It looks like Avengers: Secret Wars will be the only Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie in 2027, as Kevin Feige has promised that Marvel Studios is committed to “focusing on quality.”
When Marvel stepped off the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, attendees in-person and at home were surprised to see Feige’s crew come and go without mentioning any additional 2027 projects. Those keeping their MCU movie calendar updated will note that leaves the dates between Avengers: Doomsday’s premiere on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars’ premiere on December 17, 2027, completely vacant.
It’s a 12-month drought – one of Marvel Studios’ longest ever – as the superhero universe paves the way for a potentially universe-ending conclusion to Phase Six late next year. In an interview with Empire, the Marvel Studios boss clarified that the studio has a good reason for leaving its post-Doomsday schedule open.
“A lot of it is a strategy we’ve talked about for a while, of focusing on quality,” Feige explained. “We always try to focus on quality, but when quantity is so much, you get spread thin. We didn’t want to be spread thin, and the Avengers is as important as it comes.”
It’s an update to the Marvel Studios strategy it’s talked about in the past. Viewers have spent the 2020s attributing their “superhero fatigue” to a release schedule that has previously seen as many as four movies released in a single calendar year (and that doesn’t count all of the TV shows). To help ease the pressure, Disney announced in 2024 that it would be slowing down its releases to just two or three movies, and two TV shows per year.
That same year happened to be one of the few with a single MCU movie premiere thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine’s arrival in July. Still, its release followed just eight months after 2023’s The Marvels. Captain America: Brave New World then arrived less than seven months later in February 2025.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will end its own 12-month drought when it follows Fantastic Four: First Steps this Friday, July 31. Then, for the next year and a half, it’s all about the Avengers.
Feige reiterated the importance of Secret Wars in particular, calling it “a setup in and of itself to the future, to what’s next.” Though he’s adamant that it’s not an MCU reboot, he added, “So really, it was landing those two movies and setting up 2028, of which we’ve revealed two of them so far, Ghost Rider and Panther III.”
The two MCU movies were maybe the biggest announcements from the SDCC Hall H panel. Highlights include Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and David Jonsson as the next Black Panther. The former remains without a release date beyond its 2028 promise, with the latter set for December 15 of that year.
While the MCU will test die-hard fans’ patience in 2027, moviegoers won’t be entirely without theatrical releases from Marvel. So long as everything goes according to plan, Sony’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse should help with the wait when it premieres June 18, 2027. On the TV side of things, Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 is slated for a 2027 release.
We’ll get to see just how painful the wait will be when Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December. Until then, you can freshen up on everything Marvel has in the pipeline. You can also check out everything else announced at the Hall H panel.
Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
