Plus, an early look at 'Ms. Marvel,' casting for 'Ant-Man 3' and a 'Secret Invasion' series.
Turns out Disney Investor Day is the new Comic-Con. Mouse House execs announced that over the next few years, Disney+ will roll out 10 original Marvel series and 10 Star Wars series, along with series and features from Disney live action, Disney Animation and Pixar.
"Today, I'm excited to talk about the expansion and future of the MCU," Kevin Feige began the Marvel portion of the presentation. Not only did we get first looks at The Falcon and Winter Soldier and Loki, but Feige announced a number of new series, casting updates for forthcoming films and officially announced a Fantastic Four movie.
Here are all the new MCU announcements that came out of the presentation:
WandaVision
The first MCU series comes to Disney+ on Jan. 15. Here's a new trailer:
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Following WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch will co-star with Benedict Cumberbatch in the Doctor Strange sequel, which is being helmed by Sam Raimi and will see Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo) reprise their roles. Xochitl Gomez will join the cast as America Chavez.
Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange 2 will indeed be Marvel's first "scary" movie and connect to both Wandavision and the forthcoming Spider-Man 3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens March 25, 2022.
The Falcon and Winter Soldier
Disney+'s second MCU series arrives in March 2021, with Feige calling it a "cinematic experience" and likening it to a Marvel movie played out over six episodes. Here is the exclusive first look:
Black Widow
No news on the long-delayed Black Widow solo outing, except that Marvel is holding to its theatrical release date of May 7, 2021.
Loki
Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief will land on Disney+ in May 2021, with a cast that includes Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant. The series sees Loki at the "center of his own crime thriller" and the bonkers first look reveals exactly where he landed after snatching the Tesseract in Endgame.
What If...?
The first animated offering from Marvel Studios will drop next summer, taking events from the films and reimagining them. Jeffrey Wright voices The Watcher with a number of Marvel actors lending their voices to the series. The first look seemingly includes dialogue from the late Chadwick Boseman.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
We knew that Simu Liu was playing the titular master of Kung Fu with Tony Leung as the Mandarin (aka Wenwu), now we know who everyone in the supporting cast is playing: Awkwafina is Katy, Meng'er Zhang is Zialing, Michelle Yeoh is Jiang Nan, Ronny Chieng is Jon Jon, Fala Chen is Jiang Li and Florian Munteanu is the villainous Razor Fist. Shang-Chi opens July 9, 2021.
Ms. Marvel
Disney+'s upcoming series about Marvel's first Muslim superhero is filming right now, but Feige brought along a sizzle reel that confirmed Iman Vellani's casting as Kamala Khan -- including footage of her audition tape -- and a first look at the series.
The cast also includes Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer and Nimra Bucha. Episodes are directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Captain Marvel 2
Following Ms. Marvel and WandaVision, respectively, Vellani's Kamala and Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau will co-star alongside Brie Larson in Captain Marvel 2, which will be helmed by director Nia DaCosta and open in theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
Hawkeye
The Jeremy Renner-fronted series will launch in late 2021, with Feige confirm what everyone whose seen paparazzi photos from the set already knows: Hailee Steinfeld is co-headling the series as Kate Bishop. He similarly confirmed Vera Farmiga, Fra Free, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d'Arcy James and newcomer Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez. Episodes are helmed by helmed by Rhys Thomas and directing duo Bert and Bertie.
She Hulk
Tatiana Maslany will indeed play Jennifer Walters in this series about a woman trying to be "taken seriously as a working professional when she's well over 6'7" and green." Considering her day job is as a lawyer who specializes in superhuman-oriented legal cases, Feige teased that you never know which Marvel character will pop up during one of her cases. Mark Ruffalo, meanwhile, will reprise his role as The Hulk with Tim Roth returning as Abomination from all the way from the first Incredible Hulk movie. The series is directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia.
Moon Knight
Feige liked the series to Indiana Jones, revealing that the series will tap into Egyptology and the lead character will have dissociative identity disorder with each identify depicted as a "very distinct" character. He did not, however, confirm Oscar Isaac's reported casting as Moon Knight. Mohamed Diab will direct.
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is coming to Disney+ fronted by Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos. Feige acknowledged the series' namesake as "arguably the biggest crossover comic event" that will involve a sect of Skrulls who have infiltrated every aspect of life on Earth.
Ironheart
Not only did we get confirmation of an Ironheart series, but the lead is already cast: Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Talk) will play the titular genius inventor Riri Williams, who invents the most high-tech supersuit since Iron Man.
Armor Wars
Don Cheadle's War Machine is getting his own series! The series will apparently explore Tony Stark's worst fear: What happens when his technology falls into the wrong hands.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Move over Star Wars Holiday Special, the MCU is getting its very own yuletide one-off courtesy of -- who else -- James Gunn, who will write and direct an "irreverent" live-action special for Disney+. The Guardians special will shoot during production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and drop in late 2022.
I Am Groot
You haven't seen the last of Baby Groot. Though everyone's favorite talking tree is growing up so fast in the MCU proper, this series of short films will star Baby Groot and feature several "new and unusual" Marvel characters.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Taika Waititi's Ragnarok follow-up with start filming in January with Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman previously announced. We knew Christian Bale was cast as the film's villain, but now we know who he's playing: Gorr the God Butcher. Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters May 6, 2022.
Blade
Further announcements on the in-development Mahershala Ali-fronted film are coming "very, very soon."
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and the entire Pym/Van Dyne family (Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer) are back for a Peyton Reed-directed threequel, which has an official subtitle (Quantumania), a newly recast daughter (Kathryn Newton will take over as Cassie Lang) and a new villain in Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conquerer.
Black Panther II
Acknowledging the unexpected loss of Chadwick Boseman this year, Feige reiterated that his character will not be recast but the studio will "continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film" in Black Panther 2. Writer-director Ryan Coogler is currently working on the sequel, which will hit theaters July 8, 2022.
Fantastic Four
Perhaps the biggest news of the day was saved for last: Marvel's First Family is officially coming to the MCU, with Fantastic Four to be directed by Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home's Jon Watts. Might we see the characters pop up even sooner in his next Spidey film?
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