One of three new films announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023, Lucasfilm’s untitled New Jedi Order movie will feature Daisy Ridley’s return to the Star Wars universe as Rey. Set 15 years after the events of Episode IX-The Rise of Skywalker, the project will tell “the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down.”
A pair of new reports revealed that Knight has left the project, leaving Lucasfilm searching for a third writer. According to Variety, as a result, production will be delayed until “well into” 2025 at the earliest, casting doubt on a potential 2026 theatrical release. The studio has already begun the search for a new writer for the film which will still be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Through the many twists and turns that have popped up on the way through the Multiverse Saga, the endpoint has remained the same. While the release date may have changed, Avengers: Secret Wars has been the North Star for Marvel Studios as they continue to navigate what has been an ever-changing path toward it.
Stephen McFeely is writing the script. We are right in the middle of the writing process. We’ve always worked very closely with Markus and McFeely through all the work that we’ve done together. It’s a little bit like getting back on a bike. We have a really codified process that we all work together through… It’s very complicated to iron out a story of this scale.
-Joe Russo
After originally being developed by Michael Waldron, Avengers: Secret Wars is now being written by MCU vet Stephen McFeely who is working with Anthony and Joe Russo on both that film and Avengers: Doomsday. In a recent interview, Joe Russo revealed that while the scripts for both films were still being written, the studio was planning to kick off production on Doomsday in the spring of 2025. Additionally, Russo indicated that unlike the shooting schedule for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Doomsday and Secret Wars would not be filmee back-to-back. Now a reliable insider has shared the tentative status of production date for the Multiverse Saga finale.
According to Daniel RPK, Avengers: Secret Wars is expected to begin filming in the UK in the Spring of 2026.
The report lines up nicely with comments from the directing duo about their plans for the two films. “It’ll be similar [to the process of filming Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame], but we’ll have a larger break in between the two movies than we did,” said Joe Russo before asking his brother, Anthony for clarification “I think it was four weeks maybe? Was it four weeks between Infinity War and Endgame?“. Anthony then confirmed that they do not plan to film the two projects back-to-back, indicating that they may have “a year or so” of separation.
These are gonna be very, very big movies with a lot of characters in them and a lot of story lines coalescing. We’re really happy with how they’re coming together right now.
-Joe Russo
Given the moves made by Marvel Studios to redirect the Multiverse Saga, giving the brothers Russo more time to get each project right can only be a good thing. As the Infinity Saga proved, all anyone will remember is how it ended.
A recent interview with Don Cheadle seemed to confirm what most fans had already come to understand: Marvel Studios’ original plans for Phase 6 have been significantly refigured. During SDCC ’22, the studio’s head honcho, Kevin Feige, showed off an impressive plan for the final phase of the Multiverse Saga that included 11 total projects. At the time, the plan was for Fantastic Four to kick off Phase 6 on November 8, 2024 and for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars to hit theaters only 6 months apart on May 2nd, 2025 and November 7, 2025, respectively. For a multitude of reasons, nothing on that slate made its scheduled release and many of the projects will never come to fruition at all.
Though the nature of the other eight projects may never be disclosed, at least two more of them were likely destined to be films which would mean the other six were planned as streaming series. Given what the studio’s plans looked like at the time, that’s probably how it was meant to shape up.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Following the dismal reception of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, a confluence of events led to the plans for the fifth installment in the Avengers franchise to be scrapped. The plans put in place, presumably, in the Quantumania stinger and in Season 2 of Loki were ditched following star Jonathan Majors‘ legal troubles. But what were those plans?
The earliest rumors indicated that Sam Wilson, Shang-Chi and Shuri were set to take on Kang though they were destined to fail. Interestingly enough, that information matched a recent report that indicated the scrapped sequel would have had a heavy focus on Simu Liu‘s hero.
In the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.
Whether or not “Wreckage or Time” was indeed meant to be the subtitle of the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a sequel was most certainly in development. Even as the first film was being made, the wheels inside Destin Daniel Cretton’s mind were hard at work on the sequel. It’s unclear if some of those ideas would ultimately have been included in The Kang Dynasty, which was reportedly a sort of surprise Shang-Chi sequel, but it is clear that Shang-Chi was originally intended to play a major role in Phase 6 and now, with Cretton taking on Spider-Man 4, it would seem his role has been greatly reduced.
Armor Wars
First announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, Armor Wars will go down as one of the most curious projects in the history of the MCU. Originally developed as a Disney Plus streaming series, the studio made the decision to switch gears on Rhodey’s solo project, choosing to overhaul it for theaters. According to EP Nate Moore, the ideas the studio has were deemed to be “too big” for a D+ series.
Yeah, I mean in that case, there were some great ideas that were coming out for that show but that, to be quite honest, felt too big for that show.
The only project in this list that was never officially announced by Marvel Studios or revealed by a Hollywood trade, the Silver Surfer Special Presentation may or may not have ever been in development; however, if it ever was, it certainly does not seem to be at this point.
Originally rumored to be set to hit Disney Plus ahead of the theatrical release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the Silver Surfer project was said to be required reading for the film. Problematically, the rumored plot was said to follow Norrin Radd out and about in the cosmos while serving as the Herald of Galactus despite the fact that Marvel Studios cast Julia Garner as an all+new, all-different Shalla Bal version of the character.
While the studio has not officially indicated when the series might begin filming, Marvel TV head Brad Winderbaum did reveal that that Nova is being developed as “an amazing ensemble piece” before explaining that fans of the comics will know “how heated that Richard Rider kind of world can get.” Should the project get underway in 2025, there’s no reason to believe it will be included in Phase 6 which is expected to wrap up in May 2027 with Avengers: Secret Wars. At this point in time, it would seem that the studio’s Wonder Man and Vision Quest series will debut in 2026 and it’s unclear what role, if any, the Nova Corps would even have in the Multiverse Saga making the project a likely entry in the studio’s post-Multiverse Saga plans.
With Venom: The Last Dance opening in theaters and no word on another installment in Sony’s MCU-set Spider-Man franchise, it was increasingly likely that the studio would add to the buzz around Venom’s release by addressing its plans for Spider-Man 4. And with just a couple of days remaining before Tom Hardy‘s last go around as the lethal protector, Tom Holland did indeed let the cat out of the bag.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Holland confirmed plans to film the sequel in the summer of 2025. Should Marvel Studios stick to that schedule, it is likely that Sony will release the film in the summer of 2026 with the July 24th date recently abandoned by Marvel Studios being likely.
When asked by Fallon if he could confirm that he would be back as Spider-Man in Spider-Man 4, Holland played to the crowd a bit before saying,”It’s happening.” The star went to reveal a start date for the project, confirming recent reports. “Next summer, we start shooting. Everything’s good to go – we’re nearly there. Super exciting. Yeah, I can’t wait!“
Holland didn’t give anything more away but it is likely that Spider-Man 4 will join Avengers: Doomsday as MCU-set films releasing in 2026. Marvel Studios has an additional two dates set aside for currently untitled films.
Following Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at 2022’s San Diego Comic-Con, 2025 was poised to be the most consequential year for any studio in the history of motion pictures. The studio’s One Above All, Kevin Feige, revealed an incredibly ambitious release schedule that included five streaming series and four films including Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. By October, the 2025 slate had already begun to change in the first of a series of cascading moves by the studio that have continued over the past two years. For myriad reasons, projects have shuffled in, out and around in 2025 leaving fans uncertain of what to expect even as time runs out on 2024.
Avengers: Secret Wars was the first casualty, originally being moved to 2026 and then again to 2027. The Fantastic Four was moved from 2024 into 2025 and then moved later into 2025. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, originally scheduled for a May 2, 2025 release was moved into 2026 before being scrapped and reimagined as Avengers: Doomsday. And after a semi-disastrous 2023 for Marvel Studios, a Disney-mandated cutback on streaming series jettisoned the plans to have new episodes of MCU-set series releasing nearly year-round. Now, as the studio seems to be settling in following some rethinking, rescheduling and rebranding, the 2025 theatrical release slate has come into focus.
Captain America: Brave New World-February 14, 2025
Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford.
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Edward Pierce, with David Harbour, with Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Marvel Studios and a crew of indie veterans who sold out present “Thunderbolts*,” an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits.
Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, John Malkovich, Paul Walter-Hauser and Natasha Lyonne.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps sees Galactus and Silver Surfer target Earth for destruction.
With plans for the remainder of the Multiverse Saga likely having coalesced behind the scenes, the powers that be at Marvel Studios have begun to turn their attention to projects set a little further down the road. Though the studio has yet to reveal the titles of the 2026 films that will debut on either side of Avengers: Doomsday, they remain committed to bringing the Multiverse Saga to a close with 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. And while it may be some time before the studio officially reveals the next saga’s main focus, it’s clear they have some ideas about where things are headed.
With a writer on board for the first MCU-set X-Men film, it’s likely the mutants will be major players in the next saga but they certainly won’t be asked to carry the load alone. It would be hard to imagine that The Fantastic Four’s time in the MCU would come to an end with Secret Wars and there’s no shortage of rumors about projects for characters such as the Scarlet Witch, Hulk and the Young Avengers and there’s no reason to assume more Avengers films won’t be made.
Whatever the plans, thanks to an official press release, we now know the tentative dates for the first five films of the Post-Multiverse Saga MCU. Disney has added three Untitled Marvel movies to its 2028 release slate which join two previously slated 2027 dates on the calendar for the new saga.
According to Disney, Marvel Studios has plans to release films on 2/18/28, 5/5/28 and 11/10/28. With the first two post-Secret Wars films already planned for 7/23/27 and 11/5/27, it seems rumors of the death of the MCU may have been premature.
Marvel Studios panel at SDCC ’19 was among the most exciting they’ve ever put together on Hall H. However, due to a number of variables that have often been beyond the studio’s control, many of the projects teased over five years ago have yet to be released. Additionally, other projects have struggled to come together and have undergone numerous changes behind the scenes. Now it seems as though the studio has made the decision to move on from one such project for the time being.
Via an official release from Disney, Marvel Studios has removed Blade from its 2025 film slate.
The move comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the film’s incredible inability to come together over the past five years. Despite being backed and led by Mahershala Ali, the studio has been unable to put together a script worth shooting even after trying out a half dozen writers. Blade has also seen turnover in the director’s chair and despite recent rumors that they were looking to some new names to lead the film, Marvel Studios has finally put a stake in the heart of the project for now.
With Venom: The Last Dance opening in theaters in just a few days, fans are preparing for what Sony has confirmed is the end of the franchise. However, even if The Last Dance is the the last dance for the Venom franchise, it is starting to seem as though Tom Hardy‘s symbiote may have a few more moves in the tank.
When asked how a Spidey and Venom brawl might play out, Hardy’s gave an answer that will absolutely have fans talking.
“Venom is just like a gorilla, isn’t he? He’ll do what he has to do. I think that would be good fun,” said Hardy who then added that if his Brock were to fight a Spidey, he knows exactly which one hed like it to be.
I think Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man that was ever played, so I’m really fond of him. I think he’s a great actor and a great kid. I’m an old man, but I’d like to work with him.
#Venom: Tom Hardy raves over Tom Holland as "best" Spider-Man and says he wouldn't necessarily met on himself in that fight! 😅👊 Plus, he says there's still "so much more" to do with Venom. #VenomTheLastDance@VenomMoviepic.twitter.com/eIXSRgIFsZ
With the Multiverse Saga rapidly unraveling following the atypically poor quality of several projects in 2022 and 2023, Marvel Studios wisely pressed the pause button on the production of their future slate last year to analyze what went wrong and chart a new path forward. As part of that new path, the studio scrapped its plansfor the fifth Avengers film and Kevin Feige reeled Robert Downey Jr. back into the fold to suit up as Marvel Comics’ greatest villain, Doctor Doom, in the new vision of the project, Avengers: Doomsday. Feige’s efforts to save the sagadidn’t stop there, as he also convinced the studio’s most successful directing duo, Anthony and Joe Russo, to return to direct both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Unsurprisingly, the return of the brothers Russo was part of a package deal that helped assure Downey that the studio was doing everything possible to curate the stories of the next two Avengers films carefully. An additional layer of security for Downey and the Russos was also provided when Stephen McFeely, who co-wrote several MCU projects including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, joined the project. Since the big changes were announced at SDCC ’24, there hasn’t been much official buzz around the projects; however, Collider was recently able to catch up with the Russos at NYCC and the duo was willing to share some big updates on both where things stand with both Doomsday and Secret Wars.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Joe Russo, Anthony Russo and Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios speak onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
“Stephen McFeely is writing the script,” said Joe Russo about Avengers: Doomsday while adding that “we are right in the middle of the writing process.” Fans will, of course, note that there’s no mention of Christopher Markus being involved in the process despite being a co-writer on all of the Russo’s MCU projects and many non-MCU projects as well. And while some have tried to raise alarms over the absence of Markus, it seems as though all is well and that the brothers have gotten into a familiar groove with McFeely. We’ve always worked very closely with Markus and McFeely through all the work that we’ve done together,” said Joe. “It’s a little bit like getting back on a bike. We have a really codified process that we all work together through… It’s very complicated to iron out a story of this scale.”
That scale of the story of Avengers: Doomsday, and of Avengers: Secret Wars, may end up being larger than anything the studio has produced to date. While fans will have to wait some time before the entire cast lists of either film will be revealed, both are expected to see the return of dozens upon dozens of characters from the heroes of previous Avengers films to the Fantastic Four to the Scarlet Witch to Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man and even Thanos. Though he didn’t give anything away, Joe Russo confirmed to Collider that fans should expect a lot of heroes, villains and stories all coming together over teh course of the two Avengers films. “These are gonna be very, very big movies with a lot of characters in them and a lot of story lines coalescing,’ said the co-director before providing some positive vibes about the scripts saying, “We’re really happy with how they’re coming together right now.“
With the scripting process well underway, the Russos confirmed that principal photography on Avengers: Doomsday will kick off in the UK in the spring while also addressing how long of a break they’ll take before cameras roll on Avengers: Secret Wars. “It’ll be similar [to the process of filming Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame], but we’ll have a larger break in between the two movies than we did,” said Joe Russo before asking his brother, Anthony for clarification “I think it was four weeks maybe? Was it four weeks between Infinity War and Endgame?“. Anthony then confirmed that they do not plan to film the two projects back-to-back, indicating that they may have “a year or so” of separation.
I think it was a couple of weeks. But no, these are not as separated as you would normally separate two films of this scale, but they’re more substantially separated [than Infinity War and Endgame] by a year or so.
-Anthony Russo
With the two films set to open up a year apart in May 2026 and May 2027, respectively, it sounds as though all things are in order to make those release dates and deliver two large scale stories that MCU fans have been craving.
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