Due to the post-Phase 3 hiatus and the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been a fairly uneventful year when it comes to new Marvel releases. Fortunately, it will be the opposite of what happens in 2021. This new year will bring a new line of films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with the first wave of series for Disney + and other great developments in terms of comics and video games. it means.
To get an idea of what Marvel has come up with for this new year, we take a look at the biggest developments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what’s to come in Disney +, comics, video games, and other releases.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back with a Vengeance
When Spider-Man: Homecoming hit theaters in July 2019, no one could have predicted that it would be almost two years before Marvel followed up with Black Widow and the start of Phase 4. But 2020 turned out to be the first year since 2009 without. a new movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And unless ABC’s Agents of Shield and Hulu’s Helstrom count, neither produced by Marvel Studios, there has been no new content of any kind in 2020.
But that promises to change quickly in 2021. Marvel’s Scarlet Witch and Vision will debut on Disney + on January 15, the first in an ambitious line of television series designed to integrate with Marvel films. That debut will be followed by the premiere of Falcon and the Winter Soldier in March and Loki in May, and we may also see Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye before the end of the year.
We will even see the debut of the first animated series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel’s What If … is slated to debut in the summer of 2021, giving fans a journey through alternate branches of the timeline seen in the movies in what will likely be Chadwick Boseman’s last performance as T’Challa.
Not to be outdone, the cinematic side of the Marvel universe will be just as busy in 2021. Barring further delays due to the coronavirus, Black Widow will finally hit theaters on May 7. After that, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be released on July 9 and The Eternals is still scheduled for November 9. And closing the year just in time for Christmas, Marvel and Sony will release the still-untitled third part of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
The end of Marvel TV
The only downside to the new series lineup on Disney + is that it will mark the end of an era for Marvel TV. With the recent (if unsurprising) news that Hulu canceled Helstrom after its first season, there will only be two Marvel shows not produced by Kevin Feige: Hulu’s two animated series, MODOK and Hit-Monkey. And given Marvel’s track record of late, we’re holding our breath, the show won’t be renewing for a second season. These shows seem to be the last two relics of the old Marvel TV.
However, we can extract something positive. Before the end of 2021, the rights to all Netflix Marvel shows will revert to Marvel. Hopefully that means we’ll find out what Marvel has planned for characters like Daredevil and Luke Cage. Will Netflix shows on Hulu be revived? Will Daredevil appear in Spider-Man 3 or She-Hulk as current rumors suggest? We don’t know, but any news is better than none right now.
The future of Sony’s Spider-Man movies
The tone of the relationship between Marvel and Sony has changed quite a bit in the last 18 months. For a while it seemed that Spider-Man: Far From Home would be Tom Holland’s last appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the two studios have reached an agreement to keep Spider-Man at the forefront of this universe. And in 2021, Sony will release two new Marvel movies in addition to continuing its collaboration with Marvel Studios for Spider-Man 3.
Morbius is first in line on March 9, followed by Venom: There will be Carnage on June 25. Like Black Widow and Los Eternos, planned for 2020 before the pandemic wreaked havoc in Hollywood. The question is whether these two films will be able to build on Venom’s financial success of 2018 and make a lasting case for the so-called “Sony Universe of Marvel Characters.” Fans went to the movies to see a Venom movie, but will they do the same for Morbius? Marvel fans want two different cinematic universes?
In fact, these two films should once and for all resolve the question of whether Sony’s Marvel films are connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Michael Keaton’s cameo in the Morbius trailer suggests yes, but does that mean we’ll see Tom Holland’s Spidey in a future Venom movie?
And finally, with all the rumors that classic Spider-Man actors will reprise their role in Spider-Man 3, we should learn exactly what role the Spider-Verse plays in Sony and Marvel’s future plans. Are Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire returning for cameos only or is there still a lasting slot for these veteran Spider-Man?
The reign of the X-Men begins
While we don’t know much about what Marvel has planned for its comic book universe in 2021, we can safely say that there will be a lot of new X-Men content. The franchise of X-Men Marvel will continue to be led by writer Jonathan Hickman next year as he and his collaborators build on the fallout from the recent X of Swords crossover and build an even bolder future for mutants.
In 2021, all of Marvel’s X-books will unite under the banner “Reign of X,” Reign of X. As the name suggests, the X-Men resurface. They have just added thousands of new members to the nation of Krakoa and have become one of the most powerful teams in the Marvel Universe. But that just means there are new dangers and new enemies to face. Building a new nation was easy, maintaining it may be the real challenge.
And with the X-Men becoming such a critical piece of the Marvel Comics puzzle lately, we’ll probably start to see that carry over to other Marvel media. It may be a few years before we see a reboot in an X-Men movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but we hope Marvel Studios will clear up their plans for these characters in 2021, at least. That will probably mean the confirmation of a third part of Deadpool starring Ryan Reynolds, but we look forward to a few words about a new X-Men movie or a series on Disney +. Perhaps it is even Disney itself who confirms these rumors about the resurgence of the beloved X-Men animated series. The more X-Men, the better.
The future of Marvel video games
2020 may have been a ghost town in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it has given us two huge launches when it comes to video games with Spider-Man: Miles Morales from Insomniac Games and Marvel’s Avengers from Square Enix. It doesn’t look like 2021 is going to be that big when it comes to new releases, but it’s safe to expect a steady stream of new characters and content for Marvel’s Avengers and new outfits and cosmetic items on Miles Morales.
But, for the most part, 2021 may be the year to learn about the future of Marvel video games. Will Insomniac officially reveal the true sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man at E3? And if so, will the players don the Peter Parker suit again, or will Peter and Miles share the limelight this time?
What about video games that don’t focus on Spider-Man or The Avengers? We expect 2021 to bring some surprises when it comes to Marvel games, be it new sequels to well-known franchises like Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel vs. Capcom or new games starring these iconic heroes. We recently did a review of the Marvel characters that we would love to see as protagonists of a video game. Surely the world is ready for an Arkham Asylum-style Daredevil game or an epic Fantastic Four RPG game. Video games are an area that Marvel has never fully exploited, but we expect the trend to continue to change in 2021.
To find out more about the year that has just begun, you can take a look at the great video games of 2021 that are to come.
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