9 Details about Marvel’s Black Panther, female superhero and more

Marvel dropped bombshell after bombshell on excited fans Tuesday, by announcing the studio was moving into Phase 3 of its detailed expansion of the Marvel universe.

And they are not messing around.

With nine new movies slated for release over the next five years, Marvel just flexed its metaphorical muscles with the kind of dramatic flair usually employed by its comic book characters. Only, this isn’t a superpowered alien or a radiated mutant we’re talking about here… it’s Marvel Studios, a company of dedicated cinephiles who today proved themselves to be both determined and, perhaps, a bit mad.

Below are nine things you need to know about Phase 3 and what it means for fans everywhere!

Doctor Strange has a release date

Photo credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, led today’s announcements with the release date for Doctor Strange. While Feige did not confirm rumors that Benedict Cumberbatch is in negotiations for the title role, he did let us know that the film will hit theaters Nov. 4, 2016. He also teased the audience with assurances that the film would feature visuals unlike any Marvel movie has seen before.

Is Benedict Cumberbatch Doctor Strange? The CumberCollective sure hopes so

Guardians of the Galaxy sequel gets new release date

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The Guardians of the Galaxy sequel release date has been pushed up (no doubt to meet hordes of screaming fans’ demands that we get more Chris Pratt, stat). The film is set for a May 5, 2017 opening. Hopefully, fans can wait until then to get another look at Pratt’s sexy space muscles…

Thor‘s coming back!

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Feige didn’t give us a whole lot of info about the Thor sequel, other than to tell us that “Ragnarok” is an important word that means “the end of all things.” The film is slated for July 28, 2017 and, once again, will star Chris Hemsworth in the title role, with Tom Hiddleston returning as Loki.

Captain America 3: Civil War

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Watch Chris Evans grab his (and others’) left boob 8 times

Evidently, Captain America and Iron Man will be going head-to-head in Civil War, slated for a May 6, 2016 release. Not only will the film feature Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. reprising their roles, but the movie will also introduce Chadwick Boseman (42, Get On Up) as the Black Panther, in preparation for a stand-alone film.

Yes, you read that right…

A Black Panther stand-alone film is coming!

Photo credit: Marvel Studios

One of the biggest announcements of the day was that Marvel will not only be introducing Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, but will then also give the superhero his own stand-alone movie with a release date of Nov. 3, 2017. The film will tell the story of Black Panther’s isolationist country of Wakanda meeting the world.

Marvel’s first superhero movie to star a woman!

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We don’t yet know much about Captain Marvel, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited! “This film has been in the works almost as long as Doctor Strange or Guardians of the Galaxy before it came out,” said Feige. “And one of the key things was figuring out what we wanted to do with it. Her adventures are very earthbound, but her powers are based in the cosmic realm.”

Captain Marvel’s name is Carol Danvers and she’s set to fly into theaters July 6, 2018.

6 Things Warner Bros. is hiding about Wonder Woman’s feminist origin story

Something Inhuman is coming in 2018

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Marvel will be releasing Inhumans, about a band of mutant humanoid science experiments who form their own society, on Nov. 2, 2018.

A two-part Avengers three-quel

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Looks like Avengers can’t be wrapped up with just one film. Following in the footsteps of other successful franchises, like Twilight, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, the Avengers trilogy will see its final film split into two parts: Infinity War: Part I, slated for May 4, 2018, and Infinity War: Part II, to come out on May 3, 2019.

Hulk isn’t going anywhere alone… yet

Speaking of Avengers, Feige told audiences that Mark Ruffalo will appear in all of the Avengers films as the mean, green Hulk, but a stand-alone film has not yet been set.

Avengers: Age of Ultron special look

To top it all off, Marvel released a special look at the next Avenger film. Watch it now:

We’ve got to hand it to Marvel — they sure know how to get fans excited! What do you think? Do these films have you marking your calendar? Let us know in the comments below.