Avengers: Endgame marked the end of an era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in more ways than one. Not only did the film serve as a sendoff for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), but it also closed the book on the chapter of history in which Marvel movies and Marvel TV shows were pretty strictly delineated. Throughout the first 10 years of the MCU, the movies were made by Marvel Studios—which is run by Kevin Feige—and the TV shows were made by Marvel Television—which was run by Jeph Loeb. So while there were attempts to make hints and nods towards what was happening in the movies within shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s Daredevil, behind the scenes there was little communication between the two teams. Which explains why the movies basically ignored the TV shows.
All of that changes with the arrival of Disney+, for which Marvel Studios is creating its own Marvel TV shows that will be intrinsically tied to what’s happening in the movies. Indeed, Feige has said that for the first time, the future of the MCU is being mapped out using both the films and TV shows, as the overarching MCU storyline will see the Marvel Disney+ shows intersecting heavily with what’s happening in the Marvel movies.
With that in mind, Marvel has already announced a slate of upcoming Marvel TV shows that will debut on Disney+, many of which will be limited series running just six episodes in length. It’s longer than a movie, but short enough to offer fans a close-ended story—and to not tie very busy actors like Tom Hiddleston and Paul Bettany down for multi-year TV contracts.
Below, we’ve put together a list of all confirmed upcoming Marvel TV shows that will be streaming on Disney+, including release dates, cast, and what we know about how the story ties into the larger MCU.
It’s worth noting that in Fall 2019, Feige was promoted to Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment (thus overseeing Marvel TV) and Loeb was then announced as stepping down from Marvel TV, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wrapping up and almost all other previous Marvel TV shows cancelled. Indeed, the only remaining show from Loeb’s tenure at Marvel TV is the Hulu series Helstrom. But as the Marvel TV plans expand, we’ll be updating this article accordingly.
Without further ado, check out our guide to all of the upcoming Marvel TV shows heading our way.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: March 19, 2021
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily Van Camp, Wyatt Russell and Daniel Brühl
Number of Episodes: 6
What We Know So Far: This series takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, which means Falcon is in possession of Captain America’s shield. Emily Van Camp reprises her Winter Soldier role as Sharon Carter, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, and Daniel Brühl is back as Civil War villain Helmut Zemo. The big new addition (that we know of) is Wyatt Russell as John Walker, who in the comics was a supervillain who went by the name Super-Patriot. Malcolm Spellman (Empire) serves as showrunner while Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale) is directing. Filming began in November 2019 but was interrupted by the pandemic. While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was originally supposed to be the first Marvel show to debut in August 2020, it was delayed to 2021.
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Loki
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: June 11, 2021
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, and Sasha Lane
Number of Episodes: 6
What We Know So Far: So you’ll recall that in Avengers: Endgame, when the Avengers travel back in time to the Battle of New York, the Loki that was laying siege to New York at the time gets his hands on the Tesseract and disappears. This new series, Loki, will follow the exploits of that version of the character—a version who has not gone through the redemptive arc of Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War, and a version who was definitely not killed by Thanos. The series will reportedly find the God of Mischief traveling through various time periods, getting into many shenanigans. Which explains why Rick and Morty writer Michael Waldron was tapped as showrunner. Kate Herron (Sex Education) directs. Production began in early 2020 but was interrupted by COVID.
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What If…?
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: Summer 2021
Cast: Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Josh Brolin as Thanos, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Taika Waititi as Korg, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, Djimon Hounsou as Korath, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, and Michael Rooker as Yondu
Number of Episodes: 23
What We Know So Far: The first animated new Marvel TV show on Disney+ is an adaptation of the comics run What If…?, which was a series of one-off comics that imagined what would happen if certain scenarios had played out differently. Here, we’ll be seeing how events from the MCU may have played out had the circumstances or outcomes changed a bit. It’s been confirmed that the first story will show what would have happened if Peggy Carter had taken the Super Soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, and what if Loki had wielded Mjolnir instead of Thor. Jeffrey Wright makes his MCU debut as the voice of Uatu/The Watcher and A.C. Bradley (Trollhunters) serves as showrunner while Bryan Andrews (a storyboard artist on various Marvel movies) directs.
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Hawkeye
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: 2022
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, and Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez
Number of Episodes: 6
What We Know So Far: This limited series will follow Hawkeye after the events of Endgame training up his daughter Kate Bishop, who in the comics eventually takes on the mantle of Hawkeye. Rumors have swirled that Hailee Steinfeld is playing the lead role of Kate Bishop alongside Renner. Jonathan Igla (Mad Men) serves as showrunner, while Berti & Bertie (Troop Zero) and Rhys Thomas (Documentary Now) will each direct a block of episodes.
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Ms. Marvel
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: Late 2021
Cast: Iman Vellani
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: A TV series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Ms. Marvel, also known as Kamala Khan. The character is a teenage Pakistani American with shapeshifting abilities who eventually discovers that she is an Inhuman. In the comics, she assumes the role of Ms. Marvel as handed down from Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan will also appear in Captain Marvel 2, so the story of Ms. Marvel will tie directly into that film. In September 2020, newcomer Iman Vellani won the role of Ms. Marvel and will lead the series. Bisha K. Ali (Four Weddings and a Funeral) has been tapped as showrunner, while directors include Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon.
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Moon Knight
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Based on the comics character of the same name, Moon Knight will follow a former criminal who becomes “The Fist of Kohnshu” and evolves multiple personalities. It’s early days on this one, but Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy, The Exorcist) has been selected as showrunner and Oscar Isaac signed on to star as the titular hero.
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She-Hulk
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, and Tim Roth
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Not much, but when Kevin Feige first announced the She-Hulk series at D23 he stated, “Bruce Banner is no longer the only Hulk in the MCU,” suggesting that Marvel has big plans for She-Hulk. In the comics, Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin who gains his Hulk powers after receiving a blood transfusion from him. Jessica Gao, who won an Emmy for writing the “Pickle Rick” episode of Rick and Morty, has been selected to serve as showrunner. Taitana Maslany was confirmed as the title character (a lawyer catering primarily to superhero matters) in December 2020, with Marvel also revealing that Mark Ruffalo will appear as Bruce Banner and Tim Roth will reprise his The Incredible Hulk role as the Abomination.
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Secret Invasion
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Marvel announced in December 2020 that it is adapting one of its most famous comics arcs, Secret Invasion, as a limited series. Ben Mendelsohn reprises his Captain Marvel role as the Skrull Talos and Samuel L. Jackson co-stars as Nick Fury in a storyline that, in the comics at least, saw many notable superheroes replaced by Skrull lookalikes. Captain Marvel flipped the script and made the Skrulls the empathetic good guys and the Kree — their sworn enemy — the bad guys, and last we saw Nick Fury he was floating in space aboard a massive Skrull ship. So expect this to be a big deal.
Ironheart
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Dominique Thorne
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Marvel made the announcement in December 2020 that it was developing a Disney+ series based on Ironheart, which will tell the story of an engineer who develops the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man himself and then becomes a superhero. Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Talk) will play the title role.
Armor Wars
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Don Cheadle
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Don Cheadle‘s James Rhodes finally gets to take center stage in Armor Wars. In this story, War Machine will have to put on the suit, reclaim his title, and stop a technocratic, dystopian nightmare when Stark’s technology falls into the wrong hands.
I Am Groot
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Number of Episodes: TBA
What We Know So Far: Marvel is developing a series of shorts featuring new and unusual characters, anchored by Baby Groot himself. James Gunn will executive produce I Am Groot.
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