San Diego Comic-Con is back, and that means the crown of the convention, Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel, is back too. But with so much uncertainty in the air, Marvel could do almost anything on Saturday.
The studio could do as it did in 2019 and drop a four-year calendar of upcoming Marvel film and TV projects on an ecstatic audience. Or… it could put one spotlight on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and save the real reveals for September, when Disney plans a multi-hour panel during its D23 convention for Marvel and Star Wars updates.
But if Marvel Studios goes big in Hall H this year, here’s what we’re expecting to hear about.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Image: Marvel Studios
The one thing we’re pretty much guaranteed to see in Hall H is the very next MCU film on the calendar, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. After a rocky shoot, the movie is still set for a Nov. 11 release date.
The rest of the current slate
Image: Marvel
But there’s one Marvel project that’ll hit before Wakanda Forever — She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, a nine-episode series premiering on Disney Plus on Aug. 17. The next stretch of Marvel’s dated projects includes The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Marvels. All three films have wrapped filming and gone into post-production, so teasers and trailers are on the table, especially for February’s Quantumania. The Secret Invasion Disney Plus series also wrapped filming this year and does not yet have a release window smaller than “2023.”
The imminent unknown slate
Image: 20th Century Fox
But trailers aside, there are plenty more projects that Marvel could simply offer a major update on. Barely a peep has been heard about the Fantastic Four or Blade films since they were announced to be in development at SDCC 2019. Upcoming Iron Man spinoff and Disney Plus series Ironheart is currently in filming, and production on Armor Wars (also for Disney Plus) is expected to ramp up within 2022.
And if Marvel really wants to lean into the frisson of crossed streams, the company could announce the R-rated third Deadpool movie it’s been promising, one that just might get to play in the MCU.
The eventual sequels
Image: Marvel Studios
Marvel’s announced several sequels since the last SDCC in 2019, and could potentially offer an update on their titles or casts, from Loki season 2 to Captain America 4 (starring Anthony Mackie) and Shang-Chi 2.
Spinoffs and other Disney Plus shows
Image: Disney Plus
There’s a lot of Marvel coming from Disney’s streaming service that might make an appearance in Hall H, whether it’s with new cast, more story information, or a release window. We probably won’t see the Werewolf by Night Halloween special until 2023, given that it hasn’t started filming yet. But SDCC could bring updates on WandaVision spinoff Agatha: House of Harkness, and Disney’s first forays into continuing the Marvel Netflix shows with Echo and a new Daredevil series featuring Charlie Cox.
The big mystery
Image: Marvel Studios
It’s been five years since Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox put the film rights to the X-Men and associated characters back in the hands of Marvel Studios. And it’s been three years since Kevin Feige hinted about an upcoming MCU X-Men movie on stage at Hall H. And we wouldn’t normally hold our breath, except… for one extra scene that seems very deliberately placed in a recent Disney Plus show.
Will we get details on a new X-Men movie franchise this weekend? The odds seem better than they did a month ago.
What we won’t hear about
Image: Marvel Studios
You won’t hear anything about Marvel Studios’ upcoming animated Disney Plus series — Marvel Zombies, X-Men ’97, or What If…? season 2 — because those shows have their own panel on Friday. Stay tuned to all of our SDCC 2022 coverage for updates!