List of Undeveloped Movies

Marvel Studios Logo.

The following is a list of the movies that were considered to be in development by Marvel Studios, based upon different Marvel Comics properties, but ended up not being produced in any way.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

On July 22, 2022, Marvel Studios filed five trademarks, including one for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. The next day, at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Kevin Feige officially announced that the film was in development. He also announced that the film would be released on May 2, 2025. Three days later, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Destin Daniel Cretton would be directing the film.

On September 14, 2022, Deadline reported that Jeff Loveness would be penning the film's script.

On June 13, 2023, it was announced that the film had been pushed back from its initial release date to May 1, 2026.

On November 15, 2023, Deadline reported that Destin Daniel Cretton had stepped down as the director of the film, choosing to focus on directing Shang-Chi 2.

On November 27, 2023, Deadline reported that Michael Waldron would be writing the film's script, replacing Jeff Loveness.

On December 18, 2023, Deadline reported that Jonathan Majors had been fired by Walt Disney Studios, and thereby removed from the film, after he was deemed guilty during an assault and harassment verdict earlier that day. That same day, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Marvel Studios was currently referring to the film as Avengers 5 instead of The Kang Dynasty internally.

On February 21, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the film would officially drop its subtitle The Kang Dynasty and that Kang the Conqueror's role in the film would either be minimized or excised entirely. However, by April 2024, Disney released an upcoming movie schedule which retained the The Kang Dynasty subtitle.

On July 27, 2024, it was revealed that the film had been cancelled and the Kang storyline dropped, with Marvel Studios instead announcing Avengers: Doomsday as the fifth Avengers movie.

Cable

On March 26, 2009, it was reported that Marvel Studios would begin assembling a group of screenwriters to pen the scripts for various lesser known properties that they wanted to develop, including Nathan Summers/Cable.

Captain Britain

On June 27, 2017, in an interview with Hey U Guys, Kevin Feige stated that Marvel Studios had discussed bringing Brian Braddock/Captain Britain to the Marvel Cinematic Universe stating "We have discussed it. There are a lot of actors that come in and ask for the part so we"ll have to see".

On May 10, 2018, Simon Pegg expressed interest in portraying Captain Britain.

On September 8, 2018, it was reported that Marvel Studios had booked space at Pinewood Studios UK in November and December 2018 to hold auditions for a project called Captain Britain and the Black Knight.

On November 10, 2021, Henry Cavill expressed interest in portraying Captain Britain.

Dazzler

On April 22, 2010, it was reported that Marvel Studios had started taking meetings with writers and directors to work on small scale movies based on some of their lesser known characters including Alison Blaire/Dazzler.

Doctor Doom

On July 20, 2017, Noah Hawley revealed that he was developing a film about Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom for 20th Century Fox with an eye to direct the film as well.

On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire 21st Century Fox. The acquisition would provide Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof.

On March 12, 2019, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Noah Hawley revealed that his script for the film featured Doctor Doom putting a dome over Latveria, the fictional European country that he rules, and he later invites a female journalist to "be his voice to the world". Hawley also revealed that Kevin Feige had approached him about the project, but he was unsure if that would lead to the project moving forward.

On March 20, 2019, The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox became effective. As a result, all X-Men and Fantastic Four related films that were in development were put "on hold" and eventually cancelled.

On January 9, 2020, in an interview with Deadline, Noah Hawley said that he had not been contacted by Marvel Studios regarding the project since The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox became effective and that his focus had now moved to the Star Trek film that he working on, but he hoped that his Doctor Doom film could fit into Marvel's plans and said that if they did ever contact him about it, he would be "in".

Unmade Guardians of the Galaxy Spin-Offs

Drax and Mantis Film

In 2020, Drax actor Dave Bautista revealed that James Gunn had plans for a film starring the duo of Drax and Mantis, however, it was scrapped due there being no room for it in the current schedule of Marvel projects. It became even less likely to occur after James Gunn's temporary firing.

In 2022 The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special would release, prominently featuring the duo. However, it is unknown if it has any connections to this original project.

After the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Bautista confirmed he would not be returning to the role, making the project all but confirmed to be dead.

Rocket and Groot Film

In 2023, director James Gunn revealed that, prior to his firing, the story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had been planned to play out in a Spin-off starring Rocket Racoon and Groot. However, the director eventually decided to combine the film with the original plans for Guardians 3.

Inhumans

In 2011, Marvel Studios began developing a film adaptation of the Inhumans. However, in 2016 it was quietly cancelled, and was instead turned into a TV show.

Iron Fist

On March 26, 2009, it was reported that Marvel Studios would begin assembling a group of screenwriters to pen the scripts for various lesser known properties that they wanted to develop including Danny Rand/Iron Fist.

On August 6, 2010, in an interview with MTV News, when Kevin Feige was asked what possible projects Marvel Studios was looking at as follow-ups to The Avengers, he expressed his interest in the character Iron Fist.

The character of Iron Fist would later feature in a Netflix TV show.

Iron Man 4

In 2014, it was reported that Robert Downey, Jr. would most likely be replaced by another actor for a fourth Iron Man film due to his age. It was also reported that he would produce the film.

On July 23, 2014, it was reported that Robert Downey Jr. had expressed interest in returning as Tony Stark for a fourth Iron Man film.

Though an Iron Man 4 never occured before the character's death in Avengers: Endgame, spiritual followups to the series exist in the forms of the upcoming TV show Ironheart and the upcoming film Armor Wars.

Ka-Zar

On April 22, 2010, it was reported that Marvel Studios had started taking meetings with writers and directors to work on small scale movies based on some of their lesser known characters including Kevin Plunder/Ka-Zar.

Luke Cage

On April 22, 2010, it was reported that Marvel Studios had started taking meetings with writers and directors to work on small scale movies based on some of their lesser known characters including Luke Cage.

The character of Luke Cage would later star in a Netflix TV show.

Namor the Sub-Mariner

On May 22, 2014, Borys Kit reported that Marvel Studios, not Universal Pictures, had the Namor film rights.

On July 18, 2014, in an interview with IGN, Kevin Feige said that the Namor film rights were not with Universal and Legendary Pictures, but he explained there were a number of contracts and deals that had to be sorted out.

On June 2, 2016, Joe Quesada revealed on Kevin Smith's podcast Fatman on Batman that Marvel Studios had the Namor film rights.

Nighthawk

On March 26, 2009, it was reported that Marvel Studios would begin assembling a group of screenwriters to pen the scripts for various lesser known properties that they wanted to develop including Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk.

Power Pack

On May 16, 2000, Marvel Enterprises entered into a joint venture agreement with Artisan Entertainment to turn at least 15 Marvel superhero franchises into live-action films, television series, direct-to-video films, and internet projects. These franchises included an adaptation of Power Pack.

On April 22, 2010, it was reported that Marvel Studios had started taking meetings with writers and directors to work on small scale movies based on some of their lesser known characters including Power Pack.

On September 18, 2017, it was reported that Marvel Studios was revisiting Power Pack as a film with Jonathan Schwartz overseeing the film as a "Spy Kids-like" story.

On June 25, 2018, Kevin Feige revealed that Marvel Studios was still interested in doing a Power Pack film someday.

Runaways

In May 2008, it was reported that a Runaways film was in development with Brian K. Vaughan attached to write and Kevin Feige attached to produce.

On August 25, 2010, it was revealed via a casting call for the film's protagonists that Drew Pearce had signed on to co-write the film's screenplay with Vaughan and that Peter Sollett would be directing the film. The casting call also revealed that Sarah Halley Finn and Randi Hiller would serve as the casting directors for the film.

On October 22, 2010, it was reported that Marvel Studios had halted production on the film, citing a busy production schedule. Peter Sollett remained attached to the project, but was simultaneously offered to direct another Marvel Studios film.

Runaways became a TV show in 2017.

Silver Surfer

On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire 21st Century Fox. The acquisition would provide Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof.

On December 19, 2019, in an interview, Adam McKay expressed his interest in developing a film about Silver Surfer due to both the potential of the film's visuals and the character's comic book story.

On March 20, 2019, The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox became effective. As a result, all X-Men and Fantastic Four related films that were in development were put "on hold" and eventually cancelled.

On September 14, 2019, it was reported that a Silver Surfer film was in development.

On April 22, 2021, in an interview, Adam McKay revealed that he was still interested in developing a film about Silver Surfer, but something got in the way of his previous attempt to develop the film. He also said that one of the reasons why he wanted to develop the film was because he felt he could easily turn it into an allegory for environmental issues.

The Incredible Hulk 2

In August 2009, Louis Leterrier expressed his interest in directing a potential sequel to The Incredible Hulk. On October 2010, Tim Blake Nelson revealed that he was signed on to reprise his role as Samuel Sterns in future Hulk films.

On April 12, 2012, in an interview with Collider, Kevin Feige revealed that there were no plans to do another Hulk film. On September 12, 2012 Feige reaffirmed this, saying there wouldn't be another Hulk film until after Avengers 2. On May 2, 2014, Lou Ferrigno claimed the same.

On April 13, 2015, in an interview with Collider, Mark Ruffalo revealed that Universal Pictures had the Hulk film distribution rights and that may be an obstacle to releasing a future Hulk film.

In August 2023, Louis Leterrier revealed that the scrapped The Incredible Hulk sequel would have included Hulk's Grey Hulk persona and Red Hulks.

Eventually a Hulk spin-off would release in the MCU's fourth phase, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and the Red Hulk would debut in Captain America: Brave New World. Tim Blake Nelson would also return as Samuel Sterns in the same film.

Warriors Three

On May 9, 2011, when Kevin Feige was asked about a Warriors Three film, he said: "You never know. What's fun to me about the Warriors Three is that people seem to like them. People like the way that they were presented in this movie and their main note might be, 'I want to see more of them.' I think that for ‘Thor 2,’ if we should be so lucky, that there's an opportunity for that. But you never know."

The trio of characters were all killed off in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, making chances of this project ever occuring slim.