MCU Phase 5 & 6 Preview

Intro

It is not only since the recent Comic-Con that we have known that in the coming years so many new films and series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be released. Today, in order to give you an overview of the more than a dozen new releases, here's our Original episode on Phase 5 and 6 of the MCU. We give you a short and precise rundown of all the projects, so that you have an excellent overview after watching this video.

1. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Phase 5 kicks off on February 17, 2023 with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania". Director Peyton Reed is already celebrating his third "Ant-Man" film with Paul Rudd in the lead role. In addition to appearances by Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, fans are especially looking forward to the appearance of the new supervillain Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors. Kang takes over from Thanos, who has not been featured since "Avengers: Endgame", and makes his second appearance in the MCU after the "Loki" series. A first trailer is already available, but it has not yet been released to the general public and was only shown at Comic-Con. From reports we know at least that the Quantum Realm plays a crucial role and with MODOK, who is embodied by Bill Murray, another villain makes his film debut. We are still eagerly awaiting the publication of the trailer and are already looking forward to the groundbreaking film, which will introduce Phase 5 of the MCU at the beginning of next year.

2. Secret Invasion

Next up is "Secret Invasion". This is a Disney+ series that will be quite special. According to the official website, there is talk of a "crossover event series", which seems like a first for the MCU. It will star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Skrull Talos. This makes the cast identical to "Captain Marvel", where the Skrull first made his appearance. Basically, it is about the shapeshifting creatures that have been infiltrating Earth undetected for quite some time. They can change their appearance as often as they like and mimic people in such a way that the other person does not become suspicious. Of course, this also includes the well-known Marvel heroes, who will certainly be addressed plenty of times throughout the series. This may also be what is meant by the term "crossover event series", so that we are curious to see how those in charge will realize the series. The release date of "Secret Invasion" is not known for sure yet, Disney has only given a time frame of Spring 2023, but we do hope for more detailed information soon.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

A real highlight in Phase 5 is the third and final "Guardians of the Galaxy" part. So far, the movie is scheduled for May 5, 2023, and is expected to feature a large cast of stars, as usual. The actors, some of whom have already appeared in "Thor: Love and Thunder", include Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Dave Bautista as Drax and Karen Gillan as Nebula. Also joining the cast is Will Poulter, who plays MCU newcomer Adam Warlock. The latter is also connected to the new villain who is expected to give the Guardians a hard time. We are talking about High Evolutionary, who is extremely strong and capable of manipulating energy and matter, among other things. In "Guardians of the Galaxy 3", he is played by Chukwudi Iwuji, and in theory opens many doors to other characters who have not played any role in the Guardians so far, including Scarlet Witch and Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. We are excited to see the final outcome and look forward to James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", which unfortunately will be the last Guardians movie in the MCU for the time being.

4. Echo

Next, with "Echo", a "Hawkeye" spin-off series will also be hitting Disney+ in the coming year. As in "Hawkeye", Alaqua Cox will play Maya Lopez aka Echo and will also get support from Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, alias Daredevil. Returning to her hometown, she is looking to make peace with her past. In addition, she explores her origins as a Native American and tries to prove herself as a useful member of her community. In terms of style, the series is supposed to be similar to "Moon Knight", which means that it will also contain some supernatural and mystical elements. This does not appeal to all fans, since this is not the case in the comics. Well, at least we can look forward to the appearance by Charlie Cox, and there is talk that Jessica Jones will be featured in the movie as well. Her presence could help welcome Jones to the MCU, and lay the groundwork for more appearances in the future. There is no specific release date yet, but Disney did reveal Summer 2023 as an approximate time period for the premiere of "Echo".

5. Loki - Season 2

Also coming to Disney+ in the Summer of 2023 is the second season of Loki. This will be the first MCU series to get a second season. Needless to say, we will see Tom Hiddleston back here as Loki, however, who else will join the cast once again? Actually, the entire cast is planned to return, as Hiddleston recently revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Thus, we can look forward to Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna Renslayer, Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius, Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie and Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, just to name a few. In terms of content, we can initially expect some chaotic conditions: Sylvie has started a multiverse war, Loki is in another dimension and He Who Remains has come to power. So it is a huge spectacle into which order must first be brought. How exactly the characters will find their way back together and whether they will even recognize each other is something that will only be revealed once we get to the Summer of 2023.

6. The Marvels

Next up in Midsummer is "Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels". The movie is set after the events of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and there are also already three main characters who are sure to appear: Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. Should the rumors prove to be true, we will also see Lashana Lynch as Monica's mother Maria Rambeau, who died of cancer after the Snap and will presumably appear in flashbacks. Also talked about is Valkyrie from the "Thor" movies, who will again be embodied by Tessa Thompson. Yet, it is still unclear how exactly her character will fit into the plot, about which many questions remain to be answered as well. At the end of the first film with Carol Danvers, she set out to find a home for the Skrull threatened by the Kree Empire, and what impact her mission had, is not known still. Besides, we expect that Captain Marvel and Kamala Khan will work together to explore not only Earth, but also other parts of the universe. No further details are available yet, but we do know that the movie is scheduled to hit theaters on July 28, 2023.

7. Blade

Information concerning "Blade" is still scarce. However, we know that Mahershala Ali will play the lead role, but little else has happened since the announcement at Comic-Con 2019. In addition to Ali, two other actors have joined the cast so far, namely Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo. Even if not much else is known about the reboot, people are hoping for the characters Abraham Whistler or Blade's mentor Jamal Afari to be featured. There are also rumors about the involvement of "The Boys" star Anthony Starr, who is supposed to play the villain Dracula. We continue to await new information and look forward to the theatrical release of "Blade" in early November 2023.

8. Ironheart

Also scheduled to premiere in Fall 2023 is "Ironheart". The six-part series was officially announced in December 2020 and will introduce the eponymous superheroine to the MCU. In the starring role we expect to see Dominique Thorne, who previously starred in "Judas and the Black Messiah" or "If Beale Street Could Talk", for example, and she is still more of a newcomer to the Hollywood business. Now she will succeed Robert Downey Jr. in his role as Iron-Man and breathe new life into the MCU. Rather than being a billionaire inventor, she is a student at the famous MIT, where she enjoys secretly using the equipment for her own experiments. A first appearance is already scheduled to be made in the upcoming "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" before the series is then released on Disney+ in the Fall of 2023.

9. Agatha: Coven of Chaos

Things will then continue a bit gloomier sometime in late 2023 or early 2024. As we have known since this year's Comic-Con, "Agatha: Coven of Chaos" will be released around the turn of the year. This will be a "WandaVision" spin-off that focuses on the centuries-old Agatha Harkness. In "WandaVision" we have previously seen the encounter between Wanda and Agatha, which ended with Wanda becoming the Scarlet Witch. Plus, Agatha was the one who brought Wanda and the Darkhold together. In the end, however, Agatha was imprisoned by Wanda, which is possibly where the series picks up and shows how Agatha escapes the clutches of Wanda through her centuries-old knowledge in arcane magic. In regards to the cast, to date only Kathryn Hahn has been confirmed as Agatha, with further announcements still to come. In any case, we will keep you up to date.

10. Daredevil: Born Again

In Spring 2024, a familiar character returns to Disney and now also to the MCU: Daredevil. After Charlie Cox embodied the role of the blind lawyer at Netflix from 2015 to 2018, it is now time to further develop the persona in the MCU. And what better way to do that than with a series of his own? In addition to Cox as the title character, we will also see the return of Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin, who already made his first MCU appearance in the "Hawkeye" series. At the past Comic-Con, there was sadly not a lot of information other than the title and an approximate release date; fans appear to be very excited about the series nonetheless. The only concern that is still bothering some "Daredevil" fans is the way the series will be made. Many hope that the series will be as "adult" in the MCU as it was on Netflix, where the content was indeed less motley and more dark and bloody. However, we will have to remain patient at least until the first trailer gets released, which is unfortunately not expected to happen any time soon.

11. Captain America: New World Order

With "Captain America: New World Order", another MCU film will be released on May 3, 2024. With Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, we will also get to know a new captain who officially replaces Chris Evans in his role. The script is currently still being written by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, both of whom have already worked on "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". Apart from Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, an appearance of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes alias Winter Soldier is also being considered. After all, he has already starred in every other "Captain America" movie. There is also an indication of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, as she was already seen in the post-credits scene of "Black Widow", so an appearance in "Captain America: New World Order" is not that unlikely. In terms of content, not much is known yet, although there are a few questions that the ending of "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" did leave unanswered. For example, Joaquin Torres might take on the role of Falcon in the future, while John Walker could become the main antagonist of the fourth "Captain America" movie. "Captain America: New World Order" hits theaters on May 3, 2024.

12. Thunderbolts

The final installment of Phase 5 will be "Thunderbolts". Alongside "Captain America 4", this will be the MCU's second feature film in 2024 and it will revolve around the Thunderbolts. These are somewhat like the Suicide Squad of the Marvel Universe, as they tend to be antiheroes who occasionally do good things and are unpredictable in their actions and through their different characters. There are multiple characters being considered for the Thunderbolts, including existing MCU characters Baron Zemo, Taskmaster, Abomination, Yelena Belova, US Agent, Ghost, Winter Soldier and also Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Accordingly, the storyline is just as vague as the cast, about which there is no information yet. Either way, "Thunderbolts" concludes Phase 5 of the MCU and sets the stage for the next three long-awaited films.

13. Fantastic Four

With "Fantastic Four ", the first movie from Phase 6 of the MCU will be released in November 2024. After John Krasinski has already appeared in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as Reed Richards from Earth-838, we assume that he will also be seen as Reed Richards from Earth-616. If this is not the case, other possible candidates include Jamie Dornan from "Fifty Shades of Grey", "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actor Glenn Howerton, and Penn Badgley from "You". In the meantime, it was also reported that in addition to Jamie Dornan as Reed Richards, the team would also include Amanda Seyfried as Sue Storm, Joe Keery as Johnny Storm and even Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg as director. Similar to the countless cast rumors are the story possibilities. First and foremost, with Namor, Doctor Doom and Galactus, it would be possible to introduce as many as three villains into the MCU and rely on dozens of comics as a basis. Until more info is available, however, we will just have to be patient.

14. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

Then in May 2025, after a wait of almost six years, we can finally look forward to the next "Avengers" film. The title of the film is "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty": it will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and bring the multiverse saga to a climactic conclusion together with the sequel "Avengers: Secret Wars". The main villain will be Kang, who by then has already been introduced in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania". The question of how the composition of the superheroes will turn out until then and who will ultimately be part of the Avengers after the previous group broke apart after "Avengers: Endgame" is certainly exciting. Feel free to let us know in the comments what your Avengers dream cast looks like! The theatrical release of "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" is scheduled for May 2, 2025.

15. Avengers: Secret Wars

The story continues almost seamlessly six months later in "Avengers: Secret Wars". There is much to suggest that we will be dealing with Doctor Doom and the so-called Incursions in the sequel. In the comics, the Secret Wars are a gigantic event in which heroes and villains end up in Battleworld and have to compete against each other. Also, nearly the entire multiverse falls apart, and Battleworld is eventually created from its parts. Although the release of "Avengers: Secret Wars" is still more than three years away, we are already eagerly anticipating the epic battles and the probable conclusion of Phase 6 which will happen starting on November 8, 2025.

Outro

That was our new Original episode on Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the MCU, this time even in a much bigger format. Feel free to drop us your thoughts on Phase 5 and 6 in the comments and what you hope to see in the upcoming movies and series!