There is something special about the shared experience in the theater during the opening night of a new Marvel Cinematic Universe film. As I’m writing this article, there are precisely 687 days since the last one was released. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” hit theaters on July 2, 2019, and marked the closing of phase 3 for the MCU. Fans eagerly anticipate the first movie of phase 4, “Black Widow” —  the pandemic made the wait over a year longer than initially planned. Now that vaccinations are rolling out and returning to normalcy appears to have begun, significant entities in Hollywood are promoting audiences’ return to theaters, including Marvel Entertainment.

Marvel released a sizzle reel called “Marvel Studios Celebrates The Movies,” which includes a beautiful narrative spoken by the late Stan Lee himself—it’s indeed a tear-jerker. The last half of the video is a spotlight of the upcoming MCU movie schedule through 2023. Right now, there are ten reasons for fans to quickly forget the long wait and look forward to the future. Here’s a look at all the MCU films with confirmed dates coming to a cinema near you. Avengers assemble!

“Black Widow” 

Release Date: July 9, 2021

Director: Cate Shortland 

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz

Plot: Fans have always wanted a solo Widow film, and the time is almost here. The story will occur between “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” Set as an international spy thriller, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) confronts her past demons. The film will be Romanoff’s send-off, and the introduction of her counterpart Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh, “Midsommar”) expected to take over the mantle. 

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” 

Release Date: September 3, 2021

Director/Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng 

Plot: The master martial artist, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), will be Marvel’s first Asian superhero arriving on the big screen. Shang-Chi faces trials and tribulations from his past while a mysterious organization, the Ten Rings, draws in on him quickly. Fans will finally see the actual version of the villain, Mandarin, who falsely appeared in “Iron Man 3,” as characters Trevor Slattery (Ben Kinsley) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). The Ten Rings organization has been looming in the background of the MCU since the first “Iron Man” movie so expect answers for lingering questions.

“Eternals”

Release Date: November 5, 2021

Director/Writer: Chloé Zhao

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, and Kit Harrington

Plot: “Eternals” will give audiences their first look at a brand new superhero team coming to the MCU. However, they aren’t your average group of heroes. The Eternals are ancient beings who have protected Earth in secret for thousands of years. After the events in “Avengers: Endgame,” the Eternals are forced out of hiding because of an unforeseen disaster. They will find themselves pitted against their opposites, the Deviants, who are Earth’s most primordial antagonists. The film has an all-star cast, and director/writer Chloé Zhao recently won the Oscar for best director in the “2021 Academy Awards,” so expect a visual feast. “Eternals” is easily my most anticipated MCU film of the year. 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home”

Release Date: December 17, 2021

Director: Jon Watts 

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon 

Plot: There isn’t much we know about the story. “No Way Home” is expected to follow the events of the last Spidey adventure, “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” A couple of actors are reprising their roles from previous Spider-Man movies before Tom Holland became the newest web-slinger, but I’ll keep that as a surprise. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the final MCU movie of 2021 and will surely be a smash hit at the box office in the holiday season. 

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” 

Release Date: March 25, 2022

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez

Plot: Steven Strange/ Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) returns for the first MCU horror film. Yes, that’s right, the first MCU horror film. Marvel made the right move in hiring director Sam Raimi who has a tremendous background in the horror genre since he is the brainchild behind “The Evil Dead.” Raimi also helmed the first “Spider-Man” trilogy with Tobey Maguire, so it’s safe to say he is well equipped to take on this project. The second “Doctor Strange” film directly correlates with the aftermath of the events in the Disney+ series “WandaVision.” I highly recommend giving that show a watch before you dive into the “Multiverse of Madness” in spring 2022. 

“Thor: Love and Thunder”

Release Date: May 6, 2022

Director/Writer: Taika Waititi 

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale

Plot: The plot is still under wraps. Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) fourth film will follow the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” so expect another hysterical collaboration with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The love interest of the God of Thunder, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), will return and transition into Mighty Thor; fans are anxious to see how that plays out. Director/writer Taika Waititi returns after his wildly praised film “Thor: Ragnarok” in 2017. “Thor: Love and Thunder” will kick off the summer 2022 movie season as another welcoming addition to the MCU.

“Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever”

Release Date: July 8, 2022

Director/Writer: Ryan Coogler 

Cast: Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Letitia Wright

Plot: Director, writer Ryan Coogler is changing the script since the heartbreaking death of “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman in 2020. According to a tweet from Disney on December 10, 2020, Marvel Studios will not be recasting the role of T’Challa/Black Panther. Instead, “Wakanda Forever” will continue the story of the characters introduced in the first film while exploring more of the unparalleled world of Wakanda.

“Captain Marvel 2 (The Marvels)” 

Release Date: November 11, 2022

Director: Nia DaCosta 

Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani 

Plot: What we know so far about Captain Marvel 2 is that we’re getting an incredible female team-up. “The Marvels” will continue the story of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and the subsequent appearance of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who made her debut in the Disney+ series “WandaVision.” Another reason to get excited about “The Marvels” comes with the addition of Marvel’s first Muslim Pakistani-American character Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), making her entrance into the MCU in the upcoming Disney+ series, “Ms. Marvel.” 

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” 

Release Date: February 17, 2023

Director: Peyton Reed

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, and Jonathan Majors 

Plot: Continuing the adventures of Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne/the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). The film has the potential to conceive another stand-out MCU villain in Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”), an intelligent being with the power to time travel. Director Peyton Reed and most of the cast from the previous Ant-Man movies return for the third outing with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3”

Release Date: May 5, 2023

Director/Writer: James Gunn

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, and Sean Gunn

Plot: We have yet to find out more about the third film, but expect another hilarious thrill ride with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his gang of loudmouth friends from all over the Marvel galaxy. The entire cast that we know and love and director/writer James Gunn is returning, so the project is in good hands. Expect “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3” to be another noteworthy MCU blockbuster coming summer 2023.

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