Marvel Studios has its next three movies scheduled for 2026 and 2027, but it’s not clear what will come next after that. There are five Marvel Cinematic Universe films in development now, and a new report by Variety indicates that the third Black Panther movie may be the one to kick off Phase Seven. Insiders said that Marvel is in no rush to get X-Men, Blade, or Deadpool 4 out as soon as possible, and they didn’t even mention Armor Wars or the Shang-Chi sequel. However, they did note that there is some excitement for Black Panther 3 inside the studio, with ideas beginning to take shape and solidify. It seems safe to say that movie would come after the end of the Multiverse Saga, so there’s no telling what kind of MCU it will premiere in.
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Insiders at Marvel are preparing for some major shifts in the coming years, between narrative changes in the MCU, internal changes at Disney, and changes to the film industry as a whole around the world. The Multiverse Saga will end with Avengers: Secret Wars in December of 2027, and the studio is currently planning out the story that will follow. That will come after a “reset” to the MCU in-world, and will likely include some kind of multiverse-altering event that makes the X-Men available to the main storyline.
That naturally pushes some of the other projects even further to the backburner, but sources said that Black Panther 3 is the exception. Insiders said that writer-director Ryan Coogler has some ideas “percolating” for this threequel that has the studio excited. By contrast, Blade and Deadpool are both low priorities, while X-Men is a long-term plan that will take a lot of build-up.
We’ve heard little about Black Panther 3 except that it will get made eventually. The MCU last visited Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, officially elevating Shuri (Letitia Wright) to the mantle of the hero. Shuri makes some kind of appearance in Avengers: Doomsday, but if anything, that just raises more questions for her future in the story.
Coogler followed through on his desire for a “break” from Black Panther since then, and most fans would agree that his historical vampire thriller Sinners was well worth it. In the meantime, Coogler has reportedly written a role specifically for Denzel Washington, with plans to cast him in Black Panther 3. A few producers are also attached to the movie as always, but other than that, it’s a blank slate.
It’s an exciting time for the MCU, with the start of the next saga almost as enticing as the grand finale of this one. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now, the next three movies are reportedly on schedule to hit their release dates. Beyond that, anything is possible. There’s no projected release date for Black Panther 3 at the time of this writing.
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