July 31, 2026, followed by Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026. There will then be a full year wait until Avengers: Secret Wars arrives on December 17, 2027. Those are the only three MCU movies with confirmed release dates at the moment, even though many others are in various stages of development.
Marvel might be waiting until after Secret Wars comes out and resets the MCU timeline before fully unveiling what the next five or ten years will look like. But they aren’t sitting idly by. Marvel and Disney have been active in confirming multiple upcoming release dates for untitled MCU movies.
Marvel Studios Has Five Release Dates Claimed Post-Secret Wars
Disney recently added three more release dates for Marvel movies to its calendar for 2028 and 2029. With two other previously announced dates sticking, that leaves us with five days when a new MCU movie is scheduled to come out. They are all after Secret Wars, making the following five dates the first places where the first Phase 7 titles will debut.
- May 5, 2028
- July 25, 2028
- December 15, 2028
- May 4, 2029
- July 13, 2029
It has been Marvel’s standard practice for years to claim release dates well in advance, even if they aren’t 100% sure on which movies will come out on those dates. And after attempting to scale back its output in recent years (one in 2024, two in 2026, and one in 2027), Marvel is ramping back up to three a year in 2028. There’s still room for a third in 2029, too.
But these are just release dates right now with no movies attached to them, making them far less exciting. Rather than wait until Kevin Feige can make a major Marvel Studios presentation at CinemaCon, San Diego Comic-Con, or D23 at some point, we can make some educated guesses and predictions on what movies will come out on these dates.
The X-Men Reboot & Black Panther 3 Are First Up In 2028
Marvel Studios has spent the last few years moving forward with development on its X-Men reboot and Black Panther 3, making them the obvious choices to take the first two 2028 release dates.
The MCU’s first mutant team movie has been in the works officially since 2024, when Marvel hired writer Michael Lesslie to work on the screenplay. The studio then brought Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier aboard to helm the project that will be vital to the MCU’s longevity.
The X-Men reboot was officially in pre-production as of August 2025. Without a confirmed cast, there is no timetable for production to start, but it starting by the end of this year or in early 2027 would give the movie plenty of time to be ready for a May 5, 2028 release. If Phase 7 is the Mutant Saga as long-theorized, X-Men would be a great way to kick it off.
As for Black Panther 3, Oscar-winner Ryan Coogler has been working on the screenplay for the last few years (while also making Sinners). He’s confirmed that it is the next movie he is making. While he hasn’t shed light on the planned filming schedule, cameras might need to wait to start rolling until after Secret Wars, given the likelihood of some overlapping cast members.
Even in that scenario, Black Panther 3 should have no real problem being ready by July 25, 2028. If Marvel would rather keep the summer release date open for another title, they could even put this film in the lucrative December 2028 slot. But either way, it’d be really shocking if Black Panther 3 and X-Men weren’t two of the three 2028 MCU movies.
Fantastic Four 2 Could Finish Up 2028
Coming out almost a year to the date after Secret Wars, the December 15, 2028, slot will look to be a title that can be a major hit, following in the footsteps of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the next two Avengers. There’s a chance that could come with a sequel to The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
This would be Marvel’s chance to reaffirm their importance to the universe’s future. And while First Steps only had a modest (by the MCU’s standards) $520 million box office haul, the sequel will be coming on the heels of them playing major roles in both Avengers. There’s a strong likelihood that Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) will be much more popular characters after that.
Fantastic Four 2 should be a major piece of the Phase 7 puzzle. And while the sequel is not yet officially announced or in development, it’s likely Matt Shackman will return to helm the sequel. That could help it come together quicker and be ready for a late 2028 debut.
Doctor Strange 3 & Shang-Chi 2 Are Lead Contenders For 2029’s Release Dates
Moving onto 2029, we’re in more unpredictable territory. The best bets for these dates are arguably sequels to previous hits, such as making Doctor Strange 3 and Shang-Chi 2.
Rumors about Doctor Strange 3 happening have been around for a while, but nothing substantial has ever emerged. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange should still be a central character to the MCU after the Multiverse Saga wraps up, so giving him another solo outing would make sense. And with May 2029 marking seven years since Multiverse of Madness, it’d be long overdue.
Speaking of overdue sequels, Shang-Chi 2 fits that description, too. The sequel has been in development since 2021, but Destin Daniel Cretton’s focus has been elsewhere: making Wonder Man, developing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and then tackling Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But the sequel is still in development according to everyone involved, so that July 2029 slot would be a good landing spot.
It’d give Cretton almost exactly three years to work on Shang-Chi 2 after Brand New Day came out. That’s a very manageable timeline. And the summer release date could be very fitting if the film’s scope expands to be a mini-Avengers film, one where Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Wonder Man (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and other heroes team up.
Other Possible MCU Movies That Could Come In 2028 Or 2029
Admittedly, the predicted slate is too sequel-heavy. X-Men is the only non-sequel on the board, and even that is a reboot of one of Marvel’s biggest franchises. There’s a strong chance that one of these dates will be occupied by a movie that could be the launching point for a new IP.
Mahershala Ali’s Blade has been in development hell for what seems like forever. A Nova standalone project has been considered for years, too. Marvel could even look at heroes like Captain Britain or Ghost Rider to hold down solo films or promote Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) or X-23 (Dafne Keen) to leads of standalone adventures. Then there’s team-up event films like Midnight Sons or Young Avengers that could come, too.
There are also an assortment of other sequels that could ultimately claim one of these spots. Spider-Man 5, Thor 5, a new Captain Marvel sequel, an Eternals follow-up, Captain America 5, Thunderbolts* 2 The New Avengers, or Ryan Reynolds’ mystery new project are all possibilities to get the greenlight ahead of aforementioned titles.
Since it will likely be a long time before any of these new Marvel Cinematic Universe release dates are officially claimed, theories and speculation over what will land will persist.
- Cast
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Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors