The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been around for 17 years, since 2008’s Iron Man. Headed by the President of Marvel Studios and primary producer, Kevin Feige, the MCU has produced numerous box-office hits over the years, including 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which grossed almost 2.8 billion dollars worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing movies in film history. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of the Disney+ streaming app, Marvel has been releasing series alongside their theatrical movie releases, greatly expanding the MCU over the past five years.
In 2024, Marvel released four shows on Disney Plus: two animated series, X-Men ‘97 and Season Three of What If...?, and two live-action series, Echo and Agatha All Along. With Disney’s acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox in 2017, Marvel gained the rights to all the Fox Marvel movies, such as the X-Men movies and Deadpool movies. This resulted in the blockbuster buddy-comedy film of last summer, Deadpool & Wolverine, which served as both the third movie in the Deadpool franchise and Deadpool’s introduction to the MCU. Becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine brought back many Marvel fans previously dissatisfied with the studio’s projects.
Everyone is now asking is, “Will Marvel Studios be able to carry this momentum and new wave of support into 2025? Or was Deadpool & Wolverine a last hurrah as superhero movie fatigue sets in?”
Movies Coming in 2025
Marvel Studios has three highly anticipated movies releasing in 2025. This includes the third movie in the Captain America franchise, focusing on Sam Wilson’s responsibilities as the new Captain America, along with a film creating a new team of anti-heroes and antagonists from past Marvel projects, organized by the mysterious director of the CIA, Valentia Allegra de Fontaine. There will also be the introduction of what many refer to as Marvel Comics’ “first family,” the Fantastic Four, which will be set in an alternate universe to the one most MCU projects are centered on.
Captain America: Brave New World (February 14th)
Viewers last saw Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie) in the 2021 series Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where he was holding Steve Rogers’ Captain America shield and wearing a Wakandan-made Captain America outfit. Captain America: Brave New World will continue Sam’s journey as he takes on the weight of being both the first Black Captain America and being Captain America without an Avengers team behind him (they disbanded after Avengers: Endgame).
The movie will feature Harrison Ford as the recast Thaddeus Ross (previously played by the late William Hurt) who is now President of the United States. Though much of the story is unknown, the trailers confirm that Ross will be transforming into the Red Hulk during the movie, perhaps spurred on by the movie’s villain, The Leader—played by Tim Blake Nelson, who is returning as his character from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
The conflict is related to the 2021 Marvel film The Eternals, in which the titular Eternals stopped the emergence of a Celestial from the center of the Earth. Sam Wilson and America will fight with the rest of the world over who has control of the part of the Celestial that started to emerge, as it contains a valuable and highly coveted material called Adamantium.
Thunderbolts* (May 2nd)
This team-up movie will feature a cast of memorable past villains and antagonists from various Marvel movies and TV shows. The lineup includes:
Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), sister to Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow
Alexei Shostakov’s Red Guardian (David Harbour), father to Yelena and Natasha
John Walker’s U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), a man who briefly and poorly took on the mantle of Captain America before Sam Wilson
Ava Starr’s Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a woman who was stuck phasing between Earth and the Quantum Realm in the second Ant-Man movie
Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), a woman who had been mind-controlled by The Red Room to fight on their behalf but was freed by Natasha and Yelena during Black Widow
This chaotic and unpredictable team will be organized by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a mysterious character who appeared in both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. She was initially presented as a contractor of sorts but later revealed to be the director of the CIA in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
While Valentina's (or Val's) intentions are unclear, trailers have revealed that the team will be sent after a new character, Bob (Lewis Pullman), for either protection or to take him out. Many have speculated on Bob’s superhero identity, and if he turns out to be who many believe he might be, the movie will take a very interesting turn. However, one thing that can be assured is that Thunderbolts* will be an unexpected journey featuring many characters who audiences never thought would return, let alone team up.
The Fantastic 4: First Steps (July 25th)
This long-awaited movie will introduce the Fantastic Four to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Set in an alternate universe to the one where most Marvel projects have taken place (what is referred to as Universe-616), The Fantastic 4: First Steps will take place in a retro-futuristic 1960s version of New York City. Ralph Ineson will play the main antagonist, Galactus, a world-devourer set on destroying and consuming Earth. It remains to be seen how this film will tie into the rest of the MCU, but in our current era, referred to by Marvel as “the Multiverse Saga," anything is possible.
TV Shows and Disney+ Content Coming in 2025
In 2025, Marvel is set to release three animated shows and three live-action shows on Disney Plus. From retellings of a classic superhero origin story and a dive into the history of one of Marvel’s most fascinating locations to the long-awaited comeback of a masked hero and the introduction of a new hero, these shows are sure to have something for everyone.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman (January 29th)
This animated show will focus on Peter Parker’s origins as Spider-Man, but a different Peter Parker than the Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) previously featured in the MCU. This Peter Parker, voiced by Hudson Thames, will live in an alternate universe and be mentored by Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo), a new version of the Green Goblin.
The show will feature many classic Spider-Man characters, such as Scorpion and Doc Ock, but it will also add new elements, with a new love interest (neither Gwen Stacy nor Mary Jane) and new classmates, including a Wakandan exchange student, Amadeus Cho, and Nico Minoru.
The show’s animation style will differ from the look of Marvel’s past animation projects like What If...?, opting for a look more akin to the studio’s comic book origins with cel shading. This ten-episode series will premiere on January 29th with a second season reportedly in development.
Daredevil: Born Again (March 4th)
Charlie Cox returns to his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil in this follow-up series to Netflix’s Daredevil, which ended in 2018. After appearances in 2021’s Spiderman: No Way Home and 2023’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil’s solo return to the MCU was all but confirmed. While not much is known about the specific events of the show, it will no doubt follow Matt Murdock’s ongoing conflict with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) a.k.a. Kingpin while he works behind the scenes as mayor of New York City – a plotline set up at the end of the 2024 series Echo. It is also unknown how much of the original show will tie into it. Will the new show simply feel like more seasons of the original? Or will it be a new era for both the character and his storyline?
Ironheart (June 24th)
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), MIT inventor, returns to our screens from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in this show, which will explore the creation of her own Iron Man-esque super suit. The show will highlight the clash between technology and magic, with the villain being The Hood (Anthony Ramos) – at first an ally of Riri’s but later an antagonist due to his dabbling in the dark arts.
Eyes of Wakanda (August 6th)
This animated mini-series will feature four episodes about the actions of the Wakandan War Dogs throughout the history of Black Panter’s Wakanda. Produced by the director of both Black Panther movies, Ryan Coogler, Eyes of Wakanda will follow the War Dogs as they recover the precious, and dangerous, Vibranium artifacts that have made their way across the globe.
Marvel Zombies (October)
Directed by Bryan Andrews, director of What If...?, this animated show will follow some of the MCU’s remaining superheroes in a world overtaken by a zombie apocalypse. Spun off from a plotline in the first season of What If...?, it will feature Yelena Belova and Red Guardian (along with a team of Widows) from Black Widow, Shang-Chi, his best friend Katy, and Death Dealer from Shang-Chi, Kate Bishop from Hawkeye, Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp and WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, and a biker gang of Skrulls from Captain Marvel. These heroes will be going up against a zombie force of Clint Barton, Captain Marvel, Captain America (cut in half after the events of What If...?), the Abomination from The Incredible Hulk and Shang-Chi, Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Okoye from Black Panther and Ikaris from Eternals.
Wonder Man (December)
In this 8-10 episode series created by Dustin Daniel Cretton, the director of Shang-Chi, Simon Williams, a superpowered actor and stunt person played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, will audition for the lead role in a superhero television series called “Wonder Man.” Not much else is known about the show, though it will feature the return of actor Trevor Slattery (played by Ben Kingsley) from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi.
Projects Coming in 2026 or Later
Marvel Studios always has something on the horizon, and there’s much to come after 2025 (or during 2025, for any unannounced projects). There is much to speculate about with many unannounced future dates and projects believed to be coming.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for May 1, 2026, and its follow-up film, Avengers: Secret Wars, is set to premiere a year later on May 7, 2027. There are some dates so far that have been announced as the premieres of new movies, but the specific movies have yet to be announced. The dates are as follows: Feb. 13, 2026 (i.e., the film before Avengers: Doomsday); Nov. 6, 2026 (i.e., the film between Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars); July 23, 2027 (i.e. the film that immediately follows Secret Wars) — and then Nov. 5, 2027; Feb. 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and Nov. 18, 2028.
A third Black Panther movie seems to be in the works, with Denzel Washington involved in some capacity. A third Doctor Strange movie will likely be released around one of the Avengers movies, as it will focus on a multiversal conflict set up in Doctor Strange 2’s post-credit scene. Thor 5 is also likely to be released sometime before Secret Wars, though not much is known about what it will focus on. The Blade movie, which has been in the works for the last couple of years, will hopefully be released shortly, but production has been slow to start. Armor Wars, a movie announced back in 2022, is set to follow James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) in an attempt to recover Iron Man technology that had ended up in the wrong hands. However, it is unclear if Marvel intends to make this movie anymore. Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada is developing a project based on Nova, the intergalactic superhero tied to the Nova Corps from Marvel Comics, but it’s unclear whether this project would be a series for Disney Plus or a theatrical feature.
In terms of Disney Plus projects and TV shows set to release, not much is known aside from leaks and rumors. What can be expected sometime this year or next is the second season of X-Men ‘97, an animated series that picked up from the storyline of the nineties show X-Men: The Animated Series. An untitled live-action show following the Vision after the events of WandaVision is set to come out in 2026, though it is unclear if it will tie into the events of Agatha All Along, which is also tied to WandaVision. Nothing else has been officially stated by Marvel Studios, though it is clear that a Young Avengers project is in its early stages of development. This would be a story likely featuring Kate Bishop from Hawkeye, Kamala Kahn from Ms. Marvel, Billy and Tommy Maximoff from Agatha All Along and WandaVision, Cassie Lang from the Ant-Man movies, America Chavez from Doctor Strange 2, Riri Williams from Ironheart, and many potential others.
In its seventeen years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced many ups and downs, and it is sure to experience more in the coming years. But, that is no reason to stop watching. There is something for everyone out there, and I believe that the MCU should not be taken as a whole, but instead as individual stories that happen to be told in a larger universe. If there is a Marvel project that someone doesn’t like, it does not mean that the MCU is going downhill or declining in quality. Likewise, one good project does not mean that the entire MCU is now the highest quality of art ever made. In 2025, it will be up to the public to form their own opinions on the MCU going forward, but I can speak for myself in saying that I am excited to see what the future of Marvel holds.
Comments