Upcoming Superhero Movie Release Dates: From 2018 to 2022
There’s no denying that the most popular genre around these days is the superhero movie. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy proved that comic book adaptations could be just as dramatic and heavy as non-genre films, Marvel Studios jumpstarted a massive interconnected series of superhero movies that were significantly more colorful and humorous, and audiences have been turning out to both kinds of superhero films in droves. With nearly every major studio now working to turn its own comic book properties into the next big thing, and with Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. plotting out half a decade’s worth of material, it’s sometimes tough to keep track of what’s coming out when, who’s in it, and how it fits into the overall picture. Not to worry, though, because we here at Collider have you covered.
Below, you’ll find a comprehensive guide of superhero movie release dates for every major comic book adaptation on the calendar, going all the way up to the year 2022. Moreover, we’ll be updating this guide regularly with the most current information, so if you’re ever at a loss for when exactly Captain Marvel is supposed to be in theaters, you can come right back here for a quick refresher.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Release Date: December 14, 2018
Directors: Bob Perschietti, Peter Ramsey
Cast: Shameik Moore, Liev Schrieber, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Hailee Steinfeld, Lily Tomlin, and Jake Johnson
What We Know So Far: Sony originated this animated Spider-Man movie with an idea by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, with Lord penning the script solo while the duo prepped Solo: A Star Wars Story (which they eventually departed) This animated feature will kick off a new Spider-Man franchise different from the live-action one, but the kicker is that the Spider-Man of this movie is the black Miles Morales, not Peter Parker. Which means we’ll get our first non-white Spider-Man in 2018. Dope standout Shameik Moore has been set to voice Spidey, while Liev Schreiber is playing the villainous Kingpin.
The story finds Morales slipping into an alternate dimension populated by a variety of different Spider-People—which is how Peter Parker comes into play. Jake Johnson voices Peter Parker, Hailee Steinfeld voices Gwen Stacey, and Lily Tomlin fills the role of Aunt May.
Aquaman
Release Date: December 21, 2018
Director: James Wan
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, and Willem Dafoe
What We Know So Far: Momoa made his first appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and had a larger role as part of the Justice League ensemble. Warner Bros. enlisted Furious 7 and The Conjuring helmer James Wan to direct, who has said he wanted to craft something different than the DCEU films before it. The ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna, Amber Heard as Mera, and Patrick Wilson as the film’s antagonist, Aquaman’s half-brother Orm, who aims to wage war on surface-dwellers.
Once Upon a Deadpool
Release Date: December 21, 2018
Director: David Leitch
Cast: Ryan Reynolds and Fred Savage
What We Know So Far: This one came out of nowhere. 20th Century Fox announced the release of an “untitled Deadpool movie” just in time for Christmas this year, while Ryan Reynolds teased an image of Deadpool reading a story to a bedridden Fred Savage. Once Upon a Deadpool is a PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2, with a frame story involving Deadpool reading the story of Deadpool 2 to Fred Savage Princess Bride-style, except with all the violence and cursing removed.
Captain Marvel
Release Date: March 8, 2019
Director: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Algenis Perez Soto, Rune Temte, and McKenna Grace.
What We Know So Far: Marvel’s first female-led superhero film will revolve around the most powerful character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. This iteration of Captain Marvel will focus on the character of Carol Danvers, whose adventures are earthbound but whose powers are based in the cosmic realm. Joss Whedon wanted to introduce the character at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Marvel didn’t want to bring Captain Marvel into the MCU fully formed without first telling her origin story. Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) wrote the first drafts of the screenplay and they share co-writing credit with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider), Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch (GLOW), and the film’s directors, with Oscar-winning Room actress Brie Larson set to star. And after a lengthy director’s search, Marvel settled on Half Nelson and Mississippi Grind filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
This film will be a prequel to the MCU, taking place in the 90s and bringing back Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson for the first time since The Avengers. Moreover, the comics characters the Skrulls are the villains with a story revolving around the Skrull vs. Kree war, which explains why Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are reprising their roles from Guardians of the Galaxy as Kree. That could have major repercussions leading into Avengers 4, but Captain Marvel will also give us a two-eyed Nick Fury. Jude Law is set to co-star as the alien Mar-Vell.
Shazam!
Release Date: April 5, 2019
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Ron Cephas Jones, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Grace Fulton
What We Know So Far: Making his superhero movie debut, Dwayne Johnson opted to take on the role of the villainous Black Adam in this DC comics adaptation, but Warner Bros. subsequently decided to hold Johnson for a separate Black Adam movie, so Shazam will be all about that hero. Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg is directing, and this served as Warner Bros.’ next DCEU film in production after Aquaman.
Zachary Levi is the title superhero character, with Asher Angel playing his boy counterpart Billy Batson. The story revolves around a young boy who can transform into a powerful superhero simply by uttering the word “Shazam!”. Mark Strong is playing the film’s villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
Hellboy
Release Date: April 12, 2019
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: David Harbour, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Daniel Dae Kim, Sasha Lane
What We Know So Far: Hellboy creator Mike Mignola came up with the story for this new reboot as opposed to moving forward with a third film in Guillermo del Toro‘s established franchise, and Stranger Things standout David Harbour fills the role of the titular character for director Neil Marshall, who helmed The Descent and a couple standout Game of Thrones episodes. The film is loosely based the Rise of the Blood Queen arc with Milla Jovovich filling that villainous role, while Ian McShane plays Trevor Bruttenholm and Daniel Dae Kim fills the part of Ben Daimio. Oh, and this is 100% Rated R.
Untitled Avengers Sequel
Release Date: May 3, 2019
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Cast: TBD
What We Know So Far: The conclusion to the epic two-part Avengers storyline will close out Marvel’s ambitious MCU with a bang. And the real title is a spoiler.
Dark Phoenix
Release Date: June 7, 2019
Director: Simon Kinberg
Cast: Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, and Evan Peters
What We Know So Far: The sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse has been firmed up as Dark Phoenix, which will tackle the beloved Jean Grey story arc from the comics that was first broached (and botched) in X-Men: The Last Stand. X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg has penned the script and is making his directorial debut on the project, which also stars Jessica Chastain as maybe the villain Lilandra and is bringing back pretty much the entire main X-Men cast. The movie won’t be skimping on the weirdness, as it’s been confirmed that the story will find the X-Men finally venturing to space. Hans Zimmer is coming out of superhero movie retirement to compose the score.
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Release Date: July 5, 2019
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Samuel L. Jackson, and Cobie Smulders.
What We Know So Far: Not much. Bolstered by the positive response to Homecoming, director Jon Watts is returning at the helm, and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who came on to rewrite Homecoming, are penning the script.
Jake Gyllenhaal is set to play the villain Mysterio, while Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders also co-star, adding a S.H.I.E.L.D. presence to the whole shebang.
The New Mutants
Release Date: August 2, 2019
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Alice Braga, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga
What We Know So Far: Writer/director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) has been attached to direct New Mutants for some time now, but 20th Century Fox finally moved this thing into production after the success of Deadpool and Logan. The film is both YA-esque and horror-tinged in tone, revolving around a group of much younger mutants in the X-Men universe than the adults from the proper X-Men movies. The story will also ditch traditional superhero costumes and supervillains in favor of telling a story about these young mutants locked up together in some facility, mirroring a horror haunted house vibe. James McAvoy has been rumored to be reprising his role as Professor X in the film.
However, just a few months before the film was set to hit theaters in April 2018, Fox pushed the movie back 10 months to 2019 to take over Gambit‘s previous spot. No official explanation was given, but rumors swirl that Fox tested the film and decided it “wasn’t scary enough,” so some additional photography may be in order.
Joker
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beets, Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, Frances Conroy, Glenn Fleshler, Shea Whigham and Bill Camp.
What We Know So Far: This is a weird one. In the wake of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, and with Wonder Woman proving to be a massive success, Warner Bros. began changing up its plans for the DCEU. One idea is to kickstart a new arm at WB that will develop and produce one-off DC Comics adaptations not connected to the DC Extended Universe, meaning filmmakers can come in, try something really radical, and not have to worry about setting up a franchise or fitting into an established timeline. The first of these to hit the trades was a Joker origin movie directed by The Hangover and War Dogs filmmaker Todd Phillips, who is co-writing the script with The Fighter scribe Scott Silver. The idea is to craft something in the vein of Taxi Driver, a gritty, hard-boiled crime picture set in the early 1980s.
The lead actor would not be Jared Leto, but someone else entirely—WB reportedly wanted Leonardo DiCaprio, and when he passed they moved on to Joaquin Phoenix, who signed on after prolonged negotiations. The film began filming in September 2018.
Birds of Prey
Release Date: February 7, 2020
Director: Cathy Yan
Writer: Christina Hodson
Cast: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Rosie Perez
What We Know So Far: This project hit the fast track at Margot Robbie‘s urging, as the Harley Quinn actress lobbied Warner Bros. an DC to put together a female-centric DC movie based on the Birds of Prey comics. The studio not only put this together, but has Cathy Yan in line to direct based on the strength of her indie feature Dead Pigs. The idea is to potentially introduce a few DC comics characters in this film, like Batgirl, which would then pave the way to their own solo films a la Black Panther and Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.
This project is a priority for Warner Bros. and could begin filming at the end of 2018. Jurnee Smollett-Bell plays Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Huntress, and Rosie Perez is The Question.
Gambit
Release Date: March 13, 2020
Director: TBD
Cast: Channing Tatum, Lizzy Caplan
What We Know So Far: Tatum has been keen on playing the X-Men mutant for a while now, and 20th Century Fox finally pulled the trigger on a standalone movie for the fan-favorite Cajun. Production had initially been slated to begin Fall 2015, but when it was pushed back to early 2016, director Rupert Wyatt abruptly dropped out due to personal reasons. Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) subsequently signed on to direct, and while producer Simon Kinberg told us the film will be a heist picture and a “sexy thriller”, the film was pulled from its October 2016 release date and sat in limbo for a bit.
Gambit was officially back on track with Pirates of the Caribbean and A Cure for Wellness director Gore Verbinski taking the helm and a Valentine’s Day 2019 release date, but Verbinski dropped out two months before filming was set to begin and Fox is once again on the hunt for a director. Joshua Zetumer (Patriot’s Day, RoboCop) penned the most recent draft of the script.
Untitled Marvel Movie
Release Date: May 1, 2020
Director: TBA
Cast: TBA
What We Know So Far: Nothing. This could be a sequel to an established film like Doctor Strange, a long-awaited spinoff like Black Widow, or something new entirely. It was likely the date staked out for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but that sequel is on hold following James Gunn‘s firing.
Wonder Woman 1984
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, and Pedro Pascal.
What We Know So Far: Very little, but Wonder Woman marked a major turning point for the DCEU with wildly positive reviews and massive box office, so anticipation is high. Patty Jenkins returns to direct a story that takes place in the year 1984 against the backdrop of the Cold War (timely!), with Kristen Wiig playing the villain Cheetah and Chris Pine somehow reprising his role as Steve Trevor. The film was originally scheduled for release in November 2019, but Warner Bros. opted to push it into the summer corridor of 2020.
Untitled Fox/Marvel Film
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Director: TBD
Cast: TBD
What We Know So Far: 20th Century Fox has announced a slew of release dates for “mystery” Marvel movies, but expect them to be some combination of Deadpool 3, X-Force, New Mutants 2, Fantastic Four, and a new X-Men movie. Or expect them to be scrapped entirely if the Disney deal goes through.
Untitled Sony/Marvel Movie
Release Date: July 10, 2020
Director: TBA
Cast: TBA
What We Know So Far: This is probably Sony’s Morbius movie, which is due to begin production in early 2019 and is set as their next Marvel Comics adaptation. Jared Leto is signed on to play the titular character, a vampire, with Daniel Espinosa (Life, Safe House) directing.
Untitled Marvel Movie 1
Release Date: July 31, 2020
Director: TBA
Cast: TBA
What We Know So Far: Nothing. This could be a sequel to an established film like Doctor Strange, a long-awaited spinoff like Black Widow, or something new entirely.
Black Widow
Release Date: TBA
Director: Cate Shortland
Cast: Scarlett Johansson
What We Know So Far: A standalone Black Widow movie has long been requested by fans, and Marvel Studios is finally pulling the trigger—although all official details will be under wraps until Avengers 4 hits theaters so as not to spoil how that film wraps up. Scarlett Johansson handpicked indie filmmaker Cate Shortland to direct after an exhaustive search, and the most recent draft of the script was written by Jac Schaeffer. Early word is that this movie takes place before the events of The Avengers, but again all confirmed details are under lock and key at the moment.
Suicide Squad 2
Release Date: TBA
Director: Maybe James Gunn
Cast: TBA
What We Know So Far: David Ayer definitely isn’t coming back to direct this sequel, and Warner Bros. looked at some intriguing names for his replacement. Mel Gibson was approached towards the end of 2016, but Warner Bros. eventually moved on and offered the movie to Jaume Collet-Serra of The Shallows and Non-Stop fame to take the helm, only to see him pass. Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant) was subsequently set to direct, but when his take came out similar to the plot of the Birds of Prey movie—which is going into production first—he became frustrated and moved on.
Subsequently, Warner Bros. tapped former Guardians of the Galaxy 3 filmmaker James Gunn to write a script from scratch and potentially direct. The idea is for Gunn to craft whatever kind of story he wants, which means we could be in for a complete reboot of this franchise.
The Flash
Release Date: TBA
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley
Cast: Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Kiersey Clemons, and Billy Crudup
What We Know So Far: Miller made his brief debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he’s a fully fledge star of the Justice League. After tasking Phil Lord and Chris Miller with penning a treatment only to see them head off to direct the Han Solo Star Wars film (and then leave that), the studio subsequently tapped Seth Grahame-Smith to make his directorial debut on the superhero picture. Alas, after the disappointing reception to Batman v Superman, Warner Bros. opted to change course and parted ways with Grahame-Smith, seeking to find a more established filmmaker in his stead. They settled on Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa, working from Grahame-Smith’s script that was a buddy film of sorts between Flash and Cyborg. But after months of developing the project and with casting underway (Dope standout Kiersey Clemons landed the role of Iris West), Famuyiwa exited the project in late October.
This put the March 2018 release date in doubt, as it was dependent upon production getting underway in early 2017. Miller was then due to start filming Fantastic Beasts 2 in mid-2017, which would push production of The Flash to late 2017 or early 2018, meaning the March 2018 date was impossible. The film does now have a pair of directors though. Names like Robert Zemeckis were bandied about early on, but WB settled on Vacation and Game Night helmers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein to direct Flashpoint, who also co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Warner Bros. announced at Comic-Con 2017 that this Flash movie will be an adaptation of the Flashpoint time travel comics storyline, which could give WB a way to reboot the DCEU somewhat. But it’s unclear if that’s still the plan.
The long road to getting The Flash movie off the ground hit yet another speed bump in October 2018, when it was revealed that production is being delayed from Spring 2019 to late 2019 due to the fact that the script wouldn’t be ready in time and Miller once again has to shoot Fantastic Beasts 3 starting in July 2019. As a result, The Flash movie isn’t expected to hit theaters anytime before 2021 now.
Batgirl
Release Date: TBA
Director: TBA
Cast: TBA
What We Know So Far: Warner Bros. pulled Joss Whedon over from Marvel to write and direct a Batgirl movie. He spent a year working on the script, during which time he was also spearheading reshoots and post-production of Justice League, but in February 2018 Whedon announced he was leaving the project because he “couldn’t come up with a story.” All signs indicate Warner Bros. will now be looking for a female filmmaker to bring Batgirl to fruition.
Green Lantern Corps
Release Date: TBD
Director: TBD
Cast: TBD
What We Know So Far: This will be a reboot of the Warner Bros. franchise so Ryan Reynolds is not expected to reprise his role—plus he’s also busy being Deadpool for Fox. Green Lantern is rumored to make his first appearance at the end of either Justice League Part One or Justice League Part Two when he warns the team that Darkseid is on his way to bring destruction to Earth. But the title of the reboot tells us this will be a team-up film featuring two Green Lanterns. Tyrese Gibson has been openly campaigning for one of the roles, as the film will find Hal Jordan and John Stewart in a Lethal Weapon-type situation. Warner Bros. kicked the tires on this one in January 2017 by hiring David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Man of Steel) to co-write the script with Justin Rhodes, but in June 2018 it was announced that Geoff Johns would now be writing the script.
Justice League Dark
Release Date: TBD
Director: TBD
Cast: TBD
What We Know So Far: Warner Bros. has been developing an adaptation of Justice League Dark for awhile now, with Guillermo del Toro first writing a script a few years ago before departing the project. But with the DCEU now up and running, Edge of Tomorrow and The Bourne Identity helmer Doug Liman signed on to direct in August 2016, and then left the project in May 2017. WB is already looking for a replacement and is eyeing an A-List ensemble for the pic, which focuses on the DC superheroes with more supernatural powers as opposed to the bright and shiny heroes of the Justice League proper. The protagonists of Justice League Dark aren’t exactly antiheroes either, as the comics lineup has included folks like John Constantine and Swamp Thing.
Gotham City Sirens
Release Date: TBD
Director: David Ayer (?)
Writer: David Ayer (?)
Cast: Margot Robbie
What We Know So Far: Shortly after the release of Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie put in motion a female-centric spinoff film that would follow her Harley Quinn and other DC characters like Poison Ivy. This one’s still deep in development, but it’s definitely on the table.
Inhumans
Release Date: TBD
Director: TBD
Cast: TBD
What We Know So Far: Another comic property that will push the reach of the Marvel Cinematic Universe further outward, Inhumans will introduce dozens of new characters to the MCU. In the comics, they are a race of superhumans whose origins lie in the war between the alien Skrull and Kree races. The existence of Inhumans has been first introduced on ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and ABC and Marvel teamed up on an Inhumans TV series that turned out to be kind of terrible, although the official line is that the show doesn’t replace the feature film. Still, the Inhumans movie seems like a ways off at best.
Cyborg
Release Date: TBD
Director: TBD
Cast: Ray Fisher
What We Know So Far: Fisher was first introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will play a role in Justice League, and while a Cyborg movie was on WB’s ambitious initial slate, the status of the project is unclear at the moment.
The Batman
Release Date: TBA
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Ben Affleck (?)
What We Know So Far: Nothing at all, but it’s possible that this date is being eyed for The Batman. Warner Bros. finally got Ben Affleck to agree to direct and star in a Batman standalone called The Batman, with Affleck having penned a script with Geoff Johns. However, Affleck subsequently stepped down from the director’s chair, opting instead just to star in this standalone while Warner Bros. set Dawn of the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Matt Reeves to take the helm instead. But now Affleck may or may not continue being Batman, so really this project is super nebulous at the moment.
