You could say the <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g13441903/all-marvel-cinematic-universe-movies-ranked/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Marvel Cinematic Universe is back, but really, it never left. In 2026, the MCU will unleash not one, but two big blockbusters that might shake up the formerly powerful superhero franchise. But what happens after that?
In 2024, Marvel Studios went back on its plans to release Avengers: The Kang Dynasty as the next Avengers sequel in favor of a new one: Avengers: Doomsday. Gone was Jonathan Majors, with the actor’s legal issues and assault allegations making him too radioactive to keep on as Kang the Conqueror. Back was Robert Downey Jr., whose imminent return—not as Tony Stark, but as Doctor Doom—poses far more questions than clear answers.
It feels like the end again for Marvel, as a dozen different superheroes must once again team up to stop a common enemy who threatens the world. But Doomsday is far from the end. “Phase Six” of the MCU has only just begun, with last year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps as the official kickoff, and still more to come from the ever-expanding universe.
Can Marvel rule theaters like it did before? Or have audiences really lost their taste for superheroes and their never-ending battles to save the world? We’ll find out soon enough when Avengers: Doomsday rumbles into cinemas later this year. For now, here’s all the upcoming Marvel releases (that we know about) through 2028.
VisionQuest
Streaming on Disney+ on October 14, 2026
At the end of WandaVisionback in 2021, a new version of Paul Bettany’s Vision, shaded in ghostly white, debuted in the MCU. What’s he up to now? We’ll find out in VisionQuest, a new series that acts as a spiritual sequel to WandaVision. Bettany will return as Vision, who suffers from memory problems while being hunted by a bounty hunter, Paladin, played by Todd Stashwick. James Spader will also return as Ultron from the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Avengers: Doomsday
Robert Downey Jr. rocked the socks off San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 when he announced his MCU return as the one and only Doctor Doom. “New mask, same task,” he said at the time. While the full cast list and trailers for Doomsday have been released, the actual plot is actually kind of a mystery even now. (You know, beyond the obvious hook of superheroes teaming up to fight Doctor Doom.) Even the official synopsis released by Disney at CinemaCon 2026 keeps things opaque:
In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
The only interesting detail is confirmation of what we already knew: The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men—from the once-separate 20th Century Fox franchise—will all unite for this one epic extravaganza. Deadpool may also participate, if Ryan Reynolds‘s “surprise” appearance at Comic-Con is any indication.
Originally scheduled for release in May 2026, Marvel Studios took a page out of Lucasfilm’s playbook and delayed the movie to December 18, 2026, which marks the first time an Avengers movie opens in winter instead of the late spring/early summer. Expect to go toy shopping for your nieces and nephews this upcoming holiday.
Daredevil: Born Again
Streaming on Disney+ in March 2027
It’s a Defenders reunion! Daredevil: Born Again, the sequel series to the original Netflix series, will return for a third season that finally ropes in the rest of the street-level vigilantes. The show will pick up where season 2 left off, with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) serving time in prison for his actions as Daredevil while Wilson Fisk is in exile. Joining the series will be Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones (who already appeared in season 2), Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Danny Rand, as well as Élodie Yung reprising her role of Elektra.
Avengers: Secret Wars
We barely know anything important about Avengers: Doomsday. You can imagine how much we don’t know about Avengers: Secret Wars. All we know is that the movie will open in theaters one year after Avengers: Doomsday. And if the plot follows the comics in any way, the Avengers might finally put all this multiverse drama to rest.
Black Panther III
All hail the king. At San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige and Oscar-winning director Ryan Coogler formally announced production of Black Panther III, with a new up-and-coming star set to take over as the new Black Panther: David Jonsson, star of HBO’s Industry and the acclaimed drama The Long Walk. Plot details were not disclosed.
At Comic-Con, Coogler introduced Jonsson as the grown-up T’Challa Jr., who was first introduced at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever(played by child actor Divine Love Konadu-Sun). While it’s unclear how T’Challa Jr. will age so fast from Wakanda Forever to Black Panther III, you can imagine that the multiverse shenanigans set for Doomsday and Secret Warsmay have something to do with that.
This isn’t the first time there have been whispers of Black Panther III. In November 2024, Denzel Washington revealed that Coogler was writing a part for him in the project. It so happens that Washington was a sponsor for Chadwick Boseman’s summer tuition at the British Academy of Dramatic Acting at Oxford. “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington,” Boseman said when the Training Day star received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019.
Also at Comic-Con, Coogler announced the release date for December 15, 2028.
Ghost Rider
Ryan Gosling’s on fire. Or he will be, when he revs up as the demonic cyclist Ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? At Comic-Con, Gosling was announced as the star of Ghost Rider, which will reboot the franchise (after the Nicolas Cage movies). The project will reunite Gosling with Shawn Levy, who also directed Deadpool & Wolverine and helmed Gosling’s upcoming Star Wars film, Star Wars: Starfighter.
What’s up in the air is which of Marvel’s Ghost Riders will be Gosling’s. While the easy answer is Johnny Blaze, the OG Ghost Rider in Marvel’s comic books, he could also be Danny Ketch, the estranged brother of Johnny who took over as the Spirit of Vengeance.
Adding to this speculation are rumors of a Marvel project called Midnight Sons, an Avengers-style team-up movie centered on supernatural superheroes. In the comics, Danny Ketch was a member of the Midnight Sons alongside Blade and Morbius. Other members include Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night, and Elsa Bloodstone—all characters who’ve been featured in the MCU already.
But we can safely rule out Robbie Reyes, the one Ghost Rider who traded a chopper for hot rods. That role still belongs to Gabriel Luna, but who knows if the Last of Us star will find his way back to the franchise anytime soon.
Armor Wars
In the original 1987 comic book storyline Armor Wars, Tony Stark learns that his cutting-edge Iron Man designs have been stolen. The MCU adaptation is expected to center on Don Cheadle’s Col. James Rhodes, who must safeguard Stark’s legacy of technology from falling into the wrong hands.
Originally announced as a television series for Disney+ in 2020, Armor Wars was reworked in 2022 into a film by Yassir Lester (Black Monday) and will also feature black-market dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) who made his debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Shang-Chi 2
In 2021, Shang-Chi rose from a nearly forgotten 1970s Marvel character to blockbuster action figure with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While a COVID-era success in theaters, a sequel has yet to come to fruition. That may soon change.
Both actor Simu Liu and director Destin Daniel Cretton (also the director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day) have talked up wanting to continue the story of Shang-Chi. In 2024, Simu Liu responded to a fan on Threads who bemoaned the absence of Shang-Chi in the MCU and the lack of a sequel. Liu responded to them, “I promise it’s happening.”
More recently, in July 2026, Cretton told Rolling Stonethat a new movie may still come to pass. “I also would love to see Shang-Chi 2! I was talking to Dave Callaham, our writer, about it just a few weeks ago, so fingers crossed,” Cretton said.
The Guardians of the Galaxy may be off-duty these days, but the intergalactic side of the MCU still looms large. An MCU project centered on the character Nova, a New York City high school student who joins the cosmic police force called the Nova Corps, has been in development since 2022 under Sabir Pirzada. In 2026, Deadline reported that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Loki writer and Chad Powerscreator Michael Waldron was tapped to take over the project, which Kevin Feige confirmed will be a movie at San Diego Comic-Con.
