2028’s 3 Officially Confirmed MCU Movie Release Dates Are A Game-Changer For Marvel

Published Aug 23, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The MCU's three currently announced 2028 movies all have been provided with release dates, and the picture they paint for the franchise is a promising one to say the least. Though the MCU has been known to release a number of movies and shows in one year for much of its history, recent years have seen the franchise slow down in order to avoid oversaturating audiences with new chapters from the MCU, especially given the still relatively new addition of MCU shows in the first place. With 2024 having one release in the form of Deadpool & Wolverine, 2025 having mixed results with its larger release roster of Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, 2026 only featuring Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and 2027 seemingly only set to feature Avengers: Secret Wars, the news that 2028 will feature three MCU movies was a twist enough alone, even without considering what said movies are. Given the context that these films are some movies that audiences have been eagerly awaiting for many years now - including some installments fans didn't believe may ever happen until recently - 2028's release roster becomes all the more important for the wider MCU timeline and its longevity. Excitingly, the release dates chosen for these films only make their impending debuts seem all the more fruitful looking, too. 2028's New Confirmed MCU Movie Release Dates Make The Year One Of Marvel's Most Exciting In Some Time Following the news that the MCU would release X-Men, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther 3 in 2028 - making the year a huge matter for Marvel - we've also gotten news of the current planned release dates for the films in question. The X-Men movie is set to release on May 5, Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider is due to release on July 28, and Black Panther 3 will close off the year for the franchise with its own December 15 debut. Of course, it's exciting to note that these movies are spread out enough that 2028 will have plenty of time to build hype for each of them respectively, but it's also interesting that this means we're set to get the introduction of the new X-Men team, the debut of Gosling's Ghost Rider, and the ending of the Black Panther trilogy all in the span of around half a year, which should go a colossal way in terms of building hype for the next era of the MCU after the Multiverse Saga comes to an end in 2027. 2028's Release Order Is Also Perfect For The MCU's New Movie Era While any order for 2028's three upcoming MCU movies is sure to have garnered some considerable excitement with fans, the current planned release order for this year bodes particularly well for the franchise. Kicking the year's MCU movie run off with X-Men makes a lot of sense, as the best way to establish how different this new age for the franchise will be is by unveiling its iteration of the beloved mutant hero team after years of buildup. Following this up with the Ghost Rider movie works on the same level, as fans have been hoping for Ryan Gosling to be cast in the role for quite some time now. Finishing up with Black Panther 3 to close out the year ensures that 2028 is not wall-to-wall new heroes and storylines, though, and does so by bringing us back to one of the most successful and praised series in the MCU's roster, which also seems a pertinent call for the franchise at this junction, meaning 2028 could well be the exact kind of year the franchise needs as it builds its path forward once more. Movie(s) Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, ​The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Werewolf by Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill TV Show(s) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If...?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Echo, Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda First Film Iron Man First TV Show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cast Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors Director Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a long-running multimedia franchise drawn from the heroes, villains, and narratives of Marvel Comics. The MCU formally began with 2008's Iron Man, with other successes forming the basis for the contemporary path from comic page to screen, including over 30 films and 20 TV shows.