Marvel Phase 6: new MCU movies and Disney Plus shows, plus confirmed release dates
Here’s everything we know about all of the Marvel Phase 6 films and TV series that have been announced so far.
Marvel Phase 6 will be here before we know it. The final phase of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga begins in earnest in July 2025, so there’s no time like the present to learn about all of the new movies and Disney Plus shows that’ll be part of it.
Below, we’ve rounded up the latest news and rumors on all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects that’ll arrive from mid-2025 onwards. That includes any confirmed release dates, cast details, plot synopses, and more. So, what are you waiting for? Hop to it!
Marvel Phase 6: every forthcoming MCU movie and TV show
The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in cinemas worldwide in July 2025 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Here’s the full list of every Marvel Phase 6 movie and show and any launch dates that have been announced thus far, or are confirmed to be in early development:
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – July 25, 2025
Eyes of Wakanda – August 6, 2025
Marvel Zombies – October 2025, date TBC
Wonder Man – December 2025, date TBC
Avengers: Doomsday – May 1, 2026
Spider-Man 4 – July 26, 2025
Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
Armor Wars – TBC
Blade – TBC
Nova – TBC
Untitled Vision TV series – TBC
X-Men 97 season 2 – TBC
Marvel Phase 6 movies
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Filming on The Fantastic Four: First Steps wrapped in late November (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: July 25, 2025
Director: Matt Shakman
Confirmed cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Garner, and Ralph Ineson
Marvel revealed The Fantastic Four‘s new title, revised release date, and primary cast – Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Kirby (The Invisible Woman), Quinn (The Human Torch), and Moss-Bachrach (The Thing) – in February. Four months later, Marvel chief Kevin Feige announced filming would start in late July and that the movie would be a period piece set in an alternate universe – something fans already suspected after Marvel teased some key story details earlier this year. Principal photography wrapped in November, too.
On the supporting cast front, Marvel has confirmed Garner is playing a gender-swapped Silver Surfer and The Office UK alumnus Ineson will voice Galactus. Additionally, Lyonne joined The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ cast in May – the Poker Face star being joined by Malkovich and Hauser in undisclosed roles, according to Deadline. Read more details on its cast and plot in our dedicated hub on The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday is set to start filming in early 2025 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: May 1, 2026
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Expected cast: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
The fifth Avengers film, formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, is now called Avengers: Doomsday. MCU icon Downey Jr, who played Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, will surprisingly portray Doctor Victor von Doom, one of Marvel’s most popular adversaries, too.
The Russo brothers, who directed massively successful films including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, are also involved after reports indicated they’d make a shock return to the MCU just days before Comic-Con 2024. Christopher McFeely, who penned several money-spinning MCU films, has replaced Michael Waldron as the Marvel Phase 6 film’s scribe.
Avengers 5 was expected to begin shooting next January without The Fantastic Four’s involvement, but the Russos has since said (via Collider) that it’ll start shooting in spring 2025 (that’s autumn for southern hemisphere dwellers), so they’re also expected to feature.
Avengers: Doomsday is also said to be bringing back another huge Marvel star in Chris Evans, while Benedict Cumberbatch has confirmed (via TVGroove) has confirmed his involvement. Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter (per Deadline) and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man are also rumored to be part of the case. Speaking of Spidey…
Spider-Man 4
We aren’t likely to see all three Spider-Men team up again in Spider-Man 4 (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)
Release date: July 24, 2026
Rumored director: Daniel Destin Cretton
Expected cast: Tom Holland and Zendaya
Spider-Man 4 will swing into theaters in July 2026, and The Hollywood Reporter (THR) and Variety claim Shang-Chi filmmaker Daniel Destin Cretton will direct it. The former also hints that Zendaya’s MJ will play a supporting role.
Holland has confirmed filming will start in mid-2025, with industry insider DanielRPK suggesting principal photography will begin on May 25. A separate THR article alleges that Holland will also be in Avengers 5, with the A-lister shooting scenes for that movie around Spider-Man 4 and his co-leading role in Christopher Nolan’s next flick.
Plot details for Spider-Man‘s fourth MCU outing are thin on the ground, but Holland has teased (per the Rich Roll Podcast) that it “lit a fire in me”, and that it had him and Zendaya jumping around the room when they read its screenplay. For more, read our dedicated Spider-Man 4 hub.
Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Secret Wars is expected to be the final Phase 6 film and wrap up Marvel’s Multiverse Saga (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: May 7, 2027
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Expected cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
The sixth Avengers movie’s title hasn’t changed since it was announced at Comic-Con 2019, but it won’t shoot back to back with Doomsday. Speaking to Collider, the Russo brothers said principal photography will begin “a year or so” after filming wraps on Avengers 5, with DanielRPK suggesting it’ll start shooting in May 2026.
At Comic-Con 2024 (per reporter Erik Davis), Feige confirmed The Fantastic Four will feature heavily in Secret Wars alongside Doctor Doom. It’s unclear which other MCU heroes and/or Marvel legacy characters will show up, but Holland’s Spider-Man, Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and whoever Evans is playing are likely to be part of proceedings. For what it’s worth, though, Feige has said (per io9) we shouldn’t expect every superhero to appear in the next two Avengers films.
Armor Wars
Armor Wars‘ future is reportedly up in the air (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Don Cheadle
Originally billed as a TV show, Armor Wars has been retooled as a movie, with Yassir Lester (Black Monday) writing the script. MCU fansite NexusPointNews claims filming will begin in January 2025, but no director is in place as of December 2024, so that start date is pretty much a non-starter. Cheadle has regularly played down, albeit jokingly, that Armor Wars isn’t a thing (per The Today Show and TVLine), too, while Lester (via MovieWeb) has even suggested that its development status shifts on a day-to-day basis, so it’s unclear if it’ll ever get made.
If it is, it should pick up events from Secret Invasion‘s finale, given what we learned about Rhodey (or what fans have fiercely debated about him, anyway) in that series, too. MCU leaker Alex Perez also suggests Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer might appear in the MCU for the first time since 2010’s Iron Man 2.
Blade
Marvel’s Blade movie reboot has been delayed indefinitely, according to reports (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Mahershala Ali and Mia Goth
After his off-screen Eternals cameo, the vampiric anti-hero known as Blade was expected to get an R-rated MCU movie. However, with so many issues affecting its development, nobody really knows what’s going on with Marvel’s Blade movie.
In fact, recent reports suggest Blade has been delayed indefinitely. That’s in spite of Feige telling ComicBookMovie.com that its creative team were hoping to crack the case (not vampire skulls) on its script soon, before telling with Blavity TV he was “feeling good” about the film’s latest screenplay. At D23 Brazil in November, Feige told omelete.com that Marvel Studios was “committed to Blade“, so the movie hasn’t been scrapped entirely.
Mahershala Ali is still expected to star as the titular vampire hunter and, while Goth was heavily rumored to be playing Blade‘s lead villain, she confirmed she’d feature (per Deadline) before the film was seemingly shelved. For what it’s worth, DanielRPK and fellow insider Alex P claim Blade is a high priority for Marvel, so don’t be shocked if it suddenly enters full production in 2025.
Marvel Phase 6 TV shows
Eyes of Wakanda
Eyes of Wakanda is a four-part anthology series that expands on the Black Panther corner of the MCU (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney Plus)
Release date: August 6, 2025
Director: Todd Harris
Confirmed cast: Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, Jona Xiao, Isaac RobinsonSmith, Gary Anthony Williams, Zeke Alton, Steve Toussaint, and Anika Noni Rose
A surprise Marvel Phase 6 announcement, Eyes of Wakanda is a Black Panther Disney Plus spin-off set to debut next August. Here’s its brief story synopsis, courtesy of Marvel: “Eyes of Wakanda follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry-out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zaraze and this is their story.”
Marvel’s Head of Television Brad Winderbaum told CBR.com it’ll comprise four episodes, has been in development since 2021, Marc Bernardin (Star Trek: Picard) has written two entries, and it’ll be an anthology show in the mold of What If…?. Speaking to Men’s Health, Winderbaum also confirmed Eyes of Wakanda will slot seamlessly onto the Sacred Timeline and, as he told the Official Marvel Podcast episode 2, be the first Marvel Studios animated project that’ll “tie directly into the MCU.”
Speaking a D23 Expo 2024, director Todd Harris heavily teased Iron Fist (not the Finn Jones version from Netflix’ Marvel-Verse) will appear in an episode. In late October, the show’s first footage was also debuted as part of Marvel’s latest ‘Look Ahead’ trailer.
Marvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies is an R-rated spin-off series that continues the story from What If…? season 1 episode 5 (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney Plus)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Confirmed cast: David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, Iman Vellani, and Todd Williams
A spin-off of What If…?, Marvel Zombies will pick up after season 1 episode 5 – aka ‘What If… Zombies!?’ – and comprises four episodes. It’ll be rated TV-MA in the US (18-plus in the UK and Australia), as confirmed by What If…? director Bryan Andrews at D23 Expo 2024. Per Marvel’s ‘Look Ahead’ teaser, it’ll arrive in time for Halloween 2025 on Disney Plus, aka one of the world’s best streaming services.
Marvel Zombies will see the MCU’s newer heroes battle the ever-growing zombie superhero threat. Vellani, who plays Ms Marvel, says her character is “kind of the center of the show” (per The Direct). Rumors suggest we’ll see a zombified version of Ikaris but, given the Eternals are human-robot hybrids, it’ll be interesting to see how the infection affects him. Other supposed zombified heroes include Captain Marvel, Okoye, Ghost, Abomination, and Hawkeye.
Wonder Man
Wonder Man will fall under the Marvel Spotlight banner (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney Plus)
Release date: December 2025, date TBC
Director: Daniel Destin Crretton
Expected cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Demetrius Grosse, and Byron Bowers
Another long-gestating MCU TV series, Wonder Man – co-created by Andrew Guest and Cretton – will be an eight-part Marvel Spotlight comedy series (per Winderbaum on the Phase Zero podcast) that tells the story of an actor who plays a fictional superhero, but doesn’t know he’s also one in real life. Feige told the official Marvel podcast that it’s “extremely different” from anything the studio has made before.
Marvel’s Wonder Man show landed DCEU alumnus Abdul-Mateen II for the titular role, as Simon Williams/Wonder-Man, in November 2022. Kingsley, who played Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi, is also part of proceedings and, based on the 15 seconds of footage we saw in the ‘Look Ahead’ teaser, Slattery will be Williams’ mentor. Demetrius Grosse (via TVLine) is reportedly playing Eric Williams and his supervillain alias Grim Reaper, too, while Deadline reports Byron Bowers is on board in an undisclosed role.
Untitled Vision TV show
A TV series starring WandaVision‘s White Vision is in the works (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Paul Bettany, James Spader, and Todd Stashwick
Feige finally confirmed (per Inverse) the existence of this second WandaVision spin-off that’s expected to arrive on Disney Plus in 2026, with Bettany telling THR that filming will begin in early 2025.
Written by Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas, it’ll star Bettany as White Vision, the revived, persona-less synthezoid body of the deceased Vision (he died in Avengers: Infinity War), who flew off for parts unknown in episode 9 of WandaVision, aka one of the best Disney Plus shows. No other details are known, but it could be inspired by Marvel’s ‘Vision Quest’ and Tom King’s ‘Vision’ comic series runs. MCU insider Daniel RPK (via the Scarlet Witch News X/Twitter fan account) claims it’ll be a limited series, too.
THR claims James Spader will return to voice Ultron and Picard‘s Todd Stashwick will portray an unnamed assassin hunting Vision for the synthezoid tech he possesses. Deadline suggests Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch might also cameo, though it’s unclear if this will be the real character or a version that White Vision fabricates.
X-Men 97 season 2
X-Men 97 season 2 is one of the most anticipated MCU projects that’s currently in development (Image credit: Marvel Studios)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J.P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Holly Chou, Matthew Waterson, and Ross Marquand
With its first season ending on a cliffhanger – read our X-Men 97 ending explained article for more – a second season seemed inevitable.
Thankfully, work has been ongoing for some time, with THR reporter Borys Kit saying season 2 has been in development since mid-2022. It’s now in post-production, with Winderbaum telling the Official Marvel Podcast: “I’ve already seen all the animatics and we’re well on our way to creating something that hits the heights of the first season. I know the first season is an emotional ride [and] that ride continues in a very X-Men fashion in the second season”. According to Nexus Points News, it could arrive sometime in 2026. For more details, read our dedicated hub for X-Men 97 season 2.
A third season (per Entertainment Weekly) is already in development, with Deadline claiming What If…? writer Matthew Chauncey will take the reins for season 3.
Nova
A Nova TV series is in early development at Marvel Studios (Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: TBC
Following rumors that a Nova project was in development, Feige confirmed it was true (via ComicBook.com) in July. Feige also told ComicBook.com that it’ll focus on the Richard Rider version of the cosmic superhero (i.e. not another member of the Nova Corps.), but it’s still “three to four years out” from being released. In short: don’t expect much news on this Marvel Phase 6 TV series for a long, long time.
In conversation with Collider, Winderbaum teased it’ll be a cross between Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, while Deadline has since suggested Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds) has been hired as its showrunner. The same report seemingly confirms it’ll be a Disney Plus show, too. Lastly, industry leaker My Time To Shine Hello also suggests Glenn Close and John C. Reilly will reprise their roles from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy for bit-part roles.
For more Marvel coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order or read our thoughts on the best Marvel movies. Alternatively, get the lowdown on Daredevil: Born Again ahead of its March 2025 launch or learn more about the final six Marvel Phase 5 productions.