Marvel fans always like to feel as if they’re “in the know” and this is never more the case when it comes to release dates. Unfortunately, the pandemic era has brought much uncertainty, with release dates frequently chopping and changing. Disney and Marvel will be hoping that things become more stable in Phase 5 and 6, and that things won’t have to shift too much.
Kevin Feige surprised many by announcing many details about Phase 5 and 6 at SDCC earlier this year. While many movies were given release dates, a few weren’t – such as the sequel to the successful 2021 movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. We know a few things, such as the fact that Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton will be directing the next Avengers movie, subtitled The Kang Dynasty.
We also know that Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi will play a fairly major role in Phase 5 and 6, which surely means that he’ll be a part of the Avengers. Therefore, whether Shang-Chi 2 comes out before or after Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will have a big effect on the plot – potentially of both movies.
Users of the Marvel Spoilers reddit (via The Direct) believe that Shang-Chi 2 will be coming out in February 2025, which is just a few months before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’s release date in May 2025. If Cretton is indeed directing both movies, it seems to be a massive undertaking for him to have both ready that close together. It does seem to suggest that the events of Shang-Chi 2 will have a direct impact on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty though.
This will also mean that the Shang-Chi sequel is coming out four years after the first movie, which wouldn’t be that unusual for the MCU. The gap between the first and second Doctor Strange movies was six years, for example.
We know quite a lot about the future of the MCU, but we don’t know precisely when everything is going to happen. Casting is the other area in which fans are clamouring for announcements, especially when it comes to the Fantastic Four. Obviously, we at The Digital Fix will keep you updated as soon as we hear anything.
While we wait for more concrete news, check out our guide to everything we know about Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.