Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel has just rejigged its entire release slate – erasing one film in the process.
The past few years haven’t exactly been a high point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) have pleased fans, critics, and the box office alike, the studio has also been accused of entering its “flop era” with lackluster releases such as The Marvels (2023) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).
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Explaining the MCU’s flop era is complicated. It was always going to be tough to top Avengers: Endgame (2019), but it seems like the franchise has flailed from a storytelling perspective without the crutch of the Infinity Saga.
Then there’s the fact that two of its most popular leads – Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) and Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America) – were officially out of the picture. Instead, audiences were forced to grapple with an ever-increasing slate of characters that rendered keeping up with the plot more like homework than an enjoyable cinematic experience.
Fortunately, Marvel knows it’s on the wrong path. Both Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger have confirmed that they’re focusing on quality over quantity moving forward – even if that means reshooting or rewriting some projects already in production, such as Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
If its latest cinematic release is anything to go by, its course correction is well underway. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) has been praised by fans and critics (thanks in no small part to Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine) and is well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Hopefully, this standard will continue with the rest of its upcoming slate. However, this slate just underwent a major update.
Some of the more unsurprising changes include Avengers: Doomsday replacing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – which would have been without a Kang after actor Jonathan Majors was fired by Marvel over his domestic assault charges – on May 1, 2026. This will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU as Doctor Doom, with Anthony and Joe Russo also returning as directors.
The Fantastic Four (which will see Pedro Pascal make his Marvel debut) and Thunderbolts (in which Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbor, and more will reprise their Marvel roles) have also had their titles changed to The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*, as was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Both are still scheduled for 2025.
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On a more surprising note, an unnamed Marvel film that was previously scheduled for July 24, 2026, has been dropped. A new date hasn’t been added to this release slate, which raises the question of which film has been seemingly axed and why.
In addition to Avengers: Doomsday, two other Marvel movies will be released in 2026: one on February 13, 2026, and another on November 6, 2026. On an even more surprising note, Blade is still scheduled for release on November 7, 2025.
The film has been stuck in production hell for several years (something subtly referenced in Deadpool & Wolverine), with its lead, Mahershala Ali, reportedly conflicting with Marvel over the film’s direction. It’s also cycled through several writers and directors.
Of course, this schedule is still subject to change. With D23 right around the corner, we may also get further updates on the state of Marvel’s release slate. For now, however, the next few years are shaping up to be pretty interesting on the superhero front.
What Marvel movie are you most excited to see in theaters?