These Are The MCU Movies That Are Most Likely To Make It To Theaters Next

Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to a close with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, immediately following the farewells we bid to some fan-favorite heroes in Avengers: Endgame. So, where do things go from here? We know that the next MCU movies aren't coming out until 2020, and while there hasn't been any official word on what they will be, there have been plenty of rumors.

To start with something we do know, the next several movie — whatever they are — have release dates. Of course, these could change, but Disney announced dates for eight more Marvel movies in May, as reported by Polygon. The next Marvel movies are slated for the following releases:

• May 1, 2020
• Nov. 6, 2020
• Feb. 12, 2021
• May 7, 2021
• Nov. 5, 2021
• Feb. 18, 2022
• May 6, 2022
• July 29, 2022

Ever since 2013, Marvel has released at least two movies per year, with three movies released in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The new schedule keeps in line with that history. But, as Polygon notes, these are Marvel releases, not necessarily all MCU releases. For example, the Deadpool series is Marvel, but not part of the MCU.

It is expected that the titles of these these movies will be announced at San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, July 20. According to Inverse, the schedule for the annual event lists a panel called "Marvel Studios" on the evening of the 20th. The panel's description reads, "Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige and surprise panelists provide an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe." Oooh, surprise panelists!

If this somehow isn't going to be when the titles are announced, another option would be at Disney's D23 Expo in August because, as explained by Digital Spy, Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the new movies would be announced this summer.

And this leads us to the rumors of what those announcements will be. Many reports agree that the Black Widow solo movie and The Eternals movie are good bets for the two 2020 releases. The Black Widow standalone movie with Scarlett Johansson is already filming. Considering Black Widow's fate in Endgame, this one is expected to be a prequel. The Eternals, which is about a group of immortal beings, will start filming in August, according to Screen Rant. Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, and Kumail Nanjiani have all been reported to be "in talks" to star in the film.

While these two are expected to come out in 2020, other MCU movies that will likely be released in the next couple of years are Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Doctor Strange 2, a solo Shang-Chi movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3. In fact, the third Guardians movie could have been one of the films that would have worked for a 2020 release date had it not been for the firing and subsequent re-hiring of director James Gunn.

In addition to Black Widow and The Eternals movies potentially coming out next year, The New Mutants will also be released in 2020 after having its release date pushed back to April 2020. While it is a Marvel movie, the X-Men movie is not part of the MCU.

It won't be long now until Marvel fans get some official confirmation of the movies hitting theaters next and some more fodder for all of their theorizing.