Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been a remarkably different year at movie theaters than at almost any point in history, not only because most of them have been closed for the majority of the year. This year has so far only seen one movie from DC Films, Marvel Studios, or Sony Pictures' Marvel banner be released (WB's Birds of Prey) and currently only one more is on the schedule (Wonder Woman 1984, set for December 25). In both 2019 and 2017 there were four Marvel movies with two DC films while 2018 saw six Marvel movies and two DC movies. Due to the amount of delays and scheduling shuffling by the studios, the next two years are already stacked with potential releases and we break them all down below.
As of this writing, 2021 has six Marvel movies (including Sony and Disney releases) and two DC movies on the calendar, while 2022 currently has five Marvel movies and three DC movies. There are some major lingering questions that could alter these release plans further though, like the health of the theatrical exhibition market over the next calendar year, the uncertainty of when "regular life" might return with the addition of a COVID-19 vaccine, and even the unexpected death of Marvel star Chadwick Boseman. All of these things could contribute to new changes in the release schedule for all of the below movies, and perhaps even other scheduled for later.
This year has also seen Marvel Studios push back the state of their Phase Four slate of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies twice. Black Widow was originally scheduled to open in May of this year with Eternals following in November, and now the Scarlett Johansson starring prequel will debut a full year later. Marvel has also shifted the release order of a number of their films with movies like Shang-Chi originally set to be the third film released will now arrive in-between Black Widow & Eternals.
DC on the otherhand has a smaller slate of films but has had to shift their release dates around just as often. The Robert Pattinson starring The Batman has been pushed twice and is now set for 2022, with movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods delayed almost a year and Black Adam now removed from their schedule entirely. They are in a good position for the upcoming The Suicide Squad though, which completed filming before the COVID shutdowns started and remains on track for an August 2021 debut (its original release date).
