Marvel Studios spent the better part of a decade building up its cinematic universe, to the point where it can now support two or three sequels and spinoffs each year. With the first generation of heroes mostly stepping back after Avengers: Endgame, here’s a timeline of the MCU‘s upcoming movies in Phases 5 and 6.
Marvel movie release dates
The Marvels, Nov. 10, 2023
Directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman), The Marvels is a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, with Brie Larson reprising her role alongside two co-stars from the MCU’s Disney+ spinoffs: Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms Marvel. After investigating a wormhole, Captain Marvel finds herself swapping powers at random with the other two heroes, leading to a chaotic team-up.
Captain America: New World Order, May 3, 2024
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes the lead in this continuation of the Captain America franchise, directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox). Exploring Sam’s newfound duties as Captain America, this movie will include a number of characters from the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, alongside Tim Blake Nelson as the villain Samuel Sterns, and Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
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Thunderbolts, July 26, 2024
This ensemble movie is a bold move for the MCU, and could potentially be Marvel’s answer to DC’s Suicide Squad. Drawing characters from across the franchise, it stars an eclectic team of antiheroes brought together by the morally dubious government agent Val Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), serving a similar role to Nick Fury. Among others, the cast will include the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and the Red Guardian (David Harbour).
Marvel Phases: The MCU movie timeline
- MCU Phase 1: The rise of the Avengers
- MCU Phase 2: All the movies you need to see
- MCU Phase 3: Why it’s the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- MCU Phase 4: Everything we know so far
Blade, Sept. 6, 2024
Mahershala Ali (who previously played Cottonmouth Stokes in the Netflix Marvel show Luke Cage) will play Blade in this long-awaited reboot, having pitched the idea to Kevin Feige after winning his second Oscar in 2019.
Marvel may not manage that 2024 release date, however. The film has already had to replace one director due to creative differences, and while filming is meant to go ahead with Yann Demange (Top Boy) directing, production has been delayed by the writers’ strike. (At present, all MCU projects that haven’t wrapped filming may be interrupted as film industry workers campaign for fair pay.)
Deadpool 3, Nov. 8, 2024
Bringing Deadpool into the MCU (and launching Phase 6 in the process), this will be Disney’s first R-rated Marvel film, with Ryan Reynolds co-starring alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) is at the helm, and the movie is currently filming through the writers’ strike, raising concerns about Ryan Reynolds not being permitted to improvise dialogue on set.
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Fantastic Four (Feb. 14, 2025)
Marvel fans are paying close attention to this franchise, since previous live-action versions of Marvel’s First Family have not been very successful. No casting choices have been confirmed yet, but we know Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is onboard to direct.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025)
Currently on track to launch a new Avengers team, this film and its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars will conclude Phase 6. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness penning the script. However there’s widespread speculation that the film will either have to be rewritten, or recast its title character due to Jonathan Majors‘ legal issues and abuse allegations.
Avengers: Secret Wars, May 1, 2026
Michael Waldron (Loki) is writing the screenplay for this film, but beyond that we have very little info – aside from the likelyhood of it being inspired by the classic comicbook event Secret Wars, which saw Marvel characters duke it out in a location known as Battleworld.
Marvel movie lineup: The rest of the MCU schedule
Over on Disney+, the TV side of the MCU is still going strong. Phase 5 will overlap with the political thriller Secret Invasion (June 21, 2023), season 2 of Loki (Oct. 6, 2023) and the Hawkeye spinoff Echo (Nov. 29, 2023), followed by Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Daredevil: Born Again in 2024.
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.
