Marvel has seven films already planned after Avengers 4

Doctor Strange 2? Black Panther 2? Black Widow? X-Men?

We may have come to the quiet acceptance that Marvel will be cranking out superhero movies until the Earth consumes itself - but that notion just got solidified a little further.

The studio has set out its future schedule, reaching up to 2023, with seven Marvel projects receiving new release dates - as another previously scheduled film also shifts dates.

It may sound exhausting, but with Disney now overseeing so many separate studios - Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, its live-action offerings - the exercise has become a precarious task of balancing out every new release without the risk of Disney becoming in competition with itself.

Now comes the guessing game of what these projects will actually be: Marvel's Phase 4 kicks off with a new Spider-Man sequel scheduled for 5 July 2019, while we already know Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is prepped for a 2020 release date. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has already discussed bringing Ryan Coogler back for Black Panther 2, which seems guaranteed in the wake of its box office success.

Elsewhere, a sequel to Doctor Strange seems likely, alongside a future for Captain Marvel when she finally strides onto the scene. Beyond the obvious, everything else seems up in the air, especially if Disney is already setting out Marvel's future in the wake of its acquirement of Twentieth Century Fox - is one of these an X-Men film? And what about the Black Widow film we've been promised?

The full list is as follows:

1 May, 2020 (already announced)
31 July, 2020 (previously dated 7 August 2020)
6 November, 2020 (already announced)
7 May, 2021 
30 July, 2021 
5 November, 2021 
18 February, 2022 
6 May, 2022 
29 July, 2022

Mulan has also been delayed by a fairly dramatic year and a half, shifting from 2 November 2018 to 27 March 2020.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.