Three years after revealing Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige returned to Hall H to do the same for Phase 5, which includes announcements about the new Daredevil series on Disney+ and “Thunderbolts” feature film. Feige also gave a sneak peek at what’s to come in Phase 6, which is slated to end in November 2025 with “Avengers: Secret Wars” — which Feige says concludes the MCU’s multiverse saga.
Here’s everything we’ve learned about the rest of Phase 4, Phase 5, and what’s to come in Phase 6.
PHASE 4
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“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” Premiere date: August 17
What we learned: A legal comedy with a Fleabag twist, this Disney+ series starring Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters (aka Bruce Banner’s cousin) boasts a cavalcade of superheroes who need good lawyer – who is also giant and green. The panel also included a trailer, which (unlike a lot of the footage revealed in Hall H) was also released publicly.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Release date: November 11
What we learned: Namor (Tenoch Huerta) comes to the MCU as the kingdom of Wakanda evolves after the death of T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman). Joining the cast are Dominic Thorne (as Riri Williams), Michaela Coel (Anneka), Mabel Cadena (Namora) and Alex Livanali (Attuma). This film will conclude Phase 4, although it is not clear exactly how. Check out the trailer here.
PHASE 5
Michael Buckner / Variety
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Release Date: February 17, 2023
What We Learned: Phase 5 kicks off with the introduction of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) meeting Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in the Quantum Realm after Scott is mysteriously sucked there along with his daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Hope van Dyne ( Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). In the footage screened right in Hall H, Bill Murray has a cameo as Janet’s old acquaintance from the Quantum Realm, but given Kang’s titular role in one of the two Avengers titles announced on Saturday (more below ), all eyes are on how Majors will reshape the MCU narrative. Plus, director Peyton Reed confirmed to the crowd that another great Marvel villain will make a cameo in this film, “you might have seen footage of MODOK,” Reed said.
“Secret Invasion” Premiere Date: Spring 2023
What we learned: Co-star Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill) was on hand to preview this dark and violent political thriller, which stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury alongside Ben Mendelsohn (Skrull Talos), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes) and Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross). They are joined by Kingsley Ben-Adir (seen multiplying into several identical forms in a confrontation with Fury), Olivia Colman (seen telling Fury he’s past his prime) and Emilia Clarke (seen brandishing a gun) . The overall vibe is one of paranoia and foreboding, which contributes to a larger anti-heroic thread that seems to run through Phase 5.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”Date of issue: May 5, 2023
What we learned: An emotional James Gunn and his equally emotional cast — including Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Will Poulter and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the space dog — debuted the first look at the latest Guardians movie, which hinted at revealing how Rocket became a sentient, walking raccoon. Chukwudi Iwuji (formerly of DC’s “Peacemaker”) plays a High Evolutionary and introduced himself to Hall H as the character (hinting that he played a role in Rocket’s transformation).
Marvel Studios
“Echo” Premiere Date: Summer 2023
What we learned: Nothing more than the run-time period for the series, which turns Hawkeye antagonist Maya Lopez (Alacqua Cox) into her own spin-off. Directed by Sidney Freeland (“Reserved Dogs,” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”) and Catriona McKenzie (“The Walking Dead,” “Shining Valley”).
Marvel Studios
“Loki” Season 2 Premiere Date: Summer 2023
What we learned: The Disney+ series that introduced the multiverse to the MCU is currently filming and will debut next summer. There hasn’t been any mention of this critically-adored series, but photos from the set have been flying around the internet lately.
Marvel Studios
“Blade” Release Date: November 3, 2023
What we learned: Feige didn’t make any casting announcements, but he did confirm that Mahershala Ali’s reboot of Marvel’s vampire comic book franchise — first announced in 2019 in Hall H — will be Marvel’s final film of 2023 and begin filming in October. Directed by Bassam Tariq (“Mowgli Mogul”).
Marvel Studios
“Ironheart” Premiere Date: Fall 2023
What we learned: Following her appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri Williams (Dominic Thorne) will star in her own Disney+ series. Chinaca Hodge (“Amazing Stories,” “Snowpiercer”) is the lead writer, and Sam Bailey (“Dear White People”) and Angela Barnes (“Blindspotting”) are directing.
Marvel Studios
“Agatha: Coven of Chaos” Premiere date: Winter 2023/2024
What we learned: Originally titled “Agatha: House of Harkness,” this “WandaVision” spinoff centered on Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness will be Marvel’s final Disney+ series in 2023. “WandaVision” head writer Jack Schaeffer will write script and will executive produce the show.
Marvel Studios
“Daredevil: Born Again” Premiere Date: Spring 2024
What we learned: The original, released as part of Netflix’s slate of Marvel TV series (which were nominally part of the MCU), Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock joins the Marvel Studios fold (fully) with a Disney+ series that’s getting unprecedented success An 18-episode order for its first season. Cox’s Murdock first appeared in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, and his nemesis Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) appeared as the big villain in 2021’s Hawkeye. Both characters should to appear in “Echo” and it looks like Daredevil will also appear in “She-Hulk” before returning for the main event in that series.
Netflix’s Daredevil series has been far more violent and gory than anything produced directly by Marvel Studios, further suggesting that Phase 5 of the MCU will delve deeper into moral darkness than ever before.
Marvel Studios
Captain America: New World Order Release Date: May 3, 2024
What we learned: We’ve known since the end of Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) will return in his own feature film as Captain America. In Hall H, Feige announced the eyebrow-raising title – more anxiety and fear! — and a release date that gives the film a prime position for Marvel’s 2024 movie slate.
Marvel Studios
“Thunderbolts” Release Date: July 25, 2024
What we learned: Phase 5 concludes with Marvel’s answer to DC’s Suicide Squad: a team-up movie about a group of MCU anti-heroes. Feige said he would talk about casting another day, but there are already many candidates, including Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), Elena Belova (Florence Pugh), Duh (Hannah John-Kamen) , Abomination (Tim Roth), John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).
PHASE 6
Michael Buckner / Variety
“Fantastic 4” Release Date: November 8, 2024
What we learned: While “Spider-Man: No Way Home” director Jon Watts recently stepped down from directing “Fantastic 4,” Marvel Studios is going full steam ahead with bringing the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Marvel comic series into the MCU. The Fantastic Four and main villain Victor Von Doom play critical roles in the comic book inspiration for the final film in the Multiverse saga, so starting Phase 4 with them makes sense.
What is surprising is that the entire Phase 6 lasted less than a year.
Marvel Studios
Avengers: Age of Ultron Release Date: May 2, 2025
What we learned: Much like how Avengers: Infinity War set up Avengers: Endgame, Feige made it clear that Phase 6 of the MCU — and the multiverse saga — will end with two Avengers movies. Given the title, it’s safe to assume that Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is Thanos (or maybe Thanos) from the Multiverse saga.
Marvel Studios
Avengers: Secret Wars Release Date: November 7, 2025
What we learned: After many fans — and some entertainment publications — wondered aloud this year exactly where the MCU was headed, Feige took time out in Hall H to finally say: Here it is.
“Secret Wars” refers to a 2015 Marvel comic book crossover miniseries that involves an incursion between the main Marvel universe (Earth-616) and the Ultimate Marvel universe (Earth-1610), resulting in the destruction of both. After him, many variants of Marvel characters end up on a post-apocalyptic planet called…
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