10 MCU Projects Most In Danger Of Never Happening In Marvel’s New Release Plan

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is going through a tumultuous time, and it seems that Disney is re-thinking its strategy around the franchise’s upcoming releases, putting several major projects in danger of being canceled. It’s no secret that the MCU has struggled since the success of Avengers: Endgame, with 2023 featuring two massive box office bombs for the series in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. In response, comments made by Disney CEO Bob Iger on the MCU’s narrowing focus for the coming years suggest a dramatic re-shuffling of production priorities within the famed superhero studio.

In his statement, Iger made no mention of several prominent projects on the horizon for 2025 and beyond, only name-dropping Captain America: Brave New World and Marvel’s Fantastic Four as the MCU’s 2025 releases. While not being mentioned doesn’t guarantee an individual project is doomed to Disney’s vault, Bob Iger’s renewed focus on only the most recognizable and successful series in Marvel’s catalog in the wake of its commercial failures makes cancelation a real possibility. Of Marvel Studios’ upcoming films and Disney+ streaming series, several stand out for their obscurity as being in danger of the chopping block.

10 Agatha: Darkhold Diaries

Projected release date: Late 2024

In the wake of WandaVision, Disney’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe limited streaming series and one of the most successful, a new spin-off starring the shifty sorceress Agatha Harkness was announced for late 2024. Since it’s announcement, the show has undergone several name changes, going from being titled Agatha: House of Harkness to Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and finally, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. It’s possible the many titles hint at some creative floundering over the show’s direction behind the scenes, and with Agatha being a relatively unknown character, her series may not see the light of day under Iger’s new guidelines.

9 Marvel’s Thunderbolts

Projected release date: July 25th, 2025

Despite originally being on Marvel’s slate for 2025, no mention of Marvel’s Thunderbolts was made in Bob Iger’s comments regarding slowing down Marvel releases, suggesting that the film could be in danger of cancelation. The movie was intended to be Marvel’s answer to The Suicide Squad, bringing together former villains like Ghost, Red Guardian and The Winter Solider together in a reluctant Avengers team of their own. Unfortunately, the lack of updates or even a name-drop in the coming year of releases could mean that there is no place for the Thunderbolts in Iger’s new vision for the MCU.

8 Ironheart

Projected release date: September 3rd, 2025

Hastily introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri Williams’ Ironheart is one of the more recent Marvel Comics characters to make it into the MCU. As a possible replacement for Tony Stark, it would only be fitting for her to take the spotlight in her own eponymous series, which was announced for release on Disney+. However, Ironheart was one of many projects to be delayed to 2025, originally slated for a 2024 premiere. Considering Ironheart isn’t even an especially popular character among comics fans, this delay could easily turn into a full-blown cancelation under Disney’s renewed focus on existing properties.

7 Wonder Man

No current release date

Bringing Yahya Abdul-Mateen II of Aquaman fame into the MCU, Wonder Man will introduce a new hero from the comics into the media franchise. Telling the story of a former actor and rival of Tony Stark who becomes a superhero, the Wonder Man miniseries was one of many projects to be effected by the SAG-AFTRA strike, stalling production from May of 2023 to January of 2024. When Wonder Man’s obscure hero status is piled on top of these delays, Wonder Man‘s future in a Marvel Cinematic Universe with a renewed focus on strong franchises and fewer projects doesn’t look bright.

6 Armor Wars

No current release date

The Armor Wars comic run was one of Tony Stark’s most important solo stories in Marvel Comics, but with Iron Man out of the picture in the MCU, the adaptation will instead center around Don Cheadle’s War Machine. Originally, Armor Wars was to be another Disney+ TV series, but was later revealed to have been re-worked into a feature film, finally giving James Rhodes a solo movie spotlight. However, considering Rhodey’s controversial inclusion in Secret Invasion and general status as a supporting character, it could be very possible that War Machine’s chance at leading a project could be a casualty of Marvel’s new business model.

5 Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

May 1st, 2026

Obviously, the Avengers movies are some of Marvel’s biggest moneymakers, each one being a Blockbuster event with years of build-up. While there will certainly be an Avengers 5, the story of the MCU’s remaining heroes coming together against Kang may never come to fruition. Shortly after the firing of Jonathan Majors, who had played versions of Kang in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel internally re-titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to simply Avengers 5, suggesting a dramatically reduced Kang presence. In essence, the fifth Avengers installment may wind up being a completely different story from what was promised.

4 Vision Quest

No current release date

Another spin-off of WandaVision, Vision Quest is slated to follow the exploits of White Vision, the new incarnation of the character introduced toward the end of that series. Paul Bettany’s Vision was an enjoyable hero while he lasted, and even if the new Vision isn’t technically the same being, a new story putting the android front-and-center could be an interesting prospect in the wake of Scarlet Witch’s apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That being said, there’s no denying that White Vision is a C-Lister in the greater scope of the MCU, putting his series under threat of cancelation in the wake of Iger’s comments.

3 Blade

Projected release date: November 7th, 2025

Set to introduce Mahershala Ali’s vampire hunter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Blade is one of the most hotly-anticipated new entries into the franchise slated for 2025. Yet it’s impossible to ignore Blade‘s tumultuous production, the filmsuffering from a revolving door of new writers and directors along with painful delays. It’s been a long time since the last Blade movie, and Disney may be nervous as to whether the troubled film will wind up being worth the effort. Not mentioned in Bob Iger’s comments regarding Marvel’s 2025 releases, it’s possible that Blade may be delayed or worse.

2 The Untitled Okoye Series

No current release date

The Black Panther series has been one of Marvel’s biggest cash cows, with the first film being one of the MCU’s few entries to crack a 1 billion dollar box office and the second being the MCU’s second-best performing film in 2022. While an Okoye series is an intriguing prospect, it would have to contend with another Disney+ show also confirmed to be set in Wakanda, the animated The Eyes of Wakanda. Considering Iger’s comments regarding slowing down the slew of Disney+ series produced under the Marvel banner overall, it’s possible that the franchise won’t be willing to double-dip in Wakanda.

1 Marvel Zombies

Projected release date: 2024

The Marvel Zombies comic run was one of the universe’s most successful spin-off storylines, and Disney+ watchers got a brief taste of it in What If…? season 1, episode 5, What If…Zombies!?. The episode did well enough to inspire a spin-off animated series set solely in the zombified universe, but director Bryan Andrews revealed after a period of relative radio silence that the show was suffering from an uneasy release date (via Phase Zero). This update could be a worrying sign that the series won’t be stumbling its way into Disney+ any time soon, yet another victim of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s shifting priorities.

Key Release Dates