Predicting the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Superhero movies have been all the rage lately. Rumors are abound about who will play Doctor Strange and if Spider-Man is going to join up with Marvel Studios. We've also seen DC's announcement of their next ten films (which I will get to later) and Marvel's casting of Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America 3. Above all this, though, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has reinvented movies and allowed for all of the aforementioned rumors and news to even occur. The future of the MCU is a bit cloudy right now, but there have been many hints lately that it is going to be clarified really soon. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did announce their entire slew of films just to top DC. If there's one thing Marvel isn't, though, it's rushed. They don't rush their work. That's apparent in the fact that they have planned all of their movies up to 2028. I wanted to give my thoughts on the future of the MCU and maybe my predictions will be correct! Maybe they won't be, but it's fun to guess. (First, though, I'll start with television. Also, anything in italics is a prediction.)

Television:
September 24, 2013: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on ABC.
September 23, 2014: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for a second season on ABC.
January 2015: Agent Carter premieres on ABC.
May 2015: Daredevil premieres on Netflix.
September 2015: Iron Fist premieres on Netflix.
March 2016: AKA Jessica Jones premieres on Netflix.
May 2016: Luke Cage premieres on Netflix.
December 2016: The Defenders premieres on Netflix.
December 2017: Spider-Man premieres on Netflix.
May 2024: The Inhumans premieres on ABC.

Film:
Phase One
May 2, 2008: Iron Man is released.
June 13, 2008: The Incredible Hulk is released.
May 7, 2010: Iron Man 2 is released.
May 6, 2011: Thor is released.
July 22, 2011: Captain America: The First Avenger is released.
May 4, 2012: The Avengers is released.
Phase Two
May 3, 2013: Iron Man 3 is released.
November 8, 2013: Thor: The Dark World is released.
April 4, 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier is released.
August 1, 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy is released.
May 1, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron is released.
Phase Three
July 17, 2015: Ant-Man is released.
May 6, 2016: Captain America: The Fallen Son is released.
July 8, 2016: Doctor Strange is released.
May 5, 2017: Miss Marvel is released.
July 28, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is released.
November 3, 2017: Thor 3: The Savior of Asgard is released.
May 4, 2018: Avengers: Civil War is released.
July 6, 2018: Black Panther is released.
November 2, 2018: Doctor Strange 2 is released.
May 3, 2019: The Infinity Gauntlet is released.
Phase Four
July 2019: Ant-Man 2 is released.
November 2019: Captain America 4 is released.
May 2020: Captain Marvel is released.
July 2020: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is released.
November 2020: The Inhumans is released.
May 2021: The Incredible Hulk 2 is released.
July 2021: Spider-Man is released.
November 2021: HYDRA is released.
May 2022: The New Avengers is released.
July 2022: Black Panther 2 is released.
November 2022: Black Widow is released.
May 2023: Blade is released.
July 2023: Doctor Strange 3 is released.
November 2023: Mockingbird is released.
May 2024: Heralds of Galactus is released.
Phase Five
July 2024: Planet Hulk is released.
November 2024: Nick Fury is released.
May 2025: Ant-Man 3 is released.
July 2025: Rocket Raccoon is released.
November 2025: Captain Marvel 2 is released.
May 2026: Black Widow 2 is released.
July 2026: Spider-Man 2 is released.
November 2026: Emma Frost is released.
May 2027: The Avengers 5 is released.
July 2027: Juggernaut is released.
November 2027: Black Panther 3 is released.
May 2028: The Defenders is released.
July 2028: Blade 2 is released.
November 2028: The Time Gem is released.

Okay, now, I know I sound like a crazy person right now and I probably am. How dare I predict what thirty-five movies might be over the course of the next fourteen years? But that's the thing. It's pure conjecture. I have no inside knowledge, just the smallest inkling anyone could ever have. Here's my rationale. We already know how Phase Two will end and we know the next phases are going to be super long. As for television, the only things I guessed on were the release dates of The Defenders series besides Spider-Man and The Inhumans. My thought is that Spider-Man will be re-acquired by Marvel and The Inhumans will go to television because there are too many team-up movies in the film universe.

As for the movies, I'm insane to predict all that, we know. But I can defend it rationally. In Avengers 2, no one will die, Ultron will simply be quelled. The surprise will be the death of no one. Crazy, right? I think with Tony Stark in Captain America 3, the Civil War story line will come into play, albeit altered for the big screen. Miss Marvel, I believe, will be introduced slightly in Avengers 2 and she will get her own movie before Guardians 2. Then, in Thor 3, the Asgard story will be wrapped up. Then, Avengers 3 is not going to be split, but a bigger team-up will come down the line. In The Civil War film, that story will climax just as Thanos shows up. Spider-Man is on Netflix by now and he, Bucky Barnes, and Tony Stark will put aside their differences to fight the common enemy. After that, Black Panther is set long before the original Iron Man. Then, Doctor Strange 2 features the resurrection of Steve Rogers who died in Cap 3. This culminates in The Infinity Gauntlet with Thanos having acquired all of the Infinity Stones. The Guardians, the Defenders, the Avengers, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Miss Marvel, Black Panther, Falcon (War Machine has died), The Winter Soldier, Spider-Man, and oh, what the hell, Howard the Duck team up to take down Thanos.

Now, we're in Phase Four. Ant-Man returns, Steve and Bucky resolve their ongoing story, Miss Marvel becomes Captain Marvel, and the Guardians is back. But not all is well. Thor died in The Infinity Gauntlet. So did Drax the Destroyer, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Daredevil, Gamora, Howard the Duck, Iron Fist, and perhaps biggest of all, Bruce Banner, the Hulk. So things have gone awry, you might say. The Guardians are depleted, but they add Cosmo and Angela. The Inhumans comes out to pick up the slack, and in Hulk 2, we are introduced to David Banner. David Banner is a much more irrational, out-of-control-of-his-anger version of Hulk. Tony Stark appears in this movie and by the end is named the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Eventually, Banner freaks out and leaves Earth. Then, we get a Spider-Man movie, the one we've dreamed of since Tobey Maguire, but then a HYRDA movie? Well, throughout all of this, a new team has been recruited. And this new team gets rid of HYRDA once and for all. Then we get a few more movies, including one for Mockingbird, and the introduction of Blade. The phase ends with the Heralds of Galactus, which is far different from the comics. Galactus is much more powerful than Thanos was and he has brought together the worst of the worst including the resurrection of Ultron, Red Skull, Loki, and more.

And we enter the fifth phase. We see what's going on with Hulk and eventually, his empire collapses and David Banner is given a reality check. We get a Nick Fury movie that sees him die and Ant-Man 3 sees Tony Stark beginning to assemble an even bigger team of Avengers. A few more movies take place with the introduction of Emma Frost and Juggernaut. In the fifth Avengers movie, it's a bit different from the norm as we see The Avengers just coming together. They fight a far inferior villain and just become a unit. A couple more movies before we culminate in The Time Gem, the most important of all the Infinity Stones. Galactus has come to a head and the ultimate team-up happens, including one last moment of Stark in the suit. Steve Rogers comes out of retirement, too. It's a huge team-up. Really huge. Eventually, the mega-Avengers defeat Galactus' evil version of the Avengers, but not before major players die. Ant-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, David Banner, Rocket Raccoon, Spider-Man. Not many make it out alive. One who does notably survive is Doctor Strange. The whole endeavor ends, twenty years after Iron Man, with Doctor Strange undoing everything. The ultimate reboot.

Sounds bad-ass, right? Probably won't happen, that's just my thought. Plus, Avengers 2 hasn't even come out yet, how can I be talking about Avengers 9? It's futile and we should just enjoy the journey. And we will. (Also, Jon Hamm for Doctor Strange please!)