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Marvel’s Multiverse Saga Is Well Underway — With So Much More to Come

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Marvel’s Multiverse Saga Is Well Underway — With So Much More to Come

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Marvel’s Multiverse Saga Is Well Underway — With So Much More to Come

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Published on July 25, 2022

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At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige revealed something kinda wacky: Marvel is already in the midst of its next Saga. Say goodbye to Infinity and hello to the Multiverse Saga, which has been underway since Phase Four began—and will continue through the end of Phase Six. Like the Infinity Saga, the Multiverse Saga will end with a pair of Avengers movies that will probably change the Marvel universe forever. Here’s a roundup of what’s to come as Phase Four ends, Phase Five blasts off, and Phase Six looms. Ominously.

Did we mention there’s a new Daredevil show, too?

 

PHASE FOUR

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (August 17, 2022)

The CGI is not great. But Tatiana Maslany is excellent. This new trailer has a bit of everything: The stress of leading a double life!  A glimpse of Jameela Jamil’s villain! Hulk bonding time! And that very curious moment in which the Hulks seem to break the fourth wall? Interesting. Almost as interesting as a certain other attorney who shows up—in a new suit—at the very end. Is this a meet cute? Can the superpowered lawyers date? Will Marvel let Matt Murdock be charming again?

 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11, 2022)

Where the She-Hulk trailer is very fun, this trailer is very feels. It’s clear the film is going to address the loss of Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa, but not clear how—only that Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda is deep in mourning, and Bassett is giving her all. There are several big reveals here: The trailer introduces the half-Atlantean Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta), who looks as if he might be bringing a very watery battle to Wakanda. We get our first look at genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), also known as Ironheart, who is hanging out with fellow genius Shuri (Letitia Wright). And last but certainly not least: Someone is wearing a Black Panther suit. Is it Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o)? Okoye (Danai Gurira)? Shuri? There are quite a few contenders. Wakanda Forever is the concluding film of Phase Four, and it looks like it’s going to go out strong.

 

PHASE FIVE

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17, 2023)

Comic-Con audiences got to see a first look at the new Ant-Man trailer, which hasn’t yet been released online. But it has Bill Murray! And also M.O.D.O.K.! And also another version of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, whose presence relates to why this film is the start of Phase Five. In the trailer, all the ant people get pulled into the Quantum Realm, including Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton). Murray’s character turns up in the Quantum Realm and is clearly familiar with Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), but mostly remains mysterious. Kang says all kinds of ominous things. He seems nice.

 

Secret Invasion (Spring 2023)

This one feels like it’s been coming soon forever. The Disney+ series stars Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and also features the return of Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross. Comic-Con attendees saw a little bit of footage, which also show Kingsley Ben-Adir, Olivia Colman, and Emilia Clark. “The overall vibe is one of paranoia and foreboding, contributing to a larger anti-heroic thread that seems to run through Phase 5,” according to Variety.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023)

James Gunn continues his superhero career with the third and final Guardian film, which apparently includes Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) origin story. SDCC crowds got to see the first trailer, which shows Gamora (Zoe Saldana) with the Ravagers, and with no idea who Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is. According to Gunn, the trailer hasn’t been released to the public yet as the VFX aren’t quite finished.

 

Echo (Summer 2023)

The only new bit of info about this series, which stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez (whom we met in Hawkeye), is a release window: It’s coming next summer.

 

The Marvels (July 28, 2023)

Now that we’ve met Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), this movie—also starring Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris—really can’t get here soon enough. Nia DaCosta directs this one, as she did that post-credits scene in Ms. Marvel, which set up a dramatic location-swap for Carol and Kamala.

 

Loki Season 2 (Summer 2023)

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) will return for a second season, but all that’s really known is the release window of summer 2023.

 

Blade (November 3, 2023)

Mahershala Ali stars as Blade in this reboot, which is the final Marvel movie of 2023. Bassam Tariq directs.

 

Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2023)

I liked House of Harkness better, but I guess when “Agatha All Along” was such a smash, you want to put “Agatha” in the title of the witch’s show. WandaVision’s Jac Schaeffer returns to write and executive produce this series about Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness.

 

Ironheart (Fall 2023)

Following Riri Williams’ introduction in Wakanda Forever, the genius inventor gets her own Disney+ series, with Chinaka Hodge (Snowpiercer) writing, and Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Blindspotting) directing.

 

Daredevil: Born Again (Spring 2024)

Though Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) turns up in that She-Hulk trailer, we have to wait two whole years for the devil of Hell’s Kitchen to return in his own series. Matt and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) will also reportedly appear in Echo before making their way to this new Daredevil series. But what about Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson)?!?!? And who’s writing this show? There’s so much still to be announced.

 

Captain America: New World Order (May 3, 2024)

That logo sure is ominous. Anthony Mackie’s Captain America film finally has a director and a titleCaptain America: New World Order, from director Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox), will kick off summer tentpole season on May 3, 2024. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman is writing the screenplay with Falcon staff writer Dalan Musson.

 

Thunderbolts (July 26, 2024)

Phase Five ends with Marvel’s antihero team-up film. No one knows who’s in this film yet, but there are plenty of likely suspects, including Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Jake Schreier (Robot and Frank) will direct, and Eric Pearson (Black Widow) is writing the screenplay.

 

PHASE SIX

Fantastic Four (November 8, 2024)

They’re really doing it again, but details are scarce. Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) was attached to direct, but has left the project.

 

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025)

Pretty clear who the focus of this one is: Jonathan Majors is going to be busy playing Kang for a while now. But who will even be an Avenger by then?

 

Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7, 2025)

Will the end of Phase Six reboot the entire Marvel universe? Anything is possible. The 2016 Secret Wars comics series just wreaked total havoc on the entire Marvel multiverse, after all. If Marvel wants to wipe their slate clean and start over fresh, that’s certainly one way to do it.

It seems pretty likely that these are just the biggest spokes in the Phase Six wheel; surely there will be series and more movies packed in as we get closer. After all, 2025 doesn’t even feel like a real year, yet.

But there’s more! Marvel also had an animation panel at SDCC, and while it’s not clear how—or if—these shows fit in with the various Phases, they’re still worth mentioning.

I Am Groot (August 10, 2022)

The cutest little tree appears in his own series of five shorts starting next month on Disney+. Groot may be a tree of few words, but he has some adorable accessories in this trailer.

 

Spider-Man: Freshman Year (2024)

This series was first announced last year, but isn’t coming until 2024. It’s written and executive produced by Jeff Trammell, and while we don’t know who’s providing the voice of Spider-Man here in his early high school days, we do know that Charlie Cox is turning up as Daredevil here, too. (Is this not sort of confusing with this most recent Spider-appearance? Maybe I shouldn’t ask questions. Maybe I should remember that we’re all about multiverses now.) Other appearing characters include Nico Minoru, Harry Osborn, Pearl Pangan, and Otto Octavius.

Though Freshman Year is years away, the show already has the go-ahead for season two—Sophomore Year, obviously.

 

What If…? Season 2 (2023)

Would it even be a multiverse without some new wacky versions of familiar heroes? The Watcher, Peggy Carter, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, and many more folks return for more shenanigans, along with Valkyrie, Tony Stark, Yondu, young Peter Parker, Ego, Shang-Chi, Korg, Wenwu, Odin, Red Guardian, and more. What If…? has also been renewed for a third season.

 

X-Men ’97 (Fall 2023)

The mutants are coming! Or technically, they’re already here. This new series “will explore new stories in the iconic 90s timeline of the original series,” according to Marvel. All your favorites will be there: Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Jubilee, Rogue, Storm, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Magneto, and more. And this one has already been given a second season. If you want to refresh your animated X-Men memory, the original series is now available on Disney+ in the original series order.

 

Marvel Zombies

There’s no release date for this show, which is spun off from an episode of What If…? It will reportedly be rated TV-MA, so there’s plenty of freedom to get gory, and star a whole host of Marvel characters. Team human includes Yelena, Kate Bishop, Jimmy Woo, Death Dealer, Shang-Chi, and Kamala Khan; on team zombie, we have Ikaris, Scarlet Witch, Okoye, Hawkeye, Abomination, Ghost, and the Captains America and Marvel.

About the Author

Molly Templeton

Author

Molly Templeton has been a bookseller, an alt-weekly editor, and assistant managing editor of Tor.com, among other things. She now lives and writes in Oregon, and spends as much time as possible in the woods.
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