As Lucasfilm continues to prepare for its return to theaters in 2026 with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the studio continues to chart a new path forward in the galaxy far, far, away. With a trio of films announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe set to tell tales in all-new eras and Dave Filoni‘s Mandoverse creeping toward its end, a trade report has broken news that Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy has reteamed with a Star Wars vet to bring more adventures to the big screen.
According to THR’ Borya Kit, Simon Kinberg, who co-created the beloved animated series, Star Wars: Rebels, has signed on to write and produce a new trilogy of Star Wars films for Lucasfilm.
Though the trade report came with no details about what the new trilogy will be, it does seem clear what it won’t be. According to THR, Kinberg‘s trilogy will NOT be a continuation of the Skywalker Saga which spanned Episodes I through IX. Kinberg’s goal, as was the case with Rebels, is to introduce audiences to a new story and a new group of characters although, as THR’s report indicated, that does not necessarily mean characters from other Star Wars projects won’t potentially appear in the new trilogy. Kit made it clear that the new trilogy is not being designed as Episodes 10, 11 and 12.
Despite reports, this is NOT going to be Episodes 10-12, sources tell me. https://t.co/c4GZbUtrrD
As it stands now, Lucasfilm will return to theaters for the first time since 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX-The Rise of Skywalker with the Jon Favreau-led The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22, 2026. Beyond that, the Daisy Ridley-led New Jedi Order era film is expected to be on deck with James Mangold‘s Dawn of the Jedi era film and Dave Filoni‘s Mando-verse finale also on the lineup card.
Following Marvel Studios summer convention circuit, which was laser-focused on the 2025 slate, it’s become clear that the studio has now turned its attention to 2026. In a relatively short amount of time, plans for two films, Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4, began to crystalize. However, as it stands now, there are still 2 untitled Marvel Studios films on the release schedule for 2026 which means if the studio hopes to make their respective release dates, they’ll need to make decisions in short order.
The two untitled projects are set to serve as bookends to Doomsday and Spidey 4 which will both arrive in Summer 2026. With one untitled movie dated for February 13th, 2026, time is running out for the studio to get a project up and running if they hope to have something in theaters that day. Typically, Marvel would prefer to give a director about one year of lead time headed into production, meaning they’d typically have had a director on board for the February 2026 film nine months ago. However, despite that not being the case, a new report from a trusted insider points toward one troubled Marvel Studios’ movie potentially making into theaters for that date.
According to Daniel RPK, Marvel’s long-gestating Blade film starring Mahershala Ali stands as the best bet to join Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4 on the 2026 theatrical release schedule.
The insider’s report does come with one interesting caveat, however: he believes that the studio will eventually abandon the February date and try to have Blade ready for theaters in time to make the November 6, 2026 date they have staked out for an untitled film.
Unless they get something into production quickly next year even the February 2026 movie might be off the table.
As for right now best bet is they remove the Feb 2026 spot and put Blade in that Nov spot
Of course meeting any 2026 release date is contingent on finding a director for the film. Since it was announced in 2019, Blade has already lost original director Bassam Tariq and his replacement, Yann Demange. Fortunately, according to Daniel RPK, things may be headed in a positive direction as the project may be “close to finding a director.”
Yes, Ali likes the new draft and they're close to finding a director. It's the MCU film most likely to go into production next year with nothing else as close. So aside from the ones we already have (Cap 4, Thunderbolts, F4) it seems like Spidey and Blade are all that's left for… https://t.co/VMtKFjTy7f
Should the studio choose to move Blade into November 2026, that would cut the number of Marvel films on Disney’s recently updated 2026 release schedule by one. While that may be the most realistic option at this time, it’s not the only one. If the powers that be that make up the Marvel Parliament believe they can get Blade and another film in theaters for 2026, there’s no reason they can’t kick the February date down the road while also releasing a fourth film in November.
Though she only briefly appeared in Agatha All Along as a dead body, Wanda Maximoff played a major role in the recently wrapped MCU streaming series. Despite sacrificing herself to destroy the Darkhold in the third act of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Kevin Feige made it very clear that there was plenty of room in the MCU’s future for more stories about Wanda.
There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.
-Kevin Feige
Undoubtedly, part of the allure of continuing Wanda’s tale is that it would allow Marvel Studios to continue to work with one of its most talented actresses in Elizabeth Olsen. Feige has taken every opportunity to praise Olsen , calling her “incredibly humble and incredibly down-to-earth” while also stating that she is “a force of nature” when “those cameras roll.”In 2022, Feige claimed that he’d “work with Lizzie for another 100 years”, teasing a possible loophole to her apparent death by saying “anything’s possible in the multiverse!”
I mean I’m just here hoping for a Scarlet Witch movie. We all want Wanda, so fingers crossed that’s a thing that happens.
-Jac Schaeffer
More recently, Schaeffer offered a little more insight into Wanda’s possible future, indicating that the decision was made to explain in Agatha All Along that Wanda was not dead but simply “gone.” And that brings it right back to where Feige left things: anything is possible. And Olsen just teased one such possibility.
In a recent appearance at a fan convention, Olsen was asked if there was one specific Marvel Comics story she’d like to see adapted for her return to the MCU. And while she didn’t refer to any particular story, she seemed to give away plenty.
“Well, honestly, if I were to tell you exactly what I would want I think I would maybe be spoiling something,” said Olsen. “Kevin Feige genuinely asks us what we want to do with the character and then he does it [Laughs] so I don’t know if I can share…I just want to come back.”
As for what the mystery arc might be, rumors have often cited Disney’s interest in adapting Young Avengers: The Children’s Crusade for an MCU project and that possibility has never seemed more realistic than it does now. With Tommy now back among the living, Billy on the hunt for him without control of his powers and the studio reveling in the success of a second streaming series set in the witchy corner of the MCU, a Maximoff family reunion seems like exactly the right move.
After three years of reports, rumors and flat-out bullshit about Tom Holland‘s next steps as the MCU’s Spider-Man, a fourth installment in Sony and Marvel Studios’ franchise is finally gearing up for a 2025 start of production and a summer 2026 release. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the new film looks poised to play a pivotal role in the final arc of the Multiverse Saga though at this point in time, it remains unclear what story Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have cooked up for Holland‘s Parker who is now set to face whatever comes his way without the support system that kept him up and running through the first three films.
Originally rumored as an adaptation of Marvel Comics Devil’s Reign that would feature Spidey teaming up with Daredevil to take on Wilson Fisk in a “street-level Civil War”, more recent buzz had the film evolving into an unprecedented high-stakes crossover event that would feature Sony’s latest Venom villain, Knull, the King in Black. While both of those potential plots certainly have their charms, a new production listing for the film has the film headed in an entirely different direction that would see Parker encounter a familiar face…sort of.
Production Weekly is reporting that the new film, titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day, will spin out of the events of Avengers: Doomsday and feature Robert Downey Jr.‘s Doctor Doom.
Following the events of Doomsday, Peter Parker is determined to lead a normal life and focus on college, stepping back from his responsibilities as Spider-Man. However, peace is short-lived when a deadly new threat emerges, endangering his friends and forcing Peter to reconsider his promise.With stakes higher than ever, Peter reluctantly returns to his Spider-Man identity and finds himself teaming up with an unlikely ally to protect those he loves.
-Reported synopsis of Spider-Man: Brand New Day via Prodcution Weekly
Reading between the lines, if the rumored subtitle and synopsis are correct, it would seem the studio is adapting Dan Slott’s post-Civil War run on The Amazing Spider-Man.
The listing also indicates that Michael Keaton and Andrew Garfield are on board to return as Peter 3 and Adrian Toomes, respectively. While it’s all very interesting and could lead to some fun and unexpected turns for the character, it’s too early to get too excited.
Spider-Man 4 will swing into theaters on July 24, 2026.
Marvel Studios’ first canonical animated series, What If…?, seemed to truly hit its stride in its second season. However, despite its premise as a multiversal adventure, for reasons out of the control of its creators the series was by and large geared toward telling stories about alternate universe Variants of the core Avengers featured in the Infinity Saga. Footage from Season 3 released following the Season 2 finale featured the inclusion of David Harbour‘s Red Guardian, teasing a new direction for the new season.
In January, Andrews revealed that the best fans could hope for is a late-2024 debut of What If…? Season 3. “They move stuff around,” said Andrews of Marvel Studios. “Every time I thought it was like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be this!’ It’s like, ‘It’s going to move a little bit!’ So, even I would hate to say something and have people’s hopes come up and then have them be dashed because of the beast of production and when things move around,” he explained. “I thought that it could come out at the end of the year in 2024 possibly, but that would be tight. There’s some other group of people that are masterminding when things [release] and they’re moving things on the board, and I don’t know where we exist on that at this moment.”
“What If…?Season Three is — that might be the one that comes out next, in terms of animation,” said Winderbaum in a May interview, adding that the next season would be “the culmination of a trilogy.”
We’re actually close to completing that one, and it really feels like you’ve gone through this amazing emotional experience with Uatu, in a way that’s… What’s great about The Watcher is that he presents himself as uncaring, and cold, and just an observer, but he cares more than everybody [and] anybody. That is on full display in that third season.
-Brad Winderbaum, May 2024
As it turns out, Andrews was indeed correct on two counts: Marvel does like to move things around and as part of the latest series of movements, Season 3 of What If…? secured a surprising release date. As revealed in a sizzle reel for the studio’s upcoming projects, the third and final season of What If…? is set to debut on Disney Plus on December 22, 2024.
Though the episode release schedule was not included in the teaser, it seems as though the studio will repeat the daily episode roll out it utilized with Season 2, which premiered on December 22, 2023 and wrapped on December 30, 2023.
During Marvel Animation’s D23 panel in August, footage from the upcoming third season showcased an expanded roster of heroes which generated quite a bit of buzz online with the majority of fans eagerly looking forward to the next group of episodes. Now those fans can look forward to settling in over the December holiday season.
With Bob Iger‘s return to the Disney throne came a mandate that the company’s largest production studios take a hard look at their project pipelines. During a May conference call with investors, the big boss made it clear that the studios were to scale back the number of streaming projects being developed and that the ones that did make their way to Disney Plus needed to be of the quality customers had come to expect, adding the mandate was “particularly true with Marvel.” Following a three-year run in which both theatrical and streaming projects failed to land with audiences, Iger pumped the brakes on the monster Multiverse Saga slate Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, revealed at SDCC ’22 in which Phase 6 alone was comprised of 11 projects.
We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.
Bob Iger
While there’s no reason to doubt that Iger fully intends to accomplish the plan he laid out in May, it would seem as though the decrease in volume will indeed be a slow process. With a backlog of projects, both animated and live-action, already in the can and ready to roll out, Marvel Studios has officially revealed its 2025 Disney Plus slate and it is one of its most ambitious yet with six series on the way next year.
January 29, 2025: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Marvel Animation)
March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again (Marvel Television)
June 24, 2025: Ironheart (Marvel Television)
August 6, 2025: Eyes of Wakanda (Marvel Animation)
October 2025: Marvel Zombies (Marvel Animation)
December 2025: Wonder Man (Marvel Television)
A leaked sizzle reel that was likely intended to launch online following the two-episode finale of Agatha All Along revealed both the slate and first looks at each of the projects.
The inclusion of Wonder Man on the 2025 slate opens up an intriguing, although perhaps too early, conversation about the studio’s 2026 plans. With the Paul Bettany-led untitled Vision series filming next year along with Season 2 of Daredevi: Born Again, it seems as though Marvel may have a surprise or two in store for fans.
Ahead of the two-episode series finale of Agatha All Along, Marvel Studios abruptly revealed its 2025 streaming slate through a video shared across its social media platforms. The impressive plans include 3 live-action and 3 animated series sprinkled in throughout the year. Combined with the studio’s theatrical release schedule, the hefty slate means that fans can look forward to new content in nine months in 2025. However, despite giving fans much to look forward to next year, the slate does have one very noticeable omission.
While Marvel Animation will roll out Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes ofWakanda and Marvel Zombies in 2025, Season 2 of X-Men ’97 was not included in the studio’s release schedule.
The x-clusion of the sophomore season of the animated does not come as a complete surprise despite the studio having greenlit a second batch of episodes in 2022. A recent report indicated that the series was undergoing some reconfiguring following the firing of showrunner Beau DeMayo and would be delayed until 2026.
According to an update to Disney’s All Access page, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will debut on Disney Plus on January 25, 2025.
It follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.
-Brad Winderbaum on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
With the move, Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Eyes of Wakanda are now tentatively dated until January 25, 2025 and August 6, 2025, respectively.
The first projects produced under each of those banners debuted in 2024. As the first Marvel Spotlight project, Echo carried on the spirit of Stan Lee’s “tryout books” in bringing “more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen.” According to Disney, Spotlight projects “can focus on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity” and, perhaps most importantly, ensure “viewers don’t have to watch any other Marvel series to understand the plot.” Shortly after Echo’s binge release, X-Men ’97, Marvel Animation’s first streaming project, hit Disney Plus and brought a tidal wave of positive vibes with it. And as Agatha All Along, the first project made under the Marvel Television banner, neses the end of its run, it continues to receive praise from fans and critics alike. In short, rebranding Year One was a success. And now it seems the Year Two slate is starting to take shape.
There was a lot of pressure post-Avengers: Endgame on the public to feel obligated to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything. Part of the rebranding was a signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand. Some will be more comedic, some will be more dramatic, some will be animated, some will be live-action. Marvel is more than just one thing — it is actually many different genres that just happened to coexist in a single narrative.
-Brad Winderbaum
As part of an update to its All Access page, Disney has uploaded logos for several projects. Embedded in the files for some of those projects are potential release dates for some animated projects which indicate they are currently set to debut on Disney Plus in 2025.
It follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.
We’re actually close to completing that one, and it really feels like you’ve gone through this amazing emotional experience with Uatu, in a way that’s… What’s great about The Watcher is that he presents himself as uncaring, and cold, and just an observer, but he cares more than everybody [and] anybody. That is on full display in that third season.
-Brad Winderbaum on Season 3 of What If…?
At that time, both Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Eyes of Wakanda were still part of the studio’s 2024 streaming slate, as revealed in late 2023.
We’ve done the whole thing. It was amazing. It was so much fun. And I love—there are a lot of cool characters in the ‘Marvel Zombies’ show. And Kamala is kind of the center of the show. They described it to me, it’s like, “She’s basically the Frodo of the story.” And I was like, “That’s amazing.”
In March 2023, rumors began to swirl that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media production company had begun developing an animated series for Marvel Studios. As Marvel Studios revamped their streaming slate and skipped out on SDCC ’23, the series, said at the time to be referred to as The Golden City, remained nothing but a rumor. However at a press event for Season 2 of What If…? held at the Walt Disney Studios Lot in December 2023, head of streaming, television and animation for Marvel Studios, Brad Winderbaum, revealed that the new series, titled Eyes of Wakanda, was set for a 2024 release on Disney Plus.
Directed by Todd Harris, the series will follow “brave warriors” known as War Dogs, who “throughout Wakandan history have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts.” Eyes of Wakanda, Winderbaum revealed, “fits right into our sacred MCU timeline continuity,” making it MCU canon. A leaked description of one episode of the series revealed that it would introduce an Iron Fist named Janora, an original character created just for the show, who would be working with a Wakanda named Basha. In 2022, we first shared information that indicated the studio was developing an animated series that would feature a character named “Jin”, described as a “Chinese warrior” and “perhaps the best-trained martial artist in the world.” According to that information, “Jin’s” story kicks off when another character named “Bosco” steals one of the series’ MacGuffin artifacts. Connect the dots and it sounds like Basha may head to K’un Lun to retrieve some type of Vibranium artifact and then find himself at odds with Janora.
Despite being developed mostly in secret, Eyes of Wakanda quickly became a hot topic of discussion among fans but as 2024 went on with no word of a premiere date, concern over the project grew. Fans can rest easy now, however, as an update to Disney’s All Access page revealed that the series is now part of Marvel Studios’ 2025 slate with an expected release date of August 6th.
Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story.
-Official Synopsis, Eyes of Wakanda
As seen in Black Panther, the history of Wakanda stretches back to 28,000 B.C. though the meteorite that brought Vibranium to Africa and the Atlantic Ocean fell from the sky much earlier in 2,500,000 B.C.. This provides Marvel Studios the opportunity to use the series, which consists of 4, 30-minute episodes, an opportunity to redefine its Sacred Timeline by telling stories whose primary settings predate any seen to date in the MCU.
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