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You could argue that it was only a matter of time before The Simpsons made their way back to the big screen, but the news of The Simpsons 2 somewhat overshadows another change to 2027’s cinematic lineup. That is because the release date for the sequel to The Simpsons Movie had been reserved for an unnamed Marvel movie up until now.

It is the latest sign that Disney and Marvel Studios are trying to pull back on the frantic release schedule that caused the MCU to lose its box office luster in the post-Endgame market. Instead of releasing an untitled Marvel movie on July 23, 2027, Disney’s 20th Century Studios will instead release the sequel to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie.

This is a pretty significant shakeup for Marvel, which now has no cinematic releases scheduled between Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. With the addition of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is out on July 31, 2026, there are currently only three MCU movies that have release dates. Everything else, from Black Panther 3 to the eternally delayed Blade, is still in development with no release window known.

Marvel surrendering its summer 2027 movie to The Simpsons Movie 2 builds a more direct narrative between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Previously, Marvel Studios hadn’t been shy about releasing movies between Avengers movies – Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel both came out in the year between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. However, it does mean that 2027 could mark the second time in four years that there has only been one Marvel movie released theatrically in a year, after Deadpool & Wolverine was their sole offering in 2024.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters