A key element of Marvel Cinematic Universe productions over the past five years won’t be included in the 2026 movies and TV shows released by Disney. Marvel Studios is planning another year of new superhero content, marking 18 years of the MCU, but a common practice from recent years will no longer continue.
Disney and Marvel Studios have announced their movie and TV show schedule through 2026, and for the first time in several years, they won’t be releasing any projects led by female characters in 2024. The last time this happened was in 2020, when the pandemic caused a complete halt to Marvel releases. Before that, 2019 saw the debut of Marvel’s first female-led film, Captain Marvel, which starred Brie Larson as Carol Danvers. The movie takes place in the 1990s and shows Carol’s beginnings as a Kree warrior and her journey to discovering her past as a fighter pilot.
2021 was a great year for female characters in Marvel projects. Elizabeth Olsen starred as Wanda Maximoff in the popular Disney+ series WandaVision, and Scarlett Johansson reprised her role as Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow, the first film of Marvel’s Phase 4. Later in the year, Hailee Steinfeld joined the MCU as Kate Bishop, co-starring with Jeremy Renner in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
In 2022, Marvel released three projects featuring female leads: Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law both debuted on Disney+, and Letitia Wright starred as Shuri in the theatrical release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
In 2023, Marvel Studios released only one film directed by a woman: The Marvels, directed by Nia DaCosta. The movie featured an all-female hero team-up, bringing together Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. It served as a sequel to Captain Marvel, the first Marvel film led by a female hero.
Disney+ began and ended 2024 with shows led by women. First came Echo, starring Alaqua Cox, which continued the story of Maya Lopez from Hawkeye and explored her past before bringing her back into conflict with Wilson Fisk. Later, for Halloween, Kathryn Hahn reprised her role as Agatha Harkness in Agatha All Along, following her journey with other witches along the Witches’ Road.
In 2025, Marvel Studios debuted Ironheart on Disney+, continuing the story of Riri Williams from Black Panther 2. Riri developed technology similar to Iron Man’s, bringing Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a close. Thunderbolts could also be considered a female-led film, with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova as the main character, even though it featured a team of antiheroes.
Marvel Studios has eight new films and Disney+ series planned for 2026. Currently on Disney+, you can watch Wonder Man starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Daredevil: Born Again with Charlie Cox will be available starting March 24th. Later this year, fans can also look forward to Season 2 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (featuring Hudson Thames), a special presentation of The Punisher (with Jon Bernthal), VisionQuest (starring Paul Bettany), and Season 2 of X-Men ’97.
Tom Holland will star as Spider-Man (Peter Parker) in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which comes to theaters on July 31st. Following that, Robert Downey Jr. will play the lead role of Victor von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, a film featuring a large ensemble of heroes, set to release on December 18th.
When Will Marvel Deliver More Female-Led Projects?
Marvel has several projects planned for release this year, but currently, only Avengers: Secret Wars is confirmed for 2027. This film is anticipated to be the largest superhero movie ever made, and Robert Downey Jr. is likely to play a central role. The movie will also include strong female characters in supporting roles.
Marvel is now starting to plan a large number of projects for Phase 7 and future installments, marking the beginning of the franchise’s third major storyline following the Infinity Saga and the Multiverse Saga. Current plans suggest that Black Panther 3 will kick off this new phase, and Letitia Wright is expected to reprise her role as Shuri, despite some talk about recasting the role of T’Challa.
There’s talk that Marvel is creating a Young Avengers team-up show for Disney+. Fans have seen characters who could be part of this team appearing in recent projects, and it looks like Iman Vellani and Hailee Steinfeld will lead the group. This could be another Marvel show on Disney+ with female characters taking the lead.
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2026-03-15 11:35