Superhero Movie Release Dates: A Complete Look At The Future Of Comic Book Movies

Three dozen superhero movies will be released in theaters over the next five and a half years. With this week's new announcements, I thought now was as good a time as any to take a look at the future of the comic book movie landscape. Hit the jump to find a comprehensive calendar of superhero movie release dates tracking the announced comic book movie adaptations up to the year 2020.

Joss Whedon and the entire superhero cast of The Avengers must assemble once again to combat the threat of Ultron and face one of their biggest villains yet. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson join the mix as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

Originally developed by Edgar Wright with screenwriter Joe Cornish, but the team left the project due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. Bring It On director Peyton Reed will direct with writer Adam McKay contributing to the film's script. Paul Rudd (Scott Lang) and Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) star in the size-changing super hero's first cinematic adventure. Evangeline Lilly will play Hope Van Dyne, the daughter of Hank Pym, while Corey Stoll will play Darren Cross, a.k.a. Yellowjacket, the antagonist of the film.  Here is the official plot description released by Marvel:

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Chronicle director Josh Trank helms a reboot of the Marvel comic book superhero team written by Simon Kinberg for 20th Century Fox. The story will once again center on four astronauts who gain superpowers after cosmic radiation exposure. Kate Mara plays Sue Storm aka The Invisible Woman, Miles Teller plays  Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, Jamie Bell plays Ben Grimm aka The Thing, Michael B. Jordan plays Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch and Toby Kebbell plays Victor von Doom aka the villainous Doctor Doom.

The Deadpool movie adaptation has sat in limbo for a long time despite comic book fans banging on the movie studio walls.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine left Deadpool laying in the rubble, disfigured, and his mouth sewn shut.  The comic book version of the character wears a costume that covers his whole body, including his head, so it is possible for the character to appear without showing the face underneath the mask.Reynolds has described the character as "a cross between Commando and Phantom of the Opera, by way of Caddyshack," a wise-cracking mercenary with a tendency to break the fourth wall. Reynolds has said that a Deadpool movie would need to be a closer adaptation of the comic book, so that sets up the expectations.

Zack Snyder's followup to Man of Steel and a prequel to the announced Justice League. The movie stars starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, Ben Affleck as BruceWayne/Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, with Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane returning from Man of Steel, and Holly Hunter in a role newly created for the film. The story will follow the epic fight between Superman and Batman, and a problem or villain will likely be introduced which will bring the duo together to fight the same evil.

The third installment of the Captain America film series will adapt the popular comic book event Civil War. The film will take place a couple years after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Returning directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo will kick off a whole new phase for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Civil War storyline centers around the Superhero Registration Act, which requires anyone with superpowers to identify themselves to the U.S. government and effectively work as a police force for the authorities. The controversial legislation pits Tony Stark against Steve Rogers, with the former supporting the program and the latter arguing it threatens civil liberties. Eventually, Rogers and other superheroes are forced to go on the run to avoid arrest. Effectively, this makes Tony Stark the villain of Captain America 3. Chadwick Boseman will make his big screen debut as the Black Panther in the film.

Bryan Singer returns to direct the eighth installment of the X-Men film series. This time around the team will have to battle Apocalypse, who we got our first glimpse of in the end-credits sequence of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Apocalypse might be the first mutant in existence and his powers include flight, invulnerability, superhuman strength, teleportation, telekinesis – every basic possible mutant power.

Not much is known about the announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel.

Suicide Squad directed by David Ayer (Fury, Sabotage) will reportedly feature a lineup dominated by Blockbuster, Multiplex, Jaculi, Mindboggler, Harkness aka Captain Boomberang, Vixen, and Deadshot.

Deadshot will be the leader and real hero of the film, with Harkness and Vixen as the two primary support characters and the rest filling out the margins. That trio of Deadshot Harkness and Vixen was also present in the comic version of the team that began in 1987 under the guidance of writer John Ostrander, and which ran until 1992. There have been three additional primary Suicide Squad runs since then, one of which saw Ostrander returning to the team. All feature some of this character lineup, with Deadshot often a primary member.

Channing Tatum has long been attached to play Gambit in the X-Men universe.  Screenwriter Josh Zetumer (the RoboCop reboot) penned a draft based on a treatment by the character's co-creator, Chris Claremont.  Tatum has said the following about the character:

We really do want to try our hardest to give something fresh. We're obviously going to go to the saving-the-world superhero movies eventually, but maybe not for the first one. We kind of want to introduce this character in a very different way. When you try to do something different, you never really know right off the bat what that is. We're feeling our way into it. And we really just gotta prove that concept of that person.

The Doctor Strange movie adaptation will be directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister)from a script by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). Rumors about who might play Doctor Strange have been swirling for years now, which has included Joaquin Phoenix, Justin Theroux, Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor, Matthew McConaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal, Oscar Isaac, and Jared Leto. Benedict Cumberbatch was the latest name to be in talks to play the title role.

In comics, Doctor Stephen Strange is the "sorcerer supreme" of the Marvel Universe. Kevin Feige has said that Strange will be "the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the supernatural, that involves everything from quantum mechanics to string theory. The idea of this film is to open up a whole new corner of the cinematic universe. We want to enter, through Strange, the world of parallel dimensions." In the film, Doctor Strange will have an accident that ruins his hands; subsequent training with the Ancient One will help him tap into the supernatural. To do that he'll use both his hands, and his thoughts.

Written and directed by Drew Goddard, the Spider-man spin-off movie Sinister Six would've stared Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti and Dane DeHaan as Electro, Rhino and Green Goblin, respectively. After Marvel Studios inked their deal with Sony to relaunch a new Spider-Man, this movie has not yet been taken off the release calendar officially, although it sounds like it wont happen in this capacity:

Update: Sony will NOT release "Sinister Six" in Nov 2016, source says. Sony delaying, rethinking, but still developing in light of new deal

— Ben Fritz (@benfritz) February 10, 2015

Before the Marvel Studios deal was announced, Sony was developing a spin-off film starring one of Spider-Man's female counterparts in 2017. There's no word on if this is still happening, which character it'll be, though Spider-Woman and Black Cat are obvious options. Lisa Joy Nolan (Westworld, Pushing Daisies) was hired to write. Read more here.

Hugh Jackman returns to play the titular X-Men character in a screenplay written by David James Kelly and once again directed by James Mangold. While the working title is "The Wolverine 2", this is actually the third stand alone Wolverine movie. Not much other information is known at this time. 20th Century Fox is producing and releasing.

James Gunn returns to write and direct a film which will see the further adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax The Destroyer, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Michael Rooker is expected to reprise his role as Yondu, as is Karen Gillan as Nebula. And Benicio Del Toro will likely return as The Collector. What could Guardians of the Galaxy 2 be about? Russ Fischer has put together an extensive report about Everything We Know About Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Considering Avengers: Infinity War will be coming in the two following years, we expect Guardians will help set-up the cosmic elements of the upcoming war.

The stand-alone Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot is a spin-off of the Zack Snyder film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

With little of no information of released about the June 19th 2015 reboot, its hard to know anything about the announced/scheduled 20th Century Fox sequel. It will likely reteam Kate Mara as Sue Storm aka The Invisible Woman, Miles Teller as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm aka The Thing and Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch. With Fantastic Four director Josh Trank set to helm an Untitled Star Wars Stand-Alone Project due to hit theaters in May 2018, I doubt he will have time to direct this sequel.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have made a deal to relaunch a "new Spider-Man" set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read all about it here.

Tom Hiddleston will return as Loki for the third installment of the Thor series which will pick up right after the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron and will "impact everything to come afterwards."

Chris Hemsworth will don the Mighty Avenger's cape once more for the hero's third solo adventure, and with a title as foreboding as "Ragnarok" you know he'll have to rise to his toughest challenge yet this time around!

Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sequel Justice League will team Henry Cavill (Superman), Ben Affleck (Batman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and possibly other characters/actors not yet announced.

The Flash will be played by Ezra Miller, best known for his work in We Need To Talk About Kevin and The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Its not clear if Miller will be playing Barry Allen or Wally West or whichever version makes it to the big screen, but I'm sure Warner Bros will try to make it very different than the recently launched CW series.

Marvel's Phase Three will culminate on May 2018 and 2019 with an epic two part Avengers film. Avengers Infinity War will be released on May 4 2018 and May 3rd 2019.

The Avengers have already triumphed over Loki, and next summer they'll face Ultron...but nothing could prepare them for the menace of Thanos.

Chadwick Boseman will first debut as Black Panther alongside Iron Man and Captain America in Captain America: Civil War before getting his own stand alone film in 2017. His place in the Marvel Movie Universe has also been set up in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The Black Panther is considered the first modern Black superhero. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1, #52 in July 1966. The Black Panther is entitled to the use of a heart-shaped herb that grants the person who consumes it enhanced strength, agility, and perception.

In August 2o14, Warner Bros ordered  two separate scripts for an Aquaman movie, which are being written by Will Beall (Gangster Squad) and Kurt Johnstad (300: Rise of an Empire). We're not sure which of the two drafts will be used for the upcoming film.  We know that Jason Momoa is set to play Aquaman.

Aquaman was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger in November 1941. The sea-based superhero has the ability to live under water and communicate telepathically with sea creatures. His abilities have been mocked in pop culture, often portraying his powers as useless in comparison to the other superheroes. The character is also a founding member of the Justice League of America and was originally part of the now shelved George Miller-directed JLA live-action feature film project.

The Captain Marvel movie will revolve around the Carol Danvers  version of the character. Kevin Feige has described her as "earthbound and cosmic," and "one of if not the most powerful character in the MCU." No casting has been named for Captain Marvel, nor is a director or writer been announced.

Dwayne Johnson will play Black Adam in Shazam, a militant and somewhat reformed anti-hero who struggles to clear his name from past villainous deeds. Darren Lemke (Turbo, Goosebumps, Jack the Giant Slayer) is writing the film.

Marvel's Phase Three will culminate on May 2018 and 2019 with an epic two part Avengers film. Avengers Infinity War will be released on May 4 2018 and May 3rd 2019.

The Avengers have already triumphed over Loki, and next summer they'll face Ultron...but nothing could prepare them for the menace of Thanos.

Zack Snyder's Justice League sequel Justice League will likely re-team Henry Cavill (Superman), Ben Affleck (Batman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and possibly other characters/actors not yet announced. If Ezra Miller doesn't appear in the first film, then I'm sure he'll appear as The Flash in the sequel.

Inhumans will introduce "dozens of new characters" and will be Marvel's 20th movie. Those characters will have new powers, which means new special effects, and "refine and expand what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about."

"We really do believe the Inhumans can be a franchise or a series of franchise unto themselves. They have dozens of powers and an amazing social structure. With our 20th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we wanted to continue to refine what that universe is about."

A script has been completed by Joe Robert Cole, who came out of the same Marvel writer's program that allowed Nicole Perlman to kickstart development of Guardians of the Galaxy. In the past, a logline for the script surfaced on some industry boards:

The Inhumans are aliens who were put on Earth as sleeper cell aliens to eventually call back their race to take over the planet. Ultimately, the group of aliens fully assimilates and don't want to cause war.

. The Inhumans are a race of evolutionarily-advanced beings, created from humans by the Kree, one of the chief alien races in Marvel's continuity, to fight another alien race, the Skrulls. It's big-time Jack Kirby sci-fi wackiness, with a character roster that includes Black Bolt, a ruler who never speaks because his voice is so powerful, and a giant dog called Lockjaw.

Ray Fisher will reprise his role as Cyborg, who first appears in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Cyborg was recently established as a founding member of the Justice League as part of DC's 2011 continuity reboot.

Cyborg, also known as Victor Stone, is a superhero who is half man and half machine. His body was destroyed in a tragic accident, but he was saved through experimental technology; his body parts have been replaced with a large arsenal of high-tech gadgets and weaponry, while constantly providing life support. Stone struggles with his humanity as a machine, although his advancements have made him an unstoppable powerhouse.

Green Lantern will be a reboot of the popular DC Comic Book superhero.

Marvel Studios, Warner Bros (DC) and Fox have announced a slate of dates for 2018 to 2020, but they are too far out to speculate about at this time. Here is the list of claimed superhero release dates:

What could the future hold?

Warner Bros is rumored to be working on future DC comics movie adaptations including a Flash/Green Lanter team-up movie, Sandman and Man Of Steel 2.

Besides the films mentioned above, Marvel is rumored to be developing a Captain Marvel/Ms Marvel movie, Black Panther, The Runaways, a Black Widow solo film (or a possible team-up with Hawkeye) and a possible solo film for The Incredible Hulk.