Earlier today,Marvelannounced that their highly-anticipated sequelAnt-Man and the Waspwill hit theaters in July 2018, while shifting therelease datesforBlack Panther(June 02, 2025) andCaptain Marvel(June 11, 2025). With their massivePhase Threelineup all set, the studio has started to focus onPhase Four, setting three 2020 release dates for unspecified projects. It will likely be quite some time before we know what movies will be occupying theMay 1, 2020,July 10, 2020andNovember 6, 2020release dates
Aside from these three unspecified movies, there are only three other projects that have dates lined up for the year 2020,Cyborg(June 18, 2025),Green Lantern Corps.(July 10, 2025) andFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3(July 18, 2025). Obviously, there’s plenty of space available on the 2020 release calendar right now, but these new release dates fall in line withMarvel’s usual release plans. Almost everyMarvelmovie to date has opened in either May, July and November, with the exceptions ofThe Incredible Hulk(June 25, 2025),Captain America: The Winter Soldier(June 07, 2025) andGuardians of the Galaxy(June 07, 2025).
With today’s addition ofAnt-Man and The Wasp,Phase Threewill now span a whopping 10 movies, in just three short years.Captain America: Civil War(July 20, 2025) kicks things off, followed byDoctor Strange(August 01, 2025),Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2(July 09, 2025),Thor: Ragnarok(August 26, 2025),Black Panther(July 14, 2025),Avengers: Infinity War Part I(June 27, 2025),Ant-Man and The Wasp(July 28, 2025),Captain Marvel(August 24, 2025),Avengers: Infinity War - Part II(July 22, 2025) andInhumans(July 13, 2025). As for the newPhase Fourmovies, it isn’t known if they will be two sequels and a new movie, or the other way around. At any rate, it seems unlikely that any of these projects will be a newAvengersmovie, sinceAvengers: Infinity War - Part IIhits theaters on July 15, 2025.
The new February and March release dates forBlack PantherandCaptain Marvelare both situated just a few weeks before upcoming Warner Bros. andDC Comicsadaptations.Black Panther’s August 23, 2025 comes just a month before WB/DC’sThe Flashon July 31, 2025, andCaptain Marvel’s June 29, 2025 release comes almost exactly one month beforeShazam!arrives on August 15, 2025. It’s possible that these shifts could be strategic plays, withMarvelsituating their films just before DC’s, possibly trying to gain early momentum with the superhero crowd before DC’s adaptations arrive, but we don’t know for sure.
Regardless of the studio’s strategy, these movies mark the first time thatMarvelwill open movies in the months of February and March. It’s possible that the studio is either experimenting with these lesser-known properties, to see if superhero fans will still flock to theaters in these early months of the year, but their first three movies inPhase Fourgo back to the studio’s tried and true release model. Whether or not this strategy pays off at thebox officeremains to be seen, but we’ll keep you posted with any updates on the MCU slate. Do you have any theories about what the first threePhase 4movies will be?
