Disney's 2022 slate kicked off in a major way with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, one of three films from Marvel Studios set to be released this year. Thor: Love and Thunder will be hitting theaters on July 8, and despite production delays and a lengthy shooting schedule, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still being earmarked for a November premiere. During this week's Disney earnings call, CEO Bob Chapek included the highly anticipated sequel to 2018's Black Panther among the notable projects the House of Mouse is putting out into the world in 2022:

"Looking ahead, our studios will continue to deliver high-quality content at scale with an exciting array of series and films coming to all of our distribution channels. In fact, our slate for the remainder of this year is incredibly strong with titles like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms. Marvel, Lightyear, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the long-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water."

Wakanda Forever is continuing the Black Panther franchise following the tragic loss of leading man Chadwick Boseman in 2020. The actor first took on the iconic role of T'Challa in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and went on to become the Black Panther in three more MCU films before his passing. Kevin Feige announced during the Disney Investor Day 2020 presentation that Marvel was not planning to recast the T'Challa character, but was going to honor Boseman's legacy by returning to the world of Wakanda in a Black Panther sequel. Filming for Wakanda Forever began last June, but had to be halted in November following an injury to star Letitia Wright. Production picked back up earlier this year, and eventually wrapped in March. It's a tight window to turn the film around for a November release, but Chapek's announcement seems to indicate the post-production process in on pace to finish in time for the intended premiere.

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While Wakanda Forever Will Release This Year, Other MCU Projects Are Still Uncertain

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With Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now released, that leaves a total of three more MCU installments to hit streaming and theaters in 2022. As Chapek mentioned, Ms. Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder will be joining Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but there were a couple of notable omissions from the Disney CEO. She-Hulk and Secret Invasion are a pair of Disney+ series that have finished principal photography, and were expected to release in 2022, but updates on premiere windows have been few and far between. The first footage of She-Hulk was included in Marvel's Disney+ Day presentation last November, as was a brief look at Secret Invasion, but there's been no official word since then on when the series will be hitting the Disney streamer.

Of course, Chapek may have only wanted to mention a certain number of projects, but one would think that Disney would want to highlight as many Marvel properties as possible to its investors. The opening weekend of Multiverse of Madness continued to show that the MCU is the biggest franchise in the movie world, so touting all of Marvel's upcoming series and films seems like a sound strategy. The lack of a She-Hulk or Secret Invasion inclusion doesn't necessarily mean the two shows won't release in 2022, but the halfway point of the year is approaching, and the lack of updates about either project is certainly interesting. Nonetheless, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will still be part of the 2022 calendar for Disney, and will be heading to theaters on November 11.