Marvel Studios has plenty of exciting movies and Disney Plus series in the pipeline already. Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to kick off Phase 5 of the MCU and continue the Multiverse Saga in February 2023, along with Secret Invasion and Season 2 of What If…? on Disney Plus due in early 2023. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to complete the Guardians trilogy, while The Marvels will continue the story of Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, and Monica Rambeau — both releasing in 2023.
In fact, there are Marvel movies and Disney Plus series officially announced all the way until 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars planned as a grand finale to The Multiverse Saga, akin to Avengers: Endgame. There are still a few gaps in the official plans for Phase Five and Phase Six, however, so we’ve compiled a list of every unannounced but confirmed movie and Disney Plus series that will be gracing our screens in the coming years.
Every Unannounced But Confirmed Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie and Disney Plus Series
Armor Wars
Armor Wars was originally announced as a six-episode Disney Plus series in December 2020 at Disney’s D23 presentation. No significant information about the show was given for almost two years, with fans speculating that the show had been canceled. That was until September 2022, when Marvel Studios stated that the series is being redeveloped into a feature movie, with Yassir Lester remaining its head writer.
The premise of Armor Wars will be based on the ’80s comic storyline of the same name, which revolves around the chaos that ensues when Tony Stark’s secret Iron Man technology is leaked onto the black market. While Tony Stark himself is the protagonist of this storyline in the comics, James Rhodes (War Machine) will instead star in the spotlight in Armor Wars, as Iron Man’s current situation of being dead in the MCU most likely wouldn’t allow for an engaging story.
Don Cheadle will, of course, reprise his role of War Machine, with Walton Goggins also returning as Sonny Burch from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios’ president, claimed that Secret Invasion (2023) would directly lead up to Armor Wars and that the movie will start filming in the same year. So, while no release date for Armor Wars is currently known, it likely won’t release until 2024 or beyond.
Shang-Chi Sequel
After the success of 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton — the movie’s writer and director — signed a deal with Marvel Studios, which included a sequel to the movie. Cretton will return to write and direct, with Simu Liu reprising his role as the titular character, Shang-Chi.
Nothing is currently known about the plot of Shang-Chi’s sequel, however, Liu expressed his wishes for the film to deal with Shang-Chi’s “newfound power” and his place in the evergrowing Marvel Cinematic Universe. The trademark ‘Shang-Chi & The Wreckage of Time‘ has also reportedly been filed as a trademark by Disney, which could very well be the name of the sequel.
Eternals Sequel
At the end of the Eternals, we see Arishem less than pleased with Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos, threatening to end humanity unless their memories can provide him with a reason to otherwise spare Earth from a disastrous fate. In the post-credit scene that follows, we are introduced to Eros — Thanos’ adoptive brother and fellow Eternal — and Pip the Troll, who claim they know where the aforementioned Eternals are and how to save them.
While this is an obvious setup for the sequel, nothing has been officially announced by Marvel Studios. However, Patton Oswalt, who portrays Pip in the movie, appeared on The Today Show in August 2022, claiming that a sequel to Eternals was currently being developed with Chloé Zhao returning as the director. Much like ‘Shang-Chi & The Wreckage of Time,’ ‘Celestials: End of Time‘ was filed as a trademark by Disney, which may have something to do with Eternals’ second movie considering the close ties between the Eternals and the Celestials.
“Top Secret” Scarlett Johansson Project
In 2021, the 35th annual American Cinematheque awards honored Scarlett Johansson, which included an hourlong tribute to the Black Widow actress’ long history in the industry. During this tribute, Kevin Feige declared that he was working with Johansson on a “top-secret Marvel Studios project with her as a producer.” Absolutely no details are currently known about this project, other than the fact that it won’t star Black Widow.
Wakanda Disney Plus Series
Ryan Coogler, the director and writer of both Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, revealed that a Disney Plus drama series set in the fictional country of Wakanda was currently in development through Proximity Media in February 2021. Danai Gurira, who portrays Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, signed a deal with Disney in May of the same year, agreeing to reprise her role in the currently unnamed series.
It is likely we will hear more about the show after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s dust has settled, and we have more of an idea of what the future of Wakanda looks like after Chadwick Boseman’s unfortunate passing.
Wonder Man
Destin Daniel Cretton’s deal with Marvel Studios not only included a sequel to Shang-Chi but also multiple Disney Plus television projects. Wonder Man is one of these, centering around the comic book character of the same name. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, best known as Manta in Aquaman, Candyman in Candyman (2021), and Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections, is set to star as Wonder Man himself. Ben Kinglsey is also reportedly reprising his role as Trevor Slattery. The show will start filming in 2023, with the release date currently unknown.
Wonder Man is a superhero imbued with ‘ionic’ energy, giving him superhuman power, reflexes, speed, dexterity, stamina, and durability. He was originally introduced as a supervillain in The Avengers #9 (1964), dying in the same issue, only to be revived three separate times by three separate villains from 1975 – 1976, eventually joining The Avengers as a superhero in 1977. Power Man was discontinued shortly after due to DC Comics’ discontent with the character’s name being similar to their very own Wonder Woman. Wonder Man eventually reappeared in 1984 and has popped up from time to time in different comic book series ever since.
The X-Men’s Hank McCoy, better known as Beast, is Wonder Man’s best friend in the comic books, even having their own miniseries together in 2000. While the X-Men themselves have yet to appear in any MCU property, they are certainly on their way, with Wolverine being teased in She-Hulk, an alternate universe Professor X appearing in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the word “mutant” finally being name-dropped in Ms. Marvel. Could Beast potentially make his debut in Wonder Man?
Nova Disney Plus Series
A listing for an “Untitled Marvel Space Project’ as a Disney Plus series appeared in a March 2022 issue of Production Weekly, which was confirmed to be ‘Nova‘ two issues later. Nothing is currently known about the project, other than Sabir Pirzada being involved in writing, who previously wrote four episodes of the highly-praised Moon Knight.
Richard Rider, better known as Nova, is a superhero that controls the ‘Nova Force’, which grants him superhuman powers, such as the power to absorb and redirect energy in the form of pulses and rays. Nova is often depicted as the commander of the Nova Corps, the intergalactic military of the Nova Empire; a dominion of multiple alien species across the galaxy. While Nova currently doesn’t exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nova Corps does and appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, only to be wiped out by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
Nova was actually planned to appear as the sole survivor of the Nova Corps in Avengers: Infinity War early in development, but the idea was scrapped. Either way, the demise of the Nova Corps is similar to Nova’s origin story in the comic books, which sets the stage for Nova to enter the MCU in his own show, or possibly in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023.
Vision Quest
During an October 2022 episode of The Hot Mic podcast, Jeff Sneider reported that he had been told about a Disney Plus series titled ‘Vision Quest‘ by a reputable source, starring none other than Vision played by Paul Bettany. ‘Vision Quest’ is also the name of an ’80s comic book storyline, which involved Vision being dismantled and his skin turning a pale white color. Sound familiar?
In WandaVision we saw Vision being rebuilt into the aptly named ‘White Vision’, who retained no memories of his past self and was sent to destroy Scarlet Witch, who had hexed the entire town of Westview into living in her perfect image. White Vision eventually regains the memories of his previous self after an engaging discussion about the Ship of Theseus with his Westview counterpart and flies off into the distance. Vision Quest will almost certainly continue the story of White Vision, and even possibly reveal the unknown fate of Scarlet Witch after the events of Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
