As Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to a close, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige unveiled MCU’S Phase 5 at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel panel in Hall H. Some of the biggest announcements included the new Daredevil series on Disney+ and a Thunderbolts feature film. Feige also gave a brief glimpse into Phase 6 which is set to cap off the Multiverse Saga of the MCU.
Everything We Learned About MCU Phase 5 at SDCC
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will kick off Phase 5 of the MCU. It will serve as the introduction to Kang the Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors. Kang will meet Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in the Quantum Realm after Scott is mysteriously sucked there along with his daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Footage shown to attendees featured a cameo by Bill Murray as an old acquaintance of Janet’s from her time in the Quantum Realm. Director Peyton Reed confirmed another Marvel villain will make an appearance in the film. “You might have seen a shot of MODOK,” Reed said. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres February 17, 2023.
Secret Invasion
Cobie Smulders who plays Maria Hill in Marvel movies was present at the Hall H panel to preview the dark and gritty political thriller. Marvel’s Secret Invasion stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury along with Ben Mendelsohn (Talos the Skrull), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes), and Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross). Joining them are Kingsley Ben-Adir who was seen multiplying into several forms while confronting Fury. Olivia Colman was seen telling Fury he’s past his prime. Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke also makes her Marvel debut in the Disney+ series. She was seen brandishing a gun. Secret Invasion premieres sometime in the Spring of 2023.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The panel featured director James Gunn and some of the cast members including Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Will Poulter, Pom Klementieff, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Space Dog. There seemed to be a lot of emotions with Gunn and his cast during the panel. First look footage of the final Guardians movie shared a glimpse of a young Rocket. Perhaps his backstory will be explored in the film. Then, actor Chukwudi Iwuji (Peacemaker) walked out on stage and introduced himself to Hall H attendees in full costume and character as the High Evolutionary. He implied he played a role in Rocket’s transformation. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to premiere in theaters May 5, 2023.
Marvel’s Echo
Not much was revealed about the Hawkeye spinoff except when the Disney+ series is expected to be released. Echo stars Alaqua Cox reprising her role as Maya Lopez aka Echo. Sydney Freeland (Reservation Dogs, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), and Catriona McKenzie (The Walking Dead, Shining Vale) will be directing the series that is scheduled to debut sometime in the summer of 2023.
Loki Season 2
The Loki series introduced the multiverse as part of MCU’s Phase 4. Season 2, which is part of the MCU Phase 5 Multiverse Saga, will dive right back into the Loki uncovering the secrets of the TVA. The Disney+ series is currently filming but no mention of the series during the panel. There has been set photos floating around the internet as of late. Loki Season 2 debuts on Disney+ summer 2023.
Blade
Another MCU Phase 5 feature film is Blade. Kevin Feige made no additional casting announcements other than re-confirming Mahershala Ali will star as Blade in the reboot of Marvel’s vampire movies. The role previously belonged to Wesley Snipes. Ali was first announced in Hall H back in 2019. The Blade film will start shooting in October with Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) directing. Blade is set to release in theaters November 3, 2023.
Ironheart
Dominique Thorne will star as Riri Williams in her own Disney+ series. Riri is a young, skilled inventor and engineer. She will be introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Chinaka Hodge (Amazing Stories, Snowpiercer) will serve as head writer. Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Blindspotting) will be directing. Ironheart is scheduled to premiere fall 2023 on Disney+.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos
The Disney+ series was originally titled Agatha: House of Harkness. The WandaVision spinoff centered on Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness will be Marvel’s final Disney+ series in 2023. Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision) will serve as writer and executive producer for the series. Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to be released winter of 2023.
Daredevil: Born Again
Probably one of the biggest news to come out of Marvel’s Hall H panel at this year’s SDCC is the announcement of the new Daredevil series on Disney+. Daredevil was originally launched as one of Marvel’s Netflix shows. Now, the show and its star, Charlie Cox, will get an unprecedented 18-episode first season on Disney+. Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock got his official MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home. His nemesis Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) was revealed as the villain in the Hawkeye series. Both characters are set to make an appearance on Echo and based on the latest She-Hulk: Attorney at Law trailer, Daredevil will show up on that show first. One question remains, will Daredevil: Born Again have the same tone and rating as the Netflix version? Daredevil: Born Again is set for a spring 2024 release.
Captain America: New World Order
MCU Phase 5 continues with another feature film — the fourth Captain America movie. Since the conclusion of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series on Disney+, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was confirmed to be returning in his own Captain America movie. During the SDCC Hall H panel, Feige announced the title, Captain America: New World Order, and release date, May 3, 2024.
Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts will round out MCU Phase 5. Marvel’s answer to DC’s The Suicide Squad, Thunderbolts is a team up movie about a bunch of MCU anti-heroes. Feige said he’ll continue talking about casting another day but also confirmed who’s already on board including Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Abomination (Tim Roth), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Thunderbolts is scheduled for a July 25, 2024 release date.
