A rundown of current films and TV shows in the works for MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is showing no signs of slowing down, with a whole host of new movies and TV shows.

With 23 films under their belt already, it is time for Marvel to take some risks and bring new heroes to the big screen. Marvel is doing just that and has the next three years of your cinema viewing mapped out, with even more titles waiting after.

So, to keep track of when you must make it to the cinema, here is a nice little summary of everything that Marvel has planned for the huge MCU.

‘Black Widow’

Kickstarting this next phase of the MCU comes a film that instead of being set in the present, is set in the past.

Rumors are currently that this new film will take place between “Avengers Infinity War” and “Captain America Civil War”.

“Black Widow” will see the return of Scarlett Johansson as everyone’s favorite spy. This will be her first solo film and the second MCU film with a female lead.

Joining her are Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, O. T. Fagbenle and David Harbour.

The primary villain will be Taskmaster.

Other than that, not much is known about the plot. Fans will have to wait until May 1, 2020, to check this film out.

‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’

Serving as one of the first directly connected Marvel and Disney+ TV show, ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ will follow fan-favorite heroes Falcon and Winter Soldier.

The pair team up against Zemo, who was last seen in “Captain America: Civil War”.

Anthony Mackie (Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier) will be reprising their roles as the heroes, as well as Daniel Bruhl (Zemo) and Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter).

Not much else is known about this TV show, but it is nice to see the smaller heroes get their time to shine, even if it is just on Disney+.

The show is set for a fall 2020 release and it will be the first directly connected Marvel show. “Runaways” and the Netflix shows don’t count.

‘The Eternals’

In this next phase, Marvel is introducing a new superhero squad. With a star-studded cast and Marvel behind it, it is sure to be a hit.

“The Eternals,” tells the story of ancient immortal beings that watch over the Earth. These beings are a little different than The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.

The film will star Angeline Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Gemma Chan, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee and Kit Harington.

That is a lot of characters and it may be crowded, but Marvel Studios can make it work.

The film is slated for a Nov. 6, 2020 release.

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’

The next hero Marvel will introduce is Shang-Chi, the first superhero of Asian descent to enter the MCU.

Shang-Chi is a martial arts master and will be played by Simu Liu. Joining him is Awkwafina and Tony Leung.

Shang-Chi will be combating the ten rings and the supervillain, The Mandarin, not the fake one we met in “Iron Man 3,” but the real one.

The film is slated for Feb. 12, 2021.

‘Wandavision’

The second directly related Marvel TV show that will air on Disney+.

Not much is known about the plot other than that it will be weird.

The show will star Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision.

Joining them is one of the weirdest returning casts. Kat Dennings as Darcy the intern from “Thor,” Randall Park as the parole officer, Jimmy Woo from “Ant-man and the Wasp” and Teyonah Parris playing the adult version of Monica Rambeau from “Captain Marvel.” As well as Kathryn Hahn playing the nosy neighbor.

The show is slated for Spring 2021.

‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

Finally, a sequel to “Doctor Strange” will grace our screens but this time Benedict Cumberbatch is joined by Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch.

It is promised to be the first scary MCU film, with the director of the first one returning. The events of “Wandavison” are also supposed to directly tie into the film.

It is currently slated for a May 7, 2021 release and the hype is strong.

‘Spiderman 3’

Last month it was reported that Marvel and Sony had split up over contract negotiations and that Sony was taking Spiderman away. That would have left the story of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker hanging in the MCU.

Luckily, it was announced last week that Sony and Disney have struck a deal for at least one more Spiderman film and an appearance in a future unannounced Marvel film.

Tom Holland will be returning as well as most of the cast. Not much else is known, but it is set to be released on July 16, 2021, and the hype is even stronger for this one.

‘Loki’

Everyone’s favorite villain Loki will be returning in his own Disney+ TV show. This show will follow the Loki that stole the Tesseract in “Avengers Endgame” and vanished.

Tom Hiddleston will be returning and this show will answer where Loki ran off to. This isn’t the nice sympathetic Loki from “Thor: Ragnarok,” but instead the Loki from “The Avengers,” who still wants to rule.

It is set to release in the spring of 2021.

‘What If…?’

A fun animated show will be joining the roster of shows on Disney+. This show will explore a fun alternative to every single film in the MCU.

Alternatives like “What If Peggy Carter picked up Steve’s shield and became Captain America?” will be explored.

Most of all, MCU stars will come back to lend their voices, and each episode will be devoted to one film.

Slated for a Summer 2021 release, this show will be a good time.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

Thor will be the first MCU hero to get a fourth film. Returning to direct is Taika Waititi who breathed new life into Thor making him more comedic in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

It will star Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. Making her grand return to the MCU will be Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, but this time instead of Thor’s love interest, she will be wielding his hammer.

Currently slated for a Nov. 5, 2021 release, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Going Forward

There is even more in the MCU pipeline, yet most of them don’t have release dates.

Get ready to be glued to your TV and the movie theatre for the foreseeable future.