Marvel Studios sets release dates for two Phase Three movies

With Iron Man 3 getting Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe off to a fantastic start at the box office and Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy set to build towards Joss Whedon's eagerly-anticipated sequel The Avengers 2, it seems that Marvel Studios is now laying down its plan for Phase Three. We already know that Edgar Wright's Ant-Man will get the third run of movies underway when it arrives in November 2015, and now Disney has announced a two further release dates, with as-yet-unrevealed Marvel movies set to arrive on May 6th, 2016 and May 5th, 2017 respectively.

As for the identity of these two movies we can only speculate at this point in time. It would seem likely that Doctor Strange could fill the 2016, given that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has made several references about introducing the Sorcerer Supreme to the MCU, while the long-awaited Black Panther movie could also be a possibility. Of course, Marvel has plenty of options to choose from, such as Daredevil and Inhumans (to name but a couple), along with solo sequels to either Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, or even Iron Man 4 (especially after the box office takings of the third instalment). And lest we forget, Marvel's strategy is to release two movies per year, so unless the studio is planning a change to its business model, we should expect a further two releases to be announced at a later date.

So then, let the speculation begin...