Marvel’s 2023 movies and release dates

The popularity of Marvel characters can vary depending on various factors, such as their comic book history, their portrayal in other media like movies and TV shows, and their cultural relevance.

Ever since the release of Iron Man in 2008, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been the dominant force in modern pop culture. From its humble beginnings, the brand has grown from strength to strength, first with successful sequels like Iron Man 2, then with team up movies like The Avengers, then with crossover events such as Infinity War and Endgame.

Marvel Studios has also widened its scope expanding into the universe with Guardians of the Galaxy, across time with Captain Marvel, into the Quantum Realm with Ant-Man, and now the multiverse with Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange 2.

The MCU has also conquered the small screen too with the first canon TV series hitting Disney+ in 2021, so as the brand keeps on growing, we take a look at all the upcoming adventures planned in the Marvel realm.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (5 May, 2023)

James Gunn returns to direct the third movie in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, which wrapped production in 2022.

Once again the movie stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket. It’s rumoured to be the final outing for this incarnation of the team.

Will Poulter will join the MCU as fan favourite character Adam Warlock, who has already been teased in the movies several times. Borat 2 star Maria Bakalova will play Cosmo the Space Dog. Yes, really.

“I couldn’t be more honoured to join the MCU,” she told Comic Con. “I feel like I’m doing something meaningful and hopeful and I hope you love Cosmo because she’s gonna bring lots of laughs and love and a bit of strength.”

Watch the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Here’s the official synopsis: In Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 our beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

Disney+: Secret Invasion (Spring 2023)

Secret Invasion centres around Fury and Talos trying to stop the Skrulls, an alien race who have infiltrated the highest spheres of the Marvel Universe.

The cast for the 6-episode series includes Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos— plus newcomers Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Watch a trailer for for Secret Invasion

At D23 fans were shown a scene and the brand-new trailer (above) from the event series that showcases a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years.

What If… S2 Disney+ (TBc 2023)

The MCU’s first animated show returns for another 9-episode series of hypothetical stories that explore alternate realities created when the timeline branches off in another direction. A trailer shown at SDCC showed many classic characters returning, as well as a glimpse of Marvel 1602, a Neil Gaiman-penned story set in the 17th century.

Disney+: Loki S2 (Summer 2023)

Following the huge success of the first season of Loki on Disney+, the thought of another season is sure to please Marvel fans around the world. It is hard to judge when the new season will be released however filming is now underway, and will picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority.

What we do know however is that Tom Hiddleston will reprise the role of Loki, Owen Wilson as Agent Mobius and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer. Ke Huy Quan has also joined the cast for the second season.

Disney+: Ironheart (Autumn 2023)

The new television series stars Dominique Thorne as super genius Riri WIlliams, who has created the most advanced suit of armour since Iron Man.

Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes have been hired as directors, with Ryan Coogler on the producing team. Ironheart will make her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The synopsis explains: “Dominique Thorne returns as Riri Williams, a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world. Her unique take on building iron suits is both brilliant and flawed, and Ironheart delves into the dynamics of tech versus magic.”

Feige invited Anthony Ramos to the D23 stage to greet fans and share a little about his character, Parker Robbins aka The Hood.

Disney+: X-Men ’97 (Autumn 2023)

Not much has been revealed about the upcoming animated television series, X-Men ’97 but the show is a continuation of the beloved 1992 X-Men animated show with Beau DeMayo writing and producing the show.

The programme is expected be released in 2023. It’s not thought to be technically part of the MCU continuity at this stage.

Disney+: Echo (Late 2023)

Echo will follow Maya Lopez/Echo, the deaf Native American adopted niece of Kingpin (crime lord in New York) detailing her life as the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia, a criminal organisation based in New York.

Alaqua Cox once again reprises the role of Maya Lopez, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and Charlie Cox as Daredevil are also rumoured to appear.

Devery Jacobs will also be joining the team although it is in an undisclosed role.

Audience members at D23 were treated to a special look at the upcoming series that also stars Tantoo Cardinal and Zahn McClarnon.

The Marvels (10 November, 2023)

The Marvels is the official title for Captain Marvel 2, which will see Brie Larson reprise the role of former Air Force pilot Carol Danvers.

Samuel L Jackson returns as Nick Fury with Iman Vellani as Ms Marvel and Teyonah Harris as Monica Rambeau joining the team.

The film is being directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and will pick up the story of Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel following the events of the former’s Disney+ series.

Disney+: Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Late 2023)

Agatha: House of Darkness is a WandaVision spinoff which sees Kathryn Hahn reprise the role of Agatha Harkness for a 9-episode series.

This is the second Marvel character from a Disney+ show to have to star in a spinoff after Echo from Hawkeye. Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision) is on board the series as writer/exec producer. Production is underway now and is expected to wrap in May, 2023.

Disney+: Wonder Man (TBA)

This MCU series will focus on the Marvel character Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) who — in the comics — is the son of a wealthy industrialist who falls on hard times due to the growth of Stark Industries. In the show, he’s said to be an actor and stuntman.

Williams is imbued with ionic superpowers by Baron Zemo (Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Daniel Bruhl) becoming an antagonist of The Avengers, before later joining their ranks. Reports suggest the show will be a Hollywood satire, with Sir Ben Kingsley’s Iron Man 3 character Trevor Slattery set to appear.

Disney+: Daredevil: Born Again (Spring 2024)

Daredevil is being revived at Disney+ after Charlie Cox returned as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D’Onofrio reprised Kingpin in Hawkeye.

A report by CultCrunch.com in May, 2022 Covert Affairs co-creators Matt Corman and Chris Ord are attached to write and executive produce a new series of the Hells Kitchen-based superhero show. The move follows the cancellation of Daredevil by Netflix, when the streaming service relinquished the rights to the character to Disney.

The show, along with the other Netflix Marvel series, arrived on Disney+ in March, 2022. Cox has already warned fans that Born Again may not be R-Rated.

The actor told MarkMeets: “My instinct tells me it’ll be somewhere in between what we did before and what is currently on Disney+. Tonally, I imagine it’ll remain sinister, dark, and painful – you know, geared towards a more mature audience. But it probably won’t be as gruesome.”

The new 18-episode series will be released in Spring 2024.

Captain America: New World Order (3 Mar, 2024)

Anthony Mackie will reprise his role as Sam Wilson but in the new role as Captain America replacing the outgoing Chris Evans.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman will write the screenplay for the fourth Captain America film, along with Dalan Musson.

Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres) and Carl Lumbly (Isaiah Bradley), all return to join Tim Blake Nelson (The Leader) as well as Shira Haas (Sabra).

Harrison Ford will also join the MCU in Captain America, replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, who has risen to the post of President of the United States.

“There’s a dynamic between President Ross and Sam Wilson,” Kevin Feige told EW. “They have a history together, but in this film, we’ll be seeing the dynamic between Captain America and the president of the United States in a way that is just incredible.”

Thunderbolts (26 July, 2024)

Marvel enters the supervillain team up genre with this highly secretive MCU project that will mark the final chapter of Phase 5 of the MCU.

Jake Schreier (Robot and Frank, Paper Towns) will direct from a script by Black Widow’s Eric Pearson.

In the comics the Thunderbolts were a team of heroes that were formed after the death of the Avengers, but who turned out to be acting as villains. Members have included Baron Zemo, Yelena Belova, Ghost, Abomination, John Walker and Taskmaster.

The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by VISA – brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event, which takes place September 9, 10, and 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, series, games, theme parks, collectibles, and celebrities/

The movie team will comprise of Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Sebastian Stan (James “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier) and Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent). The esteemed team also features Black Widow’s Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster) and Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova).

The Blade (6 September, 2024)

Having made his first appearance as part of the MCU in The Eternals, two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali will headline his own movie as Blade, the vampire hunting bloodsucker previously played by Wesley Snipes.

Originally written by Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Blade lost its director Bassam Tariq at the eleventh hour, throwing the production into last minute turmoil. “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” Marvel said in a statement. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

Tariq also put out his own statement: “It’s been an honour working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. “We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

Yann Demange, the director of White Boy Rick, was hired to replace Tariq in November 2022, with Michael Starrbury writing a new script.

Deadpool 3 (8 November, 2024)

Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine for the third Deadpool film opposite Ryan Reynolds in the title role. Shawn Levy will be the director of Deadpool 3 although dates for production and the release date are yet to be finalised.

The second Deadpool sequel has suffered many setbacks since the release of Deadpool 2 in 2018 following complications with Disney’s takeover of 20th Century Fox, which distributed the first two movies. This movie will mark Deadpool and Wolverine’s arrival in the MCU.

Spider-Man 4 (TBA)

Tom Holland will return as Spider-Man for another MCU outing, it was confirmed by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.

“All I will say is that we have the story,” Feige told Entertainment Weekly. “We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.”

Details are thin on the ground so far, as it’s unclear whether Peter Parker will return for his own movie, or a team-up film such as the Avenger.

Talking in 2021, Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal teases more episodes in the story of the beloved webslinger.

“This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel – [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie,” Pascal told Fandango. “We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.”

Fantastic Four (14 February, 2025)

The Fantastic Four will make their long-awaited MCU debut November 2024 as the first entry in Phase 6 of the MCU. The movie recently lost its director when Jon Watts quit the movie to work on his upcoming Star Wars series. WandaVision’s Matt Shakman will direct.

Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm make up the team, and while John Krasinski recently cameoed as Reed in Doctor Strange 2, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll return for this third movie incarnation of Marvel’s most beloved super-family.

Talking to MarkMeets in 2023, Kevin Feige teased big plans for the Fantastic Four: “Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There’s certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that’s something that is really exciting for us.”

Feige added, “People will start to hear more about that soon. We plan on that being a big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they’ve been in the comics for 50 or 60 years.”

Disney+: Marvel Zombies (2024)

Marvel Zombies is an upcoming animated television series, which is a spin-off of What If…?. She-Hulk’s Zeb Wells is set to write and executive produce the four-episode series.

No further announcements have been made in terms of cast and production.

Disney+: Spider-Man: Freshman Year (2024)

Spider-Man: Freshman Year is an upcoming animated television series which is a prequel to Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man is yet to be announced however Jeff Trammell is to write and executive produce the show.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2 May, 2025)

After being absent from our screens since the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the Avengers will reunite to face Kang in the first of a two-part finale for Phase 6 of the MCU. Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton will direct, with Ant-Man 3’s Jeff Loveness hired to write the script.

Avengers: Secret Wars (1 May, 2026)

Releasing seven months after The Kang Dynasty, Secret Wars will be the epic conclusion to Phase 6 of the MCU, and with it the Phases 4-5-6 arch known as The Multiverse Saga.

In the comics, the Secret Wars centered around multiversal battle between all of Marvel’s beloved characters. Loki’s Michael Waldron is writing the script.

Shang-Chi 2 (TBA)

Simu Liu will reprise the role of Xu Shang-Chi in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi 2. With the deal only being signed in December 2021, production has still not been announced so it is hard to determine when the sequel will be shot and subsequently released.

X-Men (TBA)

Like Deadpool and Fantastic Four, an X-Men-centric movie will also be part of the MCU following Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox.

With the cast and director yet to be announced and Phase Four movies already slotted in for the coming years it seems a release date is still some years away.

Armor Wars (TBA)

Don Cheadle is set to reprise the role as James Rhodes/War Machine in the upcoming movie Armor Wars, with a script from Yassir Lester. Ant-Man and The Wasp’s Walton Goggins will also appear as Sonny Burch.

“Armor Wars will be different and I think it’s going to be pretty unique,” Cheadle told Yahoo in 2021.

“We’re breaking the story now in the writers’ room and figuring out what direction it’s gonna take, but I think people are going to be very surprised at where we’re gonna go with this, for sure.”

The project was originally conceived as a Disney+ series, but evolved into a full movie in late 2022. Producer Nate Moore explained: “When you’re talking about a show that wants to be about seeing all the cool armours and Don Cheadle interacting with all these armours and, sort of, the legacy of Tony Stark? That became kind of cost prohibitive to do as a show.”

Disney+: Untitled Wakanda series (TBA)

Following the box-office hit, Black Panther and its sequel, director Ryan Coogler announced that a television series is also on the way.

The cast is yet to be announced so it seems like the series is still some years away.