Top 12 Marvel Movie Projects to Watch Out for in the Next 4 Years

The next installment in the Spider-Man series starring Tom Holland will kick off Phase 4 of the MCU. The film has been confirmed to hit theaters in the summer of 2019. This is exciting news for Spider-Man fans who witnessed him turn to dust at the hands of Thanos in Infinity War. This adventure will take Spider-Man far from his home in Queens, and he will have the opportunity to meet characters like Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and the organization SHIELD. There is still no official information about the villain who will appear, but it's certain they will be much stronger than the 'disappointing stepfather' in Coming Home.

Marvel currently has 3 unnamed projects, including Marvel 1/5, Marvel 7/8, and Marvel 7/11, and it's almost certain that Doctor Strange will have a spot among them. This is because actor Benedict Cumberbatch still has many films left to shoot in his contract with Marvel. Additionally, the post-credits scene of Doctor Strange hinted at his return in a sequel, possibly the third installment in the series about the most powerful sorcerer in the Marvel Universe.

Although the 2017 film Doctor Strange had a much lower budget compared to other superhero movies, it was incredibly successful. The film built an intriguing magical world distinct from the ordinary physical world, connecting Doctor Strange with other superheroes. In Infinity War, Stephen Strange played a crucial role as the guardian of the Time Gem and foresaw a potential victory against Thanos by the Avengers. Marvel undoubtedly has many plans to further explore the film series for the character of Doctor Strange in the future.

The project for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been postponed due to director James Gunn being fired by Marvel Studios after controversial tweets related to pedophilia and rape emerged. However, Marvel and Disney have stated that they are urgently searching for a new director to replace James Gunn to complete the film as originally planned.

We now know that the cast from Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 will remain intact: Chris Pratt (Star-Lord – Peter Quill) and Dave Bautista (Drax – The Destroyer) will continue to accompany the audience on their outer space adventure. The question remains on which timeline and setting Marvel will build the story around, as in the original lineup of Guardians of the Galaxy, only Quill and Rocket survived the battle with Thanos.

Following the resounding success of the Black Panther superhero movie, Marvel certainly won't want to stop there. A sequel focusing on T’Challa, the king of the Wakandan kingdom, is sure to continue to captivate Black Panther fans.

In the first installment, we didn't learn much about the origins of Vibranium and the advanced technologies in Wakanda. Especially, fans will be very interested in how Marvel Studios constructs the timeline, as we know T’Challa disintegrated after the Infinity War battle. Additionally, the relationship between T’Challa and the Avengers superheroes will also be a topic that can be explored.

Spider-Man is one of Marvel's icons, a character that always plays an extremely important role in every event. Therefore, we have reason to believe that Marvel will continue to explore this character, especially after acquiring the rights from Sony after many years of watching the competitor exploit them. Although Sony has previously made many Spider-Man movies, Marvel's approach to building the Spider-Man image in a completely new direction and integrating him with other superheroes in the Marvel universe will always be attractive to fans.

If Marvel Studios builds a film franchise based on comics, there will be more characters appearing in future Spider-Man movies, both superheroes and villains.

Marvel surely won't overlook the powerful character Adam Warlock, especially since they've built the film universe around the Infinity Stones. Adam Warlock is the owner of the Soul Stone, believed to be the most powerful among the 6 Infinity Stones, and many Marvel fans are still unsatisfied with the filmmakers' explanations of the Soul Stone in the movies.

According to the original comics, Adam Warlock was created by a group of Earth scientists wanting to experiment with a superior species. Adam later broke free from their control and escaped into the universe. He obtained the Soul Stone after encountering a powerful entity known as the High Evolutionary, who gave him the stone to save sinful souls on a planetoid resembling Earth.

Adam Warlock could be seen as the 'hard counter' to Thanos as both have clashed numerous times and his power rivals that of the 'Mad Titan'. There are many theories suggesting Adam Warlock could appear in Avengers 4, however, this possibility is very low as Marvel seems to be directing the storyline towards the quantum realm.

In fact, Adam was mentioned in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, towards the end of the film when Ayesha declares that she has completed a great invention. She mentioned that the invention is inside a cocoon, named Adam - presumably referring to Adam Warlock.

Although it's not until April 2019 that we get to see Captain Marvel hit theaters, it's believable that this won't be the only film Marvel makes about this female superhero. Actress Brie Larson has signed a 7-movie deal with Marvel Studios, and we already know two of those movies are Captain Marvel & Avengers 4. So, there are still 5 movies for Captain Marvel to roam and change a lot about the MCU universe we've known.

The way Marvel builds the image of a female superhero could be seen as a suitable direction given DC's huge success with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). Captain Marvel 2 might hit the screens around 2020 – 2021, 1 – 2 years after Captain Marvel's release.

If Marvel Studios has grown tired of exploring familiar characters, Namor could emerge as a breath of fresh air in the MCU. This Prince of Atlantis is one of the oldest figures in Marvel comics, and has a longstanding rivalry with Black Panther - T’Challa. In the comics, these two characters have clashed multiple times, with Black Panther once managing to defeat Namor.

Marvel has now obtained the rights to explore this character after reaching an agreement with Universal in 2014. However, we may have to wait another 2-3 years before seeing Namor on screen.

The next film revolving around Marvel's female superhero is highly likely to be a standalone Black Widow movie. Recently, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that lead actress Scarlett Johansson is set to receive around $15 million for the Black Widow standalone film. This strongly indicates that Marvel is gearing up to introduce a solo film for this enigmatic character, after her appearances in all six previous MCU movies.

The storyline of the film is likely to delve into the origins and background of the deadly spy Natasha Romanoff. We already know that she was born and raised in Russia, undergoing rigorous and brutal training to become a spy and assassin. Additionally, her full name was disclosed by Zola in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Natasha Alianovna Romanova, born in 1989.

There's a possibility that the Black Widow movie will hit theaters around 2020 – 2021.

Marvel Studios has a tendency in recent years to produce movies featuring groups of superheroes, and there's reason to believe they might bring the famous Illuminati to the screen.

According to the comics, the Illuminati is a secret group consisting of Tony Stark, Namor, Doctor Strange, Professor X, Reed Richards, and Black Bolt, formed to manipulate events in the superhero world. Throughout its history, the Illuminati has often caused more harm than good, with notable events including Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, and Civil War.

If brought to the screen, the Illuminati may need to undergo changes in its lineup as Marvel currently doesn't have the rights to the Fantastic Four to explore the character of Reed Richards.

According to what we know, Avengers 4 will mark Chris Evans' final appearance as Captain America. His contract with Marvel will end, and he has confirmed he won't renew it because he wants to move on from the role of Captain America, which has been associated with him for too long.

Marvel is likely to reboot the character of Captain America with a more complex image and psychological development than the Captain America we knew with Chris Evans. Possible candidates for this role include Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson (Falcon).

Some information suggests that Marvel Studios is currently casting twin boys around 2 years old for Avengers 4. They may not play a significant role in the film, but it's highly likely that these twin boys are the children of Scarlet Witch and Vision.

In the comics, during the House of M event, Scarlet Witch altered reality using her magic. She created twin boys in her dream and imagined them as her and Vision's children. These twin boys possess magical powers and speed, similar to Scarlet Witch and Pietro Maximoff before. She also made 90% of mutants disappear from Earth with just three words, “No more mutants.”

If adapted into a film, this would undoubtedly be an event that gathers superheroes similar to Civil War, because in the original comic storyline, the House of M event involved many superheroes, including the X-Men.