The following was posted on "The Avengers" Forum on IMDB 2 days ago (Saturday, July 30, 2012):
Hey guys. My name is "Karter", and I've been working in Marvel Studios for 2 years now with Creative Pre-Production and Concept Art.
Anyways, the higher-up's sent out a pretty exciting Memo this morning regarding the next few years of production at the studio, as they are incredibly happy with the performance of Captain America on the domestic front. This is supposed to be strictly confidential but as a fellow fan who is proud of my work on "The Avengers", I just can't hold this information back.
The BIG news is that characters such as Dr. Strange, The Punisher and Luke Cage will have big screen introduction in pre-film short films ranging from 10-15 minutes in length. These films will put the character's in the established universe and help transition them into further films.
These will be formally announced at the upcoming Disney convention.
Anyways, the Memo outlined a production schedule as follows:
For RELEASE in 2013 -
IRON MAN 3 - DIR. SHANE BLACK - SECOND QUARTER 2013
ANT MAN (SHORT FILM) - DIR. EDGAR WRIGHT - SECOND QUARTER 2013
THOR 2 - DIR. NEIL MARSHALL (LATE STAGE NEGOTIATIONS) - FOURTH QUARTER 2013
DR. STRANGE (SHORT FILM) - DIR. DAVID SLADE (NEGOTIATIONS) - FOURTH QUARTER 2013
For RELEASE in 2014 -
THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS - DIR. LOUIS LETERRIER - SECOND QUARTER 2014
LUKE CAGE + IRON FIST (SHORT FILM) - DIR. JAMES GUNN (NEGOTIATIONS) - SECOND QUARTER 2014
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. - DIR. DOUG LIMAN (EARLY NEGOTIATIONS) - THIRD QUARTER 2014
BLACK PANTHER - DIR. ANTOINE FUQUA (EARLY NEGOTIATION) - THIRD QUARTER 2014
For RELEASE in 2015 -
THE PUNISHER - DIR. PADDY CONSIDINE (NEGOTIATIONS) - FIRST QUARTER 2015
SENTRY (SHORT FILM) - DIR. T.B.A. - FIRST QUARTER 2015
CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 - DIR. JOE JOHNSTON (NEGOTIATIONS) - THIRD QUARTER 2015
WASP (SHORT FILM) - DIR. DUNCAN JONES (EARLY NEGOTIATION) - THIRD QUARTER 2015
For RELEASE in 2016 -
BLADE: THE DAYWALKER - DIR. T.B.A. - SECOND QUARTER 2016
MOON KNIGHT (SHORT FILM) - DIR. T.B.A. - SECOND QUARTER 2016
THE AVENGERS 2 - DIR. T.B.A. - FOURTH QUARTER 2016
NAMOR (SHORT FILM) - DIR T.B.A. - FOURTH QUARTER 2016
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"The Avengers" assemble in 2012 as Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (the Hulk), and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), among others. Look out!