Marvel Studios – Phase 4 and Beyond…
Following on from Kevin Feige and his many, many friends appearing in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con, we’ve taken a look at the announcements for Phases 4 and 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read on to find out what is coming up between now and the end of 2025!
I Am Groot (Disney+ Original shorts)
Focusing on the breakout character of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie series, here in his youthful phase, I Am Groot is a series of short animations debuting on Disney+. A man (tree?) of few words, these five new episodes appear to feature the titular hero taking on a god-emperor type role, living his best life with a group of tiny aliens. Available from August 10th, there’s not long to wait for this adorable looking show.
She Hulk: Attorney At Law (Disney+ Original series)
Premiering on August 17th, She Hulk: Attorney At Law is a new series based on the fourth-wall breaking cousin of Bruce Banner. Jen Walters is no dumb brute though, she is a practising attorney who is more comfortable in the courtroom than in a fight. The latest featurette shows a few more of the characters that will appear in the show, including Tatiana (Jameela Jamil), and some familiar faces from the wider MCU – other than Mark Ruffalo of course. It also appears to show some improvements in the CGI that a number of fans questioned when the first trailer dropped, and the hope that Marvel / Disney would listen to the fans who want buff girl summer seems to have paid off a little.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (movie)
The 30th movie in the MCU, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to the fan favourite 2018 movie, and hits screens on November 11th 2022. This is a bittersweet release for many Disney Marvel fans, due to the untimely passing of star Chadwick Boseman from cancer in 2020. The production has also been hindered by problems, largely caused by Shuri actress Letitia Wright and her refusal to adhere to on-set covid protocols. The trailer dropped to massive acclaim, and appearances from comics characters not yet seen on screen, such as Ironheart and Namor, is sure to make this an absolute smash. Who will take on the mantle of Black Panther is yet to be shown, but with Ryan Coogler directing again, and returning stars such as Angela Bassett, Winston Duke and Lupito Nyong’o, this is sure to be the biggest hit of the year for the MCU. You can see the official trailer, as debuted in Hall H, online now.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (movie)
Kicking off Phase 5 on February 17th 2023, this latest Paul Rudd / Evangaline Lilly piece sees the Pym / Van Dyne family – reunited in Ant-Man and the Wasp – taking off into the Quantum Realm. Featuring a whole slew of characters new to the movies, but including Kang The Conqueror from the end of the Loki TV show, this is sure to be a bombastic trip through time and space. Reports also have M.O.D.O.K. making an appearance, though whether he will be played by Bill Murray, or if we are getting a three villain movie, is yet to be seen. Although a teaser trailer was shown in Hall H, it didn’t give a huge amount away, and reportedly even included some footage from previous Ant-Man movies to keep fans on their toes!
Secret Invasion (Disney+ Original series)
Based on the comics series of the same name, Secret Invasion will bring back Captain Marvel stars Samuel L Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn, and adds in new cast members Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and past MCU faces such as Don Cheadle and Colbie Smulders. Secret Invasion is the story of the shape-shifting Skrull alien race, as they adapt to life on earth. Set across six episodes, the series is due to be released in spring 2023, with a final release date on Disney+ yet to be confirmed.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (movie)
Director James Gunn returns to the MCU from his foray into DC, with Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, which will hit theatres on May 5th 2023. While the teaser trailer was only shown in Hall H, and hasn’t been released online – due to unfinished VFX according to Gunn – we know that the main Guardians cast returns from their adventures in Thor: Love and Thunder. No more details on that here though, just in case of spoilers for those that haven’t seen the Thunder Gods latest outing yet!
The Marvels (movie)
Bringing together Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), The Marvels, the long awaited sequel to 2019s Captain Marvel is due to hit screens on 28th July 2023. While there are no plot details as yet, the three main characters come from Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel and WandaVision respectively, so we can expect to see developments of the plot lines set up in those, such as Monica’s burgeoning power set, and the suggestion that Kamala is a mutant.
Echo (Disney+ Original series)
Following on from her introduction in Hawkeye, Echo is set to flesh out the story of Kingpins adopted daughter in summer 2023. Alaqua Cox returns as Maya Lopez, the deaf leader of the Tracksuit Mafia and all round badass. It will be interesting to see whether they carry on with the idea of Echo as a villain, as she is generally portrayed in the comics – often facing off against Daredevil – or whether they will change her further for TV, but either way her awesome fighting skills and ability to mimic any fighting style will make this one to watch.
Loki season 2 (Disney+ Original series)
Following on from the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff of Loki season one, plot details for this sequel are scant, but the cast list is already impressive. Bringing back key characters from season one, including Ravonna Renslayer, Ms Minutes, Mobius and Sylvie, as well as the eponymous anti-hero, this is sure to have more of the humour and action of the first series, and we’ll find out in summer 2023.
Blade (movie)
First vaguely trailed as the post-credits scene in The Eternals, a new Blade movie is due out in November 2023. This movie stars Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire / hunter, and brings back Kit Harrington from Eternals as Dane Whitman – also known to comics fans as The Black Knight. With those two as key characters this is sure to be a sword-filled violent romp through the MCU, although so far we’ve been pretty vampire-light in the universe (Morbius doesn’t count), so it will be interesting to see how they introduce the bloodsuckers that Blade traditionally goes up against.
Ironheart (Disney+ Original series)
We know very little about the upcoming Ironheart TV show at this point, other than the fact that it stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, the alter-ego of Ironheart. Billed as first appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we should know more about the super smart hero before she hits screens in her own show in the autumn of 2023. In the comics Williams is a young inventor with a genius level intellect, who creates her own version of the Iron Man armour, but whether that translates to the small screen – and whether Tony Stark is name checked – remains to be seen.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Disney+ Original series)
The breakout character from 2020 series WandaVision, Agatha Harkness returns in her own spin-off show in the winter of 2023. While this is in the early stages of production at the moment, Kathryn Hahn has confirmed that she will be back as the ‘friendly’ neighbourhood witch. Last seen going back to her humdrum life as Agnes in Westview, albeit under duress, and given the fate of Wanda aka Scarlett Witch in Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness, the writers have a ton of choices of direction for this new show.
Captain America: New World Order (movie)
Sharing a subtitle with the first episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series, Captain America: New World Order is slated to hit theatres on May 3rd 2024, and sees the return of Anthony Mackie as the patriotically named title hero. Given the comics history of the title, it could also suggest the return of Captain America: The First Avenger baddie Red Skull – last seen in Endgame – who in the comics created a fascist organisation of the same name, but that is pure speculation at this point!
Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+ Original series)
The title of this new Matt Murdock TV show has also caused of flurry of discussion in comics circles, as Born Again is the name of a 1986 comics Daredevil story arc, albeit one that was largely used in season three of the Netflix / Disney TV show. Whether this new series – airing in spring 2024 – carries on from the originals, or if they are taking a new direction, is yet to be seen. However, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are both reported to be returning for this new series, which is apparently going to be an unprecedented (for Disney) eighteen episodes long! Whether they revisit the Born Again story line, or are using the title as a reflection of the change of home for the show, is yet to be seen.
Thunderbolts (movie)
Generally a team of reformed villains and anti-heroes, the Thunderbolts have had a varied line-up over the years, so the cast of this newly announced movie could feature pretty much anyone at this point! While rumours about a Thunderbolts movie have been floating about since the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk featured General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, a character from the comics, who classically transformed into Red Hulk, and formed the original team. Ross has repeatedly appeared in the MCU – played by the late William Hurt – but whether he will be referenced in this new movie obviously remains to be seen, on July 26th 2024 when it premiers.
Fantastic Four (movie)
Honestly? This could be anything – and we only have to wait until November 8th 2024 to find out! We’ve had three versions of the Fantastic Four on screen but there is less than no information about this one as yet, other than John Krasinski – alt-universe Reed Richards in Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness – saying in interviews that he can’t say anything. Says it all really! However, the appearance of Kang in the MCU opens up a number of FF doors that we’ve not been through before on the big screen, and could even lead to the introduction of Franklin and Valeria!
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (movie)
Following the introduction of Kang at the end of Loki season one, a number of fans expected an announcement about the time-travelling Conqueror. Potentially based on the comics story-line of the same name, in which Kang takes over the Earth with his son Marcus, this may well follow on from the new Fantastic Four film, due to the origins of the character. If so, that opens up the door to a whole bunch of multiverse crossover shenanigans, and a big old dollop of time travel! Slated for release on May 2nd 2023, Marvel have plenty of time to fill in the blanks on this plot.
Avengers: Secret Wars (movie)
Assuming that this is based on the comics series of the same name, Avengers: Secret Wars is likely to be the spiritual successor to the epic final battle of Avengers: Endgame, if only for the number of characters involved. In the original series the heroes (and villains) of the Earth are transported across the universe to ‘Battleworld’, a sort of giant arena planet where they are told to fight for the entertainment of the entity that took them there. Think The Hunger Games but with Marvel characters. Time will tell if that is the option that Feige takes to finish off Phase 5, as the movie is currently due for release on November 7th 2025…
