Disney's Marvel plans for superhero films through 2019
Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel unveiled a slate of nine superhero films that will take the studio through mid-2019, adding two more "Avengers" and projects based on black and female comic-book characters.
The Black Panther, an African tribal chief created in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, was the first black superhero in a mainstream American comic. Set for November 2017, the film will star Chadwick Boseman, Marvel President Kevin Feige said yesterday in Los Angeles. "Captain Marvel," scheduled for July 2018, will star a female actress who hasn't been cast.
With its latest crop of projects, Marvel mines a rich list of comic-book heroes, branching out with films aimed at a diverse audience. The studio, a hitmaker since its 2009 acquisition for $4 billion, is stepping up production as it faces new competition from Warner Bros., which two weeks ago announced plans for 10 films from DC Comics.
Marvel "is firing on all cylinders," Feige said at an event packed with fans at the El Capitan theater. "Which made us comfortable for the first time that we had the ability to increase to three films a year from two" starting in 2017.
The event, with appearances by actors Robert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man, and Captain America Chris Evans, marks Marvel's biggest slate announcement. The studio has exploited popular brands such as The Avengers, while elevating lesser- known characters in "Guardians of the Galaxy," which has become the top-grossing domestic film this year.
'Avengers' Plans
"The success that we have had is beyond our wildest dreams," Feige said.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" is scheduled to be released in May, a film some analysts are already predicting will be the biggest of 2015, followed by "Ant-Man" in July. The first "Avengers," released in 2012, is the third-biggest movie of all time, behind "Avatar" and "Titanic," with $1.52 billion in global ticket sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo.
Next year's "Avengers" will introduce the Black Panther character played by Boseman, who also appeared onstage yesterday. The third and fourth installments, dubbed "Infinity War Part 1" and "Infinity War Part 2," arrive in May 2018 and May 2019.
"Captain America: Civil War" will be released in May 2016, followed by "Doctor Strange" in November. The female-led "Captain Marvel," is slated for July 2018, with another new title, "Inhumans," set for release in November.
"I'm very overwhelmed," said Marvel fan Robert Lucero, a 24-year-old student from Pomona who said he was most excited to see "Black Panther." "It just seems there's too many good things to wait such a long a time but they have shown us they will reward our patience."
Disney, based in Burbank, California, rose 1.7 percent to $89.93 yesterday in New York. The shares have advanced 18 percent this year.
(Earlier versions of this story corrected the title of "Captain America: Civil War" and the role of Chris Evans, who plays Captain America.)