Marvel's Phase Five: A Guide To All The New Movies and TV Shows

Marvel’s Phase Five is upon us, and with 29 movies so far and six TV shows (at least), it’s easy to get lost. If you need a roadmap to navigate the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, look no further.

Each movie and TV show in the series builds upon the other like chapters in a larger story called “phases.” Three phases combine to make a saga, and The Infinity Saga ended with Avengers: Endgame. At the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, producer Kevin Feige revealed that the new one will be called “The Multiverse Saga,” and it’s not far off. In fact, it’s already underway.

We’re so far into Phase Four that it’s already ending, and Feige says this November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will close it out. If that seems fast, you’re not keeping count. Phase Four started with the Disney+ shows WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye, and included the movies Black Widow, Spider-Man: No Way Home,  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love & Thunder. Then it was bookended by two more Disney+ shows, Ms. Marvel and the upcoming She-Hulk.

Face front, true believers—as the late Stan Lee used to say—because Phase Five is about to begin. The list features new titles but lots of familiar faces. It will all build to not one, but two back-to-back Avengers movies. There’s lots to explore in between—not just a whole universe, but multiple ones stacked atop each other.

Here’s the complete release timeline for upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows and films. Below, we’ll explore the latest revelations.

Aug. 17, 2022: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (series)

Nov. 11, 2022: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Feb. 17, 2023: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Spring 2023: Secret Invasion (series)

May 5, 2023: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 

Summer 2023: Echo (series)

Summer 2023: Loki, Season Two (series)

July 28, 2023: The Marvels

Fall 2023: Ironheart  (series)

Nov. 3, 2023: Blade 

Winter 2023: Agatha: Coven of Chaos (series)

Spring 2024: Daredevil: Born Again (series)

May 3, 2024: Captain America: New World Order 

July 26, 2024: Thunderbolts 

Nov. 8, 2024: Fantastic Four 

May 2, 2025: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty 

Nov. 7, 2025: Avengers: Secret Wars

Now, let’s break down some highlights from the Marvel presentation:

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

Tatiana Maslany’s action-comedy about lawyer Jennifer Walters dealing with the same big, green growth issues as her cousin Bruce Banner will debut on Disney+ on Aug. 17, and a trailer from the series has already been seen. In a new one, presented at Comic-Con, the familiar red uniform and batons of Daredevil are glimpsed. (More on him later.)

It makes sense. Walters is in the legal profession, and so her paths would naturally cross with the blind attorney (and secret superhero) Matt Murdock, either in the courtroom or throwing down in a fight on a rooftop.

Benedict Wong’s reigning Sorcerer Supreme (also named Wong) from Doctor Strange also makes an appearance. The premise makes way for cameos galore.

Have a look at the show about the legal problems of superheroes:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Read Vanity Fair’s full breakdown of the new trailer here, exploring how this story deals with the real-life death of star Chadwick Boseman.

For now, here’s this excerpt dealing with the mysterious final shot: Is that the Golden Jaguar suit that Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger wore in the original Black Panther?

The character seemingly died, and asked to be buried at sea, like his African ancestors who jumped from slave ships rather than live under bondage. But this single shot has tantalized viewers: Is this someone else in the same suit, or could Killmonger have survived? If so, how? Marvel has opened the doorway to other dimensions, so perhaps he could come into the story that way. This film also introduces an undersea kingdom ruled by Namor, also known as the Sub-Mariner. Maybe Killmonger was buried at sea, and the people of this realm found and revived him?

All options are currently on the table.

Phase Five:

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is proudly wearing his “Avengers” label and trying to cash in, even writing a book about his experiences. The Comic-Con footage for this film shows him feeling awfully proud of himself, and we all know what pride comes before.

He and Evangeline Lilly’s Janet Van Dyne are using their incredible shrinking powers to explore the “Quantum Realm,” which is a region between the elements of matter where reality and the rules of nature begin to break down. Her mother, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), was lost there for years, and her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) warned about the dangers of exploring this unknown dimension.

Somehow, the barrier between this world and others is permeated. Jonathan Majors makes an appearance as Kang the Conqueror, a Marvel Comics character with a long, awful history. It was hinted at in the Loki series when a variant of Kang’s, known only as He Who Remains, explained that he created a kind of timeline police force to reign in malevolent versions of himself who sought to attack other dimensions.

In footage shown at Comic-Con, Lang meets Kang. Lang boasts that he is a conqueror.

Secret Invasion

This will be one of the early entries in Phase Five, right after Quantumania kicks things off in February 2023. This Disney+ show will debut in the spring of that year. Cobie Smulders, who has played SHIELD Agent Maria Hill throughout the MCU, appeared at the Comic-Con presentation. 

Secret Invasion references a comic book run from 2008 in which shapeshifting alien Skrulls quietly took over the roles of various superheroes. This show will follow a similar faction of Skrull infiltrators who have spent years establishing themselves in powerful positions. 

The foundation for the premise began being laid with Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury was shown to be traveling off-world in a starship full of the green, pointy-eared extra-terrestrials. Also, in WandaVision, S.W.O.R.D. captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), whose mother Maria was a pilot with Captain Marvel, met with a Skrull who told her that an old friend of her mothers was following her work and wanted to meet with her. “Where?” Monica asks. The Skrull just points up.

Is she referring to Nick Fury, or maybe Ben Mendelsohn’s shapeshifter Talos? Or both? Each of those actors is returning for the series, joined by a roster of power players Regé-Jean Page, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 

This third and final stand-alone adventure with the galactic misfits finds them parting ways with Thor while Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord continues to mourn the death of his universe’s Gamora (Zoe Saldana.) A version of Gamora from another dimension and an earlier timeline did crossover into Endgame (and survived,) so we will see her again, even if it won’t be the same green alien lady. This variant of her has no idea who the Guardians are, apart from being total oddballs who think she is part of their weird “family.”

At Comic-Con, panel moderator Ash Crossan of ScreenRant asked Pratt to explain where Star-Lord as the story begins. “He’s obviously reeling from the events of Endgame, and having lost Gamora,” Pratt said. “This is the love of his life, and she does not know who he is. The pain of that is a big part of his journey.”

Chukwudi Iwuji appeared on the Comic-Con stage in full costume as his new character, The High Evolutionary. The official Marvel bio for that villain is almost as impenetrable as his name. The key phrase is he is a scientist who developed the “power to evolve and devolve himself and others” and sought to use this ability to create an evil-free world. (Those kinds of intentions never go wrong, right?)

Iwuji remained in character as he took the microphone on stage: “As I gaze out at this crowd, I am reminded of my sole purpose in the universe—to take un-evolved, disgusting, lowlife scum, such as yourselves, and enhance you genetically to something less … reprehensible. Thank you, for inspiring me with how vomitous you all are!”

Will Poulter will also join the cast as Adam Warlock, a character teased at the end of Vol. 2 as the creation of the golden Sovereign people to get revenge on the Guardians for their various acts of theft and insult. In Marvel Comics lore, Adam was a perfect specimen in Marvel Comics lore, so he would naturally appeal to an individual like the High Evolutionary.

Loki, Season Two

When last we left Tom Hiddleston’s trickster villain, he was returning to the Time Variance Authority to report that his female variant Sylvie had killed He Who Remains—the one who created the organization to “trim” timelines that grew out of control. The point of this operation was to prevent other versions of He Who Remains (all apparently played by Jonathan Majors) who would crossover into each other’s timelines to conquer and dominate them.

One of these variants, known as Kang the Conquerer, was the worst of all. With the timelines of assorted dimensions now free to run wild, we got the chronological chaos of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It also clears the way for Kang, who will turn up as a villain for the first time in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, to become the Thanos-style “Big Bad” of the entire Multiverse Saga. (More on him later.)

Season Two of Loki will undoubtedly see him trying to set things right. And probably making them worse.

The Marvels

A team-up of a different sort, this sequel to Captain Marvel, directed by Candyman director Nia DaCosta, will unite Brie Larson’s space warrior with Kamala Khan, the teenage fangirl-turned-hero from Ms. Marvel (Imam Vellani), who draws hope and inspiration from her as she deals with her own energy-focusing powers. 

In the post-credit sequence of that series, Captain Marvel found herself unexpectedly transported into Kamala’s New Jersey bedroom, where a poster of herself adorned the wall.

The film is due in theaters on July 28, 2023.

Echo

In Hawkeye, Alaqua Cox played Maya Lopez, a martial arts expert and underworld enforcer who was also deaf. She was determined to get revenge on Hawkeye for killing her father when he was operating as the vigilante known as Ronin. Both of them later learned that the attack was set up by Kingpin.

This series will explore her character on her own, navigating a criminal history with what we came to see as an innate sense of morality and justice. 

Echo is currently in production and expected in Summer 2023.

Ironheart 

In Marvel Comics, Riri Williams is the young woman who suits up in a new armor to take over the legacy of Iron Man, and this Disney+ series will explore her story. 

It’s not the first time we will meet her. The trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever not only shows actress Dominique Thorne literally hammering a heart shape out of some metal but also reveals that she is a friend of T’Challa’s sister Shuri, who is herself one of the world’s finest engineers and researcher.

It’s unclear how they meet, but the end of Black Panther saw T’Challa asking his sister to lead a new outreach program between the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda and the rest of the world. It’s reasonable to guess that this may be how Riri meets Shuri.

The two of them joining forces? Unstoppable.

Blade 

You may remember the Wesley Snipes vampire-hunting movies of the 1990s. This is a whole new take on the Marvel Comics character, with two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali in the role.

Little is known about where this story will go, but we have heard Ali as Blade already. In a post-credit scene from Eternals, Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman opens up a box that contains a mystical sword. Up until this point, Dane has only been the mortal boyfriend of the Eternal Sersi, but this sword—The Ebony Blade—is an enchanted weapon that has been in his family for generations, and will imbue him with the power of the Black Knight, a superhero (or villain) from the age of Merlin and King Arthur.

As Dane reaches for it, a voice from behind him says, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”

The voice belongs to Ali—which means it belongs to the notorious vampire hunter Blade. He’ll get his own story in this film, which starts shooting in October and will hit theaters on Nov. 3, 2023.

Agatha: Coven of Chaos

Among the most adored breakthrough characters of Phase Four was Kathryn Hahn’s nosy supernatural neighbor Agatha Harkness in WandaVision, who turned out to be not only a busybody but an immortal witch who has been causing turmoil since the Puritan era.

A Disney+ series focused on her villain has been promised for winter 2023, running into 2024.

Daredevil: Born Again

Among the newly announced projects is the Disney+ show Daredevil: Born Again, which will either upend the existing three seasons of the 2015-2018 Netflix show, or finally solidify it as official canon. It was supposed to be seen as part of the MCU from the beginning, with offhand references to the Avengers and some of the threats the world has faced in those movies. But in recent years, the blind crimefighter’s place in the official order has become murky at best.

Then, in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a legally imperiled Peter Parker hired a lawyer, who was not just Daredevil’s secret identity Matt Murdock, but was played by Charlie Cox, the same actor from the show. And Vincent D’Onofrio, who played the primary villain in the Netflix series—the larger-than-life gangster Kingpin, turned up as one of the foes in the Hawkeye series.

Both actors will return for Daredevil: Born Again, Feige announced, and the show will appear on Disney’s streaming service with 18 episodes in Spring 2024. Will it reboot the series with fan-favorite actors, or continue the tale that has already been told? That’s still uncertain. This is the multiverse now, so even if the new show changes everything, the old show could remain in fans’ imaginations as simply another dimension.

What’s more definite is the fact that Daredevil will turn up again long before that show.

Captain America: New World Order

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) will get his first stand-alone film as the new Captain America. An aged Steve Rogers passed his iconic shield to him at the conclusion of Endgame, but in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, Wilson wasn’t sure he wanted to trade his Falcon persona to carry on the tradition. 

By the end, and after witnessing the wrongs others were willing to do with the title, he decided that a Black man picking up the role of Captain America could have profound meaning.

This movie, slated for May 3, 2023, will explore where things go from there.

Thunderbolts

Phase Four will end with Thunderbolts, a team of anti-heroes (some might call them villains) which seems to be taking shape already. Marvel Studios did not confirm which characters would be part of this team, but it seems obvious that Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has been building a squad comprised of people with dubious moral compasses.

Among them is anger-prone John Walker, a.k.a. U.S. Agent (played by Wyatt Russell), who used Captain America’s shield to murder a suspect in broad daylight in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Contessa also sent Black Widow’s sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to assassinate Clint Barton in Hawkeye. 

If she is the mastermind, who else might be recruited to this group of scofflaws? We’ll meet them all on July 26, 2024. 

PHASE SIX:

Fantastic Four

Finally, a Fantastic Four movie! Or rather, finally, the MCU version of a Fantastic Four movie!

The rights to this iconic Marvel Comics family were licensed away to other filmmakers before the founding of Marvel Studios, which resulted in a series of movies that ranged in quality from so-so to cataclysmic. (Pixar’s The Incredibles may be the best take on the premise so far, although not an official one.)

Fans have been lobbying for The Office’s John Krasinski to play the stretchy Reed Richards, and that came to fruition, at least in another universe, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic didn’t last long however,  as the Scarlet Witch shredded him.

That doesn’t mean he can’t still exist in the prime Marvel Universe. We’ll see when a director and cast are announced. For now, this remains on the distant horizon of Nov. 8, 2024, with production starting sometime next year.

Two Avengers Movies

The end of The Multiverse Saga leads to another two-part crossover event, just like the Avengers movies Infinity War and Endgame.

The Kang Dynasty references the multiverse villain played by Jonathan Majors again, first seen in Loki and appearing in his most sinister form in the still-upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. 

In Loki, a variant of Kang explains that he created a way to “prune” timelines to protect the various dimensions because versions of himself are forever trying to dominate other timelines. This is the Final Boss of this MCU saga, akin to Thanos and his collection of the Infinity Stones. It’s far too soon to know where it will all lead, but Marvel seems to have a plan.

After that, it’s on to Secret Wars, which references a beloved Marvel Comics series from the 1980s that saw a cosmic being who decided to turn all the heroes and villains against each other. Think of it as Captain America: Civil War, but bigger, spanning across galaxies, timelines, and dimensions. 

Anything can happen in Secret Wars. Old heroes might return, and lost heroes might too. Villains and good guys may join forces. The potential is limitless.  Unfortunately, right now, it’s also unknowable.