Marvel’s big reveal at a special Hollywood event for media and fans a few weeks ago was the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 slate of movies, complete with logos and release dates. The reveal was made using a slide that populated with the movie names as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced them, and now that slide has finally been released as a clean image to replace the snapshots from a dark theater.
Here’s how the Marvel phase 3 movie lineup shakes out. First up and not included on the slide is Ant-Man starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly, arriving in theaters on July 17, 2015. Ant-Man wasn’t included because the slide was designed to show films that had not yet been announced, and it was well into production during the event.
2016 has two more Marvel Phase 3 movies starting with Captain America: Civil War on May 6. The third Steve Rogers-centric film will introduce the character of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and pull Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) into the conflict. Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds) was recently cast as one of the film’s villains.
November 4, 2016 delivers Doctor Strange and opens up a wide door into the mystical side of the Marvel universe. Recently engaged Benedict Cumberbatch is rumored to be in negotiations for the role, but Marvel hasn’t officially announced who the good doctor will be as of yet.
Marvel ramps up production to three films a year in 2017 with James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2 starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel leading the way on May 5. That will be followed by Thor: Ragnarok starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston on July 28, and then Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman on November 3.
May 4, 2018 delivers Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1, Marvel’s answer to breaking their big climatic finish into two films. But there’s more movie goodness to soak up between the two-part finale with Captain Marvel on July 6, 2018, and The Inhumans on November 6. Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 will conclude Marvel’s phase 3 movies lineup on May 3, 2019.
Don’t think for a split second that Infinity War will conclude Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. These films are far too profitable for Marvel and parent company Disney, so expect Phase 4 to formally commence in the summer of 2019.
