By April 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that additional storylines for their media franchise and shared universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were planned through 2028.[1] During Marvel Studios' panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Feige announced several films and Disney+ television series in development for Phase Four of the MCU,[2] before revealing the film Blade and a Fantastic Four film were also in development.[3][4] After the panel, Feige confirmed that Blade was not part of the Phase Four slate at the time, and that what was announced was the full Phase Four slate at that point, despite Marvel already developing further projects at that time.[5]Fantastic Four was formally confirmed in December 2020;[6][7] the film was believed to be a part of Phase Four at that time.[8]
By June 2021, in addition to What If...?, Marvel Studios was developing a slate of at least three more animated series.[9][10] During the Disney+ Day event in November 2021, Marvel Studios officially announced the What If...?–related Marvel Zombies.[11] By the end of November 2021, producer Amy Pascal said that Marvel Studios was planning at least three more Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland with Sony Pictures,[12] and the following month, Marvel Studios and Sony were actively beginning to develop the story for the fourth MCU Spider-Man film.[13] Also in December, Destin Daniel Cretton was revealed to be developing a comedy series through his company Family Owned,[14][15] as part of his overall deal with Marvel Studios to develop television projects for the studio for Disney+ in addition to returning to write and direct a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).[14] In April 2022, Feige said he and Marvel Studios were on a creative retreat to plan and discuss the MCU films for the following 10 years,[16] and in June 2022, said information on the next saga of the MCU would be provided in the following months, with Marvel Studios being a "little more direct" on their future plans to provide audiences with "the bigger picture [so they] can see a tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap" following the clues included during Phase Four.[17] Cretton's series was also revealed to be Wonder Man that month.[18]
At Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2022, Feige announced that Fantastic Four would be the first film of Phase Six. He also announced that the phase would conclude with two ensemble films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, both to be released in 2025, and that Phase Six, along with Phase Four and Phase Five, would be part of "The Multiverse Saga".[19] The films were respectively inspired by "Kang Dynasty", a 2001 comic book storyline written by Kurt Busiek in which Kang the Conqueror travels through time to enslave humanity, and Secret Wars, the name of a 1984–85 comic written by Jim Shooter and a 2015–16 comic written by Jonathan Hickman that both follow various Marvel characters who converge on the planet Battleworld.[20] Feige noted that while not all projects in Phase Six or the previous two phases would directly tie into the larger multiverse storyline, the various storylines that would weave together leading into Secret Wars was "a whole new aspect to the MCU".[21] At the panel, Feige also confirmed the film Blade for Phase Five.[19] Following Marvel Studios' SDCC panel, Disney announced a third season of What If...?.[22] In October, Marvel Studios delayed Blade to September 2024 and pushed back the releases of Fantastic Four and Avengers: Secret Wars as a result.[23] In early February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the company would be re-evaluating the volume of content it outputs as a way to cut costs over the next few years.[24] Shortly after, when reflecting on the amount of Disney+ content released for Phase Four in a short time frame, Feige anticipated that Marvel Studios would look to space out the releases of the Phase Five and Six Disney+ series or put fewer out each year "so they can each get a chance to shine".[21]
Kevin Feige at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, where he provided updates for some Phase Six films
The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023 was not expected to impact the MCU projects in production, or preparing to begin production, at that time, namely Wonder Man and Fantastic Four, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during each project's already scheduled reshoots.[25] Production on Wonder Man was shut down by the end of the month, with plans to resume filming when the strike concluded.[26] In June, Disney delayed Fantastic Four to May 2, 2025, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to May 1, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars to May 7, 2027,[27] in part due to the writers' strike and Disney's intentions to improve the quality of MCU content from writing through post-production, after disappointing reception and lower box office earnings for several recently released films following the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] The following month, Iger stated the company would be reducing spending and creation of Marvel content, admitting that Marvel Studios' expansion into Disney+ series and more films had "diluted focus and attention" after a number of underachieving films at the box office in Phases Four and Five.[29][30] In early September 2023, Marvel Studios announced Wonder Man had an undetermined release, in part because of the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and a desire to slow down their content output and make each of their titles "an event".[31] Following the conclusion of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in November 2023, Disney delayed several films to accommodate the resumption of production, including moving Blade to November 7, 2025,[32] with it now set for release during Phase Six.[33] By December 2023, Marvel Studios had begun to internally refer to The Kang Dynasty as Avengers 5, which was amidst Jonathan Majors being fired from his role as Kang the Conqueror, who had been set to be the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga.[34] Additionally, Marvel Studios Animation announced the series Eyes of Wakanda,[35] which was planned to be released in 2024.[36]
Fantastic Four was retitled The Fantastic Four in February 2024, when its release date was moved to July 25, 2025, swapping with the Phase Five film Thunderbolts*.[37][38] In May 2024, Iger said Disney planned to release two, or at most three, Marvel films and two Marvel series a year moving forward. This was down from up to four films and around four series being released in some recent years, and was part of the company's larger strategy to reduce its content output and focus on quality; at that time, four films were still planned to be released in 2026. He said Marvel content would continue to balance sequels with new franchises.[39] Later that month, Vision Quest, a spin-off series from WandaVision (2021) centered on the character Vision, was revealed to be in development for release in 2026;[40][41][42][43] it was previously being developed by WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer.[44][45] In July 2024, The Fantastic Four was further retitled The Fantastic Four: First Steps,[33] while Avengers 5 was titled Avengers: Doomsday along with the announcement of Robert Downey Jr. (who previously portrayed Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU) playing a new villain, Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom, in that film and Secret Wars.[46] In October, Disney removed Blade from its release calendar,[47] while Sony scheduled the untitled Spider-Man: No Way Home sequel for release on July 24, 2026,[48] during Phase Six.[49] This filled a date that Disney had previously scheduled for an unspecified Marvel Studios film.[50][48] Later that month, Marvel Studios announced the release dates for their Disney+ projects through the end of 2024 and 2025, including Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, and Wonder Man during Phase Six.[51][52]
Disney has scheduled additional release dates for unannounced Marvel Studios films on February 13 and November 6, 2026.[50]
Marvel Studios announced Avengers: Secret Wars at the July 2022 SDCC,[19] with Waldron writing the script that October.[76] Majors was set to return as Kang until his firing in December 2023.[77][34] The Russo brothers were announced in July 2024 as the directors and producers through AGBO, along with McFeely as the writer and Downey's casting as Doctor Doom.[46][69]Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2027.[46]
The main Fantastic Four cast will be returning from Doomsday in the film.[33]
Following New Line Cinema's Blade film trilogy (1998–2004), Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the character Blade and had a working script for a new version by May 2013.[78][79]Mahershala Ali, who played Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in Marvel Television's Luke Cage (2016–18), approached Marvel Studios in February 2019 about starring in a new Blade film, which Feige announced at SDCC that July with Ali as Blade;[3] Ali first had an uncredited voice cameo in Eternals (2021).[80] Development began in 2020 and multiple filmmakers were attached in the following years, including directors Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, while the production experienced several delays.[81][82] Pearson was rewriting the script by June 2024, when Marvel was searching for a new director,[57] and Blade was removed from the release schedule in October 2024.[47]
The Hatut Zaraze, Wakandan warriors, carry out dangerous missions around the world to retrieve vibranium artifacts throughout history.[94]
Eyes of Wakanda was announced from Marvel Studios Animation in December 2023,[35] created in collaboration with Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) director Ryan Coogler's production company Proximity Media. In May 2024, Todd Harris was revealed to have created the series, and he serves as the director. He previously served as a storyboard artist at Marvel Studios.[95][96][86]Eyes of Wakanda is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on August 6, 2025,[51] and will consist of four episodes.[85]
A new generation of heroes battle against zombies.[11]
In November 2021, a Marvel Zombies animated series was announced, with Bryan Andrews directing and Zeb Wells serving as head writer,[11] and is based on the comic book series Marvel Zombies.[97] It is a continuation of the reality first introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" and includes characters introduced in Phase Four of the MCU.[98]Marvel Zombies is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on October 3, 2025,[88] and will consist of four episodes.[87]
In December 2021, Destin Daniel Cretton signed a multi-year deal with Marvel Studios to develop television projects for Disney+, with a comedy series already in development by then, through Cretton's company Family Owned,[14][15] and Onyx Collective.[99][14] In June 2022, the series was revealed to be Wonder Man, centered on the character Simon Williams / Wonder Man, with Andrew Guest joining to develop the series and serve as head writer;[18] Guest later became showrunner.[84] In October, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was cast as the title character.[100] Filming began in April 2023 in Los Angeles,[101][102] with Cretton, Stella Meghie,[84][91]James Ponsoldt,[103][92] and Tiffany Johnson directing episodes of the series,[93] but was shut down the next month.[26] Filming resumed in January 2024,[104] and concluded by that April.[105]Wonder Man is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in December 2025,[51] as part of the "Marvel Spotlight" banner,[84] and is expected to consist of eight to ten episodes.[89][90]
In October 2022, a second spin-off from WandaVision after Agatha All Along (2024) was revealed to be in development. Titled Vision Quest, it was to be centered on the character Vision.[44][45]Jac Schaeffer was set as head writer and executive producer, with Paul Bettany expected to reprise his role.[45] Schaeffer was no longer developing Vision Quest by May 2024, due to her focus on Agatha All Along, and Marvel Studios hired Terry Matalas to redevelop the series and serve as its showrunner; Bettany was confirmed to still be reprising his role.[40] Marvel still referred to the series as Vision Quest,[41][42] though this was reported to not be its final title.[43] The series is intended to conclude a trilogy of series that includes WandaVision and Agatha All Along.[43] Filming is expected to begin in March 2025 in England.[43][107][third-party source needed] The series is scheduled to debut on Disney+ in 2026.[40]
This section includes characters who will appear in multiple films within Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and have appeared in the billing block for at least one film.
A dark grey cell indicates the character's presence in the films has not yet been announced.
Recurring cast and characters of Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Six
^Beginning with Daredevil: Born Again (2025), Marvel Studios shifted their creative philosophy to a more traditional television development process, moving away from head writers and began to hire dedicated showrunners for their series.[83] The showrunner title applies to Andrew Guest on Wonder Man and Terry Matalas on Vision Quest.[84][40]
