Boldly (And Probably Incorrectly) Predicting Marvel's Hall H Announcements

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DS33SuJ2A2NkcKYcNLlZT

Alright so we are just a few hours away from Marvel's big Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con which means it's time to speculate about what is and is not being announced. Keep in mind THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE IN THIS ARTICLE SO KEEP THE BITCHING ABOUT SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS TO A MINIMUM. THIS IS ALSO SPECULATION, I HAVE NO INSIDER INFORMATION.

The State of Upcoming Releases

So before we get into what could happen, let's take a minute to appraise the state of where the MCU is. The confirmed upcoming theatrical release slate is as follows:

• Captain America: Brave New World-February 14th, 2025
• Thunderbolts*-May 4th, 2025
• Fantastic Four-July 25th, 2025
• Blade-November 7th, 2025
• Avengers 5 (The Kang Dynasty)-May 1st, 2026
• Avengers: Secret Wars-May 7th, 2027

Keep in mind, Phase 5 will end with Thunderbolts* and Phase 6 will begin with Fantastic Four. The following five movies are also in development but no date has been given:

• Armor Wars
• Shang-Chi 2
• Spider-Man 4 (Sony co-production)
• Doctor Strange 3
• X-Men

Beyond that, Marvel also has the following release dates reserved but with no movies assigned to them:

• February 13th, 2026
• July 24th, 2026
• November 6th, 2026

So of the movies without dates, one is set before Avengers 5 and two are set between Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars. Now that the field has been set, let's get with the predictions.

Prediction 1: Delays

I think the release slate will look very different after this event when all is said and done. I think Blade will move to February 13th, 2026 since we do not have a director yet and the current date is a little under a year and a half away. Either Fantastic Four or Thunderbolts* could move to the now-vacant release date in November to space out the releases a little more (probably Fantastic Four since it was set for November originally before its repeated delays and the July date is just two weeks after Superman). There is one other delay but that gets its own section.

Prediction 2: Avengers 5 Rebrand

It's safe to say the era of Kang has come to an end and Avengers 5 will be called something other than The Kang Dynasty. I've been speculating for a while that the movie could be called Avengers Vs. X-Men and the release of Deadpool and Wolverine has done a lot to further that theory. The major change that happens as the result of that movie is that a more cohesive unified X-Men Universe that could be the same one depicted in the post-credit scene of The Marvels. Since the wall has already broken once between the universes, it would make sense that a universe that now has a full X-Men team with an alive and well Wolverine, Deadpool, and Laura would make for a team where they could mash-up the characters they want to bring back from all applicable X-Men timelines.

The other thing worth noting is that, while Phases four through six have been dubbed "The Multiverse Saga," perhaps a more apt description should be "The Studio Interference Saga" because Marvel Studios post-Endgame has become the engine to prove value of both Disney+ and the Fox acquisition. Clearly the decision to throw Kang as a multiphase bad guy was one of these and now that the one-two punch of Deadpool and Wolverine and Loki has illustrated a complete departure from those plans, the most marketable decision from Disney would be to simply call the movie Avengers Vs X-Men and bill it as a fight between the remaining Fox characters and the new Avengers team.

The other key part of this is that Avengers: Secret Wars remains the same and the two-part movie is directed by the Russo Brothers. I believe the movie will also be delayed from May 1st, 2026 to May 7th, 2027. Avengers: Secret Wars would then be delayed a year to May 5th, 2028, which would put it on the 20th anniversary of the MCU. Considering how Marvel builds reshoots into the production schedule, they tend to want a two-year production cycle for their movies so, if the movie starts production next year, the 2027 date makes more sense.

Prediction 3: Release Dates

So let's get to the fun part, speculating what movies get what dates. Let's just go to my projected slate and then I will break down why each film is where it is:

• February 14th, 2025: Captain America: Brave New World (stays the same)
• May 4th, 2025: Thunderbolts*
• July 25th, 2025: Vacated
• November 7th, 2025: Fantastic Four
• February 13th, 2026: Blade
• May 1st, 2026: Armor Wars
• July 24th, 2026: Spider-Man 4
• November 6th, 2026: Shang-Chi 2
• May 7th, 2027: Avengers Vs X-Men

The decision to leave the July 25th date vacant comes from the comment Bob Iger made at a recent investor call saying they were going to pull back on their releases so they don't overload the slate (or the viewing public). This date is also the most likely pull because the month of July already has Superman and Marvel would be smart to pull off that date entirely. 2026 could have 4 dates because Spider-Man 4 would not be a Disney release. The franchise has done well anywhere but both Homecoming and Far From Home opened in July so putting the fourth movie there would make sense for them.

Marvel Studios also loves that first week of May for a major release (Thunderbolts*, Avengers, etc.) so putting Armor Wars in that slot makes a certain amount of sense considering what we know about the movie. It was originally slated to be a Disney+ series but they elected to move it theatrical meaning I would not rule out a return of RDJ for this movie, potentially in an antagonistic role (maybe adapting Superior Iron Man where an evil Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark is the bad guy). This would be a great film for the May slot (assuming Avengers 5 gets delayed).

Now the question becomes what goes into the November slot. Considering that this is as of right now the last release date before where I think Avengers Vs X-Men will land, this is the most interesting slot on the slate because it depends on the storytelling. A Doctor Strange is referenced in Deadpool and Wolverine when Cassandra says she took a sling ring (with the reality and time stones) off a magician and last we saw MCU Doctor Strange, he was being brought into the Dark Dimension by Clea to try and stop the impending incursion. Considering this theory has an incursion at the center, Strange would need to be a major player in whatever form Avengers 5 takes. The most likely options have him getting lost between the movies and filling the role of Hulk in Infinity War but I don't think you need a whole Doctor Strange 3 to fill that void. I think having Shang-Chi 2 fill that spot where maybe Wong is looking for Strange with Shang-Chi would be more interesting so I'd vote that movie gets that slot.

Do you agree? Am I going to be proven wrong? We will see in about an hour. Regardless of if I'm right or wrong, this article will stay up so we can compare after the panel.