Forget about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four. That’s ancient history. At their Comic-Con panel this past weekend, the studio announced its plans for Phase Five, even teasing a bit of Phase Six. Thor: Love and Thunder only had a few weeks in theaters before Marvel left it in the dust!
We’ll go in chronological order, based on the planned release dates, just to keep you level-headed while running through the dizzying list of new projects, castings, trailers, and previews.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
We’ve already seen her in the first trailer, but Tatiana Maslany once again appeared in another She-Hulk: Attorney at Law clip and poster—with Mark Ruffalo returning as Bruce Banner! The bright green lawyeress will head to Disney+ on Aug. 17.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
One more project coming in at the tail end of the MCU’s Phase Four is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which dropped its first trailer at Comic-Con. Since the passing of Chadwick Boseman, director Ryan Coogler has explained that he won’t recast T’Challa, nor will he recreate the actor’s likeness using digital techniques.
Instead, the trailer shows Wakanda in mourning, with characters like Okoye (Danai Gurira), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), and Ramonda (Angela Bassett) putting the pieces together after their loss. We also get to see a handful of new faces—including I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel—on the battlefield. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will premiere this year on Nov. 11, bookending Phase Four.
Folks were (rightly) incredibly excited by the trailer, gushing over the use of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “No Woman, No Cry” combined with Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.” Abbott Elementary’s own Quinta Brunson was one of the excited fans: “I have watched the black panther 10 times already,” she shared. “Ryan Coogler is the goat.”
That’s all for Four—now, onto the next flurry of releases.
The Phase Five Timeline
Marvel’s Phase Five will begin in February 2023, and expand into July 2024, with a whole dozen new projects slated to release in theaters and on Disney+. We’re talking about a sequel to Captain Marvel, yet another Captain America, and a whole series for Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) from WandaVision.
You can see the whole timeline in the tweet above—we won’t rattle off every new thing. You know Loki Season 2 is on the way. But a few highlights: New Disney+ series include Echo, Ironheart, the Samuel L. Jackson-led Secret Invasion, and a Daredevil reboot with Charlie Cox. We’re also getting a new Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, as well as a new team of folks in Thunderbolts, which will conclude Phase Five.
The two breakouts from Phase Five were the upcoming theatrical releases of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. There wasn’t much from the latter, which is set to release on Feb. 17, 2023, but we did get a sneak peek at the poster. Kathryn Newton has made her (controversial?) debut as Cassie Lang, and Jonathan Majors is back as Kang.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
One of the biggest drops at the panel was the first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer—though you won’t find it online because the VFX isn’t ready yet, director James Gunn confessed. We do, however, have a bit of an idea of what was featured in the clip: Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) tragic backstory, the introduction of shiny Will Poulter (the best version of Will Poulter) as Adam Warlock, and Borat 2’s Maria Bakalova as Rocket the Space Dog.
Phase Six—and TWO new Avengers Movies
We’ve saved the best for last. Phase Six has everything a Marvel fan would dream of; and, in the same vein, everything a Marvel hater could complain about. (To be fair, I have found myself in both categories.) Marvel confirmed that Phase Six will end the second saga of the MCU—like Thanos and Endgame ended the first saga—with another two Avengers films in one year.
That’s right: As of now, in 2025, Marvel Studios has slated two sprawling Avengers sagas in just one year, six months apart from one another. Woof.
Phase Six will begin with another cursed Fantastic Four film, and end with two Avengers films. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will premiere in May of 2025, with Avengers: Secret Wars heading to theaters later that year in November.
Someone has got to get those poor VFX designers a Nobel Peace Prize for their commitment to the art. What would Marvel be without them?
