9. Thunderbolts
The Thunderbolts are essentially the Suicide Squad of the MCU. While it will feature a few characters we’ve already met, we don’t know the majority of the team. Will Disney do what it takes to make a good anti-hero movie ala James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad? We shall see.
8. Captain America: New World Order
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was decent and I think the storyline of Sam Wilson taking the mantle of Captain America is very intriguing. With that being said, it’s going to be tough to pull off a standalone Captain America movie without Chris Evans. There’s an opportunity to still have Chris Evans in this movie but in an unorthodox manner. If Hydra Captain America is the villain in this movie, I will be all the way in.
7. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
I’m honestly not a huge Ant-Man fan. I think he’s a good addition to the Avengers but as a standalone hero, he doesn’t really do it for me. However, that’s okay because the real main event of his movie is going to be Kang The Conqueror. For those of you who don’t know, Kang The Conqueror is the master of time who uses weapons from the future to conquer past civilizations. He’s very difficult to defeat because there is a version of himself in every time period. Kang is the new heavy-hitter in this phase of the MCU.
6. The Marvels
I was a bigger fan of Captain Marvel than most although I don’t think any of the hero-origin story movies were that great aside from Iron Man and Black Panther. I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet but I’ve heard relatively positive things about the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+ and it sounds like this is her introduction into the greater MCU. This one definitely has my interest due to the pure firepower these characters, and their villains, are able to bring.
5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This is the only entry on this list we actually have a trailer for and it was EMOTIONAL, as it should have been. In my opinion, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther was one of the best MCU characters and his presence will be greatly missed regardless of how good this movie turns out to be. We’ve seen Marvel tackle some heavy topics in their movie but this one is sure to be the most difficult. I hope this movie is one giant Chadwick Boseman tribute.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
In my opinion, the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are by far the best non-Avengers movies in the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the best MCU movies period and although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a very slight step down, it was still a top-tier MCU movie. With the same cast, same director, and a great villain in Adam Warlock, the expectations for this one are sky-high.
3. Blade
Basically, the only thing we know about this movie is that Mahershala Ali is playing the daywalker and that’s all I need to know. This is a character almost completely out of the normal realm of the MCU but I really think they can pull it off, especially after their success going dark in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If they don’t have any blood showers I will be severely disappointed.
2. Fantastic Four
The third time’s the charm! Similar to Blade, all we really know about this is John Krasinski is maybe playing Reed Richards? At least he WAS Reed Richards in one universe. Thanks, Wanda. The first two attempts at a live-action Fantastic Four in 2005 and 2015 were pretty brutal but given the MCU’s track record with teams of heroes, I have a feeling they will pull it off. Also, if Doctor Doom doesn’t immediately establish himself as one of the best MCU villains ever, something went horribly wrong.
1. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame being released almost exactly one year apart was one of the greatest back-to-back runs we will ever see in cinematic history. Fans had a full year to sit and think about what happened at the end of Infinity War and ponder on how the Avengers, reduced in half, were going to defeat Thanos. The amount of hype that grew over the year between releases was palpable and people couldn’t get to theaters fast enough to see Endgame. In 2025, we’re getting two Avengers movies a mere six months apart. I only know the general premise of both The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars storylines but there’s strong reason to believe something so shocking is going to happen at the end of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty that they’re only going to make us wait six months to see the resolution in Avengers: Secret Wars. If the idea of something blowing the snap out of the water doesn’t get you hyped, I don’t know what will.
