From Captain America 4, to the Thunderbolts, and more, there are several MCU projects coming, but haven’t been confirmed by Marvel. Here’s what we know about them all.
There’s never been more on-screen Marvel content than there is now, with Marvel Studios releasing more projects yearly than Phase 1 or 2 had in their entirety. While we may know about many upcoming projects (thanks to reliable trade reports), there are still many that have yet to receive official announcements from Marvel. So let’s break down everything we know about the MCU’s unannounced projects.
Captain America 4
After The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, a Sam Wilson-centric Captain America film felt inevitable, and last year Deadline reported that Anthony Mackie was officially attached to the project. Later that same year they also reported that Falcon and Winter Soldier writer Malcolm Spellman would continue his work on Sam Wilson as the film’s head writer.
Little else is known about the project but previous rumors had circulated about Chris Evans agreeing to make a return as Steve Rogers in the MCU (a cameo return as the older Steve Rogers from Endgame would not be a surprise). Sebastian Stan has stated he is unaware if he will return to play Bucky in the sequel and Danny Ramirez played coy when asked if he would return as Torres, who would potentially be the new Falcon.
Wakanda Series
Director of Black Panther and its upcoming sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler confirmed in early 2021 that he signed a deal with Walt Disney to work on multiple future television projects. This included a Wakanda-focused spin-off that would come to Disney+. Rumors suggest the series would focus on Danai Gurira’s, Okoye.
Okoye quickly became a fan favorite in Black Panther and continued a be a crowd-pleaser in Infinity War and Endgame. So a solo project is no surprise and with the success of the first film, Marvel would be smart to capitalize on its popularity.
Thunderbolts
Only recently reported on, also by Deadline, Thunderbolts is due to be directed by Jake Schreier after his pitch apparently “blew away” Marvel executives. Schreier previously directed Paper Towns and the upcoming Netflix/A24 series Beef. Black Widow writer, Eric Pearson is also on board to write the film’s script.
The comic book Thunderbolts are a team of supervillains and anti-heroes typically assembled by Zemo or General “Thunderbolt” Ross. However, the recent appearances of Julia Louis Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra DeFontaine in Black Widow and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier suggest her being the potential founder.
Existing cast members of the MCU have supposedly been notified to be available for shooting next summer. Speculated members include Winter Soldier, US Agent, Yelena Belova, Taskmaster, Abomination, Zemo, Ghost and more.
Shang-Chi Sequel and Series
Director of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton, is signed on to direct both a sequel to Shang-Chi and an undisclosed Disney+ Marvel series. While we do have some newly revealed information on a Destin Daniel Cretton produced Marvel series, speculation is still on for a Shang-Chi spin-off series happening at some point.
In an official statement, Marvel President Kevin Feige said “Destin is an amazing collaborator who brought a unique perspective and skill to ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ We had a fantastic time working together on the film and he has so many intriguing ideas for stories to bring to life on Disney Plus, so we’re thrilled to expand our relationship with him and can’t wait to get started“.
After the end credits scene of Shang Chi depicting Xialing’s rule of the Ten Rings, a spin-off specifically centering around that while the sequel focuses on the mystery of the rings might be the direction we see them head in.
Wonder Man
Just this past week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Destin Daniel Cretton is on board for a Wonder-Man Disney+ series. Cretton will be working with Brookly-99 and Comunity writer, Andrew Guest. Guest will be on board as head writer of the series while Cretton will produce and potentially direct.
Wonder Man has been a fairly major Avengers character in the comics since the 70s, with significant ties to Wanda Maximoff in a romantic to platonic relationship over the decades, and a brotherly bond with Vision, whose brain patterns relate directly to Wonder Man.
The project could potentially start shooting as soon as 2023. Recent rumors also suggest Elizabeth Olsen will be returning to shoot a Marvel project that same year, potentially indicating the two meeting in the MCU with her reintroduction being tied to his first appearance.
Deadpool 3
Since the Disney/FOX merger, there has been heavy speculation about how Marvel might use newly re-obtained properties like Fantastic Four, X-Men, Deadpool, and the potential of crossover.
While it seems Marvel is straying away from any franchise jumping crossovers beyond No Way Home, Deadpool 3 is confirmed to be in development. Ryan Reynolds is due to return and Shawn Levy to direct, Levy and Reynolds previously worked together on Free Guy and The Adam Project.
Bob’s Burgers writers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin will script the film and Kevin Feige has confirmed they have a release date in mind. Plot details are yet to be revealed but Deadpool’s presence in the MCU is sure to be a major aspect.
Daredevil Series
Charlie Cox’s return as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home had fans of Daredevil ecstatic and eagerly awaiting further details on his next appearances. In May of 2022, Deadline confirmed that Marvel was in the development of a Daredevil series with Charlie Cox to return, and Matt Corman and Chris Ord to write.
Rumors suggest we can also expect him to appear in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law this August, and even the Echo series later on. Netflix’s Daredevil series has a huge fanbase and he is arguably one of Marvel’s biggest properties in their comic book publishing, Marvel Studios’ take on the blind vigilante will have a lot to live up to.
Werewolf by Night/Halloween Special
We were already aware of the announced Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special but it seems Marvel is committing to more than one seasonal event on Disney+. Initially rumored to be a solo project revolving around Werewolf by Night (played by Gael Garcia Bernal}, the project has potentially developed into an anthology series of sorts.
Further rumors have suggested Oscar Isaac is due to appear as Moon Knight. The character’s first comic book appearance was in Werewolf by Night and the two have crossed paths numerous times in comic book history, so uniting the two on-screen would serve as a great homage to the source material.
It’s also been rumored the project would bring the first look at Mahershala Ali as Blade. Considering both Blade and Moon Knight were located in London last we saw (or heard) from them, it seems the seeds for a meeting may have already been planted.
Nova
The Nova Corps has been in the MCU for almost a decade at this point. They made a debut appearance in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, albeit a drastic departure from the comic book source material. Deadline reported in March of 2022 that Moon Knight writer, Sabir Pirzada, would be on board to develop a new Nova solo project.
Last we heard of the Nova Corps in the MCU, their home base of Xandar was decimated by Thanos in his search for the power stone. Assumably the plot of the project will deal with the aftermath of this and potentially use it as an explanation for the corps members developing superpowers like the comic book source material.
There are two main characters to don the Nova mantle in the comics, adult Richard Ryder and teenager Sam Alexander. Sam might fit more into Marvel’s current layout as we see more of their young heroes join the MCU. Potentially building a Young Avengers or Champions.
The Mutants
We’ve mentioned details being scarce before, but they are truly scarce on this topic. we don’t even know where or what to expect with mutants in the MCU. Ever since the Fox merger the question “how will they do mutants?” has been hanging over every Marvel fan’s head.
Rumors suggest an upcoming project will be titled “The Mutants” which was Stan Lee’s original pitched name for X-Men, potentially implying the focus will be far more on the establishing of mutants than the superhero team. What we do have are two specific facts:
Firstly, mutants are coming. While no specific details were given, Kevin Feige has directly mentioned plans are in place and fans will have to be patient. Marvel Studios already had several years of content planned out before the merger was finalized.
Secondly, they may already exist in the MCU. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we briefly visited Earth 838, a reality similar to the core MCU but with a few additional characters. This included Patrick Stewart as Professor X, a mutant himself. Given 838’s similarities in casting and clear mirroring of the core MCU, it might be fair to assume that the origin of mutants won’t be entirely dissimilar. Mutants’ presence in the MCU is simply yet to be discovered.
On September 9th-11th, Marvel will be attending Disney’s D23 event where they will be announcing new projects and likely debuting trailers and footage from some of these. The likelihood is that this event will be presenting some major news for several of these projects where we can get some release dates, casting news and potentially plot details.
Till then we can only wait patiently and enjoy Ms Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder in another fantastic year of Marvel.
