For comic book fans, the most exciting thing about the Disney/Fox merger was the fact that Marvel Studios would be able to reboot the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. However, there's always been some confusion about
Deadpool's future; after two successful R-Rated adventures, will the Merc with the Mouth be rebooted or is Ryan Reynolds returning for some adult themed MCU hijinks?
Well, it sounds like the answer may be somewhere in-between.
According to Variety's Brent Lang, he's heard
"from sources that there are debates about whether Deadpool can move seamlessly between R-rated solo outings and PG-13 rated MCU movies." In other words, Disney is trying to figure out whether the franchise should become a box office juggernaut in the kid-friendly MCU, or if itshould remain in its own R-Rated Fox Universe.
Once Upon a Deadpool proved that fans will still watch a
Deadpool movie without the swearing and crude humour, and there's really no reason why a PG-13 series of films wouldn't be every bit as entertaining. The question is, is that something moviegoers want or were they flocking to
Deadpool because it pushed the boundaries and delivered the sort of edgy superhero content you don't see in the MCU?
That is what Disney is clearly trying to figure out. What do you think should happen?
Hit the "View List" button to check out every confirmed
superhero movie coming between now and the end of 2022!
Joker
Release Date: October 4th, 2019
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beets, Robert De Niro
Joker is being entered into a number of festivals before its theatrical release and there's already some Oscar buzz. Much of that has been created by those involved with the project, of course, and there have been plenty of bad movies given similar treatment in the past.
We'll find out soon enough, but what comic book fans will make of it is another matter altogether.
Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)
Release Date: February 7th, 2020
Director: Cathy Yan
Cast: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor
Harley Quinn was
Suicide Squad's breakout character and it's going to be a lot of fun seeing how Margot Robbie's take on her differs in this setting. Plot rumours have pointed to these female heroes/anti-heroes coming together to steal the "flamboyantly gay" Black Mask's d*ck pics, but a first look confirming whether that's true or not will hopefully arrive sooner rather than later.
The New Mutants
Release Date: April 3rd, 2020
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton
After multiple delays, Disney has pencilled in
The New Mutants for next April. There's still no word on those reshoots and it's hard to believe that the studio will want to release this movie considering the fact that Marvel Studios is supposed to be rebooting the
X-Men franchise. Common sense says that if it does reach theaters, it will be marketed as a teen horror movie more than a superhero one.
Black Widow
Release Date: May 1st, 2020
Director: Cate Shortland
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, David Harbour
It's been confirmed that
Black Widow will be set shortly after the events of
Captain America: Civil War and after Comic-Con, we now know that Natasha will be facing off with villains like Red Guardian and Taskmaster. With any luck, we'll also get to delve into her origin story as there are a lot of gaps in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's timeline that this adventure could fill in.
Wonder Woman 1984
Release Date: June 5th, 2020
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal
Originally set to be released this year,
Wonder Woman 1984 was pushed back to next June in order to ensure that the movie is as good as possible. Details are few and far between, but Maxwell Lord and Cheetah are both expected to factor into proceedings while posters such as the one above have really grabbed the attention of comic book fans.
Morbius [Rumored]
Release Date: July 10th, 2020
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Jared Leto
Morbius has been shooting for a while now, but Sony Pictures still hasn't confirmed that it will be released next July. We're bound to get some sort of teaser before the end of the year, of course, and it's going to be very interesting seeing how Sony Pictures handles this movie after
Venom proved to be a hit at the box office but a complete flop with critics and most fans.
Venom 2 [Rumored]
Release Date: October 2nd, 2020
Director: Andy Serkis [Rumored]
Cast: Tom Hardy
Talking of
Venom, the sequel is also expected to be released next year, but unless it starts shooting soon, Sony Pictures may struggle to meet this release date. With rumours swirling that Andy Serkis is set to take the helm, it's clear that the follow-up will be heading in a different direction and it's definitely going to be fun seeing how
Venom 2 comes together, particularly with Carnage involved.
Eternals
Release Date: November 6th, 2020
Director: Chloe Zhao
Cast: Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Don Lee
Marvel Studios revealed the full cast of
Eternals at Comic-Con (well, the core team anyway) and that alone is cause for celebration. We don't know a lot about the plot but it's been confirmed that the movie will delve into 30,000 years' worth of the MCU's history, while also putting the spotlight on the Celestials. Chances are that this one will set the stage for some huge future stories.
Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings
Release Date: February 12th, 2021
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina
For years, fans have been anxiously waiting for The Mandarin to make his presence felt in the MCU. Well, that's going to happen in Shang-Chi's first big screen outing as we get to meet both that villain and learn more about the Ten Rings. Iron Man may be dead and gone but it's hard to believe there won't by any references to Tony Stark's connection to that bad guy and his organisation.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness
Release Date: May 7th, 2021
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen
No, that photo of the Scarlet Witch isn't a mistake! Following the release of
WandaVision on Disney+, the character will be making an appearance in
Doctor Strange in the Madness of the Multiverse. That could mean her powers are about to become a problem and with Scott Derrickson promising that this is the MCU's first "horror" movie, there's a lot of reasons to be excited for this one.
The Batman
Release Date: June 25th, 2021
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Robert Pattinson
After years of delays (bear in mind that it was supposed to be released this year, last year, and the year before that),
The Batman is finally happening and Robert Pattinson will suit up as the Caped Crusader. It's thought that Matt Reeves wants a number of iconic villains to appear and this could be the most comic book-y version of the Dark Knight seen on screen to date.
The Suicide Squad
Release Date: August 8th, 2021
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena
Had things played out a little differently,
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would have been on this list. Instead, James Gunn is taking the helm of
The Suicide Squad and seeing what he brings to the table for this sequel promises to be amazing. A number of familiar faces are returning but they'll be joined by some newcomers played by actors like John Cena and Idris Elba.
Thor: Love And Thunder
Release Date: November 5th, 2021
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson
Arguably Marvel Studios' most exciting Phase 4 movie,
Thor: Love and Thunder will see Natalie Portman return to the MCU to play the new God of Thunder. Throw in the fact that Taika Waititi is back at the helm and this has all the makings of being one of the best Marvel movies to date. The big mystery right now is who Valkyrie will end up choosing as her new Queen!
Untitled Marvel Studios Movies
Release Date: February 18th, 2022, May 6th, 2022, July 29th, 2022
These movies are going to be Phase 5 releases but what they are is a mystery.
Blade seems like a very strong possibility, while
Black Panther 2 and
Captain Marvel 2 are also contenders. However, seeing as Kevin Feige specifically mentioned the
Fantastic Four at Comic-Con, Marvel's First Family could be coming back to the big screen even sooner than expected.
Aquaman 2
Release Date: December 16th, 2022
Director: James Wan
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard
We still don't know what the deal is with The Trench but
Aquaman 2 is happening (which is hardly a surprise after the first instalment grossed over $1 billion worldwide). James Wan is expected to direct this one shortly after he finishes work on another horror movie and while plot details are scarce, it's believed that Black Manta will take on a lead villain role.
DCEU - TBC
There are still a long list of DC Comics movies in the works, all of which appear to be in different stages of development.
Black Adam is supposed to start shooting (possibly as soon as the end of next year) and while there's been no official word about a
Shazam! sequel, it would be strange for one not to happen. All those
Suicide Squad spinoffs do appear to be dead, though.
Ava DuVernay, meanwhile, is working on The New Gods right now so that should be here sooner rather than later. The Flash has a new director but is seemingly stuck in development hell and it's been a long time now since we've heard anything at all about the likes of Nightwing, Green Lantern Corps, and Nightwing. Here's hoping that changes in the not too distant future.
Untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home Sequel - TBC
There was no mention of the wall-crawler at Comic-Con but that's because Sony Pictures releases the movies. Based on the gap between
Spider-Man: Homecoming and
Spider-Man: Far From Home, the next instalment should be with us in 2021 and an official announcement will more than likely swing online before the year is over. After that cliffhanger, we need this sequel ASAP!