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The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has entered its fifth phase, which consists of a collection of superhero movies and television shows produced in the United States by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Phase Five includes all of the Marvel Studios’ works scheduled to be produced between 2023 and the middle of 2024. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will distribute the films during this phase, while Disney+ will release the series. During this time period, Marvel Studios Animation produced animated shorts. The first film in the phase is titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and it is scheduled to be released in February 2023. The first series in the phase is titled Secret Invasion, and its release is scheduled for June 2023. Alongside the producers Stephen Broussard for Quantumania, Nate Moore for Captain America: New World Order, and Eric Carroll for Blade, Kevin Feige produces every film and serves as executive producer of every series in this era. Kevin Feige is also the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Films such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, starring a large cast, are included in this phase’s cinematic output. 3, The Marvels, which stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani; Captain America: New World Order, which stars Anthony Mackie; the ensemble cast of Thunderbolts; and Blade, which stars Mahershala Ali. The combined earnings of the first two films in this phase at the worldwide box office were greater than $1.13 billion.
The first phase of Disney+’s original programming includes the television series Secret Invasion, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn; the second season of Loki, which stars Tom Hiddleston; Echo, which stars Alaqua Cox; and the second season of the animation What If…? Ironheart starring Dominique Thorne, Agatha: Coven of Chaos starring Kathryn Hahn, and Daredevil: Born Again starring Charlie Cox all have narration provided by Jeffrey Wright. The Multiverse Saga can be broken down into phases: Phase Five, Four, and Six.
Timeline of Upcoming Phase 5.
The events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the beginning of Ms. Marvel takes place in 2025, also the year that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Spider-Man: Far From Home events occur before the Secret Invasion station. After the conclusion of Ms. Marvel comes the start of The Marvels. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 is the sequel to the first film. The events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special have been resolved by the time 3 begins. The events of Hawkeye are resolved before Echo begins. The events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes place before the beginning of Ironheart. The events of Echo have been resolved by the time Daredevil: Born Again begins.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Along with Lang’s daughter Cassie and Hope van Dyne’s parents Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne go on a new journey into the Quantum Realm that tests them to their limits and pits them against Kang the Conqueror. Hope’s parents, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne join them on this journey.
Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios had discussed potential story points for a third Ant-Man film before the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). They anticipated that a third Ant-Man film would be made. They expected Reed to return as director by November 2019, with Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reprising their roles as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne/Wasp, respectively. By April 2020, Jeff Loveness had begun writing the script, and by December of that year, the title and other cast members had been disclosed. The principal photography for the film began at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire at the tail end of July 2021. It continued until November of that same year. In addition, the shooting was planned to occur in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Francisco, California, until 2022. The premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania took place on February 6th, 2023, and the film was made available to the public on February 17th.
The events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and the beginning of Ms. Marvel (2022) take place in the same general period as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which takes place in 2025. After making his debut in the first season of Loki (2021) as a different iteration of the character dubbed He Who Remains, Jonathan Majors now plays Kang the Conqueror. In addition, Majors plays a variety of Kang’s within the Council of Kangs, including Immortus, Rama-Tut, and Centurion in the scene that takes place during the film’s mid-credits and Victor Timely in the sequence that takes place after the credits. Both Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson, reprising their roles as Loki and Mobius M. Mobius from Loki, make uncredited cameo appearances in the latter film.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
On Knowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy are getting used to the way of life there. However, when aspects of Rocket’s history are brought to light, Peter Quill is forced to lead the Guardians on a dangerous mission to protect him, which has the potential to result in the dissolution of the team.
In April 2016, Marvel Studios announced their intention to produce a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, with James Gunn set to reprise his roles as writer and director one year later. In July 2018, Disney sacked him as a director after rediscovering inflammatory tweets. Still, in October that same year, the company made a U-turn and restored Gunn. Early in 2019, Gunn’s comeback was announced, along with the involvement of the five major stars. Production was scheduled to begin after Gunn finished filming The Suicide Squad (2021) and the first season of its spin-off series Peacemaker (2022). At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Kevin Feige announced that the film was in the development stage. Production at Trilith Studios in Atlanta kicked off in November 2021 and continued through the beginning of May 2022. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 is the sequel to the first film. 3 debuted on April 22nd, 2023, and was made available to the public on May 5th.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 is the sequel to the first film. The events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) take place after the events of the third film. In response to a question about the film’s ties to the ongoing Multiverse Saga, Feige stated that Vol. 3 concentrated more on ending the story of the Guardians’ characters and “not about the bigger world-building,” even though it was still “a piece of the puzzle.”
The Marvels (2023)
As a result of the research into a wormhole connected to the Kree, Carol Danvers’ powers became intertwined with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. As a result, the three of them were forced to work together to establish why their powers swapped places with each other every time they used their abilities.
At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Kevin Feige revealed that a sequel to the film Captain Marvel (2019) was being developed. Megan McDonnell is slated to write the script. At the same time, Brie Larson is scheduled to reprise her role as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel by January 2020. Nia DaCosta was selected to direct by that August due to the studio’s desire to have a female director helm the project rather than have Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden reprise their roles from the previous film. In addition, she contributed to the writing staff along with Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells. In December 2020, it was announced that the film would have the title Captain Marvel 2. However, in May 2021, it was revealed that the film’s official title would be The Marvels. Midway through April 2021, production on the second unit got underway in New Jersey. Meanwhile, principal photography began in August at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Longcross Studios in Surrey, and Tropea. Additionally, the shooting took place in Los Angeles. The shooting will be finished by May 2022 at the latest. It has been announced that The Marvels will be released on November 10th, 2023.
The Marvels is a continuation of the plot that started with Captain Marvel and takes place after the events of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. Iman Vellani, Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff, and Mohan Kapur will return to their previous roles as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Aamir Khan, Muneeba Khan, and Yusuf Khan, respectively. After Akira Akbar’s portrayal of Monica Rambeau in Captain Marvel as a child, Teyonah Parris reprises her role as the adult version of the character in the series WandaVision (2021). Parris plays the adult version of Monica Rambeau. Cobie Smulders and Randall Park will reprise their roles as Maria Hill and Jimmy Woo from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Captain America: New World Order (2024)
In April of 2021, it was announced that a fourth Captain America movie was in the works and that Dalan Musson and Malcolm Spellman would write the script together. In the past, both members of this writing team contributed to the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) as head writer and staff writer. By August of the same year, Anthony Mackie had been brought on board to star in the picture and would be repeating his role as Sam Wilson/Captain America. Julius Onah has been selected to direct the event in July 2022. The film will investigate the repercussions that Wilson’s transformation into Captain America had on him. Production at Trilith Studios in Atlanta started in March 2023 and continued until June of that same year. The release date for Captain America: New World Order has been set for May 3rd, 2024.
Together with Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/Leader and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross from The Incredible Hulk (2008), Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly reprise their respective roles as Joaquin Torres/Falcon and Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Tim Blake Nelson also reprises his role as Samuel Sterns/Leader. Harrison Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, which was previously portrayed by the late William Hurt in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Thunderbolts (2024)
The government dispatches a band of antiheroes to complete various tasks.
By June 2022, preparations were well underway for producing a film based on the Thunderbolts, with Jake Schreier attached to the helm and Eric Pearson penning the screenplay. Sebastian Stan was cast as Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, and White Wolf. Hannah John-Kamen was cast as Ava Starr, also known as Ghost. Wyatt Russell was cast as John Walker, the United States. Agent Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster; all of these actors are reprising their roles from prior Marvel Cinematic Universe productions. After joining the project, Lee Sung Jin was tasked with rewriting the script by March 2023. The first scene is slated to be filmed in Atlanta in June of 2023. Thunderbolts will be available to the public on July 26th, 2024.
The character of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, which Harrison Ford played in Captain America: New World Order, will be returned by Harrison Ford.
Blade (2024)
After New Line Cinema’s previous film series, Marvel Studios secured the rights to produce a new Blade film by May 2013, and they had already begun developing a script for the project. After having previously portrayed Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes in Marvel Television’s Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali approached Marvel Studios in February 2019, intending to act in a new film and express interest in the role. At the San Diego Comic-Con in July of that year, Feige officially announced that the picture would star Ali in the titular role. Before that, Ali had an uncredited voice cameo as Blade in the film Eternals (2021). Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired in February 2021 to write the screenplay for the movie, and Bassam Tariq was hired to direct the movie by September of that same year. A year later, Tariq departed the picture because of changes in the production and differences in the artistic direction. In November 2022, when Michael Starrbury was reworking the script, Yann Demange was scheduled to direct the movie. In April of 2023, Nic Pizzolatto became an additional writer. Following the 2023 strike by the Writers Guild of America at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, it is anticipated that filming would then begin there. In addition to those places, it will take place in Morocco, New Orleans, and Cleveland. September 6th, 2024, has been set as the launch date for Blade.
The Ebony Blade will appear in the movie, debuting after Eternals.
Secret Invasion
Nick Fury discovers a plot by a group of shapeshifting Skrull to infiltrate Earth in places of power throughout the world and recruits Everett K. Ross, Maria Hill, and Talos to put a stop to the plot and save humanity.
Samuel L. Jackson was set to reprise his role as Nick Fury in the television series that Marvel Studios created by September 2020. Kyle Bradstreet would take on the role of head writer for the project. In December of that year, Marvel Studios announced that the series would be an adaptation of the Secret Invasion comic book tale. They gave Jackson the role, and Ben Mendelsohn would appear beside him as Talos. The pilot episode was shot in September of 2021 in London, and Ali Selim was the director of the series. Late in April of 2022, filming was finally wrapped up. Additional filming took place in Liverpool, England, and throughout West Yorkshire. The premiere of Secret Invasion is slated for June 21st, 2023, and will consist of six episodes.
The events of Secret Invasion take place after those seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and continue the narrative begun in Captain Marvel. Maria Hill, Everett K. Ross, and James “Rhodey” Rhodes will be played again by Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, and Don Cheadle, respectively, in their respective Marvel Cinematic Universe roles. Emilia Clarke plays an adult version of G’iah, who previously featured in Captain Marvel as Talos’ nameless kid, portrayed by Auden L. Ophuls and Harriet L. Ophuls. In this film, Emilia Clarke plays an adult version of G’iah.
Loki Season 2
The debut of the first season of Loki took place in June of 2021. By November 2020, work had already begun on producing a second season. By January 2021, it was anticipated that the lead writer for the first season, Michael Waldron, would be involved “in some capacity” again. In July 2021, it was announced that the season would be produced and that Tom Hiddleston would reprise his role as Loki. By February 2022, it had been determined that Eric Martin would write the season while Waldron would serve as executive producer. The shooting began in the middle of June 2022 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. It was completed in October of that same year. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead directed the majority of the episodes. It has been announced that the launch of the second season of Loki will take place on October 6th, 2023, consisting of six episodes.
Victor Timely, the character that Jonathan Majors played in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania, will be returned by Majors.
Echo
After the events in New York City, Maya Lopez travels back to her birthplace. There, she must face her past demons while reestablishing her connection to her Native American heritage and recommitting herself to her family and community.
By March of 2021, production had begun on a spin-off of the series Hawkeye starring Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo. Etan Cohen and Emily Cohen were set to script and executive produce the project. In November, it was disclosed that Marion Dayre would be working as the head writer for Echo, which led to the show’s official announcement. The series is jointly produced by 20th Television and other parties. The series production began in the latter part of April 2022 and continued through August 2022. Filming occurred around the Atlanta metropolitan region, including Atlanta, Peachtree City, Social Circle, and Grantville, Georgia. Catriona McKenzie and Sydney Freeland directed the episodes of the series. It is anticipated that Echo will be made available on November 29th, 2023.
After the events of Hawkeye, Echo picks up where the story left off and moves directly into Daredevil: Born Again. Previous Marvel Cinematic Universe media appearances by Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez from Hawkeye, Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil are all brought back for this film.
What If…? Season 2
After the Guardians of the Cosmos banded together, the Watcher continued to travel around the Marvel Cinematic Universe cosmos, where he encountered various new heroes and bizarre realms.
The pilot episode of the first season of What If…? debuted in August 2021. The production of the second season of Marvel Studios Animation’s animated series got underway in December 2019. A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews will again serve as directors and head writers. Initially, it was anticipated that the season would start airing sometime in early 2023. Still, as of March 2023, it was improbable that the season would debut in 2023 as originally planned. It will have a total of nine different episodes.
Ironheart
In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced they were developing a series focusing on Riri Williams/Ironheart. Dominique Thorne was cast in the role and would be reprising her performance from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In April 2021, Chinaka Hodge was selected to fill the role of head writer. Both 20th Television and Ryan Coogler, who wrote and directed Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, are involved in the co-development of the series through their respective companies, the former being Proximity Media and the latter being 20th Television. At the beginning of June 2022, shooting had already begun at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, with Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes directing individual episodes of the series. The production also moved to Chicago at the end of October and stayed there through the beginning of November. Ironheart is scheduled to premiere in 2024 and will have six episodes when it does so.
The events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes place before the beginning of Ironheart.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos
By October 2021, production had begun on a spin-off of the series WandaVision that would star Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness. Jac Schaeffer was slated to script and executive produce the project. When the series was first announced in November 2021, it was given the title Agatha: House of Harkness. It was given its current name in July 2022. The series is jointly produced by 20th Television and other parties. The series’ first episodes were directed by Schaeffer, Gandja Monteiro, and Rachel Goldberg, and principal photography began in the middle of January 2023 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta. Agatha: Coven of Chaos is anticipated to be released in 2024, and the series will consist of nine episodes.
Emma Caulfield Ford as Sarah Proctor, Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis, David Payton as John Collins, David Lengel as Harold Proctor, Asif Ali as Abilash Tandon, Amos Glick as “Dennis,” Brian Brightman as a sheriff, and Kate Forbes as Evanora Harkness are among the actors who reprise their roles from WandaVision.
Daredevil: Born Again
After Disney acquired the rights to the Marvel Television series Daredevil (2015–2018) and began streaming on Disney+, it was reported in March 2022 that a new Daredevil project was in development, and Feige was attached as a producer. This news came shortly after Disney regained the rights to the series from Netflix. It was confirmed in May that the series would be in development for Disney+, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord hired as head writers and executive producers. The series was officially announced in July, with Charlie Cox set to reprise his Matt Murdock / Daredevil role. The series is jointly produced by 20th Television and other parties. Beginning in early March 2023, filming took place in New York on location and at Silvercup Studios East. Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and Clark Johnson were the directors of various series episodes. It is anticipated that filming will continue until the middle of November. The first episode of Daredevil: Born Again will premiere in early 2024, and the series will consist of 18 episodes. In March of 2023, Vincent D’Onofrio mentioned that preparations were being made for a second season.
The events of Echo have been resolved by the time Daredevil: Born Again begins. Alongside Jon Bernthal, who will reprise his character as Frank Castle/Punisher from Daredevil and The Punisher (2017–2019), D’Onofrio will bring back his performance as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin from earlier Marvel Cinematic Universe media.
