Marvel Studios used Comic-Con 2022 to outline the next three phases in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe for audiences. In 2019, Kevin Feige revealed the Phase 4 slate of films and Disney+ superhero shows, announcing more just a few months later at D23. The COVID-19 pandemic ended up delaying and shifting release dates out of order, and with no Avengers film announced, many audience members were left sensing an aimless direction for the franchise over Phase 4, not knowing what it would build to.
Despite the MCU laying breadcrumbs for characters like Kang, the concept of the Multiverse, and a mysterious woman, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, recruiting various antiheroes, it appeared some viewers were left wanting a clearer road map. At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Kevin Feige revealed the roadmap and revealed the slate for Phase 5 and teased what was coming in Phase 6, which includes Fantastic Four and two new Avengers movies.
Update July 27, 2023: The status of Phase 5 of the MCU is ever-evolving as schedules change due to shifts in storytelling and the ongoing writers and actors strikes, so this article has been updated by Valerie Parker with new information on the ongoing Phase 5 schedule.
In the year since Comic Con 2022, it feels like the entire plan for Phases 5 and 6 has been upended. And that was even before the WGA and SAG-Aftra strikes were taken into account. Dates were shifted, titles were added, and then all production ground to a screeching halt. With all actors and writers on the picket lines, filming is on hold for the foreseeable future.
Phase 5 is an interesting one for the MCU, as it features a wide variety of projects across film and television that double down on the multiverse and hint at a possible darker future for the franchise. Unlike Phase 4, which had Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Phase 5 features no original properties and instead are sequels or spin-offs of already established characters.
Phase 5 will encompass the next two to three years of Marvel Studios releases, so here is a breakdown of every film and television show in the next step of the Multiverse Saga as we currently understand it. See how they could tie together, how they will help set up and build to one another, and lay the groundwork for Phase 6. Further changes are to be expected as the strikes are ongoing and production is delayed further, but this gives a broad look at the near future of the MCU.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - February 17, 2023
Phase 5 kicked off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. In many ways, it is a fitting start, as the film included a proper introduction of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) after being teased in Loki season one during Phase 4, and set him up for what is expected to be his eventual role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in Phase 6.
Though the film continued the trend that sees the Ant-Man franchise being one of the more lighthearted of the entire MCU, this third entry was definitely darker than the previous two Ant-Man films and sees the heroes venturing into the Quantum Realm. There, our heroes found themselves allied with a group of refugees displaced by Kang and his desire to control the entire area, which lead to the displacement of these groups and the annihilation of their way of life. They manage to thwart this Kang's desire to exit the Quantum Realm and enter their world, at least for now, but the audience is given a view of the larger threat Kang poses with the introduction of many of his other variants in the Council of Kangs including Ram-Tut and Immortus.
Quantumania also introduced a new member to the Ant-Man team in the form of a grown-up Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) in her suited Stature form and saw the return of original Ant-Man villain Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) as the MCU version of M.O.D.O.K.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - May 5, 2023
Originally intended to be the start of Phase 4, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was delayed due to the firing of James Gunn, and while Marvel Studios eventually rehired him back, they had to wait for him to finish filming and editing The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally arrived this May, almost 9 years after the release of the first film, and fittingly on the same date Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opened back in 2017.
The film is the end of this incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy and saw the team go up against The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who is responsible for the creation of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Rocket and the story of how he was enhanced were the main focus of the film, but also explored the dynamic between Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and the variant Gamora (Zoe Saldana) from Avengers: Endgame and the relationship that unites the Guardians as a whole.
The film also introduced Will Poulter in the role of Adam Warlock after being teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The movie is in many ways the end of an era, as it sees the current Guardians team going their separate ways at the end of the film, with only Quill's return being teased in the usual tag at the end of the film.
Secret Invasion - June 21 to July 26, 2023
A spy espionage series, Secret Invasion is based on the 2008 comic book event of the same name where the Skrulls infiltrated multiple points of Earth culture to take control of it. When it was announced as a series for Disney+, it seemed like an odd call as the Skrulls depicted in Captain Marvel were depicted as refugees and heroic characters in contrast to the villainous Kree. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) leads the series and was joined by established characters like James Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), Maria Hill (Cobie Smolders), Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), and G'iah (Emilia Clarke), as well as newly introduced Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman).
The series shows that in the 30 years since the events of Captain Marvel, Fury has been working with a group of Skrulls led by Talos in an effort to find a permanent home for the refugee Skrull population. However, due to his 5-year disappearance due to the Blip and his own subsequent leave from the planet, some Skrull became disillusioned with Fury's promises and decided to take their own darker path. Fury eventually returns to Earth when he is informed that there are Skrull planning to eradicate the human race in order to take the planet for themselves. The events of Secret Invasion reveal the depths of their scheme and set Fury and his allies against this rogue Skrull contingent in an effort to save humanity. Fury and his allies are eventually successful in ending this specific threat, but the final episode does open up new possibilities for future Skrull-related stories moving forward. The United States President has now called for open warfare against the Skrulls still hidden among them, leading to vigilantes who take out Skrull and humans alike (the assassination of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom feeling like a key moment). Fury himself alludes to the Kree being willing to enter peace talks with the Skrulls just before his return to the Sabre base in Earth orbit, which could be a thread that continues in The Marvels.
There's also the fact that to bring Garick down, G'iah was infused with the powers of all the heroes and villains that were present at the final fight in Avengers: Endgame, making her the most powerful being in the universe. Though she's now working alongside Falsworth, both acknowledge that she has her own agenda. During the course of the series, it's revealed that at some point, Everett Ross, Rhodey, and other key players on the world stage have been replaced by Skrulls. Whether this will have an ongoing impact in the larger MCU, with the implication that other key characters have been replaced, remains to be seen, though a scene where G'iah enters a room full of other bodies in stasis seems to imply that's the case. One tantalizing tease is the implication that Rhodey was held by these Skrulls over a longer period of time than the rest of the group. The fact that he's in scrubs while the others are in civilian clothing is a tantalizing tease and leads one to wonder just when he was kidnapped, as the only time we know he was hospitalized was after his injury at the end of Captain America: Civil War.
Loki Season 2 - October 6, 2023
Disney
Loki is the first (and currently only) MCU live-action series to get a season two order. Currently scheduled to premiere on October 6, the series was originally expected to debut in the summer of 2023. However, as the MCU slows down production and spaced out programming across film and television, it's unsurprising that the release was pushed back to the fall. In fact, with the writer's and actors' unions currently on strike, it would not be surprising to see the date pushed back further in order to guarantee programming span a longer period to keep Disney+ subscribers from canceling their accounts. Loki season one did huge streaming numbers for Disney in the summer of 2021.
Loki season one ended with the god of mischief finding himself in a rewritten timeline with a statue of Kang the Conqueror in the lobby of the TVA. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantuamnia included a post-credit scene where Loki and Mobius are in the audience of a presentation in 1920s America, where Victor Timely, another Kang variant, is discussing the mechanics of time in front of a rapt audience. In the comics storyline, this Kang variant founds a town in Wisconsin and develops the technology that will eventually allow Kang to move through time and space. The MCU likes to play with the comics lore when it translates to the big screen, but it's clear that Kang will once again be at the heart of the story in the second season of Loki, and centers this series as the one in the MCU with the most significant impact on the course of the overarching story through the next few years.
The Marvels - November 10, 2023
Disney
The Marvels might not be an Avengers film, but it has the feeling of one in that it is a massive team-up film with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) uniting three different segments of the MCU together.
The latest trailer for the film expands on what audiences saw in the after-credit scene of Ms. Marvel featuring Kamala and Carol Danvers swapping places. Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) is a Kree warrior with a grudge against Danvers, and so she binds her light-based powers with those of Rambeau and Khan so that any time they use them, they'll switch places. Together, the trio must work as a team to overcome this obstacle and work against the larger Kree threat, as their world is endangered.
Captain Marvel ended with Carol going to help the Skrulls find a new home, and as Nick Fury is appearing the film post-Secret Invasion, with The Marvels being the first film to follow the series, it's likely we will see that story continue. The Marvels is currently set to debut in theaters on November 10, and with the recent release of the new trailer and poster for the film, including this release date, it seems like Disney and Marvel Studios are doubling down on that being the film's final release date. However, if the ongoing strikes continue for an extended period of time, it would not be surprising to see this film pushed back on the schedule.
Echo - November 29, 2023
Spinning out of Hawkeye is Echo, with Alaqua Cox reprising her role as Maya Lopez. The series focuses on the character's return to her hometown, where she must come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community. The series will also see the return of Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Noforio as Daredevil and The Kingpin. This will follow Daredevil's appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, laying the groundwork for his television series, currently scheduled for a 2024 release date.
It will be interesting to see how exactly Echo ties into the larger multiversal story Marvel is building. It might just be a smaller-scale character piece which would be a refreshing change of pace, particularly following big cosmic scale stories like The Marvels and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.
Disney+ recently surprised audiences when it announced that Echo would premiere all six episodes on one date, the first time the streamer will follow the model originally pioneered by rival Netflix. However, that announcement came before the WGA went on strike, followed by SAG-Aftra. When the press comes for content later in the year, it would not at all be surprising if Disney and Marvel reverse this decision, preferring to draw the release out to ensure content for Disney+ over a longer period of time.
This same reasoning could likely be used to push back the release date as Echo is one of the few properties that has completed its initial filming, and should pickups be necessary, it would be impossible while SAG-Aftra remains on strike. A delay would also be wise if the November 10th release date of The Marvels stands, as the film would likely still be dominating theaters by the end of November, and putting a wider gap between MCU entries could be useful to keep the fandom engaged while production is stalled on other projects.
Ironheart - 2024
Audiences first met Riri Williams aka Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022. As in the comics, Riri Williams constructs her own Iron Man suit, and with Tony Stark's death at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the world needs an Armored Avenger. Riri Williams fits the Multiverse Saga continued emphasis on young heroes taking on the mantle of past Avengers and grappling with their legacy.
Dominique Thorne will reprise her role as Riri Williams in Ironheart and will be joined by Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Manny Montana (Good Girls), Lyric Ross (This Is Us), and Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) in currently unknown roles. Ironheart is the first of several properties for which a release date is currently unknown. The series was originally meant to air in mid-2023 before both Loki's second season and Echo. However, it's been pushed back to an undetermined date in 2024. With principal photography wrapped and the series deep in post-production, it's likely it could be used to fill a hole that may crop up if the WGA and SAG-Aftra strikes continue indefinitely.
What If...? Season 2 - Early 2024
While not officially part of the Phase 5 announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, What If...? season one was listed as part of Phase 4 when it was unveiled, and season two of the series was originally announced as premiering in early 2023 during the Marvel Animation panel in 2022, but now moved to sometime in early 2024. With this next saga dubbed The Multiverse Saga, a show focused on exploring various corners of the Marvel multiverse, seems like an important entry.
Season two will feature an episode originally set for season one that was delayed due to COVID-19, which imagines Tony Stark landing on Sakaar after destroying the ship at the end of Avengers, where he meets the Gamora who takes part in the season one finale of What If...? Other episodes will find Captain Carter partaking in a Winter Soldier-type story. Another episode teases a battle between Odin's Asgardian forces against Wenwu and the Ten Rings.
Deadpool 3 - May 3, 2024
A film that was not originally announced as part of the Phase 5 slate, Deadpool 3 was announced by Ryan Reynolds on his Twitter, along with the news that despite previous assurances that he was done with the role, Hugh Jackman would be returning to the role of Logan aka Wolverine.
Little is known about the film except that it would bring the fourth-wall-breaking character into the MCU after the entire X-Men universe was finally reacquired by Marvel Studios when Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019. With Jennifer Garner reprising her role as Elektra, coupled with filming photos that show the old 20th Century Fox logo seemingly crashed into the ground, seems to intimate that the film will include a story of the former Fox Marvel universe being destroyed.
Deadpool 3 was one of the few Marvel Studios properties that continued filming even after the WGA went on strike in early May, with reports being that the script was complete and so it could proceed without the support of its writers. However, once SAG-Aftra also joined the picket line on July 13th, production was halted as it could not continue without its actors. So far, no announcement has been made to indicate that the film release will be pushed back, though an ongoing strike would make that likely.
Daredevil: Born Again - 2024
Since securing the streaming rights to the Defenders characters, Marvel Studios has been taking full advantage, particularly of Daredevil and his alter ego Matt Murdock as played by Charlie Cox. The character first appeared in a cameo role in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Peter's lawyer, which was followed up with a liaison both professional and personal with Jennifer Walters in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law and is due to make one more appearance before his own series in Daredevil: Born Again in Echo. Also returning will be Vincent D'Noforio as Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin.
The series is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2024, arriving six years after the series was canceled on Netflix in 2018. In contrast to other Marvel Disney+ series, which are six one-hour episodes (WandaVision and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law were 9 half-hour episodes), Daredevil: Born Again will be 18 episodes. The series did not finish filming this first series before the Writers Guild of America went on strike, and it's unclear how far into the filming schedule production was before it was forced to shut down.
While the Born Again title is a reference to a popular Daredevil storyline, the series is likely using the name more as a meta-reference to the franchise being revived (similar to Spider-Man: Homecoming being a reference to him returning to Marvel), as opposed to a straight-up adaptation of the storyline since many elements of Born Again, were already adapted in Daredevil season three on Netflix.
Captain America: Brave New World - July 26, 2024
Audiences have known a fourth film entry into the Captain America franchise was coming following the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when the studio announced a fourth film. A release date and title were originally presented at Comic-Con 2022 as Captain America: New World Order with a May 3, 2024 release date, however, both were changed with the film pushed to the mid-summer date to make way for Deadpool 3, and the title being changed to Captain America: Brave New World. The film wrapped principal photography at the end of June 2023, and along with The Marvels, is the only Marvel Studios film that can boast that fact. If the strikes continue, but Disney and Marvel are unwilling to push back The Marvels, audiences may see Brave New World brought back up to its original May release date.
While few details are known about the plot, it will likely resolve the Sharon Carter villain reveal at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The film's original subtitle reference to the New World Order references an organization in Marvel Comics that has ties to the Red Skull, a possible hint that the character will return or that the franchise will adapt the character's daughter Sin into the MCU. The film was written in part by Falcon and The Winter Soldier scribe and showrunner Malcolm Spellman and was directed by The Cloverfield Paradox's Julius Onah.
It is now known the film will also include Tim Blake Nelson reprising his role as Samuel Sterns from The Incredible Hulk and will become his comics counterpart, The Leader. The movie will also feature Harrison Ford taking over the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt. This suggests Captain America: Brave New World will be a semi-Hulk sequel as well as a Captain America sequel.
Agatha Harkness: Coven of Chaos - 2024
Disney
Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness was the breakout character of WandaVision, so it makes a certain amount of sense that Marvel Studios would give her a spin-off project. WandaVision ended with Wanda locking Agatha as a prisoner in her own mind, however, with Wanda's supposed death at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the spell could be broken, and Agatha could be free. Agatha's series could explore even more corners of Marvel's supernatural world that have been laid out in the Doctor Strange films and other entries into the magical side of the MCU.
Agatha Harkness: Coven of Chaos (formerly known as House of Harkness) could be one of the most important series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it could be the bridge between many various projects. It could connect to the Blade reboot and build on both WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and add to the magical lore introduced in Werewolf By Night. Coven of Chaos is currently without a release date and did not start filming before the strikes. However, should the AMPTP choose to return to the negotiating table with a reasonable offer to the guilds sooner rather than later, Halloween 2024 would be a fitting period to return to the witch.
Thunderbolts - December 20, 2024
While past Marvel Phases traditionally ended in an Avengers team-up, Phase 5 will invert that, with the final team-up in the Phase being a villain film in the form of Thunderbolts. The origins of this unlikely team-up are found in the efforts of La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the Director of the CIA. Beyond Val, the team will include Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) will be joining the cast in undisclosed roles.
Thunderbolts being so close to the conclusion of Phase 5 raises a lot of interesting possibilities of where the MCU is heading. In the comics, The Dark Avengers (a reformed version of the Thunderbolts) rose to power shortly after the events of Secret Invasion. Secret Invasion indicated that the public perception of superheroes might be changing, and the villains might sneak in to take control for a variety of reasons — the public thinking Spider-Man killed Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Wanda Maximoff taking a town hostage in WandaVision, and many people questioning why Doctor Strange gave Thanos the Time Stone. Thunderbolts being the end of Phase 5 implies this will be the dark middle chapter, a Phase where the heroes lose, and the villains come out on top, setting the stage for the franchise's big bad Kang the Conqueror to take control of the world.
Blade - February 14, 2025
The Blade news was a long time coming, as the project and star Mahershala Ali were first announced at Marvel's Phase 4 Comic-Con presentation in 2019. The film is now confirmed as part of Phase 5 and is currently scheduled to debut on Valentine's Day 2025, though it's up in the air if that date will stick. In the 4 years since it was first announced, Blade has been plagued with problems that have seen it churn through release dates, writers, and directors.
While plot details are unknown, Blade is one of many supernatural characters joining the MCU, following established characters Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, as well as recent additions like Moon Knight and the 2022 Halloween special, Werewolf by Night. Blade might be more than just a Blade movie and, in fact, could be a team-up between various supernatural characters. It is also an interesting pick to close out Phase 5. The previous Phases ended with somewhat of a pallet cleanser from Ant-Man for Phase 2 to Spider-Man: Far From Home for Phase 3. It will be interesting to see Blade be positioned as a shift from the likely world-changing events of Thunderbolts.