Marvel Phase 6 release dates, news, leaks, rumors, and more
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There's still a while to wait before Marvel Phase 6 kicks off. Only three projects have confirmed release dates, but we're finally getting some exciting updates on the first: the MCU's take on the Fantastic Four. The superpowered family is heading to the big screen next year and the cast has finally been revealed – and some of those reports were accurate…
After that, there are two new Avengers movies on the way, although details on those are still fairly few and far between. There are also several undated projects in the work, including Disney Plus series like Wonder Man (which recently wrapped filming), to name just one. So, for the lowdown on all that and more, we've got your complete guide to Marvel Phase 6 right here.
Marvel Phase 6 release dates
As revealed by Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, there are a fair few entries in Marvel Phase 6 to come – although there have been a fair few delays and changes since then. The confirmed release dates are as follows:
Fantastic Four – July 25, 2025
Avengers 5 – May 1, 2026
Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
Per that 2022 SDCC announcement, there are a number of TBA slots, too, but it's unclear at the moment if they've been affected by the recent set of delays, or if the projects are going ahead at all. Those slots are: two for Fall 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, Summer 2025, and finally another Summer 2025.
Fantastic Four
Release date: July 25, 2025
Flame on! The MCU’s take on Fantastic Four is dropping in July 2025 and marks the first entry in Marvel Phase 6. The super-powered group's casting was officially announced in February 2024 – on Valentine's Day, no less, with a cute retro Valentine's card. The Last of Us' Pedro Pascal is Reed Richards, Mission: Impossible's Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm, The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing), and Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm (AKA Human Torch).
We also know that Ozark's Julia Garner will be playing the Silver Surfer. Rather than playing original Silver Surfer Norrin Radd, however, she'll reportedly be playing a version of the character based on Shalla-Bal, Norrin Radd's lover and the ruler of the planet Zenn-La. Galactus is reported to be the main villain, but no casting details have been announced yet.
The movie was first announced at D23 with Feige introducing Matt Shakman as the man in charge. Shakman can count WandaVision among dozens of high-profile TV directing credits and will be the man behind the camera.
Avengers 5
Release date: May 1, 2026
If you thought we'd seen the last of the Avengers in Endgame, think again. We have to wait a while though until Avengers 5, formerly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, arrives. Details pertaining to the movie's plot and cast are pretty scarce right now.
Kang was previously to have a major role in the movie, but Marvel Studios is reportedly working on rewriting the project, "which will now either minimize the character or excise him entirely." Marvel dropped Kang actor Jonathan Majors from the role after the actor was found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment in December 2023.
If Kang does return portrayed by a new actor, we don't know which heroes he'll face off against just yet. The new Avengers have yet to be confirmed, but they could include everyone from Shang-Chi to Ironheart.
Speaking of Shang-Chi, Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Deston Daniel Cretton will no longer direct the movie, either, and a replacement hasn't yet been set. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron will pen the script.
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release date: May 7, 2027
Not a lot has been confirmed about Avengers: Secret Wars just yet. However, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo has teased that the movie will "go out with a bang." In the comics, the Secret Wars saw Marvel's most powerful superheroes face off against the universe's most powerful villains, so whatever goes down is bound to be pretty explosive.
No casting information has been announced yet, but the 2015 Secret Wars comic book storyline included Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, She-Hulk, and the Fantastic Four. As for villains, Kang, Doctor Doom, and Magneto were just some of the baddies facing off against the Avengers. The movie's director hasn't been announced yet, either. Michael Waldron is back for screenwriting duties after penning Avengers 5.
Potential Marvel Phase 6 movies and TV shows
And that's not all. There are multiple undated or unknown projects coming as part of Marvel Phase 6 throughout the next few years.
Wonder Man
Wonder Man is on its way to Disney Plus as a new miniseries under the 'Marvel Spotlight' banner, joining Echo as a street-level, character-driven project from the MCU.
In the comics, Wonder Man is Simon Williams, the son of a failed Tony Stark-like industrialist who was once given superpowers by Baron Zemo. After eventually joining forces with the Avengers, Williams plied his trade in Hollywood as both an actor and stuntman.
Variety suggests that Wonder Man will be a "Hollywood satire." Sir Ben Kingsley will reprise his role as 'the toast of Croydon' Trevor Slattery for the Disney Plus series. Curiously, Nathan Fillion portrayed the character in a scene cut from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but none other than Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is playing Wonder Man in this project.
Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton and Hawkeye producer Andrew Guest are on board as showrunners, and filming on the 10-part series had wrapped as of April 2024 after disruptions caused by the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. The series doesn't have a release date yet.
Nova
Marvel has yet to confirm a Nova project is actually happening, but reports signalled it's development. At this stage, it's not clear if Nova will be a movie or Disney Plus show, and there's no casting information, though Ryan Gosling has ruled himself out. It's possible that Nova could come after Phase 6, since it seems to be in the very early stages, but with Marvel getting more and more cosmic, Phase 6 is also a natural place to see Nova's first solo project.
Shang-Chi 2
A Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel is officially in the works, with Simu Liu and director Destin Daniel Cretton both returning. Surprisingly, though, the film isn't part of Marvel's Phase 5 lineup. That means we won't be seeing the follow-up until Phase 6 at the earliest. Considering the first Shang-Chi was released in 2021, Marvel won't want to leave this sequel too long. We say expect Shang-Chi 2 to arrive in 2025. Updates have been thin on the ground, but Liu promised fans that the sequel was still happening in April 2024.
Doctor Strange 3
Doctor Strange 3 hasn't been confirmed, but after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' first post-credits scene showed Strange meeting Clea and heading through an interdimensional portal, we can assume we'll be seeing more from the sorcerer sooner rather than later. Strange is also all tied up with the multiverse, and since this stage of the MCU is named the Multiverse Saga, it would make sense for his third movie to fall within Phase 6.
Thor 5
Thor 5 hasn't been officially announced, but Thor: Love and Thunder certainly leaves the way open for a continuation. For one thing, there are those post-credits scenes that introduce Brett Goldstein's Hercules and reveal Idris Elba's Heimdall and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster are both in Valhalla. Then there's the introduction of Love, Gorr the God Butcher's daughter, now in the care of Thor. If a fivequel does materialize, then, it'll most likely be in Phase 6 of the MCU.
X-Men
The mutant team is on its way to the MCU, though when it'll arrive is so far a complete mystery. Back in 2019, Kevin Feige hinted that we wouldn't be seeing the X-Men until 2025, which is coincidentally when Phase 6 is scheduled. We've already seen Patrick Stewart's Professor X in the MCU in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so seeing the rest of the X-Men in Phase 6 doesn't seem like such a long shot. Plus, the MCU introduced mutants with Ms. Marvel, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Namor is also a mutant, so it would seem the X-Men could well be on the horizon.
Spider-Man 4
Another Spider-Man trilogy with Tom Holland may or may not be in the works – Sony producer Amy Pascal initially said three more movies on the way, which was played down by Sony insiders, then walked back by Pascal herself shortly afterwards. But, considering the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we wouldn't be surprised if a fourth movie is in the works. No Way Home also left Spidey's story unfinished, with the world forgetting Peter Parker, so it would seem strange to end without some kind of resolution.
Plus, Sony movies chairman Tom Rothman has confirmed another movie is on the way. "You bet," he told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about another Spider-Man film. "When you can expect it, I don't know. Serve no wine before its time."
Holland gave a predictably cautious answer when asked about the progress of a potential fourth movie in April 2024. "We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect," he told Deadline. "[Spider-Man: No Way Home] was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing."
Black Panther 3
Following Wakanda Forever, the story of the Black Panther is definitely left open for more with Shuri taking over the mantle and the introduction of T'Challa's son Toussaint.
Letitia Wright has suggested that the movie might already be in development, too. "I think it's already in the works," she told Variety. "We just had a terrific two years of bringing [Wakanda Forever] out… we need a little bit of a break. We need to regroup [director Ryan Coogler] needs to get back in the lab. It's gonna take a while, but I'm really excited for you guys to see that."
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but if Black Panther 3 is made, Marvel Phase 6 would be a surprise considering how recently Wakanda Forever released. But, then again, there are release slots to fill, and Black Panther is a pivotal character and franchise.
Armor Wars
Originally a TV show, the movie about Don Cheadle's James "Rhodey" Rhodes seemed in limbo after being absent from Marvel's colossal Phase 5 line-up, but head writer Yassir Lester has assured fans that the project is still happening.
"I promise it is still coming out," he wrote on Instagram. It's likely we'll be seeing Armor Wars in Phase 6, then, following on from Ironheart's Phase 5 release – both shows that will likely tackle Tony Stark's legacy.
Cheadle was at D23 to briefly tease the upcoming project that will see Stark tech fall into the wrong hands. We also found it that the movie will follow on directly from what happens to Rhodey in Secret Invasion, so we should get a better idea of what to expect when that's released in spring 2023.
Wakanda/Okoye spin-off
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has been confirmed to be developing a Disney Plus series telling stories from Wakanda, while separate reports have suggested that a spin-off about the origins of Dora Milaje leader Okoye, played by Danai Gurrira, may also be in development. These two projects may overlap or they may be separate, but we'll let you know as soon as Marvel confirms more about the series.
Marvel producer Nate Moore has given a disappointing update on the Wakanda series, though. "Because of the amount of time and attention that went into [Black Panther: Wakanda Forever], and frankly the Ironheart show, that is probably not as far along as people want it to be," he told Collider. "But there are certainly great ideas that we're still talking to Ryan about. So, we'll see how far we can get with it."
Other potential sequels
Beyond the above, there are also a few other potential projects that could form part of Phase 6 that have not been announced but could well happen. Moon Knight season 2 and Hawkeye season 2 are all potential contenders – though we'll just have to wait and see which of our hopes end up becoming reality.
Catch up on the MCU with our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order – and the good news is, almost everything is streaming on Disney Plus now.
