San Diego Comic-Con has become a place for studios to make major announcements about upcoming genre projects, and the 2024 edition of the long running show will probably be no exception when it opens next week. The excitement is always high when fans pack into the convention center’s Hall H for each studio’s panel and the surprises that they may bring.
Of course, some people can’t wait until the actual announcements happen and so rumors tend to spring up in the weeks ahead of the show about what possible news may be coming. Recently on YouTube, a poster claimed inside knowledge of what Marvel Studios is going to be announcing for the film side of their Marvel Cinematic Universe films. As with all movie rumor news, the report should be taken with an appreciable sized grain of salt. Some of this may actually be true, some of it may be inspired guesswork and some of it may just be made up out of whole-cloth, knowing that it would be something that would excite fandom.
We’re going to take a look at all of these rumors and break them down into a number of categories believability – Definitely, Likely, Possible (50% chance), Unlikely or No Way. As a yardstick to measure these against, we will use marvel Studios’ past behavior in announcing projects and what we already know about the upcoming films for the remainder of Phases Five and Six. Hopefully this will help manage anyone’s expectations about what marvel will be announcing next Saturday at the show.
Of course, the most obvious thing when looking at this List of rumored announcements is that they can’t all be true. Marvel is only scheduled for an hour panel on Saturday, July 27 from 6pm to 7pm and the number of announcements would mean that Marvel studio had Kevin Feige would only have about three minutes to devote to each of the bullet points below. Knowing how excited fans get at these things, that is certainly not enough time between each announcement for all the cheering that they most likely would be doing. Also, it should be noted that Marvel is only focusing on movie announcements during their Hall H presentation in San Diego. Any television announcements for series that will be coming on the Disney+ streaming service, will most likely be announced later on next month at Disney’s by annual D23 event.
So here, along with our best educated evaluations of each, are the 16 rumored announcements that Marvel will be or will not be making next weekend.
Thor 5 Announcement With Title And Logo
The Thor franchise, starring Chris Hemsworth as the titular Norse god of thunder, has been a fairly inconsistent one. While the first and third movies of the series have been good, the second and fourth ones have been disappointing. It would make sense that Marvel would want to bring Hemsworth back for another go-round as Thor is the perhaps the most well known character outside of the Hulk from the original Avengers lineup who is still active. Even though he is currently journeying around the galaxy with his adopted daughter helping those who would need it, it seems likely that Marvel would want him heading back to Earth to join in Avengers 5 in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. Marvel, currently has one open spot on its release calendar – February 13, 2026 – before Avengers 5; two, if they decide to move push back another project’s previously announced date. (See Blade below) Likely.
Blade delayed to 2026
Perhaps the most publicly embarrassing thing for Marvel Studios over the last couple of years has been the development of their Blade movie. First announced at San Diego Comic-con in 2019 with Mahershala Ali set to star, the film has cycled through a number of writers and directors who haven’t quite managed to crack the nut that will get it in front of cameras. It strikes me that Marvel would not just throw out a notice that Blade has been pushed back yet again. Comic-con presentations like the ones at San Diego are meant to create excitement, not frustration. So any possible release date change will be couched in more upbeat information. Currently, the film has no director and has just undergone a round of rewrites, the latest of which are courtesy of Logan screenwriter Michael Green. With director Yann Demange having been the latest to leave the project as of last month, Marvel is most likely looking at moving it from their previously announced November 2025 release date to a spot further down their calendar unless they have already secured a new director who is set to start filming with the script they have on hand. Unless Marvel has another project that they intend to slot into that November 2025 spot (like, say, a Thor 5 film) or they are making a definitive announcement about a new director and firm production start, I doubt that we will be hearing much about Blade at all. Possible.
Director For Avengers: Secret Wars Announced/Avengers 5 Writer And Director Announced
Well, as we were in the process of preparing this analysis, the Hollywood Reporter broke news that Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are apparently in talks to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to direct the untitled Avengers 5 and its follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars. The projects have had a number of issues as they have moved through development, actor Jonathan Majors’s legal issues that led to his dismissal from the role of Kang the Conqueror back in December 2023 being just one. If Marvel needs to reassure fans that they have gotten things in order and that all of the films we’ve seen so far in phases four and five are leading to something big, San Diego would be a good place to start filling everyone in on those plans. Definite.
(Another New) Armor Wars Logo Revealed
Armor Wars is another project that has had a somewhat troubled development process. Originally announced in December 2020 for Dsiney+ as a series, the story would see Don Cheadle’s James “Rhodey” Rhodes working to protect Tony Stark’s Iron Man technology from being exploited by others. By September 2022, the project was being reconfigured into a feature film, although to date there has been no word as to either a writer or director who have been working on it. In total, Marvel has three open spots on its release calendar above; the one right before the release of Avengers 5 and two (July 24 and November 6, 2026) between Avengers 5 and Avengers Secret Wars. If Armor Wars helps to build towards either of those two films, Marvel could be eyeing one of those slots for Armor Wars and about now would be the time to announce that. (It would also be the third Armor Wars logo for the studio to unveil over the past four years.) Possible.
First Trailer For Thunderbolts
With the film just finishing up production, the footage certainly exists for a sneak preview of something for Thunderbolts. Since Thunderbolts is following Captain America: Brave New World into theaters three months later, and we just got our first trailer for Brave New World last week, it feels a little early yet in the promotion cycle for an official Thunderbolts teaser trailer. It seems more probable that there will be a sizzle reel that will be shown exclusively to Hall H panel attendees that will be withheld from a legitimate online release. Actual trailer – Unlikely. Some footage screened – Definitely.
Full Cast Of Fantastic Four On Stage
With production set to start the week following Comic-Con, Marvel would have to be nuts to not have the main cast of their most anticipated upcoming films on stage for the crowd. And with the film scheduled to release exactly one year later on July 25, 2025, there would be no better way to start the hype train for Fantastic Four. (Unless of course the cast comes out in full costume, which would be cool, though I don’t see that happening.) Definitely.
X-Men Movie Announcement With First Team Line Up
Perhaps after the Fantastic Four, the X-Men are probably the most anticipated group of characters fans are waiting for to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The end credit scene in The Marvels showed us that the 20th Century Fox X-Men films are part of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse and it is looking like the upcoming Deadpool And Wolverine is also similarly connected. Given that we are in the middle of the Multiverse Saga, we are undoubtedly going to be seeing that iteration characters again before the end of Phase Six. I would think that Marvel would want to wait until the story involving them to be finished before launching their new versions as part of the MCU proper which would place that in Phase Seven. Unlikely.
Doctor Strange 3 Announcement And Title
Another well received phase for film, was Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. And of course, in true Marvel fashion it did end on a note that implied further adventures while introducing one of the major Doctor Strange supporting characters whom we had not seen so far in the MCU, Clea. Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch has hinted that he will be in the upcoming Avengers films, so it could be possible that that thread from the end of Multiverse Of Madness will be picked up in the Avengers films or we could get a third Doctor Strange film that bridges the gap between his appearances. As of now, there has been no word as to anybody developing an actual Doctor Strange film, so if it is to be announced, it feels most likely to be happening a little further down the schedule. Possible.
Midnight Sons Announcement and Logo Reveal
The Midnight Sons are a group of supernatural themed heroes who fight off dark mystic forces that threaten the main marvel comics universe. One of the group’s core members is the half human half vampire vampire hunter Blade. And it’s Blade’s involvement in the group that render an announcement about a feature film for them somewhat doubtful. As noted above, Marvel has been having much trouble getting their Blade film into a shape that can go before cameras. And even if they are probably going to make a Blade announcement next weekend, I think that Marvel would likely want to hedge their bets about announcing anything else involving the character until they are sure that they can keep to the production timeline that hope to, rather than risk disappointing fans some more. I’m not saying that Marvel isn’t planning a Midnight Sons project, I just don’t think we’re going to hear anything about it at this time. No Way.
Black Panther 3 Announcement with Ryan Coogler Returning
Before the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel had been planning on having his character of Black Panther be one of the leading superheroes of the MCU going forward. The subsequent Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever served as a powerful memorial to the actor and as a way for fans to grieve his loss, while still advancing the overall story of the country of Wakanda. And there are indeed story threads still there to be followed, and which may lead to the culmination of the Multiverse Saga in the two upcoming Avengers films. Possible.
Young Avengers Announcement And Logo Reveal
At the end of The Marvels, we saw Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, doing her best Nick Fury impersonation in order to recruit Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye for a new team of younger heroes she was starting to put together. Nearly any Marvel fan will tell you this is the beginnings of a Young Avengers team. And over the course of Phases Four and Five in both film television, marvel has seeded a number of other characters at one point or another who have been part of the Young Avengers lineup at one time or another. The big question here is if Marvel wants to roll out a live Young avengers project is whether they want it to be a feature film or a television series for Disney+. We do have two Avengers movies already scheduled for Phase Six, which most likely will be the wrap ups before the whole Multiverse saga. So if they’re looking at a feature film, it probably wouldn’t come until after the Multiverse saga is over, but that does present some issues with the younger cast aging up into their 20s and older. It is more likely young will be an upcoming Disney+ series and that announcement could come at D23. Unlikely.
Shang-Chi 2 Announcement And Logo Reveal
One of the earlier successes at Marvel had in their current Multiverse Saga cycle of films was Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. Fans really liked Simu Liu as the martial arts-themed hero, and director Destin Daniel Cretton brought a fun energy to the film that helped make it one of Marvel’s biggest post-Covid hits. And of course, it did end with a couple of plot threads still to be resolved. Recently Cretton stepped away from working on Avengers 5 for Marvel in order to concentrate his energy on a Shang-Chi sequel. With a couple of dates still to be scheduled for Marvel’s Phase 6, Shang-Chi 2 definitely feels like a candidate for one of those spots. Most Likely.
Scarlet Witch Movie For 2028
Even though Marvel has been adamant that Wanda Maximoff died at the end of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, fan theories have persisted in trying to figure out ways that the character could come back. One of those theories suggest she could be revived in the upcoming Agatha All Along Disney+ series that premieres in month and this would pave the way for a movie centering on her. However, since an announcement of a new film featuring the character would spoil the plotline of her return in the upcoming Agatha All Along series, Marvel would certainly refrain from announcing it. Also, my main feeling for not believing this is that a Scarlet Witch film in 2028 would put it in Phase Seven, after the ending of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga. And I don’t believe Marvel is ready to start unveiling their plans for that just yet. No chance.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman On Stage Announcing Their Return For Avengers Movie
With Deadpool And Wolverine opening just two days before Marvel’s comic panel, it seems like Hall H would be a good place to conclude the films press tour/victory lap. And with excitement for the film at an all-time high – just take a look at the numbers for ticket pre-sales – having the two stars the film show up for the Marvel Studios panel would certainly generate some excitement. But will that appearance accompany the announcement that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will be making further appearances in the MCU? Well, it does feel likely that Ryan Reynolds at least may show up further down the line. However, Hugh Jackman’s involvement in Deadpool And Wolverine was always presented as the last time he was going to play the character, although marvel lying in order to preserve a surprise in an upcoming movie has been known to happen before. Granted, the ending of the movie most likely will be a big clue to the veracity of this rumor, but that’s being carefully guarded until screenings for critics start next week. Panel appearance – Most likely. Announcement of further appearances by both characters – Unlikely.
First Feature-length Animated Film From Marvel Animation
Marvel Studios, founded Marvel Animation Studios in 2021. Since then they have produced two seasons of the Disney+ series What If, with a third on the way, the I Am Groot special, one season of X-Men 97 with two additional seasons currently in production and the Spidey And His Amazing Friends series. They are also in production on the upcoming Eyes of Wakanda and Marvel Zombies series for Disney+. Marvel has certainly seen the box office results for Sony two animated Spider-Verse films. However, it seems unlikely that Marvel would have set up their own animation outlet strictly to produce content for Disney+. Corporate owner Disney built its entire kingdom on animation, so it feels as if it is inevitable that Marvel Animation will be producing features at some point in the future. The one thing that argues against an announcement coming next weekend is that in the face of criticism of Marvel Studios spreading itself to thin and producing content for both theatrical release and Disney+, Kevin Feige had recently scaled back a number of in development projects to make the company’s overall production slate easier to manage and oversee. That does suggest that a possible animated feature could be on the companies back burner while they write the ship on the lucrative live action films first. Unlikely.
