Upcoming MCU Projects Ranked by Excitement

Upcoming MCU Projects Ranked by Excitement

It’s been a while since I’ve last ranked the upcoming MCU projects based on my excitement. Since then we’ve gotten another phase, multiple movies, tv shows, trailers, and more. So here’s my ranking of the 13 upcoming MCU projects based on my excitement. Let’s get started!

13. Blade (TBA): If you’ve been following this film’s production for any amount of time, you can probably guess why this is in last place. This film was announced at San Diego Comic Con in July 2019 with Mahershala Ali who just won his 2nd Oscar coming out on stage to announce this film. It’s been SIX years and nothing positive has come from this film. At one point, this would’ve been a very cool MCU movie to get as it could introduce horror and gothic into the universe. But with all of the delays and multiple writers and directors leaving, I can’t have any good faith that this will be good or that it’ll actually release. With Deadpool & Wolverine releasing last year and Doomsday and Secret Wars releasing soon, I feel like Marvel is going to be going down the Wesley Snipes road and possibly do a fourth film with him and not Mahershala Ali’s Blade film. Beyond that, Mahershala Ali is 51 years old. Even if they start filming this year he’ll be 53 years old when the film comes out. Blade is supposed to be a vampire that never ages and they’re casting a guy in his 50s. That’s weird to me and I think Marvel needs to come out and say publicly that the film is canceled because clearly they can’t get a script together. 

12. Armor Wars (TBA): This is another one that was announced several years back and we’ve gotten very few updates on the film. Basically it was announced as a tv show starring Don Cheadle but they decided to convert it into a movie because they thought that format would work better. Pretty much since that change was made, we haven’t gotten any new updates on the project. Similar to what I said about Blade, I don’t think this film is going to come out. If they cancel it tomorrow, I’m not going to be sad about it. Don Cheadle is very good in the MCU, he can deliver funny one liners. He’s a character that’s been around since Iron Man in 2008 but hasn’t really gotten to take center stage in a project. Also, the twist involving Rhodey in Secret Invasion and hinting that he’s been a Skrull since his incident in Captain America: Civil War is so stupid and raises so many questions and I hate that plot twist. If they tie that plot twist into the plot of Armor Wars, then this entire project will lose me. I rank this one above Blade simply because there’s not as much as bad buzz surrounding this film. But it’s still next to last on this list.  

11. Wonder Man (December 2025): This is the next Disney+ tv show releasing this December. It’s been interesting that we’re three months out from this project releasing and we don’t really have a trailer for a release date for the film. We’ve seen seconds of footage from a sizzle reel but it’s literally just 5 seconds and doesn’t really give away much. Beyond that the synopsis of the tv show is described as this “Hollywood actor Simon Williams is thrust into the world of superheroes as he gets powers of his own, and becomes the new superhero Wonder Man.” Having a project take place within Hollywood in the MCU sounds very weird. Depending on what direction they got and how weird and wacky they get, this could be a big swing for the MCU that’ll either pay off or it won’t. I also just don’t know anything about Wonder Man so even him being introduced in the MCU isn’t something that excites me. It also feels like one of those shows that was green lit in the era of Disney prioritizing quantity over quality. Maybe this will be a larger piece and will tie into future projects, but when the MCU is ramping up to Doomsday and in the middle of it we get Wonder Man, it feels out of place.  

10. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 2 (TBA): Like most people, I find it very weird that they released this film that both critics and audiences connected with. This month, it’s been five years since the film came out and we still don’t have a sequel. I really like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It’s a film that brings a fresh new flavor to the MCU with martial arts. Simu Liu as the title character did a great job and he clearly has the star power to lead a big blockbuster franchise. But it’s hard to have too much excitement for this film given that I can see a world where this film won’t come out. A sequel should’ve been released in 2024 and set him up more for Avengers Doomsday and future stories. Even with the director of the film, Destin Daniel Cretton now directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I feel that it hurts this film’s chances of actually happening. I hope we get a sequel to the film, if they release it after Doomsday I think it’ll do well financially because they put Shang-Chi in a film that’s very likely to make over $1 billion. If they do decide to make a sequel they should announce it soon so they can ride the momentum of Doomsday and Secret Wars. 

9. Vision Quest (TBA): This will be one of two tv shows coming to Disney+ next year. Like Wonder Man this is a show that feels like it was announced and greenlit when they were prioritizing quantity or quality. Releasing in 2026 in the same year as an Avengers movie seems very weird. Especially with this show being a follow-up to WandaVision that would’ve come out five years before this show came out. It feels like 2-3 years too late. But there’s a few more things about this show that has me excited and curious to check it out. First up, we know that it stars White Vision continuing the crisis that he experienced in WandaVision. That right there, I know more of what to expect from this show. We’re very familiar with Vision so we know what the tone and vibe is going to be. Second, the showrunner is Terry Matalas who was showrunner for Star Trek: Picard season 3. A season that almost every Star Trek has praised as being awesome. Third, James Spader is returning as Ultron which sounds awesome. Ultron seems like the type of character that there’s more to explore with. Overall, it’s #9 on this list so I’m not full blown pumped for it but I do have faith that this could be something interesting. 

8. Marvel Zombies (September 24th, 2025): This is actually the next MCU project to come out, it’s dropping all of its episodes later this month. In a lot of ways, this is the project that we know the most about. Therefore, there’s enough to go off and that I can rank this film a tad higher on a list like this. I actually haven’t seen the trailer for the show (which is kind of intentional). But even some of the clips that I’ve seen look very cool and I appreciate that they’re leaning into the darker elements and going rated-R with this show. Seeing images of Blade and Spider-Man fighting zombies looks very cool. At the same time, I think about the downfall of What If…? is hurting my excitement for this show because it seems like these shows are connected. I wasn’t a super big fan of the zombie episode they did in that show. There’s just a number of things about this show and the history of the MCU that’s hurt my excitement. It’s a bit of a tricky one to rank so it’s just right there in the middle as something that I’m excited for, but I have no rush to see it. 

7. Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th, 2026): This breaks my heart that I have an Avengers movie at #7 on this list. This film and Secret Wars should be an easy #1 and #2. There’s been a lot of red flags about this film. If you’re a Marvel fan and have been following the film’s production you know exactly why I’m conflicted. Bringing back Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom feels like a desperate move on Marvel’s part to rebuild excitement after they’ve failed to have excitement for several years. They haven’t established Doctor Doom in the MCU. We don’t know who The Avengers are or what role Fox X-Men play in the film. Even the comments from Rebecca Romijn and Alan Cumming raise red flags about this film. At the same time, am I excited to see Fox X-Men interact with MCU characters? Yes. Am I excited to see those characters return and any of the other surprises? Yes. Do I think RDJ is going to do a great job? Yes. But all of the behind the scenes drama has me very nervous. At the same time, this is a film that I wish I could see tomorrow because I want to know what it is. 

6. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 (2026): This is one of the few Marvel Animation projects we’re getting next year. I thought the first season of the show was one of the biggest surprises of the MCU. I didn’t really expect much out of it but ended up really digging the show. Given that it’s a Spider-Man show there’s more stories to tell and more stories to introduce. With that story being told during the events of Captain America: Civil War, but Peter is being mentored by Norman Osborn instead of Tony Stark there’s so many more possibilities that you can do with this. At some point, we’re probably going to get Norman Osborn in the Green Goblin suit which is going to be great. I believe Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are playing Daredevil and Kingpin in this season. I would be wrong, but if that’s the case then it’ll be very cool. I’m a bit surprised that this show made it this high up on a list like this. Maybe I’m overselling my excitement, I’m not bouncing up and down with excitement for season two. But there’s not a lot of red flags that I see with this show so I feel like it has to rank a good spot on this list.  

5. Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17th, 2027): I debated clumping this film and Doomsday together. But the truth is, I’m more excited for Secret Wars than I am for Doomsday. The simple fact is we don’t know much about the production or the cast for Secret Wars. Therefore there’s not any red flags about this film, there’s not bad buzz surrounding this film like there is for Doomsday. Even before MCU made the switch from Kang to Doctor Doom, we still didn’t know much about Secret Wars. There’ve been multiple directors and writers attached for Avengers 5, nothing for Secret Wars. Beyond that, some of the comments from The Russo Brothers say this film isn’t about ending things, it’s about starting new things. The language they’ve used hints that Secret Wars will be a big part in whatever the MCU is like after this film. I’m not sure if that means this will introduce us to the MCU’s X-Men. But there’s a lot of possibilities that this film can do. We’re still over two years away from the film’s release. Once we get closer and they actually start filming it this film could move up or down on this list. 

4. The Punisher Special Presentation (February 2026): Back in 2022 Marvel gave us TWO special presentations. They haven’t done any of them since but next year we’re getting one starring Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. I think doing a 45-50 minute special presentation starring The Punisher sounds awesome. There’s a lot of very cool stuff that you can do, it can be action packed and deliver the version of Punisher that we want that’s violent and brutal. I love Jon Bernthal as this character, he’s so much fun and captures the mannerisms of Punisher so well. I’m also curious how this ties into the other 2026 MCU projects, in particular with season two of Daredevil: Born Again and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, both of which have Jon Bernthal’s Punisher returning. Jon Bernthal also co-wrote this special presentation. He was one of the people that was fighting for Daredevil: Born Again to be more violent and true to the character. When he’s a part of the developing process it makes me think that this will be true to the Punisher character and will be a great time to see him tear enemies apart for 45 minutes. 

3. X-Men ‘97 Season 2 (2026): What’s nice about Disney+ reviving several of Marvel shows of the past like X-Men the Animated Series and Daredevil means that it finally gives me an excuse to watch them. I watched X-Men the Animated Series before X-Men ‘97 came out and loved all of it. I think X-Men ‘97 is the best thing that Marvel has put out on Disney+. The whole universe gave us a version of the X-Men that’s so different from what Fox did with the movies. It’s set in a pre-populated Marvel universe so characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man just show up and it makes sense in this universe. They also weren’t afraid to get wild and wacky with what’s going on and since it’s animation they can get away with a lot more. They delivered episodes that had personal stakes and global stakes. The season ends with a cliffhanger setting up Apocalypse and a bunch of other things for season 2. Once again, it might seem weird to have this rank as high as it does but I’m very excited for it. I believe it’s supposed to be released in the first quarter of 2026 so hopefully before the end of the year we get a release date. 

2. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31st, 2027): The next MCU movie that we’ll be getting and I’m very excited for it. There is a little bit of frustration that I have because once again they’re populating this film with established Marvel characters like Punisher, Hulk, and Yelena. But that’s a fun mix of characters and I think putting them in a Spider-Man movie could be very fun. The plot seems to involve a fight between Spider-Man, Punisher, and Hulk but then they realize there’s a larger villain out there to fight. When I hear that, it makes me think that we’re going to be getting a rage filled Hulk which is something that myself and fans have been wanting for a long time. With this film, they’re also going more practical with the Spider-Man action. There’s set footage of Tom Holland (or probably his stunt double) web swinging around New York City. The fact that they’re getting back to practical web swinging instead of CGI and that fits the Spider-Man franchise. More recently Jackie Chan revealed that his stunt team is helping with the stunts for the film which sounds awesome and means we could be getting some very cool action. 

1. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (March 2026): If you saw my review of season one you know that I liked it, but was slightly disappointed by it. But the two best episodes of that show were episode 8 and 9 that were from the new creative team they brought in. Those episodes very much had the tone and vibe of the Netflix show. Those people are the showrunners for season 2 which means season of Born Again should be great and more inline from what we love about the Netflix show. Beyond that, they’ve said that Jessica Jones will be in the show. Which is very cool and means I now have an excuse to watch Jessica Jones. Matthew Lillard is joining the cast which is very exciting and curious to see what he brings to the show. Getting to see even more of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onorio as Daredevil and Kingpin is always a pleasure and some of the best modern comic book casting that we have. With Jon Bernthal appearing in this and Brand New Day, I’m curious to see if there’s any overlap and connection between the two. When you put all of it together this is the next MCU project that I’m most excited for and want to see because I think it’s going to be awesome!