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The Marvel Cinematic Universe's future is not fully guaranteed.
The MCU has become the biggest movie franchise of all time. However, in recent years, Marvel's slate of projects has seen diminishing returns, with 2023's The Marvels becoming its lowest-grossing film to date, and the three 2025 MCU movies not performing as positively as expected. Still, the MCU's upcoming movies, which include Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars, position the franchise to take back its leading spot at the global box office. The MCU has plans to continue well beyond the 2027 Avengers movie, but its creator warns that they are not set in stone.
On Weibo, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked about how far along the MCU's planning is. According to the executive, there are plans for movies up to 2042. That said, Feige has made it clear that even though conversations are being had for the future of the franchise, nothing is 100% guaranteed as of now, saying, "Whether we can make it to 2042? Who knows?" Feige noted that the MCU's slate is an ever-shifting beast, but these plans offer the necessary guidance to make sure that the shared universe remains focused, especially with the X-Men coming in. Check out the full quote below:
"Our plan is… I haven’t told anyone this before, to your friend: This isn’t a "vague answer" (laughs). We were just in a Marvel Studios meeting room, planning movies all the way up to 2042. Whether we can make it to 2042? Who knows? Will it be those movies? Who knows? But this is how we approach and plan the vast amount of potential stories in the comics.
We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully… especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the “mutant saga” in a very grand way?"
At this time, Avengers: Secret Wars, which will be released in theaters on December 17, 2027, is the most distant movie on the MCU's slate. The film is said to serve as a reboot of sorts for the franchise, ending the Multiverse Saga and creating a more streamlined franchise where characters like the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and many more exist within the same universe. While Avengers: Secret Wars is the most far-out MCU movie, the franchise is holding several release dates for untitled projects in both 2028 and 2029.
Some of the MCU movies set to be released after the Multiverse Saga are already known, even if they do not have a set release date yet. Sinners director Ryan Coogler is working on Black Panther 3, which should feature Denzel Washington's MCU debut, and Thunderbolts*'s Jake Schreier has been tapped to helm Marvel's X-Men movie reboot. The latter has been the source of many rumors in recent weeks, with Stranger Things' Sadie Sink believed to be playing the MCU's Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and X-Men movie casting looming around.
Loki creator Michael Waldron is also reportedly developing a Nova movie to heat up the MCU's cosmic side after the Multiverse Saga, with the franchise possibly bringing back concepts like Armor Wars and Mahershala Ali's Blade movie. Marvel's future plans should also include multiple projects that either focus on or feature mutants beyond X-Men movies, given how Feige mentioned that Marvel's plans up to 2042 have in mind making a big deal out of its Mutant Saga.
Disney+ has made it possible for X-Men characters to either get solo series or their own Special Presentations, like Jon Bernthal's Punisher just had, before appearing in team-up films. That said, as Feige noted, nothing is guaranteed right now, and the performance of Marvel's next few projects should impact its future plans.
