Disney Confirms Marvel Phase 4 Release Dates for Next Three Years

With Avengers: Endgame now in theaters, Marvel Studios has all but closed the book on Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the future of the universe is ready to be written in Phase 4. Now, we know when those movies will hit theaters. Disney announced planned release dates for the next seven years for a few of their big franchises -- including Marvel's Phase 4.

On the expansive slate Disney released today, there are eight slots listed as "Untitled Marvel," two in 2020 and three each for 2021 and 2022. While it's unclear exactly what Marvel has planned for its post-Endgame movie releases, we do know some of films that expected in this next chapter for the MCU including a Black Widow movie, The Eternals, Shang-Chi, Black Panther 2, and more. So what's coming on what date?

After Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters this July, the next Marvel film expected is May 1, 2020. That slot will most likely go to Black Widow. That film is expected to start production in June, which would put it on track for that first release date. November 6, 2020 is the next date up and that is likely to be The Eternals as it is rumored to be entering production in August, though there have been reports that Doctor Strange 2 could end up taking that 2020 date.

If Doctor Strange 2 doesn't take the November 2020 date, it is our top contender for the February 12, 2021 date followed by Black Panther 2 on May 7, 2021, and Shang-Chi on November 5, 2021. Heading into 2022, it's likely that the February 18, 2022 could be taken by a not-yet-confirmed-but-very-likely Captain Marvel 2 while May 6, 2022 would then go to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The only date left unaccounted for would be the July 29, 2022 date.

Of course, all of this speculation assumes that the films taking those announced dates will be MCU films as we know them. It's possible that some of these release dates -- particularly the 2022 dates -- could be for films featuring newly acquired characters from the Fox acquisition. We know that the Fantastic Four and the X-Men will almost certainly be making their way into the MCU, it's just a matter of when. However, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has previously indicated that it could be a long time before the X-Men in particular make their debut.

"It'll be a while," Feige told io9 ahead of Avengers: Endgame's release. "It's all just beginning and the five-year plan that we've been working on, we were working on before any of that was set. So really, it's just more, for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now and more just the comfort factor and how nice it is that they're home. That they're all back. But it will be a very long time."

Avengers: Endgame is now in theaters. Spider-Man: Far From Home opens July 2nd.

Now it's your turn: which MCU movies do you think match up to the dates Disney released Tuesday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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