What's happening in Marvel Phase 5? At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Kevin Feige officially confirmed that the current era of the MCU is titled The Multiverse Saga. Yes, Marvel Studios is diving headfirst into alternate universes and introducing different versions of some of the biggest heroes and villains we've seen over the last 15 years.
But where is the Marvel Cinematic Universe really heading? Since Phase 4 ended in 2022, we've seen new MCU characters, had more multiverse antics, and established the next big Marvel villain: Kang the Conqueror. But while Phase 5 is fully underway, there have been multiple delays that have many wondering about all the upcoming Marvel movies and series. Fortunately, we're here to guide you through the Sacred Timeline.
What movies are in Marvel Phase 5?
Marvel's Phase 5 has five movies on its slate. This means that it has the same number of movies that Marvel Phase 4 had. However, Marvel Phase 5's films do have a staggered release plan, with some flicks holding a 2024 or a 2025 release date.
Also, fair warning before you continue reading: things are still pretty confusing with the MCU timeline right now. A lot of delays have happened, and now, technically, the new Fantastic Four movie (aka the first movie in Marvel Phase 6) is scheduled ahead of some titles that were originally part of Phase 5.
We are still waiting for Marvel to address all the hiccups (we are sure they will in time). But while we wait for news, let's check out the current list of Phase 5 movies below!
Here's every movie in Marvel Phase 5:
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17, 2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023)
- The Marvels (November 10, 2023)
- Deadpool 3 (July 26, 2024)
- Captain America: New World Order (February 14, 2025)
The slate of new movies features some long-awaited projects, and Kang started to pop up more as a way of seeding him as the next big bad, starting with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was released in February 2023.
Ant-Man 3 wasn't the best Marvel movie we've ever seen, but it did have its moments. You can read our Ant-Man 3 review for more of our thoughts.
Hot on the Ant-Man sequel's heels came another trilogy capper: James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Yes, the cosmic band of misfits returned to battle Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary in a fabulously fun film (check out our Guardians of the Galaxy 3 review here).
We had The Marvels on November 10, 2023, featuring Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) teaming up for director Nia DaCosta. The Marvels post-credit scene is a massive game changer and sets up a lot of Phase 6, in our opinion, so we highly recommend giving it a watch. Read our The Marvels review for more!
Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Deadpool 3 will kick start 2024, releasing in July (if it doesn't move again). The MCU Blade release date was meant to come around before Deadpool 3 and was initially set for release at the end of 2023, but the Mahershala Ali project has hit some development issues and won't show up until November 2025.
This means Blade is now looking to be part of Marvel Phase 6, as it is scheduled to release after the new Fantastic Four movie.
So, as you can guess, the Captain America 4 release date will also be in front of Blade on the MCU slate in 2025, arriving on February 14. It'll pick up with Sam Wilson now that he's the new Star-Spangled Man after the events of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Captain America: New World Order is also looking to be the last Phase 5 movie.
So that means joining Blade in the new Phase 6 slate will be the Thunderbolts release date on July 25, 2025. The film will see a new team of vicious heroes take to the MCU for reasons unknown.
What TV series are in Marvel Phase 5?
The next slate of Marvel series sees What If and Loki get second seasons, while Secret Invasion, Echo, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, X-Men '97, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, and Daredevil: Born Again see existing characters explored in more detail.
Here's all the TV series in Marvel Phase 5:
- Secret Invasion (June 21, 2023)
- Loki season 2 (October 5, 2023)
- What If…? season 2 (December 22, 2023)
- Echo (January 10, 2024)
- Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (2024)
- X-Men '97 (2024)
- Daredevil: Born Again (TBC)
- Ironheart (TBC)
- Spider-Man: Freshman Year (TBC)
Marvel's ambitions have gotten much bigger now that Disney Plus has provided room for more stories and characters in their own TV series. Phase 5 features a potential nine Marvel series on the best streaming services for superhero fans.
Although the theatrical slate might not feature too many multiverse adventures, Disney Plus might get a little weirder with the What If…? season 2 release date. The animated series returns in December 2023 and will once again take audiences through the multiverse to imagine a vastly different take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and villains).
Secret Invasion was released on June 21, 2023, and saw Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) battle a surprising Skrull threat on Earth, based on the comic event of the same name. He was joined by Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Ben Mendelsohn, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Cobie Smulders, and even Don Cheadle. Here's our Secret Invasion finale recap.
Following that, we had the Loki season 2 release date on October 5, 2023. In the show, we see the follow-up to that big Kang reveal at the end of season 1. This will be a key part of the multiversal puzzle, considering one of Phase Six's movies is titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Then, in 2024, Hawkeye star Alaqua Cox is set to lead her own series as the titular warrior when the Echo release date comes around, and 2024 continues to be a good year with the X-Men '97 release date scheduled for early on in the year. We also have the Agatha: Darkhold Diaries release date, with Kathryn Hahn reprising her witchy role from WandaVision.
Next up, but without any release dates, are Ironheart, Spider-Man Freshman Year, and Daredevil season 4. The Ironheart series will star Dominique Thorne as gifted inventor Riri Williams, who appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, setting up the solo series. And the Spider-Man: Freshman Year release date will bring Peter Parker back into the animated sphere.
Finally, the one we've all been waiting for: the Daredevil season 4 release date. Revealed at San Diego Comic-Con, Charlie Cox will step back firmly into the spotlight as the Man Without Fear. Netflix's Daredevil season 3 loosely followed the Born Again arc from the comics, so it's unclear how much it'll borrow from the source material.
However, on the subject of Daredevil season 4, we have some bad news. We may be waiting significantly longer than expected for the series due to the show undergoing a massive revamp.
In October 2023, The Hollywood Reporter shared that Marvel deemed that the series wasn't working and was on the hunt for a fresh new team of writers and directors. So, while it's still on the Phase 5 slate, let's be honest: Daredevil season 4 may be pushed back to Marvel Phase 6.
Where is Marvel Phase 5 heading?
Since this is the Multiverse Saga, it's clear that many of these projects are gearing up towards the two massive Avengers movies we know are coming in Phase 6.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars will see Kang the Conqueror hellbent on reshaping the timeline and the multiverse how he sees fit, so it's fitting that we'll see him show up across some of the Phase 5 projects — even if it's for cameos and post-credit scenes.
Kevin Feige noted to Phase Zero that Kang is a different type of bad guy to Thanos, adding, "What I love is that he's totally different than Thanos. That he's completely different, that it's not just, 'How 'bout… is there a bigger purple guy with a helmet.' That's not… You know, that's not what Kang is."
"Kang is a very different type of villain, and the fact that he is many, many different characters is what's most exciting and most differentiate him."
Kang showed up in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and had a presence in Loki season 2. Hopefully, he'll pop up in some surprising places along the way ahead of the two Avengers movies. We also know that Phase 5 isn't slowing down with the Multiverse.
During The Marvels, the concept of "parallel realities" was introduced. This means that prior franchises outside the MCU (for example, 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies) can pop up in future films and series. So expect the timeline to get even more interconnected friends! We are guessing that means the Marvel series will play a bigger role in future movies, so you better start renewing those Disney Plus subscriptions.
That's it for now, but we've got everything you could ever want to know about Marvel, including how to watch all the Marvel movies in order and how Scarlet Witch's best story would radically change the MCU. We explained and delved into the lesson the MCU must learn from the Fast and Furious movies.
If you love the best of the best superhero movies, then check out our guide to Spider-Man 4 or our list of the best movies of all time. If you're still looking for heroic picks, you need to check out our guide breaking down how to watch all the Spider-Man movies in order, and, finally, how to watch all the Thor movies in order.